The 1997 Rally Finland (also known as the 47th Neste Rally Finland) event was held from 29 to 31 August 1997.[1] The rally took place in Jyväskylä, Finland.[2] The winner was Tommi Makinen, with Seppo Harjanne as co-driver, driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 4.

Overview

The total length of the race was 1171.79km, which included road sections.[3] The total liaison distance was 790.24km and the total special stage distance was 381.55km over gravel.[4]

AKK Sports, the marketing company of the Finnish ASN, AKK-Motorsport, took over organizing the event, earning praise from WRC teams for safety.[5] This change culminated in the changing of its name to Neste Rally Finland. The company's target was to develop a clearly defined brand for the rally. A new special stage was added at Hippos, along with a VIP area for 1,600 guests.[6] The following year, teams voted it Rally of the Year.[5] Mäkinen, on his way to a third consecutive title, set a record with his fifth straight Rally Finland win.[7] Ice hockey star and auto racing enthusiast Teemu Selänne, also competed, finishing 33rd in 1997 and 24th in 1998.[8][9] Despite some environmental protests, a 1997 study by the University of Jyväskylä found the impact to be minimal, with noise pollution being the main concern.[10][11][12] There were 105 participant entries.

Background

Itinerary

All dates and times are EEST (UTC+3)

Date Time No. Stage name Distance
Leg 1 — 70.45 km
29 August 14:53 SS1 Parkkola 33.43 km
16:31 SS2 Keuruu 11.86 km
16:58 SS3 Jukojarvi 23.47 km
1:69 SS4 Hippos 18.55 km
Leg 2 — 186.81 km
30 August 06:54 SS5 Leustu 23.57 km
08:19 SS6 Rapsula 18.47 km
09:16 SS7 Päijälä 23.40 km
11:08 SS8 Sahalahti 20.50 km
12:06 SS9 Siitama 14.70 km
13:34 SS10 Vastila 17.46 km
14:24 SS11 Ouninpohja 32.82 km
15:56 SS12 Vaheri 31.32 km
16:40 SS13 Himos 2 km
18:50 SS14 Harju 2.57 km
Leg 3 — 124.29 km
31 August 09:01 SS15 Lempaa 1 28.40 km
10:04 SS16 Vartiamaki 1 12.60 km
10:33 SS17 Hauhanpohja 1 11.34 km
11:31 SS18 Lempaa 2 28.40 km
12:34 SS19 Vartiamaki 2 12.60 km
13:03 SS20 Hauhanpohja 2 11.34 km
14:55 SS21 Ruuhimaki 7.28 km
15:43 SS22 Laukaa 12.33 km
Source:[13]


Results

Overall

Pos. No. Driver Co-driver Team Car Time Difference Points
1 1 Finland Tommi Makinen Finland Seppo Harjanne Japan Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV 3:16:18 10
2 6 Finland Juha Kankkunen Finland Repo Juha United States Ford Motor Co. Ltd. Ford Escort WRC 3:16:25 +0:07 6
3 9 Finland Jarmo Kytölehto Finland Arto Kapanen United States Ford Motor Co. Ltd. Ford Escort WRC 3:18:18 +2:00 4
4 11 Finland Lindholm Sabastian Finland Hantunen Timo United States Ford Motor Co. Ltd. Ford Escort WRC 3:18:53 +2:35 3
5 13 Finland Jansson Tomas 'Gullabo' Finland Svensson Pecka Japan Toyota Toyota Celica GT-Four 3:21:12 +4:54 2
6 12 France Hagström Pasi France Gardemeister Tero Japan Toyota Toyota Celica GT-Four 3:22:48 +6:30 1
Source:[14]

Awards

The Finland Rally 1997 event won the Award of Excellence. It also won an Outstanding Safety Effort, which awarded to them by the FIA registered teams.

References

  1. ^ https://www.motorsport.com/wrc/event/rally-finland-165009/165009/photos/
  2. ^ "Final results Neste Rally Finland 1997".
  3. ^ "Final results Neste Rally Finland 1997".
  4. ^ https://www.rally-maps.com/Rally-Finland-1997
  5. ^ a b "Towards the New Era". Neste Oil Rally Finland. Archived from the original on 1 January 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  6. ^ Rahkonen, Jorma (29 August 1997). "Kirkko? Sirkus? Ei vaan VIP-kylän teltta" (PDF). Keskisuomalainen (in Finnish). p. 17. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 May 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  7. ^ Mäntylä, Ari (24 August 1998). "Valtakuntansa vankka valtias" (PDF). Keskisuomalainen (in Finnish). p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 May 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  8. ^ Rahkonen, Jorma (1 September 1997). "Teemu pääsi maaliin saakka" (PDF). Keskisuomalainen (in Finnish). p. 15. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 May 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  9. ^ Mäntylä, Ari (24 August 1998). "Jokinen selätti Selänteen omistaman auton rusinaksi" (PDF). Keskisuomalainen (in Finnish). p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 May 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  10. ^ Rahkonen, Jorma (31 August 1997). "Mielenosoitus sujui sopuisasti" (PDF). Keskisuomalainen (in Finnish). p. 21. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 May 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  11. ^ Lantto-Tolvanen, Maarit (23 August 1998). "Rallin vastustajat valtasivat kadun" (PDF). Keskisuomalainen (in Finnish). p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 May 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  12. ^ Kuusela, Teijo (16 August 2000). "Vastustajat keskittäneet huomionsa vääriin asioihin" (PDF). Keskisuomalainen (in Finnish). p. 31. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 August 2010. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
  13. ^ "Rally Finland 2000 Itinerary". juwra.com. Independent WRC archive. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  14. ^ "Rally Finland 2000 Final Results". ewrc-results.com. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
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1997 Rally New Zealand 		1997 FIA World Rally Championship Next rally:
1997 Rally Indonesia
Previous rally:
1996 Rally Finland 		1997 Rally Finland Next rally:
1998 Rally Finland
Allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_Rally_Finland
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