Martin Schanche

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Martin Schanche (born January 1, 1945) a.k.a. "Mister Rallycross" is a former Norwegian motorsport contestant. He debuted in 1972 when he was already 27 years old. In 1975 he won a silver medal in the Norwegian Ice Racing Championships. Between 1976 and 2001 he competed in Rallycross, and became FIA European champion in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1984, 1991 and 1995.

Schanche was born in Trondheim but grew up at Leirpollskogen (Austertana, Tana municipality, Finnmark county). Today he lives at Drøbak in Frogn in Akershus. Together with his German born wife Birgit and his daughter Melissa. Martin Schanche has also two other children from a former marriage, his daughter Elisabeth and his son Martin Jr., who is a member of the organising comitee of the Rally Norway.

Since retiring from motorsport he has embarked on a second career as a municipality politician in Frogn for Fremskrittspartiet. In 2003 he was the subject of a lot of nationwide attention because he tried to slap his political opponent Torgeir Micaelsen of the Norwegian Labour Party into his face during a school debate in Drammen after Micaelsen had called him a coward. That attention made him an often imitated character in the radioprogram Petremorgen on NRK P3.