If you’d asked me to draw a picture of anything as a child, it would probably have looked something like this.
Granted, the Subaru Impreza WRC is the important element there. Sorry, Mitsubishi fans, I was slightly obsessed. Even my twin brother was, and his favorite color was red while mine was blue.
It’s impressive that I’ve managed to digress and we’re only three paragraphs into this ‘picture of the week’ entry, so I’ll steer myself back on track.
I haven’t selected this image from the Girardo & Co. Archive purely because it’s a Subaru. There are two good reasons why you’re gawking at a picture of Juha Kankkunen from Rally Finland 1999.
Both of those technically stretch back to that year’s Tour de Corse, but it’s Finland week so it would be illegal not to run an image from the 1000 Lakes. Corsica 1999 introduced a points-paying test as the final stage which was broadcast live on television. In other words, the very first powerstage ran 25 years ago!
Although the powerstage is universally recognized as a strong addition to the championship today, it wasn’t so popular at first. In the days prior to super-rally’s full-scale introduction, those who had already retired from the rally were able to rejoin in the pursuit of bonus points (three for the fastest time down to one for third) on the final stage, so some teams took a tactical advantage.
In Finland, Ford withdrew Thomas Rådström after SS20 of 23 so that his Focus WRC could be reprepared ready for the powerstage, while Toyota mimicked this play by pulling Didier Auriol out early and fitting a new transmission to his Corolla.
The masterstroke paid off, as Auriol set the fastest time from Tommi Mäkinen, who’d retired on Ouninpohja the previous day with a clutch problem, while Rådström was just 0.2s shy of Toni Gardemeister’s Seat and the final bonus point.
Falling rain made it easier for the retirees who started at the head of the pack and avoided the shower, but none of this deterred Kankkunen who recorded his 23rd and final WRC victory.
But the final stage being a live on TV did give birth to another classic ingredient of modern-day: the live stage-end interview. And what better way for the era to begin than with this classic from Kankkunen?
It’s raining, what tires were you on?
“Black, round, Pirelli.”
