Juha Kankkunen

Juha Kankkunen

Kankkunen in Helsinki in 2006.
Personal information
Nationality	Finnish
Born	(1959-04-02) 2 April 1959 (age 57) Laukaa
World Rally Championship record
Active years	1979, 1982–2002, 2010
Co-driver	Juha Repo Nicky Grist Denis Giraudet Juha Piironen
Teams	Toyota, Peugeot, Lancia, Ford, Subaru, Hyundai
Rallies	162
Championships	4 (1986, 1987, 1991, 1993)
Rally wins	23
Podiums	75
Stage wins	700
Total points	1140
First rally	1979 1000 Lakes Rally
First win	1985 Safari Rally
Last win	1999 Rally Finland
Last rally	2010 Rally Finland

Juha Matti Pellervo Kankkunen ( pronunciation ) (born 2 April 1959 in Laukaa) is a Finnish former rally driver. His factory team career in the World Rally Championship lasted from 1983 to 2002. He won 23 world rallies and four drivers' world championship titles, which were both once records in the series. Sébastien Loeb has since collected more world titles, but no driver has so far been able to repeat Kankkunen's feat of becoming a world champion with three different manufacturers.

Kankkunen was signed by Toyota in 1983 and he took his first WRC win in his third year in the team. His performances got him a deal with the defending champions Peugeot for 1986, and Kankkunen was soon crowned the series' then youngest-ever champion. As Peugeot withdrew from the championship following the ban of Group B, Kankkunen moved to Lancia and became the first driver to successfully defend his title. After a two-year stint back at Toyota, he returned to Lancia and won a record third title in 1991.

In 1993, Kankkunen re-joined Toyota and won his fourth title. Following Toyota's disqualification and 12-month ban in 1995, Kankkunen did not return to active participation in the series until joining Ford halfway through the 1997 season replacing an underperforming Armin Schwarz. After moving to Subaru for 1999, he took his first win in over five years. Before retiring after the 2002 season, he competed part-time for Hyundai.