Arctic Rally, currently Arctic Lapland Rally and also known as Tunturiralli, is an annual rally competition held on ice and snow covered roads in Rovaniemi, Lapland, Finland. It has been organized continuously since 1966. The rally is currently only part of the Finnish Rally Championship, having previously been a round of the European Rally Championship until 2004 and the World Rally Championship's FIA Cup for Drivers in 1977 and 1978.
The rally has been won by five World Rally Champions: Marcus Grönholm, Tommi Mäkinen, Hannu Mikkola, Timo Salonen and Ari Vatanen. In recent years, it has attracted competitors from circuit racing. The 2009 entry list included four current or former Formula One drivers; JJ Lehto finished ninth on his tenth Arctic Rally, Kimi Räikkönen 13th on his first-ever rally competition, Mika Häkkinen 19th on his fourth outing in the event while a gearbox failure ended Mika Salo's third Arctic Rally.
Read more about Arctic Rally: Winners
Famous quotes containing the words arctic and/or rally:
“Nature confounds her summer distinctions at this season. The heavens seem to be nearer the earth. The elements are less reserved and distinct. Water turns to ice, rain to snow. The day is but a Scandinavian night. The winter is an arctic summer.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“I ... once witnessed more ardent emotions between men at an Elks’ Rally in Pasadena than they could ever have felt for the type of woman available to an Elk.”
—Anita Loos (1888–1981)