Timo Mäkinen (18 March 1938 in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, Finland – 4 May 2017) was one of the original " Flying Finns" of motor

rallying Rally is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (often called ''rally racing),'' navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed time or average speed. ...

. He is best remembered for his hat-trick of wins in the RAC Rally and the 1000 Lakes Rally.

Career

Timo Mäkinen - 1965 Rally Finland (cropped)

Mäkinen's start in international rallying came in the 1959 1000 Lakes Rally (now Rally Finland), in a Triumph TR3. He later drove works Austin-Healeys and

Mini The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...

s. In the big Healey, he finished fifth in the RAC Rally in 1963. Mäkinen drove Minis during most of 1964 but came second in the RAC Rally in a Healey, at the end of that year. He returned to the

Mini Cooper S The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...

in 1965, winning the

Monte Carlo Rally The Monte Carlo Rally or Rallye Monte-Carlo (officially ''Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo'') is a rallying event organised each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco. The rally now takes place along the French Riviera in Monaco and southeas ...

and the 1000 Lakes, and capturing a ''Coupe des Alpes'' at the Alpine Rally. He came second in the 1965 RAC Rally, again in a Healey. In 1967, Timo Mäkinen drove his Mini at a high speed through the famous Ouninpohja stage of the 1000 Lakes with the car's bonnet open. Leather straps holding the bonnet were not thoroughly tightened, and they opened after a few rough bounces. He tried to put his head out of the side window but his helmet was too big and he could only stick his head halfway out. So he had to skid the car sideways continuously to see the road ahead. Even so, Mäkinen was third fastest on that special stage and he also won the rally overall, for the third year in a row. In 1975, Mäkinen won the RAC for the third time in a row, at the wheel of a Ford Escort RS1800, preceded only by

Erik Carlsson Erik Hilding Carlsson (5 March 1929 – 27 May 2015) was a Swedish rally driver for Saab. He was nicknamed "''Carlsson på taket''" ("Carlsson on the roof" in reference to Astrid Lindgren's children's book character) as well as ''Mr. Saab'' ...

( Saab 96) in that feat. Mäkinen won the Finnish Rally Championship three times, the ice track championship six times and the saloon car race championship three times. In 1969, Mäkinen competed in the very first Round Britain Powerboat Race, which he won. In 1994, Mäkinen made a brief return as Mini celebrated the 30th anniversary of their 1964 Monte Carlo win by

Paddy Hopkirk Patrick Barron Hopkirk (14 April 1933 – 21 July 2022) was a rally driver from Northern Ireland. Hopkirk was appointed MBE in the 2016 New Year Honours list. In early 2016, Hopkirk became the IAM RoadSmart Mature Drivers Ambassador. Early ...

, who also participated in the event. Mäkinen retired on the second stage with a fuel system problem. In 2010, he was among the first four inductees into the Rally Hall of Fame, along with Carlsson, Hopkirk and

Rauno Aaltonen Rauno August Aaltonen (born 7 January 1938), also known as "The Rally Professor", is a Finnish former professional rally driver who competed in the World Rally Championship throughout the 1970s. Career Before WRC was established Aaltonen comp ...

. Mäkinen also traveled to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

to race Mini Coopers in the Bathurst 500 road race. He finished 6th outright and 3rd in class in

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in for a full term ...

co-driving with N.Irish rally driver

while finishing 7th outright and 3rd in class in 1967 with Australian driver John French.

Death

Timo Makinen died on May 4, 2017 of natural causes in Helsinki, Finland.

Career Results

Complete IMC results

Complete WRC results

Complete British Saloon Car Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

Complete Bathurst 500 results

International wins

* 1964 Tulip Rally (Mini Cooper S) * 1965

(Mini Cooper S) * 1965 1000 Lakes Rally (Mini Cooper S) * 1966 1000 Lakes Rally (Mini Cooper S) * 1966 Three Cities Rally (Mini Cooper S) * 1967 1000 Lakes Rally (Mini Cooper S) * 1972 Hong Kong Rally (Ford Escort RS1600) * 1973 Arctic Rally (Ford Escort RS1600) * 1973 1000 Lakes Rally (Ford Escort RS1600) * 1973 RAC Rally (Ford Escort RS1600) * 1974 RAC Rally (Ford Escort RS1600) * 1974 Rallye Côte d'Ivoire (Ford Escort RS1600) * 1975 RAC Rally (Ford Escort RS1800) * 1976 Rallye Côte d'Ivoire (Peugeot 504 V6)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Makinen, Timo 1938 births 2017 deaths Finnish rally drivers Sportspeople from Helsinki World Rally Championship drivers