The Flying Finns Trivia Quiz

Answer: Timo Makinen

Driving a Ford Escort RS1600, Timo Makinen was the first Finnish driver to win a WRC event, taking victory at the 1000 Lakes Rally, which was held in Finland. Finnish drivers actually finished 1-2-3-4-5-6-7 in the first official WRC event in Finland. Makinen would win four WRC events between 1973-1975, winning the RAC Rally in the UK in 1973, 1974 and 1975.

Answer: Markku Alen

In 1977, the WRC started to award the FIA Cup for Rally Drivers, which was won by Markku Alen in 1978, winning the Rallye de Portugal, the 1000 Lakes Rally and the Rallye Sanremo. Compatriots Ari Vatanen and Hannu Mikkola also won rallies during the 1978 season.

Answer: 4

Kankkunen set numerous records during his time in the WRC, though most have since been equalled or beaten. In addition to winning the WRC four times (1985, 1986, 1991, 1993), he won 23 rallies in total, his first at the 1985 Safari Rally, his last at the 1999 Rally of Finland.

He also won rallies for a number of different manufacturers, taking cars such as the Toyota Celica, the Peugeot 205 Turbo, the Lancia Delta HF and Lancia Delta Integrale, and the Subaru Impreza to a number of victories. His last rally was at the 2010 Rally Finland at the age of 51.

Answer: 1982

Rosberg made his Formula One debut in 1978, splitting driving duties between the Theodore and ATS Racing Teams. He spent half a season with Wolf Racing in 1979 before joining the Fittipaldi team in 1980, scoring a 3rd place on his debut for the team. 1981 was far more difficult, with numerous DNQs (Did Not Qualify) but he was given a life line by the Williams team for 1982 after the surprise retirement of Alan Jones.

In addition to his first victory at the Swiss Grand Prix (held in France!) he finished 2nd three times, 3rd twice, with one 4th and two 5th places helping him take the Championship at the final race. Rosberg would win four more races before he retired from Formula One at the end of the 1986 season.

Answer: Lotus

Winning the 1990 British Formula 3 Championship, dominating the season with 9 wins in 17 races. With backing from Marlboro, he first tested with Benetton but then chose to sign with Lotus for the 1991 season. The Lotus 102B he was saddled with was old and noncompetitive, scoring only two points. 1992 was better once the Lotus 107 was introduced at the Monaco Grand Prix, finishing in the points five times, including two fourth places in France and Hungary. For 1993, Hakkinen had actually signed a contract with Williams, but due to a dispute, he ended up signing for McLaren, originally to race, though ended up as the test driver once Ayrton Senna decided to race for the team.

Hakkinen had to wait until the Portuguese Grand Prix to make his debut, outqualifying Senna and then finish in 3rd place at the Japanese Grand Prix, his first podium in Formula One. It took until the end of 1997 for him to win his first race, this after being critically injured during an accident in qualifying for the 1995 Australian Grand Prix. He won 8 races on his way to the title in 1998, 5 more on the way to his second title in 1999, and 4 more on his way to finishing runner-up to Michael Schumacher in 2000. He retired at the end of 2001 after 2 more victories, racing with moderate success in the DTM between 2005-2007, announcing his complete retirement from motorsport at the end of 2007.

Answer: Kimi Raikkonen

An undoubted talent, blisteringly fast, a multiple race winner and World Champion to boot, Raikkonen has also developed a reputation for being particularly anti-establishment regarding the trappings of the sport.

He is known for answering most interview questions bluntly, keeping his answers short and monosyllabic. It was his former boss, Ron Dennis, who first coined the nickname of 'Iceman', thanks to his cool temperament when behind the wheel of the car and in regards to his relationship with others drivers, Raikkonen well known for being rather solitary compared to other drivers. However, his persona won him legions of fans in addition to his driving.

Answer: 250cc

After making his debut in the 1968 Finnish Grand Prix, riding a 125cc Puch, Saarinen joined the World Championship full-time in 1970, riding a 250cc Yamaha to 4th place thanks to two 3rd places and consistent finishing elsewhere. He won his first race in the 350cc class in 1971, at the Czech Grand Prix, winning another 350cc race in Italy, and his first 250cc race at the season ending Spanish Grand Prix.

He won the 250cc title in 1972, thanks to four wins and five other podiums, and second in the 350c title chase, winning three times and taking four other podiums. 1973 was looking just as successful, with 3 wins in the 250cc class, and 2 wins in the 350cc, before being tragically killed at the 1973 Nations Grand Prix, held at Monza, while racing a Yamaha in the 250cc class.

Answer: JJ Lehto

JJ Lehto, born Jyrki Juhani Jarvilehto, made his Le Mans debut in 1990, driving a Porsche 962 that retired after 181 laps. He returned in 1991 at the wheel of another Porsche, finishing 9th overall.

Lehto would then focus on his Formula One commitments between 1992 and 1994 before returning to Le Mans in 1995, partnering Yannick Dalmas and Masanori Sekiya behind the wheel of a McLaren F1 GTR to take victory. He would take a further outright victory in 2005 with Tom Kristensen and Marco Werner behind the wheel of an Audi R8. He was also the American Le Mans Series champion in 2004, taking six wins in nine races, finishing second in the other three.

Answer: Hannu Mikkola and Marcus Gronholm

Hannu Mikkola (1968-70, 1974-75, 1982-83) and Marcus Gronholm (2000-02, 2004-07) have both won the Rally of Finland 7 times. Markku Alen has 6 wins, Timo Makinen has 4 wins while Juha Kankkunen has only 3 wins. Tomi Makinen holds the record for most consecutive victories at 5 between 1994-98.

Scandinavian drivers dominate the event, the first non-Scandinavian to win being Carlos Sainz in 1990. Only since 2008 has more non-Scandinavian drivers won than not, Frenchman Sebastian Loeb being the most successful with three wins.

Answer: Formula One Powerboat Championship

Proving that Flying Finns can go fast without any wheels on their racing machine, Sami Selio is a multiple race winner and two time World Champion in the Formula 1 Powerboat Championship, taking the title in 2007 and 2010, with 2nd place overall in 2005 and 2008, and 3rd place overall in 2009 and 2016.