Juha Kankkunen, born in Laukaa, Finland on April 2, 1959, made his name principally as a rally car driver. With four World Rally Championships and 23 career victories Kankkunen is the second-most successful World Rally Championship driver of all time behind Tommi Mäkinen. Post-retirement in 2002, Kankkunen announced his intention to enter politics, echoing the career path of rallying compatriot Ari Vatanen. Kankkunen grew up on his family's farm near Jyväskylä. Laukaa is a municipality of Finland. ... April 2 is the 92nd day of the year (93rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 273 days remaining. ... 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Tommi Antero Mäkinen (pronounced /tom-mi mæ-ki-nen/ in IPA) is a now retired Finnish rally driver, born in Puuppola, Finland near Jyväskylä in June 1964. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... Ari Vatanen (born April 27, 1952) is a Finnish rally driver turned politician and Member of the European Parliament. ... Location of Jyväskylä in Finland Jyväskylä (IPA: /jyʋæsËŒkylæ/) is a city located in central Finland, 140 km from Tampere and 270 km from Helsinki, near Lake Päijänne and Lake Keitele. ...

He is a four time World Rally Champion and was the first driver to win three and then four WRC championship titles. He has won 23 World Championship rallies. From 1983 to 1985, he drove Toyota Celica Twincam Turbo TA64. His first win came with the Safari Rally in 1985 on his first attempt, as a 100-1 outsider. Stephane Sarrazin driving a Subaru Impreza WRC on the Monte Carlo Rally Carlos Sainz driving a Toyota Corolla WRC on the Monte Carlo Rally The World Rally Championship (WRC) is a rally racing series across the world (although the main focus is in Europe, due to the sports roots... WRC is a three-letter abbreviation with multiple meanings, as described below: World Rally Championship, a series of automobile rally races and World Rally Car, the class of cars involved in them Will Rice College, a residential college of Rice University Western Reserve College, a prep school in Hudson, Ohio... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Safari Rally is held in Kenya and is considered by many to be the worlds toughest rally. ... This article is about the year. ...

He went on to drive Peugeot (1986), Lancia (1987 and 1991) and Toyota (1993) cars to world driver's titles, a record only matched by 1996-1999 World Rally Champion Tommi Makinen. Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Lancia is an Italian automobile manufacturer founded in 1906 by Vincenzo Lancia, part of the Fiat group since 1969. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Toyota redirects here. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... Tommi Mäkinen is a now retired Finnish rally driver, born in Puuppola, Finland near Jyväskylä in June 1964. ...

In 1988, Kankkunen debuted the Celica GT-Four ST165 in Tour de Corse, but his victory with this car came in 1989 Rally Australia. 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Despite winning two titles with the Lancia team that had steamrollered the WRC timesheets during the hiatus between the Group B era and the matured Group A one, Kankkunen's uneasy acceptance of team-orders designed to benefit the 'Italian hero in an Italian car', Miki Biasion (such as on the 1987 Monte Carlo Rally) pre-empted a move elsewhere. Lancia is an Italian automobile manufacturer founded in 1906 by Vincenzo Lancia, part of the Fiat group since 1969. ... Group B Ford RS200 In relation to motorsport governed by the FIA, Group A and Group B referred to two sets of regulations for competition vehicles in touring car and rally racing. ... In relation to motorsport governed by the FIA, Group A referred to a set of regulations providing production-derived vehicles for outright competition. ... Massimo Miki Biasion, of Italy, is a one-time international rally driver and champion. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Monte Carlo Rally (officially Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo) is an automobile racing event organized each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco who also organize the F1 Grand Prix of Monaco and the Monaco Kart Cup. ...

That happened in 1993 when, on rejoining Toyota, Kankkunen stormed to a fourth world title, despite having to fare from mid-season with two substitute co-drivers after his original in-car partner, Juha Piironen suffered a stroke. Kankkunen won 1993 Rally Argentina with his new co-driver, Nicky Grist. In the 1000 Lakes Rally of Finland, he was paired with Frenchman Denis Giraudet. Back with Nicky Grist, Kankkunen won the Rally Australia and RAC Rally. With his 5 victories, and 2 others from his team mates, Toyota, with Celica GT-Four ST185, won the 1993 World Rally Championship, the first for Japanese manufacturer. 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... Toyota redirects here. ... For other uses, see Stroke (disambiguation). ... Toyota redirects here. ...

In 1994, Kankkunen won the Rally TAP Portugal with ST185, and finished 2nd in Rally Australia on the first appearance of ST205. 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal. // Events January Bill Clinton January 1 : North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) goes into effect. ...

Sadly for Kankkunen, this relationship also went somewhat awry eventually, for with the Finn still at the team during 1995 Toyota were found guilty of the implementation of illegal turbo restrictor bypasses on their Toyota Celica ST205 cars. At the discretion of the FIA's Max Mosley Toyota were subject to a public humiliation, and duly banned from the World Championship until 1997. Part of the Finn's rehabiliation from this episode came in the shape of Ford Motor Company, who took him on to replace a disappointing Armin Schwarz mid-way through 1997. He stayed, clocking up many podium finishes in the newly-refettled M-Sport outfit's Escort WRC until the end of 1998, when Kankkunen left, understandably - given previous experiences - unwilling to chance possible subordinate status to new superstar signing Colin McRae. 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Fédération Internationale de lAutomobile, commonly referred to as the FIA, is a non-profit association established in 1904 to represent the interest of motoring organisations and motor car users. ... Max Mosley has been president of the influential FIA since 1991. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Ford Motor Company (usually called Ford; NYSE: F) is an American company with its global headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan, that manufactures automobiles and sells popular vehicles globally. ... The Ford Escort was a compact car manufactured by the Ford Motor Company from 1967 through 2003. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... Colin McRae MBE (born in Lanark, Scotland, 5 August 1968) is, together with Sébastien Loeb, the second most successful World Rally Championship driver of all time (in the currency of individual rally wins), second only to Carlos Sainz. ...

Kankkunen has driven for, in addition to the aforementioned teams, Subaru and Hyundai. His tenure at the former included a brace of victories in 1999 in the Impreza WRC, his first since the last of his championship-winning years albeit minus the same final result. At the Rally Argentina, he was to famously - and controversially - upstage victor-elect Richard Burns to win amid a team-order wrangle, triggering the singular remark from Burns's co-driver Robert Reid, that "wherever there's a Finn, there's a shark." Subaru (In katakana: スバル), a Japanese car company, is a division of Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI). ... The Hyundai Motor Company (HMC) (KSE: 005380)(LSE: HYUD), a division of the Hyundai Kia Automotive Group, is South Koreas largest car maker. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... For the high-performance versions of the Impreza, see Subaru Impreza WRX and Subaru Impreza WRX STi The Subaru Impreza is a compact car that was first introduced by Subaru in 1993. ... Richard Burns (January 17, 1971 – November 25, 2005) was a world champion rally driver, who topped the World Rally Championship scoresheets in 2001 having wound up runner-up in both 1999 and 2000. ... Robert Reid is the name of: Robert Gillespie Reid (1842–1908), a Scottish railway contractor. ... This article needs additional references or sources. ...

Sébastien Loeb, Carlos Sainz and Colin McRae have since overtaken Kankkunen's number of victories. However, neither won as many championships in the course of their careers. Sébastien Loeb (born February 26, 1974) is a French rally driver, winner of the World Rally Drivers Championship title in 2004 and 2005, and of a record ten World Rallies in 2005. ... Carlos Sainz (born April 12, 1962 in Madrid, Spain) is a now retired rally driver who competed in the sport from 1980 to 2005. ... Colin McRae MBE (born in Lanark, Scotland, 5 August 1968) is, together with Sébastien Loeb, the second most successful World Rally Championship driver of all time (in the currency of individual rally wins), second only to Carlos Sainz. ...

Accompanying achievements include winning the 4-wheel class at the Dakar Rally in 1988. He also won the 1988 and 1991 Race of Champions. A Renault truck during the 2004 Dakar The Dakar Rally (or simply The Dakar; formerly known as The Paris Dakar Rally) is an annual professional off-road race, currently sponsored by Total S.A. and organized by the Amaury Sport Organisation. ... The Race of Champions is an international motorsport event held at the end of each year, featuring national teams consisting of racing and rally drivers. ...

Kankkunen is today one of shareholders in the Flying Finn airline. OH-LMR in Helsinki-Vantaa November 2003 Flying Finn was a low cost airline, based at Helsinki-Vantaa airport, Finland. ...

External links

• Juha Kankkunen Driving Academy