Leo Kinnunen facts for kids
Kinnunen in 1966
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| Born | 5 August 1943 Tampere, Pirkanmaa |
|---|---|
| Died | 26 July 2017 (aged 73) Turku, Southwest Finland |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |  Finnish |
| Active years | 1974 |
| Teams | AAW Racing Team (non-works Surtees) |
| Entries | 6 (1 start) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Career points | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1974 Belgian Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1974 Italian Grand Prix |
Leo Juhani "Leksa" Kinnunen (born August 5, 1943 – died July 26, 2017) was a famous race car driver from Finland. He was the very first driver from Finland to compete in Formula One, which is the highest level of car racing in the world.
Leo Kinnunen was a champion in several racing series. He won the Nordic Challenge Cup in 1969 and the Interserie three times in a row from 1971 to 1973. He also helped the Porsche team win the World Sportscar Championship in 1970. In 1974, he tried his hand at Formula One, but his car wasn't powerful enough, and his team ran into money problems. He was also the last driver in Formula One history to race wearing an open-face helmet, which means his face wasn't fully covered.
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Starting His Racing Journey
Leo Kinnunen first started racing on motorcycles. But in the early 1960s, after he got his driver's license, he switched to racing cars. He quickly became very good at different types of car racing, like rallying (racing on public or private roads), autocross (racing around cones on a paved surface), and ice racing (racing on frozen lakes or tracks).
He almost won the Finnish Rally Championship, tying the winner, Simo Lampinen, in points. Leo also raced in the Finnish F3 Championship. In 1968, he won several races in his Titan car, even beating future Formula One star Ronnie Peterson from Sweden at the Ahvenisto Race Circuit.
Becoming an International Star
In 1969, Leo Kinnunen decided to focus only on circuit racing, which means racing on special tracks. He won the Nordic Challenge Cup, a big racing series, by getting two wins and a second place. His great performance led to an invitation to test a Porsche 917 race car. He impressed everyone so much that he was hired to race for Porsche in the World Sportscar Championship.
Leo and his teammate, Pedro Rodriguez, surprised the racing world by winning their very first race together, the famous 24 Hours of Daytona. They went on to help Porsche win the championship that year. However, Leo wasn't completely happy because the car was set up for Rodriguez's driving style. When Leo showed he could be faster with his own settings, he wasn't allowed to change the car anymore.
His big moment came at the Targa Florio race in Sicily. His teammate was sick, so Leo got to drive the new Porsche 908/03. On the very last lap, he set an amazing lap record, beating the old one by a minute and a half! This is still the fastest time ever recorded on that famous road circuit.
Dominating the Interserie
After his time with Porsche, Leo Kinnunen joined the Finnish AAW Racing Team to race a Porsche 917 in the Interserie. This was a popular racing series for powerful sports cars. He won the championship in his first year, even though he had to stop racing in one event after seeing his former teammate, Pedro Rodriguez, crash and pass away.
Leo went on to win the Interserie championship three times in a row, in 1971, 1972, and 1973. He had a total of 18 heat wins and 11 overall wins in that series. In 1973, he also competed in a World Rally Championship event, the 23rd 1000 Lakes Rally, and finished third in his Porsche Carrera.
His Time in Formula One
Leo Kinnunen almost joined Formula One earlier, in 1971. He was talking to Team Lotus, a top team at the time, but the talks stopped after the sudden passing of Jochen Rindt, who was helping him. Leo said that Bernie Ecclestone, a very important person in Formula One, wanted him to drive for free. But Leo was a professional racer and wanted to be paid for his skills.
In 1974, Leo finally got a chance to race in Formula One. He leased a new Surtees TS16 car from John Surtees and found a sponsor. His team, AAW Racing Team, was well-known in racing.
Their first race, the 1974 Belgian Grand Prix, was very difficult. The car arrived just in time, and Leo had never even sat in it before. The car also had problems, like being too heavy and not having a powerful enough engine. The team only had three mechanics and no spare parts. In qualifying, the car's gearbox broke, and Leo couldn't record a time, so he didn't qualify for the race.
After that, the team worked hard to fix the car. They skipped the next race but entered the one in Sweden. Leo qualified 25th, and even though usually only 24 drivers start, he was allowed to race because he was well-liked in Swedish motorsport.
The team knew the car wouldn't last the whole race, so they put just enough fuel for ten laps to make it lighter and faster. Leo managed to overtake five cars in eight laps! But then a problem with a spark plug forced him to stop.
The rest of the season was also tough. They weren't allowed to race in some events and failed to qualify for others. Because they ran out of money, the team had to leave Formula One.
Later Career and Legacy
After his short time in Formula One, Leo Kinnunen returned to the Interserie and won both races at its final event. He then raced a Porsche 908 Turbo for Martini Racing in 1975, achieving a third-place finish at Nürburgring. In 1976, he raced a Porsche 934 Turbo and got three podium finishes, including a second place at Watkins Glen.
Leo stopped circuit racing in 1977 but continued to compete in some rally events in Finland. He even won the Arctic Rally in 1979! After his racing career, he worked in sports administration and lived in Turku, Finland.
Interestingly, the famous actor and racing fan Steve McQueen personally asked Leo Kinnunen to drive in his film Le Mans. However, Leo's contract with Porsche didn't allow it, and another driver, David Piper, took his place. Piper was seriously injured during the filming.
Images for kids
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Kinnunen (left) at the 1964 1000 Lakes Rally
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Kinnunen in 1968
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Kinnunen driving a Porsche 935 at the 1977 1000 km Nürburgring
See also
In Spanish: Leo Kinnunen para niños
