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| For immediate publication |
| 2004.11.16 |
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THE NISSAN RALLY RAID TEAM - DRIVER PROFILE
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ARI VATANEN (FIN) - DRIVER
Born 27th April, 1952. Tuupovaara (Finland)
Married, 4 children
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Having taken part in, and won, all the leading rallies, Ari Vatanen is one of the most respected people in international motorsport. After making his debut with Ford in 1976, he took his first World Rally Championship win in 1980, on the Acropolis rally. In 1981, he won the World Rally Championship. However, in 1985, when he was still competing at the top world level with Peugeot Talbot Sport, he was seriously injured while competing in Argentina. After nearly two years of recuperation, he rejoined Peugeot, which had switched to rally-raids. This marked the start of a new career for him, and he proceeded to win the epic Dakar rally four times, as well as many other rally-raids. Despite a brief yet successful time with Subaru in the World Rally Championship, he returned to rally-raids with Citroën, culminating in victory in the World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies in 1997.
A member of the European Parliment since 1999, Ari Vatanen took up a new challenge in 2003, returning to competition with Nissan. In the 2003 edition of the Dakar, he accumulated four stage wins and finished in a fine 7th place overall. In 2004, he claimed is 50th stage win on this event, going into the history books with a record that will not be matched in the near future. Still as motivated as ever, he will take the start of the 2005 edition with a new navigator, Italian co-driver Tiziano Siviero.
CAREER RECORD
| 1976 | Series Champion- British open championship |
| 1980 | Series Champion British open championship
1st overall Acropolis Rally |
| 1981 | 1st overall Acropolis Rally
1st overall Brazil Rally
1st overall 1000 Lakes Rally
Wins the World Rally Championship for Drivers |
| 1983 | 1st overall Safari Rally |
| 1984 | 1st overall San Remo Rally
1st overall RAC Rally |
| 1985 | 1st overall Monte Carlo Rally
1st overall Swedish Rally |
| 1987 | 1st overall Paris-Algiers-Dakar Rally1st overall Pharaohs Rally |
| 1988 | 1st overall Tunisia Rally
1st overall Atlas Rally
1st overall Baja Rally
1st overall Pharaohs Rally |
| 1989 | 1st overall Pharaohs Rally
1st overall Paris-Dakar Rally |
| 1990 | 1st overall Paris-Dakar Rally
1st overall Baja Aragon Off Road Rally |
| 1991 | 1st overall Paris-Dakar Rally |
| 1992 | 1st Hong Kong-Beijing Rally |
| 1995 | 1st overall Atlas Rally
1st overall Portuguese Baja |
| 1996 | 1st overall Spanish Baja
1st overall Master Rally
1st overall Hong Kong-Beijing Rally |
| 1997 | 1st overall Atlas Rally
1st overall Portuguese Baja
1st overall Master Rally
1st overall UAE Desert Challenge
Wins the World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies |
| 2003 | Dakar: Nissan Pickup - 4 wins in special stages and 7th overall
UAE Desert Challenge - Nissan Pickup |
| 2004 | Dakar - Nissan Pickup - 50th stage win |
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