Hans Laine (25 April 1945 – 30 May 1970) was a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

auto racer who tragically lost his life during training sessions at the Nürburgring.Porsche Road & Race
Porsche 917-021 The Fabulous Story , Porsche Road & Race
accessdate: 20. April 2019 He followed in the footsteps of his father, Holger Laine, who played a significant role in organizing the

Eläintarhan ajot Eläintarhan ajot (''Suomen Grand Prix'' in Finnish, ''Djurgårdsloppet'' in Swedish, ''Eltsun ajot'' in slang) or Suomen Suurajot (Finnish Grand Race) as it was called in 1932 was a motor racing competition arranged between years 1932 and 1963 ...

motor racing competition in Helsinki. Holger Laine worked as a car dealer in

Ruskeasuo Ruskeasuo (Brunakärr in Swedish, verbatim "Brown swamp") is a neighbourhood of Helsinki (Helsingfors in Swedish), about 3 kilometres north of the city center. With a population of 2670 (year 2005) Ruskeasuo is a rather quiet residential area. ...

, Helsinki, and his passion for motorsports had a profound impact on Hans Laine's career as an athlete. Hans Laine's racing career took off as a

rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event Sports ...

driver. He made a name for himself on the international stage when he and his uncle Henry participated in the

Acropolis Rally The Acropolis Rally of Greece ( el, Ράλλυ Ακρόπολις) is a rally competition that is part of the World Rally Championship (WRC). The rally is held on very dusty, rough, rocky and fast mountain roads in mainland Greece, usually duri ...

in 1967, where he achieved an impressive seventh-place ranking. In the 1969 Jyväskylä Grand Rally, held the lead position, with

Hannu Mikkola Hannu Olavi Mikkola (24 May 1942 − 25 February 2021) was a Finnish champion world rally driver. He was a seven-time winner of the 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland and won the RAC Rally in Great Britain four times. Career Mikkola's rally career s ...

in second place, before being forced to retire due to gearbox issues. That same year, Laine ventured into

sports car A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...

racing for the first time, competing at the Nürburgring with a

Porsche 906 The Porsche 906 or Carrera 6 is a street-legal racing car from Porsche. It was announced in January 1966 and 50 examples were subsequently produced, thus meeting the homologation requirements of the FIA's new Group 4 Sports Car category to the ...

alongside Sten Axelsson from

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. In 1970, Laine joined the AAW racing team, which was owned by Antti Aarnio-Wihuri. The team acquired a Porsche 908/02 sports car, and Laine's partner for the season was

Gijs van Lennep Gijsbert van Lennep (born 16 March 1942, in Aerdenhout, North Holland) is a Dutch racing driver who competed in eight Formula One races. However his main achievements were in sports car racing. He is a member of the untitled Dutch nobility. Ca ...

from

The Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. They enjoyed early success at the

BOAC 500 The Brands Hatch 1000 km was an endurance sports car event that was part of the World Sportscar Championship for varying years from 1967 until 1989. Originally a six-hour race running under the name BOAC 500, the event was eventually extended ...

Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently host ...

, UK, triumphing under challenging conditions. Their fruitful season continued with a fourth-place finish in the Italian

Targa Florio The Targa Florio was a public road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near the island's capital of Palermo. Founded in 1906, it was the oldest sports car racing event, part of the World Sportscar Championship between 1955 ...

, where they were driving the Porsche 908.Stuttcars.com
Porsche 908/03 Spyder ’70 – Stuttcars.com
accessdate: 20. April 2019 The AAW team entered two cars for the Nürburgring ADAC 1000 km race: a

Porsche 917 The Porsche 917 is a sports prototype race car developed by German manufacturer Porsche to exploit the regulations regarding the construction of 5-litre sports cars. Powered by a Type 912 flat-12 engine which was progressively enlarged from ...

, driven by

Pauli Toivonen Pauli Toivonen (22 August 1929 in Jyväskylä, Finland - 14 February 2005) was a Finnish rally car driver. He drove for Citroën, Lancia and Porsche and had many successes to his credit. Toivonen had two sons, Harri and Henri, both also racin ...

and Sten Axelsson, and a Porsche 908/02 driven by Hans Laine and Gijs van Lennep.During the qualifying session, Laine and van Lennep achieved a time of 8 minutes and 14 seconds, which would have secured them the eighth starting position. However, tragedy struck during free practice on the Dottinger Höhe straight. Laine's car experienced a loss of

downforce Downforce is a downwards lift force created by the aerodynamic features of a vehicle. If the vehicle is a car, the purpose of downforce is to allow the car to travel faster by increasing the vertical force on the tires, thus creating more grip. ...

when it hit a bump, causing it to crash and catch fire. Despite the rescue efforts of responders and fellow competitors, the fire could not be extinguished in time, and Laine succumbed to his injuries. Hans Laine had become a favorite of the people and his death was a shock to the public as well as to his rivals. Laine's funeral was held at

Espoo Cathedral Espoo Cathedral ( fi, Espoon tuomiokirkko, sv, Esbo domkyrka) is a medieval stone church in Espoo, Finland, and the seat of the Diocese of Espoo of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. The cathedral is located in the district of Espoon kesk ...

. His coffin was carried by Holger and Henry Laine, and, among others,

Timo Mäkinen Timo Mäkinen (18 March 1938 in Helsinki, Finland – 4 May 2017) was one of the original "Flying Finns" of motor rallying. He is best remembered for his hat-trick of wins in the RAC Rally and the 1000 Lakes Rally. Career Mäkinen's start in int ...

, Hannu Mikkola and Gijs van Lennep.

Racing results in track competitions

Racing results in rally competitions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laine, Hans Finnish rally drivers Finnish racing drivers 1945 births 1970 deaths Sportspeople from Helsinki

Racing results in track competitions

Racing results in rally competitions

Further reading

References