Photo Credit: Saab Automobile AB

Peter Bäckström, curator of the Saab Car Museum, has for the first time, posted a press release this time celebrating Rally Legend Erik “On The Roof” Carlsson’s 80th Birthday!

Happy Birthday or in Swedish (Bra Födelsedagen) Erik!

Here is the press release below:

2009-03-02

Rally Legend Erik Carlsson Celebrates 80th Birthday

Erik ‘Mr Saab’ Carlsson is 80 years young this week (March 5) and still employed by Saab, making him the Swedish manufacturer’s longest-serving employee.

As international rallying’s first real superstar, Erik’s career with Saab spans six decades and today he remains actively involved as an international ambassador for the brand, attending Saab launches, dealer and customer events around the world.

The names of Carlsson and Saab are inextricably bound together. Born and bred in Saab’s home town of Trollhättan, Erik first sprang to fame in the early Sixties, as ‘the big man in a little car’, taking two back-to-back victories in the Monte Carlo Rally (1962-63) and a hat-trick of wins in the British RAC Rally (1960-62). His ‘David and Goliath’ exploits against more powerful cars were the springboard for launching Saab as a global car brand.

As a young boy, Erik used to stand on the perimeter of the local airfield in Trollhättan and admire the aerobatics of Saab aircraft flying overhead. Little did he know that Saab would soon start manufacturing cars, and that he would play such a key role in promoting its products.

He bought his first car, a second-hand Saab 92, in 1955 and it was a development of this car, the Saab 96, which took him to his most famous rally victories. Over the years, he has driven thousands of Saab cars and been involved in the development and testing of many of the models. There is probably no man on the planet who has driven more Saabs than Erik.

Read more »

Photo Credit: Eklund Racing

Per Eklund, longtime Saab rally driver, who said he was determined to rally again in 2009 earlier this month, is now reported to be engaged in the Nordic RallyCross.

According to the Per Eklund fan site run by enthusiast, Mike Jager, this event will be held on four tracks, crossing Norway and Sweden beginning on May 16th and ending on August 22nd.

For more information, please visit the site directly.

Here is the calendar below of the dates:

The racing calender 2009:

1. May 16, Arvika, Sweden
2. June 20, Trondheim Norway
3. July 25, Strägnäs Sweden
4. August 22, Lyngas

For the latest news, see the official homepage: http://www.rallycrossnorden.se/

Photo Credit: Per Eklund / Trollspeed

Per Eklund, 62, has been rallying since 1968, is determined to rally again this year according to Mike Jager’s website. If he is able to get the financing this year during the economic crisis, it will mark his 41st anniversary as a rally driver.

This past fall, Per received an award from the Saab Club of the Netherlands.

As Saab Automobile announced that they would be returning to racing in 2009, I wonder if they would be the official sponsor for Per Eklund once again, or if he would need to find funding elsewhere, because currently, Jens Edman, is the official driver in that officially sanctioned program.

This article goes on to say that Per Eklund needs to have something substantial because he plans on attending the Nordic Cup which begins as soon as May 16 in Arvika, Sweden. As it is now, he says that being a rally driver is almost akin to NHL hockey plays paying just for the opportunity to play in the sport, which is complelely wrong.

I wish him well in this pursuit, I hope for him and Saab Automobile, get all of the funding they need.

Photo Credit: Saab Club Netherlands Pictured L-to-R (Esther Smith, Per Eklund and Caroline de Greeff

The Saab Club of the Netherlands has created the “Per Eklund Trophy” this year, which was given to the best Saab Rally Driver in four events this past year.

According to Mike Jager’s website, this club’s historic rally team has added this trophy to their annual rally which has been given to Henri Dommerholt and Jens HÃ¥kansson, with a Saab 96 TT Monte Carlo from 1965.

Results Per Eklund trophy 2008 :

1. Henri Dommerholt and Jens HÃ¥kansson, Saab 96 tt, 34 points
2. Kjel Postema and Nittert Postema, 28 points
3. Michiel Klinge and Jurryt Jannink, 22 points
René Hut and Cobi ten Wolde, 22 points

Photo Credit: Mr. Saab / Saab Automobile

It is my sad duty to report that Patt Moss, legendary rally driver and wife of Erik “On the Roof” Carlsson has passed away on Thursday, October 16th at the age of 73.

Here is a well written report of her incredible life in the U.K. Telegraph.

Please let’s pause and give respects to her passing and wish Erik Carlsson and family, our deepest condolences.

Pat Moss, who died on Thursday aged 73, became one of Britain’s leading horsewomen and factory-team rally drivers, winning the European Ladies’ Rally Championship five times, the Coupe des Dames on the Monte Carlo Rally eight times, and scoring the Mini Cooper’s first big rally victory in the Tulip Rally of 1962.

Taught to drive at the age of 11 by her elder brother, the great motor racing driver Stirling, in the family Jeep, Pat Moss was a confident driver of Land Rovers on the family farm by the time she was 17, when her father treated her to her first car, a 1936 Morris Ten.

She enjoyed factory drives with all the major teams of the day for 20 years, starting in 1954 in a local car club rally near her home at Tring, Hertfordshire, in her own Triumph TR2, accompanied by her groom, Ann Riley. They won the event, the pair being the only crew to find both a worm and a feather.

With the success of this treasure-hunt behind her, she offered her services to all the major car companies – she badly wanted to drive for Triumph, as the two-litre TR2 was winning all the club rallies of the day, and was a major contender on the international scene.

Read more »

Photo Credit: (c) http://www.erc24.com

Per Eklund, legendary Saab rally driver has completed the entire 2008 European RallyCross season.

Eklund finished 6th overall at the last race of the season.

For more information on this race, please visit Mike Jager’s website directly.

Photo Credit: Mike Jager

According to Saab Enthusiast Mike Jager, legendary Saab rally driver, Per Eklund finished 9th overall at the recent European Rallycross last weekend in the Czech Republic.

For more details including photos and even a video taken behind Per Eklund’s Saab 9-3 BioiPower on the track, please visit Mike Jager’s website.

Photo Credit: Per Eklund / Trollspeed

Per Eklund, legendary Swedish Saab rally driver, has made it to 4th place in the Strägnäs, Sweden rally event.

Here is the news thanks to Per Eklund Saab Enthusiast, Mike Jager .

After almost 3 weeks after Höljes, the 4th race fr the Swedish championship rallycross was held at the Strägnäs Motorstadion.

Eklund drove in the qualification heat a 5th, a 3rd and a 7th time. The last qualification he had a puncture. The times equals a 4th in the A-final.

In the A-final, Norwegian Sverre Isachsen started the A final from pole ahead of Michael Jernberg who set fastest time in the second heat. Andréas Eriksson and Per Eklund qualified third and fourth

Hedström then made a remarkable start and grabbed the lead of the A final away from Isachsen with Eklund initially running third. Eriksson passed Eklund to gain a podium finish, Eklund holding on to fourth place ahead of Croon and Jernberg, the latter retaining the championship lead ahead of Eriksson.

Results:

1. Peter Hedström, Ford Fiesta ST, 30
2. Sverre Isachsen, Ford Focus ST, 27+3
3. Andréas Eriksson, Ford Fiesta ST, 25+1
4. Per Eklund, SAAB 9-3 SportSedan, 23
5. Tony Croon, Ford Focus, 22
6. Michael Jernberg, Å koda Fabia, 21+2
7. Stig-Olov Walfridsson, Renault Clio, 20
8. Stefan Jansson, Hyundai Accent, 19
9. Silvo Viitanen, Ford Focus, 18
10. Guttorm Lindefjell, Å koda Fabia, 17
11. Frode Holte, Volvo S40, 10

 
I have just received another film from the former New England Saab Association secretary, this time a bit longer than the previous film .
 
This film, complete with narration and produced by SAAB SWEDEN in 1964, features Erik Carlsson in the entire Monte-Carlo Rally, footage of the SAAB ANA testing and competition facility as well as brief clips of the Safari, Tulip, Polish and RAC Rallies.
 
Erik Carlsson as well as his co-pilot, Gunnar Palm, were both present at the 2007 60th Anniversary Saab Festival dinner that took place in Trollhättan, Sweden last summer.
 
If you are interested Saab’s world rewknowned rally legend Erik Carlsson or Saab Rallying in general, please sit back, relax and enjoy the nearly 45 minutes worth of vintage rally footage in none other than the legendary SAAB 96.
 

Erik “pÃ¥ taket” Carlsson, or “pÃ¥ taket” in Swedish meaning “on the roof”, was born March 5, 1929 in Trollhättan, Sweden.

The nickname On the roof, apparently originated by from the children’s book, “Karlsson pÃ¥ taket” by Astrid Lindgren. In this book,the Karlsson character lived on the roof of an apartment building. This “on the roof” name was given to Erik Carlsson because he had the infrequent habit of rolling his Saab rally car on its roof.

Erik joined SAAB as a rally driver, just after the first SAAB 92 model was produced and participated in his first rally with it, the Rikspokalen in 1955. Carlsson, married to Pat Moss on March 3rd, 1963, began a relationship that expanded well beyond the homefront. Patt Moss, a younger sister of legendary rally driver, Stirling Moss eventually became Erik Carlsson’s co-pilot through most of his successful rally career.

The early SAABs that Erik Carlsson drove were significantly underutilized two-stroke vehicles that required the driver to keep the high revolutions up while moving, which meant high speeds at all times. When driving these “strokers” at high speeds at all times, Erik Carlsson developed what was called “left foot” braking where you use your left foot to brake while in the same instance, your right foot to maintain the speed at all times.

While Erik Carlsson maintained 1st place in most of his rally circuits, the most notable rally he participated in was the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally where he was victorious.

The year following this victory, both Erik Carlsson and Pat Moss wrote a book called “The Art & Technique of Driving”.

The most recent book on Erik Carlsson’s career was published in 1999, titled “Mr. Saab”. The Mr Saab title was given to Erik “On the Roof” Carlsson by Saab Automobile as he ended his rally career to continue a public relations career for the Swedish car company.

Today, Erik Carlsson has been known to make appearances at various Saab Festivals and Saab Conventions all over the world, and with any luck maybe you will get a chance to meet this legendary Saab rally champion to thank him for all of the recognition, attention and history he has brought to the Saab Automobile brand ever since.

I leave you with his list of lifetime rally achievements.