Rauno Aaltonen

 ( Finnish Rally Drivers ) 

Rauno August Aaltonen (born 7 January 1938), also known as "The Rally Professor", is a Finland former professional rallying driver who competed in the World Rally Championship throughout the 1970s.

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Career Before WRC was established Aaltonen competed in the European Rally Championship. He won the championship in 1965, with Tony Ambrose as his co-driver. He also won the Finnish Rally Championship in 1961 and 1965. In 1966, he partnered Bob Holden in Australia to win the premier touring car race, the Gallaher 500, in a Mini Cooper S at Mount Panorama in New South Wales. Aaltonen finished second on six occasions in the Safari Rally, which is considered one of the most difficult courses in rallying. In 1985, he was leading the rally by two hours when his engine broke down before the last few special stages. His other merits include winning the Rally Finland in 1961, the RAC Rally in 1965, the Monte Carlo Rally in 1967, the Southern Cross Rally in 1977, and a Coupe des Alpes at the Alpine Rally in 1963 and 1964.

Despite now being remembered as one of the of rallying, Aaltonen started his career on and later moved on to motorcycles competing in road racing, speedway and motocross. Before he became the first Finnish European Rally Champion, he was the first Finn to win a Grand Prix motorcycle racing competition.

Aaltonen was a proponent of left-foot braking. In 2010, he was among the first four inductees into the Rally Hall of Fame, along with Erik Carlsson, Paddy Hopkirk and Timo Mäkinen.

The technique of rotating a car by 360 degrees, while maintaining trajectory, was named after him.

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Career results

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Complete IMC results

1970 ! Ford Deutschland ! Ford Capri RS2600	MON	SWE	ITA	KEN Ret	AUT	GRE
1971 ! Yhtymä Oy Autokeskus !rowspan=3	Datsun 240Z	MON 5	SWE	ITA
1972 ! Nissan !rowspan=2	Datsun 240Z	MON 3	SWE	KEN 6

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Complete WRC results

1973 ! Nissan ! Datsun 240Z

MON 18

SWE

POR

KEN Ret

!rowspan=3 N/A !rowspan=3

N/A

1974 ! African Roadways Ltd ! Datsun 1800 SSS

MON C

SWE C

POR

KEN 6

GRE C

FIN

ITA

CAN

USA

!rowspan=2 N/A !rowspan=2

N/A

1975 !rowspan=2

Opel Euro Händler Team ! Opel Ascona

MON

SWE

KEN Ret

GRC Ret

MOR Ret

POR 4

FIN

ITA Ret

FRA

!rowspan=2 N/A !rowspan=2

N/A

1976 ! Opel Euro Händler Team ! Opel Kadett GT/E

MON

SWE

POR

KEN Ret

GRC

MOR

FIN

ITA

FRA

GBR Ret

! N/A ! N/A

1977 ! D.T. Dobie & Co (EA) Ltd ! Datsun 160J

MON

SWE

POR

KEN 2

NZL

GRC

FIN

CAN

ITA

FRA

GBR

! N/A ! N/A

1978 ! D.T. Dobie & Co (EA) Ltd ! Datsun 160J

MON

SWE

KEN 3

POR

GRC

FIN

CAN

ITA

CIV

FRA

GBR

! N/A ! N/A

1979 ! Datsun ! Datsun 160J

MON

SWE

POR

KEN 5

GRC

NZL

FIN

CAN

ITA

FRA

GBR

CIV

! 28th ! 8

1980 ! Datsun ! Datsun 160J

MON

SWE

POR

KEN 2

GRC

ARG

FIN

NZL

ITA

FRA

GBR

CIV

! 16th ! 15

1981 !rowspan=2

Datsun ! Datsun 160J

MON 13

SWE

POR

!rowspan=2 19th !rowspan=2

15

1982 ! Rothmans Opel Rally Team ! Opel Ascona 400

MON

SWE

POR

KEN Ret

FRA

GRC

NZL

BRA

FIN

ITA

CIV

GBR

! NC ! 0

1983 ! Rothmans Opel Rally Team ! Opel Ascona 400

MON

SWE

POR

KEN Ret

FRA

GRC

NZL

ARG

FIN

ITA

CIV

GBR

! NC ! 0

1984 ! Opel Euro Team ! Opel Ascona 400

MON

SWE

POR

KEN 2

FRA

GRC

NZL

ARG

FIN

ITA

CIV

GBR

! 15th ! 15

1985 ! Opel Euro Team ! Opel Ascona 400

MON

SWE

POR

KEN 4

FRA

GRC

NZL

ARG

FIN

ITA

CIV

GBR

! 22nd ! 10

1987 ! GM Euro Sport ! Opel Kadett GSi

MON

SWE

POR

KEN 9

FRA

GRC

USA

NZL

ARG

FIN

CIV

ITA

GBR ! 58th ! 2

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Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

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Complete Bathurst 500/1000 results

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Complete British Saloon Car Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

1970 ! Ford Köln ! Ford Capri !

Brands Hatch

SNE

Thruxton Circuit

SIL

CRY

SIL

SIL 27

Croft Circuit

Brands Hatch

Oulton Park

Brands Hatch

Brands Hatch ! NC ! 0 ! NC

==Gallery==

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External links

• Aaltonen at RallyBase

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