WRC History: One-hit wonder - Kyösti Hämäläinen

It’s 43 years since Kyösti Hämäläinen sprang one of the sport’s biggest shocks to join the group of WRC’s one-hit wonders, read the full story here:

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The WRC is the FIA World Rally Championship, a tough motorsport using rally cars on real roads around the world. Watch the best rally drivers battle on gravel and asphalt roads with mud, rain, dust, ice and heat! Watch high speed action as the rally drivers power slide and drift round narrow corners, go flat out over a big jump or through a watersplash, handbrake turn round a hairpin, survive a big moment, or have a massive crash! Rally requires maximum attack and careful tactics to become world rally champion.

Each rally has timed sections called special stages, on closed roads. Drivers complete these stages as quickly as possible. A co-driver reads pace notes that explain the hazards ahead. Rally drivers use the same rally car to travel to each stage on public roads, following normal traffic regulations. The crew which completes all the stages in the shortest time is the rally winner. Championship points are won using the same scoring system as Formula 1. The championship is administered by Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body.

Over 30 countries have hosted WRC rallies. Rally Monte Carlo, Rally Argentina, Rally Finland, Rally Portugal, Tour de Corse on Corsica, France, Rally Sardegna on Sardinia, Italy, Safari Rally in Kenya, Acropolis Rally in Greece, Rally New Zealand, Rally Australia, Rally Japan, Rally GB, Rally Catalunya, Rallye Deutschland, Rally Mexico and many more.

Some of the world's greatest drivers have won the FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers, like Colin McRae, Carlos Sainz, Walter Röhrl, Stig Blomqvist, Petter Solberg, Ott Tänak. The list of world rally champions includes many Finnish rally drivers like Juha Kankkunen, Tommi Mäkinen, Ari Vatanen, Marcus Grönholm, Hannu Mikkola. French drivers have had success with Sébastien Ogier, and 9 times world champion Sébastien Loeb. Famous drivers from other motorsports have come to try rally driving like Ken Block from Rallycross, and Robert Kubica and Kimi Räikkönen from F1.

Car companies compete for the prestigious FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers awarded to the most successful WRC constructor. Winners include Citroen, Hyundai, Volkswagen and Peugeot. Ford have had success with the Ford Escort, Ford Focus and Ford Fiesta when the M-Sport team won in 2017.
The 1980's featured the iconic Group B rally cars like the Lancia 037 and Delta S4, Peugeot 205 T16, MG Metro 6R4, Ford RS200 and Audi Quattro.

[pekkal]

He still has the record of most Finnish rally championship wins. 13 of them. He really knew how to drive.

[gothicpagan.]

That was a bloody lacking effort. Why bother?

[JanneLaahanen]

His win (and Kyösti in general) deserves a waaay better video than this.

[donbrashsux]

That BDA reving it’s guts out ..always sounds the same

[tonycederholm]

One fucking turn . Fucking hell Jonas Hollsten has beaten the Malta stageinsweden

[GeriatricFan]

A little voiceover or text to add context to these clips would have been appreciated...

[JugiTheRock]

Is that incar part from Kyösti's 1000 Lakes Rally driving or from some other rally, as co-driver is reading pace notes? Legend and WRC story says "One of the more remarkable facts about his sole WRC success is that it came without co-driver Martti Tiukkanen reading a single pace note for the whole 450km of competition."

[ardientemetal]

Las imagenes onboard no corresponden al rally 1000 lagos 1977.Hämäläinen corrio sin que el navegante le leyera la hoja de ruta

[mosca]

1 don’t speed up the video. 2 some context.

[gianfrancocorbula]

Lo ricordo protagonista dei rallyes 1000 laghi negli anni 70. Molto veloce, mi ha fatto piacere rivederlo in queste immagini.