1000 Lakes Rally 1982
Round 9 of the 1982 World Rally Championship · 27–29 August 1982
Hannu Mikkola won his home rally by just 30 seconds from team-mate Stig Blomqvist — an Audi one-two on the fastest event of the year.
Episode 1 — Birth of a Monster: How Group B Began (1982)
The 1000 Lakes Rally 1982 features in this episode of our documentary series.
At a glance
The podium
Photo: Jiří Sedláček via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0Photo: Jiří Sedláček via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0Car photos are representative pictures of the model, not of this event.
Route and surface
The ‘Finnish Grand Prix’: smooth, fast gravel roads with crests and jumps, where commitment and pace notes count above all.
Key entries
The leading seeded crews (start numbers 1–8):
- #1 Ari Vatanen / Terry Harryman — Ford Escort RS (MCD/Mobira)
- #2 Markku Alén / Ilkka Kivimäki — Lancia Rally 037 (Martini Racing)
- #3 Hannu Mikkola / Arne Hertz — Audi Quattro (Audi Sport)
- #4 Henri Toivonen / Fred Gallagher — Opel Ascona 400 (Rothmans Opel Team)
- #5 Stig Blomqvist / Björn Cederberg — Audi Quattro (Audi Sport)
- #6 Timo Salonen / Seppo Harjanne — Nissan Silvia (Team Nissan Europe)
- #7 Pentti Airikkala / Juha Piironen — Mitsubishi Lancer 2000 Turbo (Team Ralliart)
- #8 Michèle Mouton / Fabrizia Pons — Audi Quattro (Audi Sport)
Hannu Mikkola won his home rally by just 30 seconds from team-mate Stig Blomqvist — an Audi one-two on the fastest event of the year.
How the rally unfolded
Blomqvist and Mikkola swapped the lead several times in the first half. Blomqvist won 21 of the 47 stages, Mikkola 12, but Mikkola took the lead for good on stage 19. Pentti Airikkala was a fine third in a Mitsubishi Lancer Turbo.
The Finns hoping to beat the Audis fell away: Ari Vatanen’s Escort and Henri Toivonen’s Ascona both had engine trouble, Markku Alén’s 037 retired with engine failure on stage 5, and Michèle Mouton crashed.
The decisive moment
Mikkola’s lead after stage 19 was never more than a few seconds — a margin of 30 seconds at the finish shows how close it was.
Result — top 10
| Pos. | No. | Crew | Car | Entrant | Gp. | Time / gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Hannu Mikkola / Arne Hertz | Audi Quattro | Audi Sport | G4 | 4:19:05 |
| 2 | 5 | Stig Blomqvist / Björn Cederberg | Audi Quattro | Audi Sport | G4 | +0:30 |
| 3 | 7 | Pentti Airikkala / Juha Piironen | Mitsubishi Lancer 2000 Turbo | Team Ralliart | G4 | +4:17 |
| 4 | 6 | Timo Salonen / Seppo Harjanne | Nissan Silvia | Team Nissan Europe | G2 | +5:57 |
| 5 | 14 | Antero Laine / Risto Virtanen | Talbot Sunbeam | Intereconomics Oy | G2 | +12:49 |
| 6 | 15 | Russell Brookes / Ronan Morgan | Vauxhall Chevette 2300 | Andrews Heat for Hire | G4 | +18:05 |
| 7 | 26 | Harri Uotila / Timi Leino | Ford Escort RS | Timi Production | G2 | +29:05 |
| 8 | 20 | Jouni Kinnunen / Juhani Nieminen | Ford Escort RS | Autoracing Oy | G2 | +31:58 |
| 9 | 69 | Seppo Mustonen / Erkki Pakkanen | Ford Escort RS | Outokummun Painotuote | G2 | +34:42 |
| 10 | 109 | Henri Palmroos / Ilkka Riipinen | Ford Escort RS | Roadstar Racing Team | G2 | +36:50 |
Retirements of note
- #1 Ari Vatanen / Terry Harryman (Ford Escort RS) — engine, stage 18
- #2 Markku Alén / Ilkka Kivimäki (Lancia Rally 037) — engine, stage 5
- #4 Henri Toivonen / Fred Gallagher (Opel Ascona 400) — head gasket, stage 20
- #8 Michèle Mouton / Fabrizia Pons (Audi Quattro) — accident, stage 16
- #9 Per Eklund / Ragnar Spjuth (Porsche 911) — suspension, stage 3
- #10 Anders Kulläng / Bruno Berglund (Mitsubishi Lancer 2000 Turbo) — engine, stage 10
- #12 Lasse Lampi / Pentti Kuukkala (Ford Escort RS) — engine, stage 21
- #13 Björn Johansson / Sven-Erik Andersson (Opel Ascona 400) — head gasket, stage 19
Results, retirements, stage wins and leaders are taken from Jonkka’s World Rally Archive. Names are given with their correct spelling; the archive itself omits diacritics.
Related pages
- 1982 season overview
- All 1982 rallies
- Previous round: Rally of Brazil 1982
- Next round: Rallye Sanremo 1982
- Cars: Audi Quattro
- Teams: Audi Sport
- Iconic moments · Timeline · Statistics
All rounds of 1982
In pictures 4 photos
Photos from this event where free-licensed pictures exist; otherwise the podium cars, photographed on the occasion stated in each caption.
Further resources
- Motor Sport (October 1982): Rally of the Thousand Lakes EN · article · subscription
Contemporary report from Motor Sport magazine's October 1982 issue, written as the season unfolded. - WRC.com season archive 1982 EN · archive
Official summary of the 1982 season: calendar, winners and both championship tables. - Wikipedia: 1000 Lakes Rally / Rally Finland EN · archive
History of the 1000 Lakes Rally / Rally Finland with its list of winners over the decades. - Rally Finland (official site, the former 1000 Lakes) FI · event
Today's organiser of the 1000 Lakes Rally / Rally Finland, with information about the current event.
The same rally in other Group B years
Sources
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive (juwra.com), 1000 Lakes Rally 1982: event page — https://www.juwra.com/finland_1982.html
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive, results — https://www.juwra.com/finland_1982_results.html
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive, entry list — https://www.juwra.com/finland_1982_entries.html
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive, stage winners and leaders — https://www.juwra.com/finland_1982_stage_winners.html
- Wikipedia (EN), 1982 World Rally Championship — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1982_World_Rally_Championship
All text is original writing for Grouve Sports Management Group, based on the sources above. Facts checked on 21 October 2026.
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SubscribeThumbnail photos on this page: Jiří Sedláček (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Morio (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Thesupermat (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Rutger van der Maar (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Alberto-g-rovi (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0); Steffs88 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Calreyn88 (Wikimedia Commons, CC0).