Saab History

Per Eklund Finishes European Rally with BioPower

Posted on 09. Sep, 2008 by Ryan.

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.

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Per Eklund Holds 4th With BioPower Saab 9-3 In Sweden

Posted on 04. Aug, 2008 by Ryan.

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

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A Film By Saab Sweden on Erik Carlsson’s Rally History

Posted on 29. Jul, 2008 by Ryan.

 
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.
 

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Saab Rally Driver Profile – Erik Carlsson

Posted on 28. Jul, 2008 by Ryan.

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.

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Per Eklund Finishes 9th, Again With BioPower Saab 9-3

Posted on 06. Jul, 2008 by Ryan.

Saab Enthusiast, Mike Jager has recently reported on the status of legendary Saab rally driver, Per Eklund

According to Mike Jager, that in spite of some significant repair work that has delayed Per Eklund’s team, he has managed to at least get things up and running again. Here is the press release in Swedish:

Anyone want to fully translate to English?

Per Eklund var sist till presskonferensen. Men snabbast på banan.
– Allt kan vi inte ha gjort fel i alla fall, säger den 62-årige nestorn från Arvika.

Toppförare och hemmahopp i division I var samlade till torsdagens presskonferens med tillhörande uppvisningskörning (2×3 varv) pÃ¥ banan.”Men var är Per Eklund”, undrade alla.
[...]

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Per Eklund Finishes 9th With BioPower Saab 9-3 In Austria

Posted on 09. Jun, 2008 by Ryan.

Photo Credit: ERC24.com

Saab Enthusiast, Mike Jager has recently captured the results from legendary Saab rally driver Per Eklund who competed in EC Austria.

In the time practice, Eklund could drive a third time overall.

The first heat, It was Eklund with the best start in dry conditions. In the first lap he could hold of Eriksson, but not for long. Eriksson could set the fastest time overall, Eklund took the 9th position overall.

To check out the complete results, I urge you to visit Mike Jager’s page directly.

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Per Eklund Comes in 4th At Swedish Championship

Posted on 23. May, 2008 by Ryan.

Photo Credit: (c)Mikael Persson

Legendary Saab Rally Champion, Per Eklund, comes in at 4th place overall at the recent Swedish Championship.

Below are the details thanks to Saab Enthusiast, Mike Jager

Stig-Olov Walfridsson, who was on the innerside as pole sitter Eriksson opted for the outerside of the grid, went into the lead when the green(!) light was showen ahead of Eklund and Hedström. Eriksson faced some issues during the start and joined the field in sixth position. Already in the first corner Eklund went off the track as Peter Hedström was too enthousiastic to try to gain second place in the race. Eventually Hedström was blackflagged by the Clerk of the Course for pushing on Eklund. Eklund on the other hand lost a lot of time with this incident but continued racing and joined the track again in last position. By the end of the first lap Walfridsson was leading the field ahead of Tony Croon, Eriksson, who worked his way up to third place after missing the start, Jernberg and Eklund. During the second lap, Walfridsson who was chased by Croon and Eriksson slowed down. Croon was forced to brake and Eriksson hit Croon by accident. Eriksson damaged the turbo and intercooler of the Fiesta and his final was reduced to driving the remaining laps at a very low speed. By the end of that second lap Walfridsson went to the startgrid again. “I noticed a red flag and i supposed the race was stopped. Therefore I went back to the startgrid,” Walfridsson declared afterwards. “Yeah, i also saw a red flag,” said Croon. “I was forced to brake behind Walfridsson, but then i realised that the race still was going on, so I continued,” he said. Racing went on with Croon in the lead while Jernberg climbed to second place. Jernberg went into the joker lap in the penultimate lap while Croon passed through it in the last lap. However, the joker lap didn’t change the positions anymore. Croon came in first and won surprisingly his first Division one event of his career. Jernberg, with a puncture (back left), was second while Eriksson and Eklund finished the race on places three and four.

Report A-final by http://www.rallycross.com/

Results:

1. Tony Croon Ford Focus 30

2. Michael Jernberg Skoda Fabia 27

3. Andréas Eriksson Ford Fiesta ST 25+3

4. Per Eklund SAAB 9-3 ASS 23

5. Stig-Olov Walfridsson Renault Clio RS 22+2

6. Peter Hedström Ford Fiesta ST 21+1

7. George Tracey Peugeot 307 CC 20

8. Jakob Teil Hansen Ford Escort RS 19

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Motorsport News Interviews Per Eklund

Posted on 10. Mar, 2008 by Ryan.

Per Eklund, Saab Automobile’s current rally champion, has recently been interviewed in Motorsport News out of the United Kingdom.

I highly suggest you read this interview below, it covers a great deal of his early beginnings in the rally scene.

The Great Per-Suader

Per Eklund is 61, but still has plenty of passion for the sport

The British and European rallycross championships need a father figure like David Richards or Bernie Ecclestone. That is the opinion of Swedish motorsport legend Per Eklund. The 1999 European rallycross champion is entitled to voice his opinions after contesting more than 1500 events in his illustrious 43-year career. His tally includes 83 world rally championship starts and 20 Swedish national titles in rallying, rallycross and hillclimbs.
[...]

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