Ari Vatanen

Lore & Background

Vatanen's debut year in rallying was 1970, and he debuted in the World Rally Championship at the 1974 1000 Lakes Rally. In that year he won the Nortti Rally in an Opel Ascona, beating Hannu Mikkola. His first international rally was the 1975 Rothmans 747 Rally in Jamaica driving a Datsun 120Y, placing 12th with co-driver Gerry Phillips. At the end of that season he was offered his first professional drive, in a Ford Escort RS1800, on the RAC Rally, but crashed out on the second day. In the 1976 Scottish Rally, the Ford works team replaced a broken differential in his Mk2 Escort RS 1800 with one from a spectator's Ford Capri. Vatanen did not finish the Scottish Rally, but he won the British Rally Championship, a feat he repeated in 1980, co-driven by David Richards. He took his debut win at the 1980 Acropolis Rally and became World Rally Champion in 1981. Vatanen and Richards parted ways for the 1982 season, and for the next few years Vatanen was co-driven by Terry Harryman. He did not defend his world title in 1982, competing instead in the British Championship in a Ford Escort, before moving to the Opel team for 1983. In 1984, Vatanen signed to drive the Peugeot 205 T16 for Peugeot's factory team. From the 1984 1000 Lakes Rally to 1985 Swedish Rally, Vatanen won five world rallies in a row. He was tipped to win the 1985 world title, but at mid-season was trailing his teammate Timo Salonen after a series of accidents and mechanical problems. He then had a serious accident on the Rally Argentina, suffering severe injuries and life-threatening internal bleeding. He spent 18 months recovering from physical injuries and severe depression. He returned to motorsport in 1987 and won the Paris-Dakar Rally four times: with Peugeot in 1987, 1989 and 1990, and with Citroën in 1991. In 1997, Vatanen won the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies with a Citroën ZX Rallye-raid alongside navigator Fred Gallagher. With Peugeot, Vatanen also won the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb. He continued competing in the World Rally Championship until the 1998 season. He drove for Mitsubishi Ralliart Europe in four events in 1989 and five in 1990, with a best result of second at the 1990 1000 Lakes Rally. From 1992 to 1993, he competed for Subaru in 11 events, finishing second three times. He was dropped by Subaru at the end of 1993 in favour of Carlos Sainz.

Reader's Guide

Vatanen's career highlights include winning the World Rally Championship in 1981, the Paris-Dakar Rally four times (1987, 1989, 1990, 1991), and the 1997 FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies. He also won the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb with Peugeot. He was a Member of the European Parliament from 1999 to 2009. He ran for FIA president in 2009 but lost to Jean Todt.

Did You Know?

• Vatanen won five consecutive WRC rallies from the 1984 1000 Lakes Rally to the 1985 Swedish Rally.
• Vatanen's car was stolen while leading the 1988 Paris-Dakar Rally.
• Vatanen's son Max entered the British Rally Championship in 2016 driving an M-Sport prepared Ford Fiesta R5.