Juha Kankkunen
Juha Kankkunen is a Finnish rally driver, born in Laukaa on 1959-04-02. Four wrc world titles is the short version of the record; the long version, season by season, is below.
Juha Kankkunen: Career Record And Results At A Glance
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Full name | Juha Kankkunen |
| Born | 1959-04-02 — Laukaa |
| Nationality | Finland |
| Discipline | rally driver |
| Stories in the last 30 days | 0 |
Those fields are Wikidata claims. Each carries its own item identifier, so any of them can be re-checked at source. A missing field means neither source holds it. Nothing here is estimated.
Juha Kankkunen Career Wins On Record
23 wins are listed on the career record. Those 23 wins are given as they appear in the source — event, season and co-driver where a co-driver applies — rather than summarised into a career total, because a summarised total is the kind of number that goes quietly out of date. The results below are the record itself — each win, the season it was won in, and the co-driver alongside him for it. A career of 23 wins reads differently depending on how many starts it took, which is why the season results follow rather than a standalone win total.
| Number | Event | Season | Co-driver | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Safari Rally | 1985 | Fred Gallagher | Toyota Celica TCT |
| 2 | Rallye Côte d'Ivoire | 1985 | Fred Gallagher | Toyota Celica TCT |
| 3 | Swedish Rally | 1986 | Juha Piironen | Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 |
| 4 | Acropolis Rally | 1986 | Juha Piironen | Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 |
| 5 | Rally New Zealand | 1986 | Juha Piironen | Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 |
| 6 | Olympus Rally | 1987 | Juha Piironen | Lancia Delta HF 4WD |
| 7 | RAC Rally | 1987 | Juha Piironen | Lancia Delta HF 4WD |
| 8 | Rally Australia | 1989 | Juha Piironen | Toyota Celica GT-Four ST165 |
| 9 | Rally Australia | 1990 | Juha Piironen | Lancia Delta Integrale 16V |
| 10 | Safari Rally | 1991 | Juha Piironen | Lancia Delta Integrale 16V |
| 11 | Acropolis Rally | 1991 | Juha Piironen | Lancia Delta Integrale 16V |
| 12 | Rally Finland | 1991 | Juha Piironen | Lancia Delta Integrale 16V |
| 13 | Rally Australia | 1991 | Juha Piironen | Lancia Delta Integrale 16V |
| 14 | RAC Rally | 1991 | Juha Piironen | Lancia Delta Integrale 16V |
| 15 | Rally de Portugal | 1992 | Juha Piironen | Lancia Delta HF Integrale |
| 16 | Safari Rally | 1993 | Juha Piironen | Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD |
| 17 | Rally Argentina | 1993 | Nicky Grist | Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD |
| 18 | 1000 Lakes Rally | 1993 | Denis Giraudet | Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD |
| 19 | Rally Australia | 1993 | Nicky Grist | Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD |
| 20 | RAC Rally | 1993 | Nicky Grist | Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD |
| 21 | Rallye de Portugal | 1994 | Nicky Grist | Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD |
| 22 | Rally Argentina | 1999 | Juha Repo | Subaru Impreza WRC 99 |
| 23 | Rally Finland | 1999 | Juha Repo | Subaru Impreza WRC 99 |
Juha Kankkunen Career Results, Season By Season
Juha Kankkunen season by season from 1979 to 2010: which team, which car, and where each campaign finished. On the rally side the columns are the individual rounds, so a blank means he did not start that event and a number means he did. Wins, podiums and championship positions are in the same table rather than summarised above it.
| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Juha Kankkunen | Ford Escort RS2000 | MON | SWE | POR | KEN | GRC | NZL | FIN 14 | CAN | ITA | FRA | GBR |
| 1982 | Juha Kankkunen | Opel Manta GT/E | MON | SWE | POR | KEN | FRA | GRC | NZL | BRA | FIN Ret | ITA | CIV |
| 1983 | Toyota Team Europe | Toyota Celica TCT | MON | SWE | POR | KEN | FRA | GRC | NZL | ARG | FIN 6 | ITA | |
| 1984 | Toyota Team Europe | Toyota Celica TCT | MON | SWE | POR Ret | KEN | FRA | GRC | ARG | FIN 5 | ITA | CIV | |
| 1985 | Westland Motors | Toyota Celica TCT | MON | SWE | POR | KEN 1 | FRA | GRC | 5th | 48 | |||
| 1986 | Peugeot Talbot Sport | Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 | MON 5 | SWE 1 | POR Ret | KEN 5 | FRA | GRC 1 | NZL 1 | ARG Ret | FIN 2 | CIV | ITA Ret |
| 1987 | Martini Lancia | Lancia Delta HF 4WD | MON 2 | SWE 3 | POR 4 | KEN | FRA | GRC 2 | USA 1 | NZL | ARG | FIN 5 | CIV |
| 1988 | Toyota Team Europe | Toyota Supra Turbo | MON | SWE | POR | KEN 5 | 37th | 8 | |||||
| 1989 | Toyota Team Europe | Toyota Celica GT-Four ST165 | SWE | MON 5 | POR Ret | KEN | FRA 3 | GRC Ret | NZL | ARG | FIN Ret | AUS 1 | ITA 5 |
| 1990 | Martini Lancia | Lancia Delta Integrale 16V | MON Ret | POR 3 | KEN 2 | FRA | GRC 2 | NZL | ARG Ret | FIN 5 | AUS 1 | ITA 2 | CIV |
| 1991 | Martini Lancia | Lancia Delta Integrale 16V | MON 5 | SWE | POR 4 | KEN 1 | FRA | GRC 1 | NZL 2 | ARG 4 | FIN 1 | AUS 1 | ITA Ret |
| 1992 | Martini Racing | Lancia Delta HF Integrale | MON 3 | SWE | POR 1 | KEN 2 | FRA | GRC 2 | NZL | ARG | FIN 2 | AUS 2 | ITA 2 |
| 1993 | Toyota Castrol Team | Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD | MON 5 | SWE 2 | POR | KEN 1 | FRA | GRC Ret | ARG 1 | NZL 5 | FIN 1 | AUS 1 | ITA |
| 1994 | Toyota Castrol Team | Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD | MON 2 | POR 1 | KEN Ret | FRA 4 | GRC 3 | ARG Ret | NZL 2 | FIN 9 | 3rd | 93 | |
| 1995 | Toyota Castrol Team | Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205 | MON 3 | SWE 4 | POR 2 | FRA 10 | NZL 3 | AUS 3 | ESP Ret | GBR | DSQ | 62 | |
| 1996 | Toyota Castrol Team Sweden | Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205 | SWE 4 | KEN | 7th | 37 | |||||||
| 1997 | Ford Motor Co | Ford Escort WRC | MON | SWE | KEN | POR | ESP | FRA | ARG Ret | GRC 2 | NZL 3 | FIN 2 | IDN 2 |
| 1998 | Ford Motor Co | Ford Escort WRC | MON 2 | SWE 3 | KEN 2 | POR 7 | ESP Ret | FRA 9 | ARG 3 | GRC 3 | NZL 4 | FIN 3 | ITA Ret |
| 1999 | Subaru World Rally Team | Subaru Impreza WRC99 | MON 2 | SWE 6 | KEN Ret | POR Ret | ESP 6 | FRA | ARG 1 | GRC Ret | NZL 2 | FIN 1 | CHN 4 |
| 2000 | Subaru World Rally Team | Subaru Impreza WRC99 | MON 3 | SWE 6 | KEN 2 | 8th | 20 | ||||||
| 2001 | Hyundai Castrol WRT | Hyundai Accent WRC2 | MON | SWE | POR | ESP | ARG | CYP | GRC | KEN | FIN Ret | NZL | ITA |
Ascension to elite rallying
Juha Kankkunen, born in Laukaa, Finland, on April 2, 1959, began his involvement in motorsport at a young age. His father, an ice racing and rallying enthusiast, introduced him to driving at seven years old on an ice racing track. Kankkunen owned his first car by age 12, laying the groundwork for his competitive career.
His rally debut occurred in 1978. Kankkunen first competed in the World Rally Championship (WRC) at the 1979 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland, where he finished 14th in a Ford Escort RS2000. Mentorship from Timo Mäkinen, a family friend, combined with financial backing from Timo Jouhki, allowed Kankkunen to gain extensive experience through frequent competition.
Toyota Team Europe signed Kankkunen in 1983, following his strong performances for Toyota Finland in national events. Driving a Toyota Celica Twincam Turbo, he achieved a sixth place at the 1000 Lakes Rally in his debut season with the factory team. His first WRC victory came in 1985 at the Safari Rally, marking his first attempt at the event. He secured a second win that year at the Rallye Côte d'Ivoire, tying with teammate Björn Waldegård and winning on a tiebreaker. These early successes led to a contract with defending champions Peugeot for the 1986 season.
Peak performance and record-setting
Kankkunen seized his opportunity at Peugeot, driving the 205 Turbo 16 E2 to three victories in 1986 at the Swedish Rally, Acropolis Rally, and Rally New Zealand. He also achieved podium finishes in three other events. This season culminated in Kankkunen becoming the youngest WRC champion, though the title was confirmed retrospectively after the annulment of the Rallye Sanremo results due to an illegal exclusion of Peugeot.
Following Peugeot's withdrawal from the WRC due to the Group B ban, Kankkunen moved to Lancia, driving the Delta HF 4WD in 1987. He secured victories at the Olympus Rally and the season-ending RAC Rally, becoming the first driver to successfully defend a WRC title. After a two-year return to Toyota, he rejoined Lancia in 1990. In 1991, Kankkunen claimed a third WRC title with wins at the Safari Rally, Acropolis Rally, 1000 Lakes Rally, and Rally Australia. His 150 points that season set a new record for single-season points.
Kankkunen’s career peak continued with a record fourth WRC drivers' title in 1993, after rejoining Toyota. Driving the Toyota Celica GT-Four ST185, he won five of ten events, including the Safari Rally, Rally Argentina, Rally Australia, 1000 Lakes Rally, and RAC Rally. This brought his career WRC wins to 20, surpassing Markku Alén's previous record. His achievements also contributed to Toyota's first manufacturers' championship and earned him the Finnish Sportsman of the Year award, a rare honor for a motorsport athlete.
Every Driver From The Same Country Racing In 2026
11 of them are contesting a professional championship this season. This is the field a driver is measured against at home, and where his own career sits in it. The bars are 30-day story counts from our own tracking: they show how much attention a driver is getting, not how quick he is.
| Driver | Series | Team | Stories, 30 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sami Pajari | WRC | Toyota | 39 |
| Valtteri Bottas | F1 | Cadillac | 28 |
| Teemu Suninen | ERC/WRC2 | Hyundai | 16 |
| Kalle Rovanperä | single-seaters/GT | – | 9 |
| Esapekka Lappi | WRC | Hyundai | 9 |
| Tuukka Taponen | FIA F3 | Ferrari Driver Academy | 7 |
| Jari-Matti Latvala | WRC | Toyota (team principal) | 5 |
| Roope Korhonen | WRC junior | – | 2 |
| Marcus Amand | Porsche Supercup | – | 2 |
| Lauri Joona | WRC2 | – | 2 |
| Emil Lindholm | WRC2 | – | 1 |
Finland's World Rally Champions
Finland has produced more World Rally Championship drivers' titles than any other country, and the list is short enough to give in full. Every name here has a page on this site.
| Driver | Titles | Record on this site |
|---|---|---|
| Juha Kankkunen | 4 (1986, 1987, 1991, 1993) | four WRC world titles |
| Tommi Mäkinen | 4 (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999) | four WRC world titles |
| Marcus Grönholm | 2 (2000, 2002) | two WRC world titles |
| Kalle Rovanperä | 2 (2022, 2023) | two WRC world titles |
| Ari Vatanen | 1 (1981) | 1981 WRC world champion |
| Timo Salonen | 1 (1985) | 1985 WRC world champion |
Juha Kankkunen holds 4 titles on that list. Six drivers are on it against one Finn currently in Formula 1, and six more are contesting the World Rally Championship this season. That is the ratio this site has to be built around, and it is why the rally desk is not a sideline to the F1 desk.
Teams Juha Kankkunen Has Driven For
The structured record here does not carry a team list for this driver, so none is given rather than assembled from memory. The season-by-season results table above names the entrant for each of his campaigns, which is the same information in a form that can be checked.
Following Juha Kankkunen Through The 2026 Season
Our Finnish drivers desk covers every round he contests. The 2026 calendar carries each session in Helsinki time. His results land in the results archive.
Juha Kankkunen is one of the drivers tracked on the driver index. Start there for the whole picture: one on the Formula 1 grid and six in the World Rally Championship — a ratio that would have looked absurd twenty years ago. The junior ladder is where the next ones come from.
Every driver page here is generated from the same record, so the figures are comparable across them. The method is set out in the editorial policy, and the desk that maintains these pages is the Finnish Desk.
Career fields are Wikidata claims (birth date, birthplace, teams, honours) and the results tables are the career-statistics tables from the same entity's reference article, source. Formula 1 career totals are from our own Finnish F1 dataset; 2026 finishes are the official classification via the Jolpica Ergast mirror. Checked 26 August 2026. Where a figure is absent it is because the record does not carry it.