Pauli Toivonen
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Pauli Toivonen - a notable rally car driver - was born on 22nd August 1929 in Jyväskylä, Finland and died peacefully at his home on 14th February 2005. He drove for Citroën, Lancia and Porsche and had many successes to his credit. Pauli was the father of Harri and Henri Toivonen. Many consider Henri to have been the greatest rally driver of all time.
Whilst Pauli Toivonen was mainly known for driving rally cars, he also drove for Porsche in World Endurance Sports car races and in the 24 Hours at LeMans in Renault Alpines.
Toivonen was awarded a controversial first place on the 1966 Monte Carlo Rally after a protest by the Citroën team manager against the top finishing British cars. As a result, the top three placing Minis of Timo Mäkinen, Rauno Aaltonen and Paddy Hopkirk and Roger Clark's 4th place Ford Cortina were disqualified. The reason given by rally officials was that the headlamp bulbs were not homologated following a last minute rule change. Toivonen was so embarrassed that he never drove for Citroën again.
As a result, Pauli did not brag about his victory in the prestigious Monte Carlo rally because he felt he had not deserved the victory. However, when his son, Henri came first the same event twenty years later - this time in a convincing manner - Pauli was heard to say: "Now the name of Toivonen has been cleared."
Pauli was European Rally champion in 1968 and won four other events for Porsche in the same year.
Henri Toivonen and Sergio Cresto (his co-driver) both died when their Lancia left the road and caught fire during the 1986 Tour de Corse. Henri was just 29 years old - having achieved more in his short life than most rally drivers manage in their entire careers.
[edit] Notable Victories
| Year | Rally | Finish | Car | Co-driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | Thousand Lakes Rally | 2nd | Citroën | Jaakko Kallio |
| 1962 | Thousand Lakes Rally | 1st | Citroën DS19 | Jaakko Kallio |
| 1963 | Monte Carlo Rally | 2nd | Citroën DS19 | A. Jarvi |
| 1965 | Thousand Lakes Rally | 3rd | Volkswagen 1500S | Kalevi Leivo |
| 1966 | Monte Carlo Rally | 1st | Citroën DS21 | E. Mikander |
| 1967 | Swedish Rally | 6th | Lancia | Ahava |
| Tour de Corse | 2nd | Lancia | M. Tiukkanen | |
| Thousand Lakes Rally | 7th | Lancia | Salonen | |
| 1968 | Monte Carlo Rally | 2nd | Porsche 911T | M. Tiukkanen |
| Acropolis Rally | 3rd | Porsche 911T | M. Kolari | |
| West German Rally | 1st | Porsche 911T | M. Kolari | |
| East German Rally | 1st | Porsche 911T | M. Kolari | |
| San Remo Rally | 1st | Porsche 911T | M. Tiukkanen | |
| Castrol-Danube Rally | 1st | Porsche 911T | M. Tiukkanen | |
| Geneva Rally | 1st | Porsche 911T | Vihervaava | |
| European Champion | ||||
| 1969 | Acropolis | 1st | Porsche 911S | M. Kolari |
[edit] External links
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