Henri Toivonen
Race car driver, Athlete
1956 – 1986
Who was Henri Toivonen?
Henri Pauli Toivonen was a Finnish rally driver born in Jyväskylä, the home of Rally Finland. His father, Pauli Toivonen, was the 1968 European Rally Champion for Porsche and his brother, Harri Toivonen, became a professional circuit racer.
Toivonen's first World Rally Championship victory came with a Talbot Sunbeam Lotus at the 1980 Lombard RAC Rally in Great Britain, just after his 24th birthday. He had the record of being the youngest driver ever to win a world rally until his countryman Jari-Matti Latvala won the 2008 Swedish Rally at the age of 22. After driving for Opel and Porsche, Toivonen was signed by Lancia. Despite nearly ending up paralysed at the Rally Costa Smeralda early in 1985, he returned to rallying later that year. He won the last event of the season, the RAC Rally, as well as the 1986 season opener, the Monte Carlo Rally, which his father had won exactly 20 years earlier.
Toivonen, driving a Lancia Delta S4, died in an accident on 2 May 1986 while leading the Tour de Corse rally in Corsica. His American co-driver, Sergio Cresto, also died when the Lancia plunged down a ravine and exploded.
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- Born
- Aug 25, 1956
Jyväskylä - Also known as
- Henri Pauli Toivonen
- Тойвонен, Хенри
- Parents
- Siblings
- Spouses
- Erja Toivonen
( - 1986/05/02)
- Erja Toivonen
- Children
- Nationality
- Finland
- Profession
- Lived in
- Jyväskylä
- Died
- May 2, 1986
Corsica
Submitted
on July 23, 2013
Citation
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