Neste Rally Finland

1000 Lakes rally
Rally is based in the bustling university town of Jyvaskyla, around 275 kilometres from the capital Helsinki. During the 1980s the rallys international name was gradually shaped in to 1000 Lakes Rally, although the original logo always held the longer version. The event signed its first title sponsorship deal and became Neste 1000 Lakes Rally in 1994. This is the only rally in the championship which has been run from the same headquarters town every year since the start of the series in 1973.

Big names and marvelous films: In the late 1960s, there was a Castrol produced film of the 1968 Rally of 1000 Lakes in Finland called "The Flying Finns". Toyota's first win in motorsport came at the 1975 1000 Lakes Rally of Finland, when Hannu Mikkola and his co-driver, Atso Aho, won the event in a Toyota Corolla. This film features the 1000 Lakes Rally in 1977 in Finland (Saab, 32 minute video) film is called “Name of the Game”. + Group B video: Monsters in Finland - with pure engine sounds (1000 Lakes Rally 1983-1986) 30 min

Neste Oil Rally
In 1997 changing of its name into Neste Rally Finland. In fact rallying is virtually the national sport in Finland. The 2000 Neste Rally Finland was the 50th Jubilee/Anniversary of the event. It has proven to be one of the best rallies in all aspects, not just because of lakes and jumping. The WRC teams voted Neste Rally Finland "Rally of the Year" in 1998, 2002, 2003 and 2004.

Over the years, the event has been dominated by the Scandinavians. Tommi Makinen's breakthrough win in the WRC came - even more aply - for Ford in the 1,000 Lakes in 1994. In fact 1994 and 1998 he won the Finnish event every year. Four Swedish wins in the course of the first 39 events and only three drivers outside Finland and Sweden have won the race (Carlos Sainz 1990, Didier Auriol 1992, Markko Märtin 2003). Marcus Grönholm has six wins but Hannu Mikkola still remains the master of the event with seven victories!

The most famous special stage is the 33 km Ouninpohja, with its spectacular high speed jumps. Markko Martin holds the record for the longest jump. In 2003 he travelled 57 metres in the air at a speed of 171 kph. There are around 50 jumps included in Ouninpohja so a driver can expect to cover 500 metres of the stage in the air. Year 2006 Grönholm's Ford Focus RS was recorded as being flat out in top gear on the gravel roads for a single sustained burst of 46 seconds at an average speed of 171 kph. On that 2004 Petter Solberg set a new stage record, smashing the previous one by six seconds. But as average speeds approached 130 kph, organisers acted to slow cars down and for 2005 - 2006 the stage was shortened and split in two called Ouninpohja West and Ouninpohja East. Video: Petter Solberg Ouninpohja 2004 record drive

Travel
Rally Pass is valid from Wednesday to Saturday (August 1-4 2012) including in addition to official rally events also Qualifying on Wednesday (at 19.30 in Ruuhimäki), Start Order Selection (at 21.30) and Saturday night´s Prize Giving Ceremony at Jyväskylä Paviljonki (at 21.00).The cost of the Rally Pass is EUR 60.

Ruuhimäki Qualifying
The Qualifying in Ruuhimäki will be driven on Wednesday August 1 at 19.30. The price of the Qualifying is EUR 10. Qualifying tickets are sold at the stage.

Hotels are heavily pre-booked by teams and organisers, so spectators usually put up in apartments/cottages etc. It's probably quicker for us to point out the places where you can't drink in Jyvaskyla - there can't be that many. The Finish currency is the Euro. Major credit cards, in particular Visa, Eurocard and Mastercard are widely accepted. The real social life in the town centres around the university's many bars and nightclubs. If ou want something a little bit different, then try pear cider or salmiakkikossu. The Finns are not a shy nation, and you can see guys strip off stark- bollock naked and jump into a nearby lake for a swim.

For more information, please contact the Rally Office:
P.O. Box 19, FIN-01301 Vantaa
Tel. +358 (0)207 219 460
Fax +358 (0)207 219 470