 Kankkunen in Helsinki in 2006. | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality |  Finnish |
| Born | 2 April 1959 Laukaa, Finland |
| World Rally Championship record | |
| Active years | 1979, 1982–2002, 2010 |
| Co-driver | Timo Hantunen Rolf Mesterton Staffan Pettersson Dave Whittock Juha Piironen Fred Gallagher Nicky Grist Denis Giraudet Juha Repo |
| Teams | Toyota, Peugeot, Lancia, Ford, Subaru, Hyundai |
| Rallies | 162 |
| Championships | 4 (1986, 1987, 1991, 1993) |
| Rally wins | 23 |
| Podiums | 75 |
| Stage wins | 700[1] |
| Total points | 1140 |
| First rally | 1979 1000 Lakes Rally |
| First win | 1985 Safari Rally |
| Last win | 1999 Rally Finland |
| Last rally | 2010 Rally Finland |
Juha Matti Pellervo Kankkunen (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈjuhɑ ˈkɑŋkːunen] ; born 2 April 1959) is a Finnish former rally driver. His factory team career in the World Rally Championship lasted from 1983 to 2002. He won 23 world rallies and four drivers' world championship titles, which were both once records in the series. Both Sébastien Loeb and Sébastien Ogier have since collected more world titles, but no driver was able to repeat Kankkunen's feat of becoming a world champion with three different manufacturers until Ogier matched this achievement in 2020.
Kankkunen was signed by Toyota Team Europe in 1983 and he took his first WRC win in his third year in the team. His performances got him a deal with the defending champions Peugeot for 1986, and Kankkunen was soon crowned the series' then youngest-ever champion. As Peugeot withdrew from the championship following the ban of Group B, Kankkunen moved to Lancia and became the first driver to successfully defend his title. After a two-year stint back at Toyota, he returned to Lancia and won a record third title in 1991.
In 1993, Kankkunen re-joined Toyota and won his fourth title. Following Toyota's disqualification and 12-month ban in 1995, Kankkunen did not return to active participation in the series until joining Ford halfway through the 1997 season replacing an underperforming Armin Schwarz. After moving to Subaru for 1999, he took his first win in over five years. Before retiring after the 2002 season, he competed part-time for Hyundai.
Kankkunen's achievements outside the WRC include winning the Dakar Rally in 1988 and the Race of Champions in 1988 and 1991. Following his retirement from active rallying, he has worked in the fields of business and politics. In 2007, Kankkunen set the world speed record on ice in a Bentley Continental GT. In 2011, he set a further record of 330.695 km/h in a convertible Bentley Continental Supersports.[2][3]
- ^ Kankkunen also won 5 special stages in annulled Sanremo 1986 (source: Auto Hebdo).
- ^ "Kankkunen sets world speed record on ice". BBC TopGear. Archived from the original on 2014-10-13. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
- ^ "Ice speed record falls again". BBC TopGear. Archived from the original on 2014-11-29. Retrieved 16 April 2011.