OK, we all know the Finns drive their cars to the limit (and beyond) just for fun. They have produced some really great race drivers that way. Something about that northern air just makes them want to drive like madmen.

But here's the wildest I've ever personally seen.

This is Ari Vatanen driving a PEUGEOT (of all things!) up Pike's Peak in Colorado.

He got my undivided attention @3:50!

AJ, can you drive like this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSPvGUl9 ... re=related

Frank

(I can remember, as a kid, watching AJ Foyt and Fireball Roberts thunder up this mountain to set a new record in the "new" 406 Ford sedans ~ their average speed was probably 60 )

And look at that spoiler!! Something you dont see in cars this day (luckily ) We have that kind (even more narrow) of gravel roads going in middle of dense forests. If you drive them 100miles/h without crashing, that makes you a great rally driver. If you crash....well

Ari was driving for Peugeot for years and winning Paris-Dakar 4 times, 3 times with Peugeot. Tommi Mäkinen drove subaru and won world championship 4 times and he have race car factory that makes custom Subarus.

Juha Kankkunen won also WRC 4 times. Also Markus "up in the ass of Timo" Grönholm has won it 2 times. Nickname is comes from one particular crash, where stone impaled cars frame and hit the co-drivers ass. In the interview he visually showed and explained how the stone went "up in the ass of Timo"

Keke Rosberg F1 Champion
Mika Häkkinen F1 Champion 2 times
Kimi "iceman" Räikkönen F1 Champion
(he get his nickname for his comments also, he either comments nothing or just simple YES/NO. He also one time said in live tv when asked about did he see the succes of his teammate after his own car broke down "Naah, i was taking a dump")

List goes on.. We are proud of these crazy drivers, being such a little country we have to be proud of every man and woman who makes name.

Don't forget to mention Rauno Aaltonen, one of the original "Flying Finns".

Something about your country makes your drivers very brave or very careless. It then makes them decide to conquer the world alone, with a car!

Gee, 2 days ago I just checking out the rules for that race. Been up in my uncles El Camino, (not on race day,) and what a thrill it would be to race this hill. Both relatives of mine out there, you step on the back porch and there's Pike's Peak right there, a true beautiful site for sure.

Sadly....I hate to brag... but a few stint years in autocross with a limp CRX, a few years with a limping Z for drifting, and growing up in the mountains in New Mexico with a Jeep Grand Wagoneer that had some guts... I'd say wait til I get the CRX put together, and find me a road...dirt, pavement, or gravel.... and I'll freak you out. I'll also take you out in the Z when it's drift-able again...


I'm not pro, but I did drive in Japan for over 7 years...and learning to drive on the wrong side of the car, on roads with gutters on both sides, and very little room for mistakes... I had a few crashes, a few close calls,...... but a closed, freshly graded, open road like PP's...I'd be all over it and gunning it as hard as the car can do.

another sad thing is I haven't had any seat time in any car since about 2007.....so I'll be rusty, and will have to re-learn both the Z and CRX again when they get done.

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Also Known As Clayton Pace

That's a looooooonnnnng drop to the bottom, buddy. Guess you should practice first!

I'd still do it, with a decent cage, seat, and harness..... and a flame retardant suit, a fire suppression system, and a helmet. I've been in about 22 wrecks...blown 7-10 engines, one car fire, no kids, and just enough life insurance to make the wife happy for a few years til she finds another man to live with. And all my Z stuff goes to CTZCC.com, and half of my Honda stuff goes to Hondaswap.com, the other half goes to Redpepperracing.com. I'll put it in my will.

bring it on.

I'm 38 now, and the pain I'm in while working on cars since a kid, with all the accidents I've been in, I will be hating life when I'm 60.... my knee's are already telling me I need to find a desk job soon. You only live once, and if I turn to the healthy life style of living.....I don't want to be 90 years old and in a hospital dying of nothing...

I'm not suicidal, I just know that every night driving to work on Rt. 15, could be my last night alive. With the deer, drunk drivers, and speed demons....I know that when my number is up...its up. Live what life you have now, enjoy it, and accept it for what it's worth. If you live in a padded room, your going to die, if you live off adrenaline your going to die... And with our recent loss of Colin.... death can come at anytime.... sad to say at a time like this, but I should have been dead when I was 12. My uncle was killed on a motorcycle just like Colin, and his name was Clayton. When I was born a month later....I received his name.

Life is short...live it.

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Also Known As Clayton Pace

I swear I just saw your Avitar wink!!!

This guy is my idol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMBVzsEW ... re=related

Dave

(HEY! There goes AJ!)

That thing actually looks like it might be a bit under-sprung, judging by the front end at the beginning of the run.

I like the way he sets up reverse transitory turns @ 1:48 and 1:58, making the tail oversteer the wrong way so he can flash thru the next turn with his nose planted on the apex! (You can tell he's probably done this a few times before! ).

Really good driver, but I think he might do better with more car. This one only has 800 hp!

And of course we've all used THIS one to wake up with in the morning:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7_o-2cU9AQ

My favorite turns are @2:34 and 2:48.

I've always loved the WRC and rallies in general, but my biggest interest comes from the dark days of Gruppe B. 5-600whp out of 2l+- motors on very primitive(by todays standards) chassis. Audi was the front runner having brought AWD to the rally world, and the S1 is still a monster by all standards http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vky1uh_kCf0

Funny little factoid: The anti-lag system on the S1 was pretty much nothing more then dumping raw fuel into the exhaust manifold, if you watch some of the old videos they look like a bloody flamethrower at times

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"We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office." -Aesop

strangely it looks like my crx build...,except it's awd.

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Also Known As Clayton Pace

Just remembered this from history lessons, one Finn (and not that crazy at all) you all might know..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Morto ... itician%29