40 Facts About Juha Kankkunen

Juha Kankkunen won 23 world rallies and four drivers' world championship titles, which were both once records in the series.

Juha Kankkunen was signed by Toyota Team Europe in 1983 and he took his first WRC win in his third year in the team.

Juha Kankkunen's performances got him a deal with the defending champions Peugeot for 1986, and Kankkunen was crowned the series' then youngest-ever champion.

In 1993, Juha Kankkunen re-joined Toyota and won his fourth title.

In 2007, Juha Kankkunen set the world speed record on ice in a Bentley Continental GT.

Juha Kankkunen grew up on his family's farm in Laukaa in Central Finland, near the route of the Rally Finland.

Juha Kankkunen's father had rallying and ice racing as a hobby, and taught Juha how to drive on an ice racing track.

Juha Kankkunen began to drive when he was seven years old, and owned his first car at the age of 12.

Juha Kankkunen debuted in rallying in 1978 and competed in his first World Rally Championship event at the 1979 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland, finishing 14th in a Ford Escort RS2000.

Juha Kankkunen was coached by Timo Makinen, a friend of his father's, and was able to compete often and gain experience with financial help from Timo Jouhki, future manager for many Finnish rally drivers such as Tommi Makinen and Mikko Hirvonen.

Juha Kankkunen went on to compete in four more rallies and take his second win at WRC's second endurance event, the Rallye Cote d'Ivoire, where he finished with the same amount of penalty minutes as his teammate Waldegard but took the win by a tiebreaker.

Juha Kankkunen duly seized his opportunity, taking the second evolution of the Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 to victory in the Swedish Rally, the Acropolis Rally and the Rally New Zealand and finishing on the podium in three more events.

Juha Kankkunen was quickly comfortable in the car and led his Lancia debut in Monte Carlo until the very last stage, when Lancia boss Cesare Fiorio controversially forced him to finish second behind teammate Miki Biasion.

Juha Kankkunen later won the Olympus Rally by beating Biasion by only 12 seconds in a six-hour event.

At the Autosport Awards, Juha Kankkunen was presented the "International Rally Driver Award" for the second year running.

Juha Kankkunen retired due to engine problems in three consecutive rallies and did not add to his points tally, finishing only 37th in the drivers' standings.

Juha Kankkunen competed for Peugeot at the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb, finishing runner-up to again-teammate Vatanen, and at the first-ever Race of Champions, beating the 1985 world rally champion and former Peugeot teammate Timo Salonen in the final to become the first "Champion of Champions".

Juha Kankkunen gave the GT-Four its first victory in the Rally Australia and finished third at the Tour de Corse and at the RAC.

Juha Kankkunen's results placed him third in the drivers' championship, behind Lancia drivers Biasion and Alex Fiorio.

Halfway through the season, Juha Kankkunen found himself only fourth in the championship and Toyota in the lead with their new star driver Carlos Sainz.

Juha Kankkunen placed third in the drivers' world championship, between his teammates Didier Auriol and the defending world champion Biasion.

In 1992, Juha Kankkunen placed on the podium in each of the nine WRC events that he participated in, but took his only win at the Rally Portugal.

Sainz's victory in the RAC ahead of Ari Vatanen and Juha Kankkunen, combined with Auriol's retirement, confirmed the title in favour of the Spaniard.

Juha Kankkunen became only the second motorsportsman to be voted the Finnish Sportsman of the Year, after the 1982 F1 world champion Keke Rosberg.

In 1994, Juha Kankkunen started well with a runner-up spot in Monte Carlo and a win in Portugal.

Juha Kankkunen climbed back into the points by finishing ninth.

Halfway through the 1997 season, Juha Kankkunen joined the Ford Motor Company factory team to replace a disappointing Armin Schwarz.

Juha Kankkunen started well by leading his second event with the team, the Acropolis Rally in Greece, until having to drop behind Sainz due to a team order.

Juha Kankkunen went on to finish only seconds behind Sainz in Indonesia and New Zealand.

Juha Kankkunen stayed with Ford for the 1998 season with Belgian driver Bruno Thiry as his new teammate, after Sainz had opted to re-join Toyota.

Juha Kankkunen drove the car on the podium on seven occasions, and both Ford and Juha Kankkunen finished fourth in their respective championships.

Juha Kankkunen was prepared to accept a team order in the form of a deliberate 10-second time penalty, but with the TV cameras filming, Subaru team principal David Richards stated that there would be no team orders.

Subaru and Juha Kankkunen did not reach a deal for 2001, and Juha Kankkunen ended up competing in only one world rally during the season, the Rally Finland for the Hyundai factory team.

Juha Kankkunen retired after his Accent WRC incurred several technical problems.

Juha Kankkunen, a "Flying Finn" himself, was one of the shareholders in the now-bankrupt Flying Finn airline, the first low cost airline in Finland.

Juha Kankkunen was withdrawn from the event after the 10th stage.

In early 2007, Juha Kankkunen set a new world speed record on ice in his privately owned Bentley Continental GT on the frozen Gulf of Bothnia near Oulu, Finland.

Juha Kankkunen was joined by his long-time co-driver Juha Repo driving a Ford Focus RS WRC 08 for the Stobart M-Sport Ford Rally Team.

At just over 51 years old, Juha Kankkunen finished an impressive 8th, beating many WRC regulars.

Juha Kankkunen has a large car collection, which includes six Ferraris such as the F40 and the 288 GTO, as well as all the four rally cars with which he won the world championship.