Production
Saab Rally Driver Profile – Simo Lampinen
May 29th, 2007, 2:06am by Ryan - 0 Comments
Photo Credit: Saab Automobile
Simo Lampinen, a native of Finland, has had a lengthy history as a SAAB rally driver. His contributions to the SAAB marque have been numerous and it is appropriate to provide a summary of his experiences and collaboration with Saab Automobile over the years. I have provided a writeup and rally history done by the kind folks at the Flying Finns that provides this important information.
Simo Lampinen overcame what was considered a huge obstacle to a rally driver; he contracted polio at a young age. He survived the childhood disease, but it left him with a very pronounced limp. Authorities granted him a driving license at age 17 so he could get to and from school more easily, but he quickly went on to acquire a competition license. He won his first major rally, Finland’s Rally of the 1000 Lakes, in 1963 when he was only 20. He went on to win the Finnish Rally Championship that year. Lampinen repeated that accomplishment in 1964, and won the Ice Racing Championship in 1965.
Lampinen began by driving SAABs, whose front-wheel drive and two-cycle engines were well suited to the winter conditions in Scandinavia. He became part of the Finnish Saab Team, the cars differentiated from the Swedish Saab Team’s red machines by their white and blue paint schemes.
Lampinen was wooed to Lancia in 1970, and won twice that year in the Fulvia HF. He returned to driving for Saab in 1972 and won the 1000 Lakes for the third time.
In recent years, Lampinen has been active as Clerk of Course for the 1000 Lakes Rally, now known as the Rally of Finland. In 1996, he was one of the instructors for the Saab 900 Talladega Challenge, an event at Talladega Speedway in Alabama in which Saab 900s were used to set several International speed records. He also assisted Saab in their assault on Pikes Peak in 2000, when Per Eklund drove to victory in a specially prepared Saab 9-3 Viggen.
Source: Flying Finns
| Year | Rally | Finish | Car | Co-driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | 1000 Lakes | 1st | Saab 96 | Jyrki Ahava |
| 1963 | Finnish Rally Champion – Saab 96 | |||
| 1964 | 1000 Lakes | 1st | Saab 96 | Jyrki Ahava |
| 1965 | 1000 Lakes | 4th | Saab 96 | Jyrki Ahava |
| 1965 | Finnish Ice Racing Champion – Saab 96 | |||
| 1966 | Swedish | 2nd | Saab 96 | |
| 1000 Lakes | 5th | Saab 96 | Klaus Sohlberg | |
| 1967 | Swedish | 2nd | Saab 96-V4 | |
| 1000 Lakes | 2nd | Saab 96-V4 | Klaus Sohlberg | |
| 1968 | RAC | 1st | Saab 96-V4 | |
| Czech | 2nd | Saab 96-V4 | ||
| 1000 Lakes | 2nd | Saab 96-V4 | Klaus Sohlberg | |
| 1969 | Swedish | 2nd | Saab 96-V4 | |
| Austrian Alpine | 4th | Saab 96-V4 | ||
| Czech | 4th | Saab 96-V4 | ||
| 1000 Lakes | 2nd | Saab 96-V4 | Klaus Sohlberg | |
| 1970 | 1000 Lakes | 3rd | Lancia Fulvia | John Davenport |
| TAP (Portugal) | 1st | Lancia Fulvia | ||
| 1000 Minutes | 1st | Lancia Fulvia | ||
| 1971 | Monte Carlo | 6th | Lancia Fulvia HF | John Davenport |
| Acropolis | 3rd | Lancia Fulvia | ||
| RAC (Britain) | 6th | Lancia Fulvia | ||
| TAP (Portugal) | 2nd | Lancia Fulvia | ||
| 1972 | Monte Carlo | 4th | Lancia Fulvia HF | Solve Andreasson |
| Maroc | 1st | Lancia Fulvia | ||
| Acropolis | 2nd | Lancia Fulvia | ||
| 1000 Lakes | 1st | Saab 96-V4 | Klaus Sohlberg | |
| RAC (Britain) | 5th | Lancia Fulvia | ||
| 1973 | 1000 Lakes | 4th | Saab 96-V4 | John Davenport (GB) |
| Zlatni Piassatzi | 2nd | Lancia Fulvia | ||
| 1974 | 1000 Lakes | 5th | Saab 96-V4 | Juhani Markkanen |
| Rideau Lakes (CDN) | 2nd | Lancia Beta Coupe | John Davenport | |
| P.O.R. (USA) | 4th | Lancia Beta Coupe | John Davenport | |
| 1975 | Swedish | 3rd | Lancia Beta Coupe | Solve Andreasson (S) |
| 1000 Lakes | 2nd | Saab 96-V4 | Juhani Markkanen | |
| Arctic (SF) | 1st | Saab 96-V4 | ||
| Hanki (SF) | 1st | Saab 96-V4 | ||
| 1976 | Swedish | 4th | Lancia Stratos | Arne Hertz (S) |
| Safari | 5th | Peugeot 504 | Arne Hertz | |
| 1000 Lakes | 5th | Saab 96-V4 | Juhani Markkanen | |
| Maroc | 2nd | Peugeot 504 | Atso Aho | |
| 1977 | Swedish | 4th | Fiat Abarth 131 Rallye | Solve Andreasson |
| South Pacific | 4th | Fiat Abarth 131 Rallye | Solve Andreasson | |
| Acropolis | 4th | Fiat Abarth 131 Rallye | Solve Andreasson | |
| 1978 | Safari | 5th | Peugeot 504 Coupe V6 | Henry Liddon (GB) |
| 1000 Lakes | 5th | Fiat Abarth 131 | Juhani Markkanen | |
| 1979 | RAC | 17th | Triumph TR7 V8 | |
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