Pentti Airikkala

{{short description|Finnish rally driver (1945–2009)}}

{{Infobox WRC driver

| name = Pentti Airikkala

| image =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1945|09|04}}

| birth_place = Helsinki, Finland

| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2009|09|30|1945|09|04}}

| death_place = Bray, Berkshire, United Kingdom

| nationality = {{flagicon|Finland}} Finnish

| Years = 1973–1990, 2003

| Co-driver = {{flagicon|Finland}} Heikki Haaksiala
{{flagicon|UK}} John Davenport
{{flagicon|Finland}} Risto Virtanen
{{flagicon|UK}} Mike Greasley
{{flagicon|UK}} Mike Nicholson
{{flagicon|New Zealand}} Rodger Freeth
{{flagicon|New Zealand}} Chris Porter
{{flagicon|UK}} Phil Short
{{flagicon|Finland}} Juha Piironen
{{flagicon|Finland}} Seppo Harjanne
{{flagicon|Ireland}} Ronan McNamee
{{flagicon|Ireland}} Brian Murphy
{{flagicon|UK}} Nigel Gardner

| Teams = Privateer, Vauxhall, Rothmans Ford, Mitsubishi Ralliart, Martini Lancia, Nissan, Q8 Team Ford

| Races = 37

| Championships = 0

| Wins = 1

| Podiums = 6

| Stagewins = 147

| Points = 102

| First race = 1973 1000 Lakes Rally

| First win = 1989 RAC Rally

| Last race = 2003 Wales Rally GB

}}

File:Osaka Auto Messe 2017 (245) - Mitsubishi LANCER EX 2000 TURBO Rally Car.jpg-entered Mitsubishi Lancer 2000 Turbo from the 1982 1000 Lakes Rally.]]

Pentti Airikkala (4 September 1945 – 30 September 2009) was one of the "Flying Finns" who dominated world rallying in the past four decades.[http://www.flyingfinns.com/airikkal.htm Pentti Airikkala], 'Flying Finns' website His career was more sporadic than many of his contemporaries, and he competed in only three World Rally Championship (WRC) events regularly; the two Scandinavian rallies (the 1000 Lakes and the Swedish Rally) and the RAC Rally in the United Kingdom.

Airikkala was born in Helsinki, Finland.{{cite book |last1=Hope-Frost |first1=Henry |last2=Davenport |first2=John |year=2004 |title=The Complete Book of the World Rally Championship |publisher=MotorBooks International |location=Saint Paul, Minnesota |ISBN=0-7603-1954-5 |page=62 }} Most of his top flight competitive experience was behind the wheel of various rear wheel drive Vauxhall/Opels like the Chevette HS and Magnum coupé, but his greatest success came in the twilight of his career, when he won the 1989 RAC Rally in a Group A Mitsubishi Galant VR-4.[http://www.rallybase.nl/index.php?type=result&rallyid=188 38th Lombard RAC Rally], Final classification, Rallybase.nl website{{Cite news|url=https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/february-2005/19/my-only-wrc-win-pentti-airikkala|title=My only WRC win -- Pentti Airikkala|date=February 2005|page=19|work=Motor Sport Magazine|access-date=2018-05-23|language=en}} He is still the third oldest driver to win a WRC event.

Altogether he competed in 36 WRC events between 1973 and 1990, and a 37th in 2003, scoring 102 points and achieving a best of 9th overall in the 1981 Drivers' Championship.[http://www.rallybase.nl/index.php?type=standing&standingid=wcd1981 1981 World Rally Championship for Drivers], Final classification, Rallybase.nl He also contested the British Rally Championship in the 1970s/80s, becoming British Rally Champion in 1979. Since retiring from full-time international competition he operated a highly successful rally driving school in Oxfordshire teaching left-foot braking, where his roster of pupils included subsequent World Champions Colin McRae and Richard Burns.[http://www.leftfootbraking.com/penttischampions.htm Pentti's Champion Pupils] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060504203135/http://www.leftfootbraking.com/penttischampions.htm |date=2006-05-04 }}, leftfootbraking.com