Recent from talks
Leo Kinnunen
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Leo Kinnunen
Leo Juhani "Leksa" Kinnunen (5 August 1943 – 26 July 2017) was a Finnish racing driver, and the first Formula One driver from Finland.
Kinnunen won the Nordic Challenge Cup in 1969 and then was hired by the JWA team to drive one of the factory-backed Gulf-sponsored Porsche 917K in the 1970 World Sportscar Championship season endurance races, 1000km, 6 hours, 12 hours or 24 hours. Paired with Pedro Rodríguez, they won in Daytona, Brands Hatch, Monza, and Watkins Glen. When the Mexican was sick, the Flying Finn set the all-time fastest lap time at the 1970 Targa Florio at 33:36.0 (79.890 mph/128.571 km/h) for the 72km long lap in the Sicilian mountains as Kinnunen had to catch up to and pass a Ferrari.
When Jackie Oliver returned to JWA for 1971, Kinnunen continued elsewhere with sportscar racing, winning the European Interserie from 1971–1973. In 1974, he switched to Formula One, but in addition to the problems with the underpowered Surtees TS16, his team soon ran into financial problems. He was the last driver to compete in Formula One using an open-face helmet.
Kinnunen started his racing career on motorcycles, but switched to four wheels after receiving his driver's license in the early 1960s. He quickly gained success in rallying, autocross and ice racing. He finished runner-up in the Finnish Rally Championship and matched the points total of the winner Simo Lampinen. Kinnunen also participated in the Finnish F3 Championship with an outdated Brabham in 1967, and a Titan which he drove to several victories in 1968, including one at Ahvenisto Race Circuit in which he managed to beat Swedish future Formula One star Ronnie Peterson.
In 1969, Kinnunen made a complete switch to circuit racing and won the Nordic Challenge Cup, predecessor of the popular Interserie, with two wins and a second place at Keimola Motor Stadium after a close battle with Jochen Rindt. In October he was then invited to test a Porsche 917 at Österreichring and made such an impression that he was hired by JWA to partner Pedro Rodriguez in the World Sportscar Championship. The pair surprised the racing world by winning the first race, 1970 24 Hours of Daytona, and went on to win three more rounds in the championship for Porsche. For Kinnunen, however, this was unsatisfying time. The car was built for Rodriguez' measurements and driving style, and after Kinnunen managed to quickly outpace him with his own set-ups, he wasn't allowed to modify the car to suit his style anymore. His chance to shine finally came at the 1970 Targa Florio with the new Porsche 908/03 as Rodriguez was ill on race day. Having raced more laps than most others on the 72 km long mountain roads, and in need to pass a Ferrari for second place, on the final lap of the race, Kinnunen set a time of 33'36min, breaking the old lap record by 1½ minutes. With the Targa being discontinued as an all-out race a few years later, this remains as the all-time fastest ever lap time recorded for the Sicilian road circuit.
Kinnunen then moved on to drive Porsche 917 for Finnish AAW Racing Team in the Interserie. He won the championship in his debut year, despite withdrawing from the race at Norisring after seeing his former team-mate Rodriguez crash into the barriers and lose his life. He eventually went on to win the championship three times in a row, in 1971, 1972 and 1973, with a total of 18 heat and 11 outright wins. In 1973, he also participated in the World Rally Championship event 23rd 1000 Lakes Rally and finished third with his Porsche Carrera, behind Timo Mäkinen and Markku Alén.
Kinnunen was close to moving to Formula One already for the 1971 season. With the help of Jochen Rindt he was negotiating for a race seat with Team Lotus, which was dominating the series at the time and eventually won the World Constructors' Championship that season. After Rindt's sudden death at Monza, the negotiations came to a halt. According to Kinnunen, Bernie Ecclestone wanted him to drive for free. Kinnunen turned down the offer and demanded a wage for his services, as he was a professional racer.
In 1974, Kinnunen was looking for a job and John Surtees offered him one of his new Formula One cars, Surtees TS16, on lease. Kinnunen accepted the offer since the Surtees TS14 had done well the previous season. After finally finding sponsorship, Kinnunen entered the series with a new team and a Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 litre engine. Antti Aarnio-Wihuri allowed the team to use the AAW Racing Team name, which was recognized and had a good reputation in racing circles.
Hub AI
Leo Kinnunen AI simulator
(@Leo Kinnunen_simulator)
Leo Kinnunen
Leo Juhani "Leksa" Kinnunen (5 August 1943 – 26 July 2017) was a Finnish racing driver, and the first Formula One driver from Finland.
Kinnunen won the Nordic Challenge Cup in 1969 and then was hired by the JWA team to drive one of the factory-backed Gulf-sponsored Porsche 917K in the 1970 World Sportscar Championship season endurance races, 1000km, 6 hours, 12 hours or 24 hours. Paired with Pedro Rodríguez, they won in Daytona, Brands Hatch, Monza, and Watkins Glen. When the Mexican was sick, the Flying Finn set the all-time fastest lap time at the 1970 Targa Florio at 33:36.0 (79.890 mph/128.571 km/h) for the 72km long lap in the Sicilian mountains as Kinnunen had to catch up to and pass a Ferrari.
When Jackie Oliver returned to JWA for 1971, Kinnunen continued elsewhere with sportscar racing, winning the European Interserie from 1971–1973. In 1974, he switched to Formula One, but in addition to the problems with the underpowered Surtees TS16, his team soon ran into financial problems. He was the last driver to compete in Formula One using an open-face helmet.
Kinnunen started his racing career on motorcycles, but switched to four wheels after receiving his driver's license in the early 1960s. He quickly gained success in rallying, autocross and ice racing. He finished runner-up in the Finnish Rally Championship and matched the points total of the winner Simo Lampinen. Kinnunen also participated in the Finnish F3 Championship with an outdated Brabham in 1967, and a Titan which he drove to several victories in 1968, including one at Ahvenisto Race Circuit in which he managed to beat Swedish future Formula One star Ronnie Peterson.
In 1969, Kinnunen made a complete switch to circuit racing and won the Nordic Challenge Cup, predecessor of the popular Interserie, with two wins and a second place at Keimola Motor Stadium after a close battle with Jochen Rindt. In October he was then invited to test a Porsche 917 at Österreichring and made such an impression that he was hired by JWA to partner Pedro Rodriguez in the World Sportscar Championship. The pair surprised the racing world by winning the first race, 1970 24 Hours of Daytona, and went on to win three more rounds in the championship for Porsche. For Kinnunen, however, this was unsatisfying time. The car was built for Rodriguez' measurements and driving style, and after Kinnunen managed to quickly outpace him with his own set-ups, he wasn't allowed to modify the car to suit his style anymore. His chance to shine finally came at the 1970 Targa Florio with the new Porsche 908/03 as Rodriguez was ill on race day. Having raced more laps than most others on the 72 km long mountain roads, and in need to pass a Ferrari for second place, on the final lap of the race, Kinnunen set a time of 33'36min, breaking the old lap record by 1½ minutes. With the Targa being discontinued as an all-out race a few years later, this remains as the all-time fastest ever lap time recorded for the Sicilian road circuit.
Kinnunen then moved on to drive Porsche 917 for Finnish AAW Racing Team in the Interserie. He won the championship in his debut year, despite withdrawing from the race at Norisring after seeing his former team-mate Rodriguez crash into the barriers and lose his life. He eventually went on to win the championship three times in a row, in 1971, 1972 and 1973, with a total of 18 heat and 11 outright wins. In 1973, he also participated in the World Rally Championship event 23rd 1000 Lakes Rally and finished third with his Porsche Carrera, behind Timo Mäkinen and Markku Alén.
Kinnunen was close to moving to Formula One already for the 1971 season. With the help of Jochen Rindt he was negotiating for a race seat with Team Lotus, which was dominating the series at the time and eventually won the World Constructors' Championship that season. After Rindt's sudden death at Monza, the negotiations came to a halt. According to Kinnunen, Bernie Ecclestone wanted him to drive for free. Kinnunen turned down the offer and demanded a wage for his services, as he was a professional racer.
In 1974, Kinnunen was looking for a job and John Surtees offered him one of his new Formula One cars, Surtees TS16, on lease. Kinnunen accepted the offer since the Surtees TS14 had done well the previous season. After finally finding sponsorship, Kinnunen entered the series with a new team and a Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 litre engine. Antti Aarnio-Wihuri allowed the team to use the AAW Racing Team name, which was recognized and had a good reputation in racing circles.
Recent media