Juho Hänninen
Juho Hänninen (born 25 July 1981 in Punkaharju ) is a Finnish rally driver.
- 2.1 Title
- 2.2 WRC results
- 2.3 IRC results
Career
Beginnings in the Finnish Championship
Juho Hänninen began his career as a rally driver in 1999 at the age of 18 years with a VW Golf. He first drove in the Finnish Junior Rally Championship and achieved in 2002 Seat Ibiza GTi 16V fifth championship course. End of the year he switched to a Honda Civic Type R. With this vehicle, he was eighth in the 2003 Finnish Rally Championship Group N under 2 liters. In 2004 he succeeded the championship victory in this class. As of 2005, he went with a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI Rally Rent Europe in the Finnish Championship at the start. With the more powerful vehicle he reached increasingly anterior placement. He was runner up in the Group N over 2 liters and won a rally in the Estonian championship.
Entry into the World Rally Championship
Hänninen was created in 2006 continue to rally for Rent Europe, but now in a newer Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX, in the Finnish Rally Championship at the start. With two championship races he went to the podium and he finished the season again narrowly beaten into second place in Group N classification. In addition, he completed his first appearances in the World Rally Championship. At its debut, the Swedish Rally beginning of the season, he was the best-placed driver with a Group N car. The Rally Sardinia, his second WRC Rally, he finished as the fastest Group N driver. Then he went for the first time at the Rally Finland in a World Rally Car, the Mitsubishi Lancer WRC 05, in the WRC at the start. Rally New Zealand, he joined again with the Group N Lancer and reached with the ninth overall his best result in the WRC. The Wales Rally GB at the end of the season he drove a Citroën C2 S1600 and he beat off all other drivers with Super 1600 cars through.
PWRC in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX
In the 2007 season Hänninen took with the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX Rally Rent Europe for the first time participate in the Production World Rally Championship in the WRC. There he went in six of eight runs at the start. In the Swedish Rally, he was the fastest PWRC pilot, but he was later disqualified because of an irregular fuel pump. His best results in the PWRC were place at the Rally Argentina and second place in the Rally of Wales. At the end of the season he finished second in the PWRC fifth championship course. In between, he graduated in three WRC rallies with the Mitsubishi Lancer WRC 05 With this car, he managed to eighth place overall in the Rally of Sardinia, which he scored his first WRC point.
2008 Hänninen took the Group N Lancer continue regularly at the PWRC in part. In the Swedish Rally, he celebrated his first PWRC victory. With the eighth overall he took also his second WRC- point. Later he still get two more victories in the PWRC Rally Finland and Rally Japan, with which he took the lead in the championship. As he had, however, to record a loss in the final rally Wales, he finished the PWRC with just two points behind in second place in the overall standings. Incidentally Hänninen had his first two appearances in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge in the 2008 season. After he had finished fifth in the Rally of Portugal in a Lancer Evo IX, he won in a Peugeot 207 S2000 of Kronos Racing Rally Russia. The points of both rallies ranged for eighth place in the final state of the IRC.
IRC and SWRC in the Škoda Fabia S2000
2009 Hänninen was obliged by Škoda Motorsport factory team for the IRC and he was the weapon of choice a Škoda Fabia S2000. With accidents in the first two IRC inserts the start of the season but was unsuccessful for him. Half of the season won for the second consecutive victory in the Rally of Russia. This was followed by a third place finish at the Barum Czech Rally Zlín. At the end of the season, he finished after a total of six completed rallies in sixth place in the overall standings of the IRC. In the WRC, he started only for Rally Finland and drove there a Škoda Fabia S2000, the use of Raimund tree Schlager Team Red Bull Škoda has been made. The Rally Finland, he finished in tenth position and as the best-placed driver with a Super 2000 car.
In the 2010 season Hänninen continued its cooperation with the Škoda factory team. For the first time he played a full season in the IRC. He showed from the beginning a strong form and placed regularly on the front ranks. He won the Rally Argentina, Rally Sardinia Rally Scotland. In addition, he went to the podium in seven other rallies. Thus he won the championship ahead and scored the biggest success of his career. Besides, he was back in the Red Bull Škoda at the Rally Finland at the start, where he won the class victory in the SWRC and WRC took two points with the ninth overall.
2011 Hänninen went for the Skoda factory team only in selected IRC rounds at the start and not the originally planned title defense. Mainly now, he started for the team Red Bull Škoda in the SWRC class of the World Rally Championship. After the second class ranks at the rallies in Mexico and in Sardinia, he decided three times the SWRC standings for themselves: in the Rally of Greece, Rally Finland and Rally Catalunya. He secured the SWRC title. In seven starts in the WRC also succeeded him five times to place themselves with the losing Super 2000 car in the WRC points positions. In the IRC, he won first at the Rally Islas Canarias and won for the first time a tarmac rally. This was followed by victories at the Prime Yalta Rally and the Rallye Açores Sata. During the season, Hänninen won again the lead in the championship, but had to leave again without a fight as often as Škoda schedule did not use it at all rallies. He had slipped on his account up to fourth place in the drivers' standings before the penultimate round of the season despite three wins. With second place in the Rally of Scotland but he brought back into play by the IRC title.
Statistics
Title
- Finnish Rally Championship (Group N2): 2004
- Intercontinental Rally Challenge: 2010
- Super 2000 World Rally Championship: 2011