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08 Oct 2005, 02:23 am
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#1 (permalink) |
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Fresh Noob
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Henri Toivonen In Memoriam
hi all this is my first posting, hope that u like it.
this guy was finnish b-series rally driver, he passed away in corsica wrc rally 1986. http://koti.mbnet.fi/pmm81/Henri_Toivonen_tribute.wmv Last edited by hex; 08 Oct 2005 at 02:39 am. |
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08 Oct 2005, 03:35 am
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#2 (permalink) |
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Veteran Tremekian
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Great post, he was one of the best.
It was very strange the crash that killed him and his co-pilot, with his Lancia Delta S4 exploding instantly, and the fact that Lancia shiped the car to Italy right after that, without no one ever seeing that car again... 
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08 Oct 2005, 04:52 am
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#3 (permalink) | |
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Senior Tremekian
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nortad
do you think you can find more information on this subject for us ?
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09 Oct 2005, 12:51 pm
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#6 (permalink) |
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Fresh Noob
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Those Group B days were crazy indeed, I was fortunate enough to witness those cars develop during the 1980's. Each November as a kid my dad would take me to watch the RAC Rally (Now Rally GB) Back then it was a 5 day blast through England, Scotland and Wales. Those Lancia Delta S4's were a hell of a sight and the noise they made was quite unique due to the fact they were turbo and supercharged, the reason Toivonen's car burst into flames so easily was simple - Those Group B cars had been built with little consideration to safety, the drivers were sat on top of the fuel tanks in the Lancia and the kevlar/carbon fibre bodies were not fireproofed so they just burned furiously, they were a bit like F1 cars in the 1960's as far as safety went. Toivonen was one of the most exciting drivers ever to watch in my opinion.
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10 Oct 2005, 06:09 am
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#7 (permalink) | |
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Veteran Tremekian
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Quote:
"1986 began where the previous year left off for Henri, with a convincing win on the Monte Carlo Rally. He was now partnered by Sergio Cresto, a promising young American co-driver. After the Monte win, there came a string of good performances, though somewhat thin on results, plus another win on the Costa Smeralda. The Tour de Corse began on the 1st of May. Henri was suffering from flu, but insisted on driving regardless. Even though he was walking around semi-comatose in comparison to his usual jumpy and nervous self, he was constantly putting up the fastest times for each stage. Competitors and spectators alike could not grasp how someone so far from fitness, could pull out a performance like that. The wisdom of that was debatable though, as it was not to last. On the 7th kilometer of the eighteenth stage, the Lancia inexplicably left the road and plunged down a ravine, landing on its roof. The aluminium fuel tank, ruptured by the trees as the car rolled down the cliff-face, exploded. Clouds of thick black smoke pinpointed the accident, but there were no marshalls or spectators nearby to lend assistance. Still strapped in their seats and with no means of escape, Henri Toivonen and Sergio Cresto burned to death. No one knew of the accident at the stage finish, and it was only when the Lancia hadn't emerged from the competitive section on schedule, did the team realise that something was amiss. It wasn't until the next crew through explained about the black smoke and fire seven kilometers into the stage, did everyone understand that there had been an accident involving Henri's Lancia. But it was too late. By the time the emergency services reached the scene, they were faced by an inferno. The trees in which the car had come to rest were so dry, that they added to the flames, fanned by the breeze. The remains of the car was so charred, that the Lancia engineers and technicians couldn't physically determine the cause of the crash. So, exactly how Henri Toivonen and his co-driver, Sergio Cresto died, is still a mystery to this day. Was there a problem with the car, or was it that Henri's ill health* caused him to lose control of an extremely powerful and car on some of the most treacherous roads in Europe? We will never know, though Henri himself admitted that even he didn't really know how to drive the S4 Maybe we wouldn't want to know... It would only increase the pain caused by such a tragic loss to the sport of rallying. * Walter Rohrl later confirmed that Henri was indeed taking some form of medicine at the time to alleviate his flu symptoms. Whether this may have been a potential cause of the crash remains unknown. Henri left behind a wife, Erja, and two young children, Arla and Markus. Sergio was single and had no children. " This really makes a sad impression on you. RIP.
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10 Oct 2005, 09:44 pm
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#8 (permalink) |
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Fresh Noob
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There was no footage of his drive in the rally of ireland , in the rothmans porsche . What a drive that was , the cars gearbox stuffed up on the first day and he had only 1th and 4th gear or something like that . He still manage to stay in front for a while driving the car like that . They pulled a gearbox from a road car , stuck that in but to much time was lost , what a driver . Good on you Hex great work.
I will try to find a old tape of that event and check the details . It was the Circuit of Ireland 1984 event , the DNF due to time , its must have taken to much time to change the gearbox . Duke marketing have that event on vhs . Last edited by improvedae86; 10 Oct 2005 at 09:49 pm. |
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11 Oct 2005, 08:05 pm
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#11 (permalink) |
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Fanatic Tremekian
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The thing that amazes me the most is that in 1986 the rally of Portugal had a special stage in the GP circuit of Estoril and he laped the track with a time that would've qualified him 6th for the F1 gran prix of that year. And you need to remember this was the era of turbo F1's and when they go out to qualify they have less fuel and different setup than when they race. A rally car weighs more, less power, less aerodynamic and with 2 people inside. Senna got the pole position that year by the way.
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13 Mar 2006, 05:35 pm
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#14 (permalink) | |
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Fresh Noob
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Quote:
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