Tag Archives: Finland

Saxspeed – The Garage Feature Part 1.

March 18, 2009 in Feature Cars, HR Originals by

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A while ago we promised a closer look at some of the cars Finnish Rally Champion Ari Saxberg had built in his frequently snowed-in rally workshop located in the scenic area of Jyvaskyla in southern Finland. The town itself is a mere 3 hours north of Helsinki and that’s where this story takes us. Let’s take a look at the specs on some stunningly prepped rally hachi’s aswell as some great action photos.

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Finland + Rally + AE86 = Mental

January 28, 2009 in Videos by

Cheers to now local Irish lad Eircamae86 for the heads up on this one. Ouch…..

Jussi Tiippana: AE86 Boy-Wonder

October 9, 2008 in Feature Cars, HR Originals by

He could rally and slide a car through the dangerous twisted forest/hill roads before he was legally allowed to own a license. His father carefully overlooked his sons progress with planned input and nurturing leading to a steady incline of progression. Whilst still in high school he then made his debut in his trusty AE86 and won his first real competition against drivers of all ages and experience. Then came the switch to a WRX and.., Ok so before I go any further and tell you that Jussi Tiippana also delivered tofu up a mountain every morning at 4AM…. wait no, I’ll stop this childish Initial-D analogy right here.

Jussi Tiippana is an upcoming rally driver and one to definitely look out for in the future! This year at merely the age of 19 (b. 10-10-1989) he competed in both the ‘Neste Oil Rally FInalnd’ and the ‘Sweden WRC Rally’ (Yes both rounds of the WRC) with a nicely prepped WRX. But as already mentioned he paved the way and had tremendous success in his previous competition car; an AE86 Coupe. So we here at HR Blog thought we’d contact Jussi and talk all things AE86.

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What Will Those Finns Think of Next?

September 29, 2008 in Videos by

So it seems this video has been doing the rounds lately but I thought I’d blog it in case anyone has missed it. After all it’s rather timely considering HR Blog’s recent Finnish Rally history article! What is actually going on? Well from what we can tell A band by the name of “Osmo’s Cosmos” (Yes free plug guys!) have decided to do a film clip for one of their songs and being from Finland they decided to …naturally feature some Rally action! and …naturally in an AE86! Yes we here at HR love it, It’s great to watch.

The video features upcoming rally driver Jussi Tiippana as pilot of a nicely prepped coupe. Watch carefully at the end of the clip, the guy ‘timing’ the race is 4 time WRC champion Juha Kankkunen. The premise is, Jussi is rallying through his local course in where he comes upon Osmo’s Cosmos’ broken down tour bus. They ask him for a lift (and all 6 members hop in!) and Jussi is then forced to taxi them to their various band stops… Great stuff.

Go you crazy Fins!

P.S Stay tuned for an Interview with the driver Jussi Tiippana!

Finnish Group-n Rally History With Ari Saxberg

September 22, 2008 in AE86 History, Feature Cars, HR Originals by

The Finnish (That’s Finland) National Rally has given rise to some of the world’s best rally drivers. It’s a land of sweeping mountain passes and snow… lots and lots of snow, so what better combination to breed rally drivers? It’s no surprise then that rally is in the blood of most Finnish youngsters and motor sport enthusiasts.

Nordic countries have combined to produce 16 WRC title champions since 1977. Perhaps you might have heard about some of the Finnish drivers? guys like; Ari Vatanen, Juha Kankkunen, Tommi Mäkinen and Marcus Grönholm. Whilst also being a breeding ground for great talent it, like any other hotly intense local competition is a survival of the fittest when it comes to the machinery.

Sure our beloved AE86 has done well in places like Japan, Australia, Ireland but what about the die-hard heartland of rally. Where the world’s greatest manufacturers grind their rally teeth? Where the record setting cars like the Audi Quattro and the Ford Escort RS battled it out with other makes like the Lancia Delta, Peugeot 205 GTI and Opels of various makes. I speak of Europe of course and one of its many snow filled battlegrounds; Finland.

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