1968 RALLY OF 1000 LAKES FINLAND EUROPEAN AUTOMOBILE RACE 53744

The rally competition now known as Rally Finland, an annual race held in the Finnish Lakeland in Central Finland, is the focus of this 1968 color documentary produced by Castrol. Titled “The Flying Finns,” it features the 1968 1000 Lakes Rally and is concentrated on documenting the duel between Timo Makinen and Hannu Mikkola. The film opens with race crews, including those for rally driver Timo Salonen, expecting their vehicles and interviews with drivers describing the wide and smooth gravel roads on which they travel (mark 00:30). Mark 01:34 offers the viewer a look from within a race car to see the rally from a driver’s point of view as seven-time winner Mikkola skillfully makes speeds down the road, followed by a similar demonstration by fellow driver Makinen (mark 03:30) who explains his various maneuvers. The opening of the 1968 competition is captured beginning at mark 05:50 as night begins to close in by mark 08:20. The narrator rattles off the names of various racers as they speed past and offers race commentary along the way. As the rain begins to fall at mark 10:25, the race goes on while the narrator explains how it has turned “the loose dust into a quagmire of greasy ball bearings.” A rainy morning dawns at mark 11:45 and the race rolls on as cars splash through puddles “with mud up to their armatures.” Rain falls and the race continues, reaching what the narrator describes as one of the most challenging portions of the contest by mark 16:45 as the cars fly over hilltops - causing some drivers to lose control and spin wildly into the grassy meadow (mark 17:10). With his car sidelined, driver Simo Lampinen is shown playing with his child behind the real of his race car at mark 19:20, but for the other drivers the race continues and crowds gather at the finish line (mark 21:53) as Mikkola and his Ford Escort TC take top honors.
Rally Finland (formally known as the Neste Rally Finland and formerly known as the Neste Oil Rally Finland, 1000 Lakes Rally and Rally of the Thousand Lakes; Finnish: Suomen ralli, Swedish: Finska rallyt) is a rally competition held in Jyväskylä in the Finnish Lakeland in Central Finland. The rally is driven on wide and smooth gravel roads, featuring blind crests and big jumps. It is the fastest event in the World Rally Championship and has been dubbed the "Grand Prix of Rallying" and the "Grand Prix on Gravel". Rally Finland is among the largest annually organised public events in the Nordic countries, attracting hundreds of thousands of spectators each year. The rally has been known to be very difficult for non-Nordic drivers; only six drivers from countries other than Finland or Sweden have won the event- in the 1980s and before, the field was made up almost entirely of Finnish and Swedish drivers.
Rally Finland was first held under the name Jyväskylän Suurajot (Jyväskylä Grand Prix) in 1951. Originally an endurance event that stretched to Lapland in Northern Finland, the rally was at the forefront of the adoption of the modern rally format, splitting the route into a number of special stages in the mid-1950s. With increasing international attention, it became part of the European Rally Championship programme in 1959. After the start of the World Rally Championship in 1973, the event became the Finnish round in the series. Rally Finland is now among the most popular and prestigious rallies in the championship.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit www.PeriscopeFi...

[@Jambutler274]

R.I.P. Hannu Mikkola, 1942 - 2021 Winner of this event and 1983 world champion. God speed, great racer.

[@enpakeksi765]

Hannu Mikkola's English that of a typical Finn: stilted, and thick with an accent. Much to my delight and fascination, however, Timo Mäkinen's accent is light and his pronunciation is distinctly British.

[@Leminko11]

Leo Kinnunen in open shot RIP

[@fireballfireball1067]

Great old cars !!!! . lots of variety, and some unusual makes, Like the Moskvich , and I saw a Honda N600 in there !!!!

[@fireballfireball1067]

And a Trabant !!!!

[@andyharman3022]

I wonder how I would finnish in that rally.....