Tommi Mäkinen: Finnish legend. What is the story of one of the most successful WRC drivers?

Tommi Mäkinen is considered one of the iconic figures of the World Rally Championship. During his career he has achieved stunning success, winning four consecutive championship titles. His technical skills, determination and natural talent have catapulted him into the ranks of legends not only of rallying but of motorsport as a whole.

Mäkinen was born on 26 June 1964 in Puuppola, Finland. His professional racing career began in 1985 when he competed in his first Finnish championship. He bought his first race car, a Ford Escort RS2000, with his own money.

In 1986, he competed in a total of twenty races, and two years later he became the Finnish champion in the Group N class, specifically with a Lancia Delta HF 4WD. He participated in the World Rally Championship for the first time in 1987, but only made one start. And that was in the Rally Finland, which he didn’t finish.

In the following years, he entered the World Rally Championship more sporadically. In 1992, he joined the Nissan Motorsports Europe team, in whose colours he competed in four events. After the season, the team withdrew from the world championship.

In 1994, he scored his first World Championship victory when he triumphed at the Rally Turkey in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo II. Mäkinen’s real breakthrough came in 1995 when he joined the Mitsubishi Ralliart factory team.

Four championship titles in a row

Over the next four years he dominated the World Rally Championship, winning four consecutive championship titles in 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999. This made him the first driver in history to achieve four consecutive overall championships.

Notably, the 1996 title was all the more valuable for Mäkinen as he beat his long-time rival Colin McRae. The latter won the title in Subaru colours in 1995 and was one of the best drivers in world rallying at the time.

He started the 2000 season very successfully after winning four titles in a row, triumphing in Monte Carlo. However, he did not win his fifth consecutive overall championship, as he was overtaken in the final showdown by another Finn – Marcus Grönholm (Peugeot).

In this year, Mitsubishi produced a road-going version of the famous Lancer Evolution VI in the edition “Tommi Mäkinen”, and of course his previous successes. Mäkinen stayed with the Japanese team until the end of the 2001 season, at the end of which he finished third in the drivers’ championship behind Richard Burns and McRae.

It was to the 2001 season that he had one memorable moment, when he crashed very badly in Corsica. His co-driver, Risto Mannisenmäki, suffered a broken back. He remained wedged upside down in the car until the paramedics arrived.

For Mannisenmäki, it was practically the end of his career, and Mäkinen had to drive the rest of the year with substitute co-drivers. And the fact remains that this also helped Burns to his first and last WRC title.

Switching to Subaru

In 2002, Mäkinen moved to Subaru. However, he finished both 2002 and 2003 in eighth place, with only one win in two years. However, despite scoring a total of five podiums, he decided to retire at the end of the 2003 season.

After retiring from his active career, Mäkinen focused on developing young talent. In 2004, for example, he set up his own company called Tommi Mäkinen Racing Oy Ltd, whose aim was specifically to support drivers heading into world rallying.

Looking at more recent history, in 2017 he became the boss of the Toyota Gazoo Racing team, which made a successful return to the WRC. It should be added, Toyota president Akio Toyoda appointed him to the role back in 2015. In 2018, Mäkinen helped the Japanese team to triumph in the Constructors’ Cup, or its first title since 1999.

In 2020, TGR Europe bought the Tommi Mäkinen Racing team and its assets, bringing it under the control of the manufacturer. Subsequently, the famous Finnish racer became an advisor to Toyota Gazoo Racing.

Finally…

Mäkinen is considered one of the best rally drivers of all time. His technical skills, aggressive but precise driving, ability to adapt to different surfaces, determination and even tactical approach to racing have earned him an unmistakable place in motorsport history.

He is one of those drivers who have left a lasting mark on the world of motorsport and whose name is permanently etched in the hearts of fans around the world. He has dominated the Monte Carlo Rally four times, the Finnish Rally four times, and the Swedish Rally three times. He is a four-time world champion, with 24 victories and 45 podiums.

Sources: WRC, FIA, Motorsport stats