Timo Salonen

Born

1951-10-08

Birthplace

Helsinki, Finland

Biography

A Finnish former rally driver who won the 1985 World Rally Championship season for Peugeot. It was commented of him that he stood out from other drivers, because he was overweight, wore thick glasses and smoked heavily, but still remained one of the fastest and most competitive drivers in the sport. He was also known for his relaxed attitude and for his habit of steering his rally car with one hand only. These factors led to the nickname Löysä ("Slack"). With his 11 rally wins he remained the most successful driver of Group B era (1983–1986) of WRC.