The 1997 Rally Finland (also known as the 47th Neste Rally Finland) event was held from 29 to 31 August 1997.[1] The rally took place in Jyväskylä, Finland.[2] The winner was Tommi Makinen, with Seppo Harjanne as co-driver, driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 4.

1997 Rally Finland
47th Neste Rally Finland
Part of the 1997 World Rally Championship season
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Host country Finland
Rally baseJyväskylä
Dates runAugust 29 1997 – August 31 1997
Length381.55 km (237.08 miles)
Stage surfaceGravel
Overall distance1,171.79 km (728.12 miles)
Statistics
Crews103 at start, 50 at finish
Overall results
Overall winnerFinland Tommi Makinen
Finland Seppo Harjanne
JapanMarlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV

Overview

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The total length of the race was 1171.79km, which included road sections.[3] The total liaison distance was 790.24km and the total special stage distance was 381.55km over gravel.[4]

AKK Sports, the marketing company of the Finnish ASN, AKK-Motorsport, took over organizing the event, earning praise from WRC teams for safety.[5] This change culminated in the changing of its name to Neste Rally Finland. The company's target was to develop a clearly defined brand for the rally. A new special stage was added at Hippos, along with a VIP area for 1,600 guests.[6] The following year, teams voted it Rally of the Year.[5] Mäkinen, on his way to a third consecutive title, set a record with his fifth straight Rally Finland win.[7] Ice hockey star and auto racing enthusiast Teemu Selänne, also competed, finishing 33rd in 1997 and 24th in 1998.[8][9] Despite some environmental protests, a 1997 study by the University of Jyväskylä found the impact to be minimal, with noise pollution being the main concern.[10][11][12] There were 105 participant entries.

Background

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Itinerary

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All dates and times are EEST (UTC+3)

Date Time No. Stage name Distance
Leg 1 — 70.45 km
29 August 14:53 SS1 Parkkola 33.43 km
16:31 SS2 Keuruu 11.86 km
16:58 SS3 Jukojarvi 23.47 km
1:69 SS4 Hippos 18.55 km
Leg 2 — 186.81 km
30 August 06:54 SS5 Leustu 23.57 km
08:19 SS6 Rapsula 18.47 km
09:16 SS7 Päijälä 23.40 km
11:08 SS8 Sahalahti 20.50 km
12:06 SS9 Siitama 14.70 km
13:34 SS10 Vastila 17.46 km
14:24 SS11 Ouninpohja 32.82 km
15:56 SS12 Vaheri 31.32 km
16:40 SS13 Himos 2 km
18:50 SS14 Harju 2.57 km
Leg 3 — 124.29 km
31 August 09:01 SS15 Lempaa 1 28.40 km
10:04 SS16 Vartiamaki 1 12.60 km
10:33 SS17 Hauhanpohja 1 11.34 km
11:31 SS18 Lempaa 2 28.40 km
12:34 SS19 Vartiamaki 2 12.60 km
13:03 SS20 Hauhanpohja 2 11.34 km
14:55 SS21 Ruuhimaki 7.28 km
15:43 SS22 Laukaa 12.33 km
Source:[13]


Results

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Overall

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Pos. No. Driver Co-driver Team Car Time Difference Points
1 1   Tommi Makinen   Seppo Harjanne   Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV 3:16:18 10
2 6   Juha Kankkunen   Repo Juha   Ford Motor Co. Ltd. Ford Escort WRC 3:16:25 +0:07 6
3 9   Jarmo Kytölehto   Arto Kapanen   Ford Motor Co. Ltd. Ford Escort WRC 3:18:18 +2:00 4
4 11   Lindholm Sabastian   Hantunen Timo   Ford Motor Co. Ltd. Ford Escort WRC 3:18:53 +2:35 3
5 13   Jansson Tomas 'Gullabo'   Svensson Pecka   Toyota Toyota Celica GT-Four 3:21:12 +4:54 2
6 12   Hagström Pasi   Gardemeister Tero   Toyota Toyota Celica GT-Four 3:22:48 +6:30 1
Source:[14]

Awards

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The Finland Rally 1997 event won the Award of Excellence. It also won an Outstanding Safety Effort, which awarded to them by the FIA registered teams.

References

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  1. ^ https://www.motorsport.com/wrc/event/rally-finland-165009/165009/photos/
  2. ^ "Final results Neste Rally Finland 1997".
  3. ^ "Final results Neste Rally Finland 1997".
  4. ^ https://www.rally-maps.com/Rally-Finland-1997
  5. ^ a b "Towards the New Era". Neste Oil Rally Finland. Archived from the original on 1 January 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  6. ^ Rahkonen, Jorma (29 August 1997). "Kirkko? Sirkus? Ei vaan VIP-kylän teltta" (PDF). Keskisuomalainen (in Finnish). p. 17. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 May 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  7. ^ Mäntylä, Ari (24 August 1998). "Valtakuntansa vankka valtias" (PDF). Keskisuomalainen (in Finnish). p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 May 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  8. ^ Rahkonen, Jorma (1 September 1997). "Teemu pääsi maaliin saakka" (PDF). Keskisuomalainen (in Finnish). p. 15. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 May 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  9. ^ Mäntylä, Ari (24 August 1998). "Jokinen selätti Selänteen omistaman auton rusinaksi" (PDF). Keskisuomalainen (in Finnish). p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 May 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  10. ^ Rahkonen, Jorma (31 August 1997). "Mielenosoitus sujui sopuisasti" (PDF). Keskisuomalainen (in Finnish). p. 21. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 May 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  11. ^ Lantto-Tolvanen, Maarit (23 August 1998). "Rallin vastustajat valtasivat kadun" (PDF). Keskisuomalainen (in Finnish). p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 May 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  12. ^ Kuusela, Teijo (16 August 2000). "Vastustajat keskittäneet huomionsa vääriin asioihin" (PDF). Keskisuomalainen (in Finnish). p. 31. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 August 2010. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
  13. ^ "Rally Finland 2000 Itinerary". juwra.com. Independent WRC archive. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  14. ^ "Rally Finland 2000 Final Results". ewrc-results.com. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
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Previous rally:
1997 Rally New Zealand
1997 FIA World Rally Championship Next rally:
1997 Rally Indonesia
Previous rally:
1996 Rally Finland
1997 Rally Finland Next rally:
1998 Rally Finland