Rally Finland

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The current service park area at Paviljonki, Jyväskylä.

Henning Solberg driving a Peugeot 206 WRC at the 2004 rally.

Richard Burns with a Subaru Impreza WRC at the 2001 event.

Armin Schwarz in 2001.

Osmo Kalpala servicing his car during the 1956 rally.

The Neste Oil Rally Finland (formerly known as 1000 Lakes Rally, renamed 1994 when Neste Oil became the main sponsor, known colloquially in Finland as the Jyväskylän Suurajot or Jyväskylä Great Race) is a rally event driven in the Jyväskylä area in Central Finland. It is the biggest annually organised public event in the Nordic countries, gathering over 500,000 spectators every year.

The rally has been held since 1951, first as a national competition and since the introduction of the World Rally Championship in 1973, as Finland's WRC event. It is known as the "Gravel Grand Prix", since it is the highest-speed rally in the championship. The most famous special stage is Ouninpohja, with its spectacular high speed jumps. However, Ouninpohja was split in two parts for 2005, since Petter Solberg exceeded the FIA's maximum average speed (130 km/h) there in 2004. The rule was changed for 2007 so Ouninpohja returned as the 2004 version in 2007 only to be totally changed for the next event in 2008.

The rally has been known for being very difficult for non-Nordic drivers. Only three drivers outside Finland and Sweden have won the rally.

The WRC teams voted Neste Rally Finland "Rally of the Year" in 1998, 2002, 2003 and 2004.

In 2006, it was the tenth rally on the World Rally Championship schedule, held on August 18, 2006 through August 20, 2006.

[edit] Winners

Year	Driver Codriver	Vehicle
2007	Marcus Grönholm Timo Rautiainen	Ford Focus WRC 07
2006	Marcus Grönholm Timo Rautiainen	Ford Focus RS WRC 06
2005	Marcus Grönholm Timo Rautiainen	Peugeot 307 WRC
2004	Marcus Grönholm Timo Rautiainen	Peugeot 307 WRC
2003	Markko Märtin Michael Park	Ford Focus RS WRC 03
2002	Marcus Grönholm Timo Rautiainen	Peugeot 206 WRC
2001	Marcus Grönholm Timo Rautiainen	Peugeot 206 WRC
2000	Marcus Grönholm Timo Rautiainen	Peugeot 206 WRC
1999	Juha Kankkunen Juha Repo	Subaru Impreza WRC 99
1998	Tommi Mäkinen Risto Mannisenmäki	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
1997	Tommi Mäkinen Seppo Harjanne	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
1996	Tommi Mäkinen Seppo Harjanne	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
1995^[1]	Tommi Mäkinen Seppo Harjanne	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
1994	Tommi Mäkinen Seppo Harjanne	Ford Escort RS Cosworth
1993	Juha Kankkunen Denis Giraudet	Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD
1992	Didier Auriol Bernard Occelli	Lancia Delta HF Integrale
1991	Juha Kankkunen Juha Piironen	Lancia Delta HF Integrale
1990	Carlos Sainz Luis Moya	Toyota Celica
1989	Mikael Ericsson Claes Billstam	Mitsubishi Galant
1988	Markku Alén Ilkka Kivimäki	Lancia Delta Integrale
1987	Markku Alén Ilkka Kivimäki	Lancia Delta HF 4WD
1986	Timo Salonen Seppo Harjanne	Peugeot 205 Turbo
1985	Timo Salonen Seppo Harjanne	Peugeot 205 Turbo
1984	Ari Vatanen Terry Harryman	Peugeot 205
1983	Hannu Mikkola Arne Hertz	Audi Quattro
1982	Hannu Mikkola Arne Hertz	Audi Quattro
1981	Ari Vatanen David Richards	Ford Escort RS
1980	Markku Alén Ilkka Kivimäki	Fiat 131 Mirafiori
1979	Markku Alén Ilkka Kivimäki	Fiat 131 Mirafiori
1978	Markku Alén Seppo Harjanne	Fiat 131 Abarth
1977	Kyösti Hämäläinen Martti Tiukkanen	Ford Escort RS
1976	Markku Alén Seppo Harjanne	Fiat 131 Mirafiori
1975	Hannu Mikkola Atso Aho	Toyota Levin
1974	Hannu Mikkola John Davenport	Ford Escort RS
1973	Timo Mäkinen Henry Liddon	Ford Escort RS
1972	Simo Lampinen Klaus Sohlberg	Saab 96 V4
1971	Stig Blomqvist Arne Hertz	Saab 96 V4
1970	Hannu Mikkola Gunnar Palm	Ford Escort TC
1969	Hannu Mikkola Anssi Järvi	Ford Escort TC
1968	Hannu Mikkola Anssi Järvi	Ford Escort TC
1967	Timo Mäkinen Pekka Keskitalo	BMC Cooper S
1966	Timo Mäkinen Pekka Keskitalo	Morris Cooper
1965	Timo Mäkinen Pekka Keskitalo	BMC Cooper S
1964	Simo Lampinen Jyrki Ahava	Saab 96 Sport
1963	Simo Lampinen Jyrki Ahava	Saab 96 Sport
1962	Pauli Toivonen Jaakko Kallio	Citroën DS 19
1961	Rauno Aaltonen Väinö Nurmimaa	Mercedes-Benz 220 SE
1960	Carl-Otto Bremer Juhani Lampi	Saab 96
1959	Gunnar Callbo Väinö Nurmimaa	Volvo PV 544
1958	Osmo Kalpala Eino Kalpala	Alfa Romeo Giulietta TI
1957	Erik Carlsson Mario Pavoni	Saab 93
1956	Osmo Kalpala Eino Kalpala	DKW Donau
1955	Eino Elo Kai Nuortila	Peugeot 403
1954	Osmo Kalpala Eino Kalpala	Dyna Panhard
1953	Vilho Hietanen Olof Hixén	Allard
1952	Eino Elo Kai Nuortila	Peugeot 203
1951	Arvo Karlsson Vilho Mattila	Austin Atlantic