24 Facts About Leo Kinnunen

Leo Juhani "Leksa" Kinnunen was a Finnish racing driver, and the first Formula One driver from Finland.

Leo Kinnunen was the last driver to compete in Formula One using an open-face helmet.

Leo Kinnunen started his racing career on motorcycles, but switched to four wheels after receiving his driver's license in the early 1960s.

Leo Kinnunen quickly gained success in rallying, autocross and ice racing.

Leo Kinnunen finished runner-up in the Finnish Rally Championship and matched the points total of the winner Simo Lampinen.

Leo Kinnunen participated in the Finnish F3 Championship with an outdated Brabham in 1967, and a Titan which he drove to several victories in 1968, including one at Ahvenisto Race Circuit in which he managed to beat Swedish future Formula One star Ronnie Peterson.

In 1969, Leo Kinnunen made a complete switch to circuit racing and won the Nordic Challenge Cup, predecessor of the popular Interserie, with two wins and a second place at Keimola Motor Stadium after a close battle with Jochen Rindt.

Leo Kinnunen was then invited to test a Porsche 917 at Osterreichring and made such an impression that he was hired to partner Pedro Rodriguez in the World Sportscar Championship.

The car was built for Rodriguez' measurements and driving style, and after Leo Kinnunen managed to quickly outpace him with his own set-ups, he wasn't allowed to modify the car to suit his style anymore.

Leo Kinnunen then moved on to drive Porsche 917 for Finnish AAW Racing Team in the Interserie.

Leo Kinnunen won the championship in his debut year, despite withdrawing from the race at Norisring after seeing his former team-mate Rodriguez crash into the barriers and lose his life.

Leo Kinnunen eventually went on to win the championship three times in a row, in 1971,1972 and 1973, with a total of 18 heat and 11 outright wins.

Leo Kinnunen was close to moving to Formula One already for the 1971 season.

Leo Kinnunen turned down the offer and demanded a wage for his services, as he was a professional racer.

In 1974, Leo Kinnunen was looking for a job and John Surtees offered him one of his new Formula One cars, Surtees TS16, on lease.

Leo Kinnunen accepted the offer since the Surtees TS14 had done well the previous season.

The TS16 arrived in time for the race weekend, but Leo Kinnunen had never even sat in the car before.

When Leo Kinnunen took the car on track, its gearbox broke after three laps.

Leo Kinnunen later stated that a spark plug thread in the cylinder head had been stripped prior to the race.

Leo Kinnunen won both heats, and placed sixth overall in the championship just for the points from this race.

Leo Kinnunen was then hired by Martini Racing to drive a Porsche 908 Turbo in the World Sportscar Championship in 1975.

Leo Kinnunen quit his circuit racing career in 1977, but still raced in a few rally events in Finland, winning the 1979 Arctic Rally.

Leo Kinnunen remained in the sport in administration and lived in Turku.

Leo Kinnunen was asked to drive in the film Le Mans personally by actor and racing enthusiast Steve McQueen, who himself drove for Porsche in North America.