JJ Lehto
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|
| Born |
31 January 1966 Espoo, Finland |
|---|---|
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |
 Finnish |
| Active years | 1989–1994 |
| Teams | Onyx, Scuderia Italia, Sauber, Benetton |
| Entries | 70 (62 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 1 |
| Career points | 10 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1989 Portuguese Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1994 Australian Grand Prix |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans career | |
| Participating years | 1990–1991, 1995–1997, 1999, 2002–2005 |
| Teams | Richard Lloyd Racing, Kremer Racing, Kokusai Kaihatsu, GTC Competition, BMW Motorsport, Team Cadillac, Champion Racing |
| Best finish | 1st (1995, 2005) |
| Class wins | 2 (1995, 2005) |
Jyrki Juhani Järvilehto (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈjyrki ˈjærvilehto]; born 31 January 1966 in Espoo), better known as "JJ Lehto", is a Finnish racing driver. He won the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice, in 1995 and 2005. He is also a former Formula One driver.
He was a protégé of Finnish 1982 Formula One World Champion Keke Rosberg, who first suggested that Jyrki Järvilehto should abbreviate his name to the more manageable JJ Lehto, much as Rosberg had done before him ("Keke" being derived from Keijo, his own given name).
Like many racing drivers Lehto began in karts at age 8, winning numerous events, before graduating to Formula Ford at the early age of 15. A switch to single seaters saw him dominate the Scandinavian Formula Ford. He then won the British and European Formula 2000 championship in 1987 and went on to win the coveted British Formula 3 title in 1988, driving for Pacific Racing. In 1989 Lehto drove in Formula 3000, again for Pacific Racing. The season was not successful and he failed to score any podium finishes. He did not participate in the last race which was held in Dijon-Prenois.
In 1989 Lehto tested for Ferrari before making his Formula One debut for the Onyx team as a late-season replacement for Bertrand Gachot. Though he failed to prequalify for his first race at Estoril he impressed with his speed in the tough sessions and made his first start in the following meeting. In the wet season finale at Adelaide he ran as high as 5th before retiring with waterlogged electrics. Over the summer Onyx were sold to Swiss racer turned businessman Peter Monteverdi. Lehto, marked by many as a star of the future, was paired with Gregor Foitek but financial difficulties hampered his season, leading to the team's withdrawal after the Hungarian Grand Prix (one of five events the Finn failed to qualify for – though he had been hindered by the team's poor preparation, including a driveshaft being fitted the wrong way around for several meetings, and favouritism towards Foitek, whose father was involved with the buyout).
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