Per Torsten Eklund (born 21 June 1946) is a

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 ...

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 Sport ...

and Rallycross driver. His nickname is "Pekka". In rallying he never made it to the very top but he has been very successful in his later rallycross career.

Biography

Saab works drive

After his education as a

driving instructor A driving instructor is a person who is hired by a new driver who is learning how to improve their skills - often for an upcoming practical test. Different countries have different rules regarding permits and other regulations. Driving instructors ...

, together with later teammate

Stig Blomqvist Stig Lennart Blomqvist (born 29 July 1946) is a retired Swedish rally driver. He made his international breakthrough in 1971. Driving an Audi Quattro for the Audi factory team, Blomqvist won the World Rally Championship drivers' title in 1984 an ...

at the ''Kvinnersta Folkhögskola'' outside of

Örebro Örebro ( , ) is the sixth-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of the Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers inland along the small river Svartån, and ...

, Eklund was a

Saab Saab or SAAB may refer to: Brands and enterprises * Saab Group, a Swedish aerospace and defence company, formerly known as SAAB, and later as Saab AB ** Datasaab, a former computer company, started as spin off from Saab AB * Saab Automobile, a fo ...

factory driver from 1970 till 1979. In 1982, however, the year after Saab discontinued its official rallying involvement, he achieved the brand's last top position in a World Championship event, finishing fourth in the Swedish Rally driving a privately entered, Clarion-sponsored

Saab 99 The Saab 99 is a car which was produced by Saab from 1968 to 1984; their first foray into a larger class than the 96. While considered a large family car in Scandinavia, it was marketed as a niche compact executive car in most other markets. It ...

Turbo. He was always proud of that result, since the competition consisted mostly of four-wheel-drive cars, and the event was run in snow. This signified the end of the rally era at Saab, even though Eklund went on to drive an officially-entered Saab 900 Turbo in the British round of the 1997 World Rally Championship. He was Swedish Champion in 1978, beating his team mate

. In 1982 Eklund finished 5th overall of the

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 Backs ...

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 ...

for Drivers.

Rallycross

In 1971 Eklund started driving Rallycross at

Valkenswaard Valkenswaard () is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands, in the Metropoolregio Eindhoven of the province of North Brabant. The municipality had a population of in and spans an area of of which is water. The name Valkenswaard ...

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 ...

, and some months later he won the first ever Swedish Rallycross event at

Hedemora Hedemora is a town in Dalarna County and the seat of Hedemora Municipality, Sweden, with 7,273 inhabitants in 2010. Despite its small population, Hedemora is for historical reasons normally still referred to as a ''city'', and as such the oldes ...

, on 17 October 1971. He first drove a Saab 96 V4, in the early years of the Embassy/ERA European Rallycross Championship as teammate to his compatriot

. He was always prominent, became 7th overall respectively 4th overall in the first and second European Championship series of 1973 and 1974, but his greatest successes have been in later times. From the early 1990s till 2009, his last full season, he was one of the fastest competitors of the FIA European Championship for Rallycross Drivers. In 1999 Eklund claimed his first and only European title for Drivers of the Division 1, nowadays known as the SuperCars category. eklund 2006

Toyota

Eklund joined

Toyota Team Europe Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe GmbH (TGR-E), formerly Andersson Motorsport GmbH and Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG), is a fully-owned and controlled entity of Toyota Motor Corporation, based in Cologne, Germany, which provides motorsport and automotiv ...

in 1980, and gave the 2nd generation Celica's one of its best WRC result by finished second in the 1981

Rallye Côte d'Ivoire The Rallye Côte d'Ivoire, perhaps better known as the Rallye Bandama as it was originally called, or the Ivory Coast Rally is a rally race held annually in Côte d'Ivoire in Africa. In common with other races on the continent, it is known for its ...

. He drove the

Group B Group B was a set of regulations for grand touring (GT) vehicles used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World Sportscar ...

Celica Twincam Turbo TA64 in selected

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

and

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

events. Eklund also rallied

Group A Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived vehicles intended for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles ...

Corolla AE86 and Celica Supra 2800 GT in the

British Rally Championship The British Rally Championship is a rallying series based in the United Kingdom. The first championship was run in 1958 and it has been licensed by the Motor Sports Association (MSA) since 1999. MSA has opted not to run the series in 2015, ins ...

Accomplishments

*FIA European Rallycross Champion 1999 with Saab 9-3 T16 4x4 *2nd overall in the 1998, 2002 and 2003 FIA European Rallycross Championships *3rd overall in the 2000 and 2001 FIA European Rallycross Championships *Swedish Rallycross Champion 2004

Best international rally results (top three results only)

1969

* Norwegian Winter Rally (N), 1st, Saab 96 V4, co-driver ?

1971

* Norwegian Winter Rally (N), 1st, Saab 96 V4, co-driver ?

1972

* Firestone Rally (E), 1st, Saab 96 V4, co-driver ? * Dutch Texaco Rally (NL), 1st, Saab 96 V4, co-driver ? * Österreichische Alpenfahrt (A), 3rd, Saab 96 V4, co-driver Bo Reinicke

1973

* Swedish Rally (S), 2nd, Saab 96 V4, co-driver Rolf Carlsson * Österreichische Alpenfahrt (A), 3rd, Saab 96 V4, co-driver Bo Reinicke

1976

* Swedish Rally (S), 1st, Saab 96 V4, co-driver Björn Cederberg

1980

* 1000 Lakes Rally (FIN), 3rd, Triumph TR7 V8, co-driver Hans Sylvan

1981

* Ivory Coast Rally (CI), 2nd, Toyota Celica 2000GT, co-driver Ragnar Spjuth

1982

* Portugal Rally (P), 2nd, Toyota Celica 2000GT, co-driver Ragnar Spjuth * Rally of New Zealand (NZ), 2nd, Toyota Celica 2000GT, co-driver Ragnar Spjuth * Ivory Coast Rally (CI), 2nd, Toyota Celica 2000GT, co-driver Ragnar Spjuth

1983

* Ivory Coast Rally (CI), 3rd, Toyota Celica TCT, co-driver Ragnar Spjuth

1984

* Swedish Rally (S), 3rd, Audi quattro A2, co-driver Dave Whittock * RAC Rally (GB), 3rd, Toyota Celica TCT, co-driver Dave Whittock

1988

* Safari Rally (EAK), 3rd, Nissan 200SX, co-driver Dave Whittock

1989

* Swedish Rally (S), 2nd, Lancia Delta HF integrale, co-driver Dave Whittock

1991

* Hunsrück-Rallye (D), 3rd, Lancia Delta HF integrale 16V, co-driver Jan-Olof Bohlin

Pikes Peak

Pikes Peak International Hill Climb The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC), also known as The Race to the Clouds, is an annual automobile hillclimb to the summit of Pikes Peak in Colorado, USA. The track measures and has over 156 turns, climbing from the sta ...

(USA): In 2000 Per Eklund achieved a record time of 11:21.58 in his Saab 9-3 Viggen 4x4 while racing the Pikes Peak Open category that was valid until being bettered in 2012 by Frenchman

Romain Dumas Romain Dumas (born 14 December 1977) is a French racing driver and a Porsche factory driver. He first started out in karting and single-seater before becoming an expert driver in endurance racing, GT and sport-prototype. He has won the greatest r ...

. * In 2002 Per Eklund took the Unlimited Class Victory. Eklund and his Saab's performance defeated the second place Unlimited Class entry and long-time Swedish rival

by over 34 seconds with a time of 11:13.20.

Trivia

''En får ente ge sej'' (Värmland dialect for "One must not give up") is Eklund's motto and the title of his biography. By Per Eklund & Anders Tunberg, 210 pages, Sportförlaget 1998,

Racing record

Complete WRC results

Complete FIA European Rallycross Cup results

Complete FIA European Rallycross Championship results

Division 2

Division 1^*

^* ''Division 2 was rebranded as Division 1 in 1997.

Supercar

Complete FIA World Rallycross Championship results

Supercar

External links

Per Eklund fan page

Rallybase profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eklund, Per 1946 births Living people People from Eda Municipality Swedish rally drivers World Rally Championship drivers European Rallycross Championship drivers World Rallycross Championship drivers Sportspeople from Värmland County Audi Sport drivers Nismo drivers

Biography

Saab works drive

Rallycross

Toyota

Accomplishments

Best international rally results (top three results only)

1969

1971

1972

1973

1976

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1988

1989

1991

Pikes Peak

Trivia

Racing record

Complete WRC results

Complete FIA European Rallycross Cup results

Complete FIA European Rallycross Championship results

Division 2

Division 1*

Supercar

Complete FIA World Rallycross Championship results

Supercar

External links

Division 1^*