Ahvenisto Race Circuit ( fi, Ahveniston moottorirata) is a

motor racing Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

circuit located in

Hämeenlinna Hämeenlinna (; sv, Tavastehus; krl, Hämienlinna; la, Tavastum or ''Croneburgum'') is a city and municipality of about inhabitants in the heart of the historical province of Tavastia and the modern province of Kanta-Häme in the south of F ...

, Finland. The circuit is long. It features a total elevation change of , its main straight is in length and its width varies between . Its elevation changes, short or sometimes inexistent run-off areas, and numerous fast bends have led to some to suggest that it is the hardest and most dangerous race track in Finland, or even one of the most challenging in the world.

History

The construction of Ahvenisto Race Circuit was finished on July 15, 1967. The same year, "I Hämeenlinnan ajot 1967" became the first international event to be held at the circuit. The

Formula Two Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009–2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name retur ...

race was won by

Jochen Rindt Jochen is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Jochen Asche, East German luger, competed during the 1960s *Jochen Böhler (born 1969), German historian, specializing in the history of World War II *Jochen Babock (born 1953), East G ...

in a

Brabham BT23 The Brabham BT23 was a formula racing car built by Brabham in 1967. Development The BT23 was designed as a Formula 2 racing car and most of the vehicles of this type were also used in this racing series. There was also a Tasman version and some ...

ahead of

Jack Brabham Sir John Arthur Brabham (2 April 1926 – 19 May 2014) was an Australian racing driver who was Formula One World Champion in , , and . He was a founder of the Brabham racing team and race car constructor that bore his name. Brabham was a R ...

's Brabham BT23C and

Jim Clark James Clark Jr. OBE (4 March 1936 – 7 April 1968) was a British Formula One racing driver from Scotland, who won two World Championships, in 1963 and 1965. A versatile driver, he competed in sports cars, touring cars and in the Indianapol ...

Lotus 48 The Lotus 48 was a Formula 2 racing car designed by Colin Chapman and Maurice Phillippe and powered by a Cosworth FVA engine. It won three races in the hands of Jim Clark but was generally uncompetitive against rival machinery. Ultimately ...

. The

Formula Three Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as F3, is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One driv ...

race saw a battle between Finnish and

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

drivers, with Sweden's

Freddy Kottulinsky Winfried Philippe Adalbert Karl Graf Kottulinsky Freiherr von Kottulin, better known as Freddy Kottulinsky (20 July 1932 – 4 May 2010), was a German-Swedish racing and rallying driver who won the Paris-Dakar Rally in 1980. He was born in M ...

taking the win. Other notable entrants included

Leo Kinnunen Leo Juhani "Leksa" Kinnunen (5 August 1943 – 26 July 2017) was a Finnish racing driver, and the first Formula One driver from Finland. Kinnunen won the Nordic Challenge Cup in 1969, the Interserie from 1971–1973, and helped Porsche in motors ...

Ronnie Peterson Bengt Ronnie Peterson (; 14 February 1944 – 11 September 1978) was a Swedish racing driver. Known by the nickname 'SuperSwede', he was a two-time runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship. Peterson began his motor racing car ...

and

Reine Wisell Reine Wisell (30 September 1941 – 20 March 2022) was a Swedish racing driver. He participated in 23 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 4 October 1970. He achieved 1 podium, and scored a total of 13 championship points. C ...

I Hämeenlinnan ajot 1967

Sports car and single-seater racing is however, not the only form of motorsport that Ahvenisto has hosted over the years. Notably, the 1960s and 1970s saw

road racing Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on publ ...

events such as the

FIM FIM may refer to: Organizations and companies * Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, the International Motorcycling Federation * Flint Institute of Music, in Michigan, United States * Fox Interactive Media, now News Corp. Digital Media * ...

Formula 750 Formula 750 was a FIM motorcycle road racing series based on a 750 cubic centimeter engine capacity. History The series began in 1971 as a collaboration between the American Motorcyclist Association and the Auto Cycle Union. The FIM adopte ...

held at the circuit, and between 1980 and 1999 a total of 18

FIA FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used. Fia or FIA may also refer to: People * Fia Backst ...

European Rallycross Championship European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

events were organized on a modified, mixed-surface version of the circuit, with some of the run-offs converted into gravel sections. In May 1984, what remains today the most severe helicopter accident in the history of Finland occurred at the track during a race. The pilot lost control of his helicopter while landing and crashed into an audience area, resulting in five spectators dead and 26 injured. The track reached its crowd record in 1985, when over 40,000 people arrived to watch ''Tähtien kisat'' ("The Race of Stars"), in which both

Formula 1 Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

and

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the FIA. There are separate championships for drivers, co-drivers, manufacturers and t ...

stars from around the world, including

Nelson Piquet Nelson Piquet Souto Maior (, born 17 August 1952) is a Brazilian retired racing driver and businessman. Since his retirement, Piquet, a three-time World Champion, has been ranked among the greatest Formula One (F1) drivers in various motorspo ...

Keke Rosberg Keijo Erik Rosberg (born 6 December 1948), known as "Keke" (), is a Finnish former racing driver and winner of the Formula One World Championship. He was the first Finnish driver to compete regularly in the series, as well as the first Finnish ...

Timo Salonen Timo Salonen (born October 8, 1951) is a Finnish former rally driver who won the 1985 World Rally Championship season for Peugeot. It was commented of him that he stood out from other drivers, because he was overweight, wore thick glasses and smok ...

and Michele Mouton, gathered at Ahvenisto to race in identical and near-standard BMW cars. Currently, the track mostly hosts races in national and Nordic championships and cups, including Finnish Touring Car Championship, NEZ Racing Championship, Nordic Supercar, Finnish Rallycross Championship and Historic Race Finland.

Lap records

While the official lap record stands at 1:13.226 and was achieved by Marko Nevalainen in a

car on September 16, 2000, the

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

managed an unofficial lap record of 1:11.000 during his 1984 show run in a Williams FW08C Formula 1 car. Meanwhile, two-time Formula One world champion

Mika Häkkinen Mika Pauli Häkkinen (; born 28 September 1968), nicknamed "The Flying Finn", is a Finnish former racing driver. He won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1998 and 1999, both times driving for McLaren. Häkkinen is one of three For ...

briefly held the lap record for the

Porsche Carrera Cup Porsche Carrera Cup (sometimes abbreviated PCC) is a number of one-make racing by Porsche premier series competed with, initially Porsche 911 Carrera Cup, then later Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. The cars are specifically built by Porsche for one-m ...

class, recording a time of 1:19.905 during his visit to Ahvenisto on May 29, 2004 in a

Porsche 911 GT3 The Porsche 911 GT3 is a high-performance homologation model of the Porsche 911 sports car. It is a line of high-performance models, which began with the 1973 911 Carrera RS. The GT3 has had a successful racing career in the one-make national ...

, but was surpassed by a 1:18.923 from Fredrik Ros the following year. As of May 2015, the fastest official race lap records at the Ahvenisto Race Circuit are listed as:

References

External links

*
Fansite
{{Formula 750 circuits Motorsport venues in Finland Sports venues completed in 1967 1967 establishments in Finland