The Roaring Season

Carlo wrote:If my memeory is correct this has to be reasonably early in practice or in testing as Keke only got a few laps in during official practise before striking issues. Mikko ended up with pole and Keke 2nd. From the race start Keke took the lead and was never headed. It was the first time any of us had seen Keke drive and I was up on the hill by the chicane and 1st time though there Keke just about backed the car in rally style and the field dropped back expecting a spin but he gathered it up and then did the same next time around and again the field backed off. By the third lap he had a gap on the field and took a proper race line and that was the last the field saw of him until the race was over and he was back in the pits having a smoke

You are right - I was talking in general terms...Mikko was the European Super Vee Champion in 1975, Keke 4th, in NZ 1977, Keke was the Champ, Mikko 4th....just to mention some events/series

He got it!

I'm now forwarding him the other photo as well.

As for Keke - I can remember like it was yesterday the 1977 NZIGP at Pukekohe. I'd been aware of this Finnish guy driving a Toj in F2 but he came here and was extraordinary! A year later in the red B39 he seemed, if it were possible, even more spectacular and I am sure I was not the only Kiwi wondering why he hadn't been snapped up by a top Formula 1 team.

Michael Clark wrote:.

As for Keke - I can remember like it was yesterday the 1977 NZIGP at Pukekohe.

Vivid memeory for me too Michael. Then at Wigram I sauntered out from the pits to stand with David McKinney who was taking photos as they exited the hairpin at the end of the straight. Keke came down in 5th gear flat then hard on the brakes, a Scandinavian rally flick to eliminate the understeer that the Chevron had to turning into the corner then drop it straight into 1st gear and he was gone like a cork out of a bottle. David and I watched for a number of laps until we both agreed that this man was going to be a world motorsport champion and that it could be either racing, rallying or perhaps both. Simply stunning to watch and admire.

I guess a lot of wondered about these little cars after F5000 - Keke was almost solely responsible for helping many people accept Atlantics.

It still amazes me that it took the top end of F1 so long to discover what we all knew. Atlantic was not the natural path to the top but Ferrari selected Gilles after McLaren decided Patrick Tambay was the better bet while Keke was struggling with ATS and the privateer Wolf. Sure money helped Hector Rebaque to the second Brabham seat while Rosberg was pissing about Fittipaldi but what a waste of talent!

Had both Reutemann and Jones not retired simultaneously, Rosberg may have never so much as slid into a top F1 car!

So right - to get into F1 without a lot of money requires a lot of luck. And that's what Keke had, on top of his talent. Two retirements, no other drivers "hanging around" so late in the season, possibly a modest salary request...right place, right time...and the determination to reach his goals!

....regarding the other photo of Howden, it's from Keimola as well, date is May 4, 1967....

Awesome thread, and I've really enjoyed the photos. Thanks to everyone who posted on here, and thanks also Tapani for sharing some of your beautiful photos. Good luck with the book!

Hi again,
finally, the book is out!
I.e. we've managed to produce the first ever "Finnish Formula History, from Midgets into Modern Times 1947-1989" and it became a 463 page / 1100+ photo / 370+ person / 300+ car model -book, hardcover and text in English and Finnish. And as we've noticed some minor errors, found out that some stories should be there but are not etc, we've decided to keep producing new content and error corrections on-line at our web site:http://www.scuderianaftalin.com/suomalainen-formulahistoria
Additions will look like this : http://files.kotisivukone.com/scuderianaftalin.palvelee.fi/tiedostot/cart__indy_500_1988-89.pdf

Most of the information at our web site is still in Finnish but soon in English too - if interested, check out or email me - price of the book is 49 euros and unfortunately shipping one copy to NZ cost 32 euro....so if you want to order a book, try to persuade some of your friends to share the mailing cost in a joint order :-) as sending 2-3 books will be 42,00 and up to six books 65,00 - and for a larger order, I will offer a special price :-)
- classes covered: Midgets (F3 / 500cc, 1947-62), Formula Junior, F3 1000cc screamers 1964-70, Formula Vee, Super Vee, VW1600, Formula Ford, F1, F2, F3 - cars built in Finland, most important domestic drivers and races -and the over seas adventures of the internationally know Finns (+ "world stars" who have visited Finland and a brief international background regarding the start of each class) - and some of the photos seen here are included, thanks again for your contribution!

Hey Tapani, congratulations! This is really exciting, and I hope the sales go very well. Its always a great feeling getting to hold that first copy for the first time.

Thanks, yes it was exciting to see the final outcome - and when some of our family and colleagues saw the book, the first comments were "...it is a real book!"
...Keke and Mikko K have received a copy each - thanks again everybody. I'll keep following this forum, and maybe I'll get a chance to travel again in the years to come...

Tapani - no doubt you were delighted to see 'son of Keke' win at Monaco - a great story 30 years after his dad's win there. It was a great drive by Keke in 83 - greasy conditions and more than once I thought he'd bite a wall but the car control was superb. I wonder where Keke rates that amongst all his wins in F1/F2/Atlantic etc

Best wishes for the book