Pauli Toivonen
Born: 22 Aug 1929
Hometown: Jyväskylä
San Remo 1968. Another 1st place on the way to the Championship.
Pauli Toivonen made his impact driving primarily for Citroen and Porsche, though he had moderate success driving for Lancia in 1967.
He was awarded first place on the 1966 Monte Carlo Rally after a protest by the Citroen team manager against the top finishing British cars. As a result, the top three placing Minis of Makinen, Aaltonen and Hopkirk and Roger Clark's 4th place Ford Cortina were disqualified. The reason given by rally officials was that the headlamp bulbs were not homologated. Toivonen was so embarrased that he never drove for Citroen again.
Driving for Porsche in 1968, he won five events and captured the European Drivers Championship.
In addition to driving rally cars, Toivonen drove at the 24 Hours of LeMans in Alpine Renaults, and in several World Endurance Sports Car races for Porsche.
Pauli was the father of Henri Toivonen, whom many considered the greatest rally driver ever. Henri died when his Lancia left the road and burned during the 1986 Tour de Corse.
| Year | Rally | Finish | Car | Co-driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 1000 Lakes | 2nd | Citroen | Jaakko Kallio |
| 1962 | 1000 Lakes | 1st | Citroen DS19 | Jaakko Kallio |
| 1963 | Monte Carlo | 2nd | Citroen DS19 | A. Jarvi |
| 1965 | 1000 Lakes | 3rd | Volkswagen 1500S | Kalevi Leivo |
| 1966 | Monte Carlo | 1st * | Citroen DS21 | E. Mikander |
| * Awarded 1st after the top four placing British cars were disqualified due to "illegal headlamp bulbs". | ||||
| 1967 | Swedish | 6th | Lancia? | Ahava |
| 1000 Lakes | 7th | Lancia? | Salonen | |
| Tour de Corse | 2nd | Lancia? | M. Tiukkanen | |
| 1968 | Monte Carlo | 2nd | Porsche 911T | M. Tiukkanen |
| San Remo | 1st | Porsche 911T | M. Tiukkanen | |
| East German | 1st | Porsche 911T | M. Kolari | |
| West German | 1st | Porsche 911T | M. Kolari | |
| Acropolis | 3rd | Porsche 911T | M. Kolari | |
| Geneva | 1st | Porsche 911T | Vihervaava | |
| Castrol-Danube | 1st | Porsche 911T | M. Tiukkanen | |
| 1968 | European Champion | |||
| 1969 | Acropolis | 1st | Porsche 911S | M. Kolari |
Toivonen on the way to victory at the 1969 Acropolis Rally.