Timo Salonen: The Unlikely Champion

[@d-d-i]

There's so many fun stories that he's told over the years. One of which was when he was driving with Nissan/Datsun in the early 80's before going to Peugeot. He was in Argentina Rally and during one stage, there was multiple kilometers of straight road, so he asked Seppo Harjanne, his co-driver, to light up a cigarette for him (Seppo was also smoker). He smoked that all thru the straight and when they came into the long curve at the end of it, there were japanese photographers taking promo pictures for Nissan/Datsun and they were furious when they saw that he had Marlboro in his mouth. Fantastic guy, and a great sense of humour. Thanks for this video too!

[@ClumsyCardboard]

No problem! Had real fun making it. Wish I Had I known that sorry, I’d make sure to have included it haha! On brand for timo.

[@vvvojta]

are these picteres to see anywhere?

[@xyq384]

I think Timo is one of the most natural talented drivers ever there. He was very fast even with his extra-weight and the smoking. Walter always said that the Finns(and Stig) back in those times where drinking much, going to bed lately and when they get into the car the other morning, the had to sober, when he was always going the bed early and never touched even a single beer. So like all the scandinavians Timo was naturally gifted with sheer driving talent, esp. on gravel. And he was not only able to drive with the midengined Peugeot very fast, he was also very fast with the frontengined and understeering Quattro as you can see on the results at the races of champions where he competed.

[@ClumsyCardboard]

It wouldn’t surprise me that they’re all drinkers. It would be a surprise if most were not!

[@hankimitsu8188]

Ehem, ehem... Finns are not scandinavians, we are just "northern people"

[@xyq384]

@@hankimitsu8188 I'm sorry, for my definition scandinavia is Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. I know, sometimes this changes. Some people only say Norway and Sweden but anyway...was not in spirit of mischief.

[@hankimitsu8188]

@@xyq384 No problem, foreign people mistake finns as scandinavians quite usually. My reply was kind of a joke, because it's very common to see people saying that finns are scandinavian, which we aren't. We are proud of not being scandinavian, because we have a love-hate relationship with Sweden (jealousy is the reason, obviously).

[@babar292]

Pretty funny that in that Race of champions event both Peugeot drivers (Salonen and Kankkunen) beat the actual team Audi drivers in their own cars

[@Riddle99-v7q]

Hi from Finland! Timo certainly is rather underrated in my opinion so it's cool to see that people are finally starting to recognize his brilliance!

[@ClumsyCardboard]

Hello hello! Yes, he was, despite even being a championship in such a difficult era of the sport. I really enjoyed covering him. Really awesome dude

[@tinke76]

Salonen´s only complaint about the 205 was that it did not have an ashtray😁

[@ClumsyCardboard]

Haha. No spot to hold a Marlboro, either!

[@MightyS-1]

He was rocking a physique, diet, and lifestyle similar to the Olympic Curling teams of the 80's

[@ClumsyCardboard]

The man was a genius in his field and didn’t even know it!

[@sometimesidreamaboutcheese]

He is also well known for one-hand driving most of times. Another reason for his "Loysa" nickname. And Timo is the most modest champion ever, probably.

[@ClumsyCardboard]

I’d definitely agree with that. He certainly was never boastful about it, and only occasionally joked with drivers like Juha or Walter about how he managed to pull off a win, but, otherwise kept himself to himself it seems

[@NathanMcCabe88]

That's what the Finns are like. Interviewer: Are you happy that you've won the WRC? Timo: Yes

[@ClumsyCardboard]

@@NathanMcCabe88 Spot on! A nation of few words, but many talents.

[@GorGob]

@@ClumsyCardboard Too few of us to go balls out megalomaniac but yes we will fight.

[@maciekwysocki2009]

The most oldest was Hannu Mikkola

[@sigvejensen9280]

At last. About time somebody made a video about Timo. Looking forward to more videos. Keep it up !

[@ClumsyCardboard]

Someone had to tell his awesome story! Glad you enjoyed. More to come!

[@puuzaa]

This is what peak performance looks like!! 💪💪💪

[@ClumsyCardboard]

@@puuzaa Facts!! This is true championship fitness. Accept no substitute

[@puuzaa]

@@ClumsyCardboard I need to tell this but i have bought one car from his car store when he was keeping it near my home village.. Car was Peugeot 205 1.9 gti(what else it could be😅) And also get to talk little with him because one of my friend was car fixer and worked for them.. He is really his feet in ground type of guy and likes to talk everyone!!🙂

[@ClumsyCardboard]

@@puuzaa That’s awesome! And a good choice of car. Nice to hear that he is still sharing stories. I Wonder if he would ever come across this video.

[@omfgitlagz]

Great video, really well done! This channel is criminally under-viewed but I wouldn't be surprised the views will flood in with quality of content.

[@ClumsyCardboard]

Thanks so much. Glad you enjoyed! Slowly but surely working that way. Hope to reach that goal soon

[@miragef191]

One of my favorite drivers.

[@ClumsyCardboard]

It's hard not to like him!

[@Sentient6ix]

My favourite racing driver of all time. I hold him above Senna, even

[@ClumsyCardboard]

Both a talent, and a really fun personality!

[@GFY127]

Amazing video.. very well researched and executed.. perfect 🎯🎯💯... reminds me of a VHS 📼 I used to own, called "RALLYMASTER" , narrated by one of your fellow Americans 🇺🇲... I'm from England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 myself, aged 37... but my favourite period of WRC is 1979 to 2002. Btw the 80s background music 🎶 is spot on. Many thanks for brightening up my Sunday morning 🌄 🙏 😀

[@ClumsyCardboard]

No problem! I’m glad you enjoyed. It was real fun to learn about

[@Halfwaythere_]

Totally agree! I'm 22 years old and that era was way before I was born. and this is such a great video to to deeper my knowledge about "Group B" and of course to know more about the one and only "Timo Salonen"

[@ClumsyCardboard]

@@Halfwaythere_ Glad to help expand that knowledge! Given the recent feedback, you can probably expect more rally content soon enough. Stay tuned

[@redsun4187]

I knew this one will be all out, such a great video, thank you!

[@ClumsyCardboard]

And thank you for checking it out! Real fun story. Glad he’s still around

[@CobraAce04]

Wonderful wonderful commentary in this one. It’d have made me a fan if I wasn’t fond of this rallying gym teacher to begin with

[@ClumsyCardboard]

Thank you! Yes, the type of gym teacher who slams Coca colas yet still drills you for missing push ups! Classic. Gotta love him

[@decinogegerah]

What a machine, what a driver, what a video.

[@ClumsyCardboard]

Thanks! Sometimes the best champs don’t actually avoid marlboros

[@simgimgimgimg]

Awesome video! Looking forward to seeing more!

[@ClumsyCardboard]

Thanks very much Romulo! Of course, Even more to come indeed. Glad you liked it! Got two more projects in the works as of writing this.

[@nbnd3342]

What a fucking legend wish i could have seen him drive in person but i was born too late 😂😂

[@ClumsyCardboard]

@@nbnd3342 Born too late to see him drive in Group B, born just in time to pretend to race in Group B in his car in rally games!

[@arkpan4x4]

Most successful driver in Group B Era !!!!

[@ClumsyCardboard]

Big success, big bodied, but big hearted! Love him.

[@tatreal]

Yes, that's me in a background!!!

[@ClumsyCardboard]

Thanks for creating the best rally game soundtrack! Hope you enjoyed the video as well.

[@laudennn]

thanks for the video

[@ClumsyCardboard]

And thanks for enjoying it! Love this guy.

[@renzo0227]

Beautiful video man, Salonen indeed is one of the true icons of this sport. Also, what's the song at the end of the vid?

[@ClumsyCardboard]

Thanks so much! He’s my absolute favourite. As for the song, unfortunately I’ve been trying to find that still.. it was part of a Nissan promo from the early 80s. Hope that helps narrow it down!

[@Vamppas]

By modern standards, he was not fat at all, just a small hint of overweight.

[@ClumsyCardboard]

Just a touch of ballast!

[@mhh7544]

Very good video of unlikely champion .

[@ClumsyCardboard]

Thanks! Im glad you enjoyed. Rally usually isnt my forte, but i had to do his story justice as best i could.

[@mhh7544]

@@ClumsyCardboard I love rally, I saw group B cars live when I was a kid, it was quita era for a finnish boy. Henri Toivonen was my hero, but all others too .

[@ClumsyCardboard]

@@mhh7544 i love NASCAR, and I think their drivers are incredible in their own ways.. but rally drivers, especially in group B, had unbelievable instincts and abilities you won’t even see in Formula one. Even Loysa had those instincts! It’s incredible.

[@mhh7544]

@@ClumsyCardboard 😅

[@mikaelbihl-matias9462]

The john daly of rallying 😂

[@ClumsyCardboard]

@@mikaelbihl-matias9462 I never thought about it that way.. pretty apt example!

[@S1E2SportQuattro]

The drivers from the greatest era of rally did not use a handbrake thus i shall never resort to one in my sim racing

[@ClumsyCardboard]

Without a doubt. And granted that was also partially because, at least in the case of the 6R4, it could potentially cause the diffs to explode under stress over the leg of a rally. But, nonetheless, I too prefer to pendulum turn in sims.

[@TripleAlfafa]

The handbrakes at the time aren't exactly specialized either compared to today's kit.

[@ronaldlingham5631]

Excellent video!! Timo is a masterful driver. Btw, what is the name of the song that plays at the end?

[@ClumsyCardboard]

Thanks! Unfortunately, the only lead I ever had on it goes right back to the 240rs promo it's from. Singer almost sounds like the frontman from Aztec camera, if that helps any.

[@ronaldlingham5631]

@@ClumsyCardboard Okay, I check this lead. Thank you for your response

[@ClumsyCardboard]

@@ronaldlingham5631 anytime! It's a lovely promo vid, too.

[@ronaldlingham5631]

@@ClumsyCardboard I agree!!

[@ronaldlingham5631]

Hi. Finally found it!! It is "Don't try to hard at love." by a Japanese rock band called T-bird. Unfortunately I couldn't find this song by itself anywhere on the Internet but at 13:20 of this video, it plays here. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nYaWm2qLrK6YfZYsi=X18fiKfvHJNosV-7 Thanks to a commenter, @pseudonym8440, on the original promo video.

[@saturnalis8813]

Teimo was cool before My Summer Car

[@ClumsyCardboard]

Perhaps that was the real backstory to him all along! Haha. From group B champ, to store owner!

[@vesumbra]

FIRST!! VIDEO GOES HARD

[@ClumsyCardboard]

Big ups! Many more to come.

[@JohnDaubSuperfan369]

What the fuck? There was nothing "unlikely" about Salonen, he was the fastest man in group B, end of story.

[@ClumsyCardboard]

Don't take the title so close to heart, just a little tongue in cheek. He just doesn't meet the stereotype of a rally driver is all. He destroyed that sentiment, and became the best of the best.