Petteri Kaartoranta

Petteri with his co-driver in 1996.

Hämeenlinna, Finland

**Petteri Aleksi Kaartoranta** (born 7 May 1972) is a retired Finnish rally driver who last competed for Toyota in the 1997 World Rally Championship season. His co-driver was Mariusz Szczeciński. He previously competed in the Finnish Rally Championship from 1991 to 1994.

## Rally Career

### **Finnish Rally Championship**

#### **1991**

Petteri made his professional rally debut in the final round of the 1991 Finnish Rally championship, driving an Opel Kadett GSI alongside co-driver Hannes Korhonen.

##### SM Teboil Ralli 1991

The rally started well enough for the pair with their highest stage finish being 9th on SS2, however a misheard pacenote on SS4 Taipale sent the car into a tree. The car managed to continue, but the damage was severe and the stage times were massively affected. In the end, Kaartoranta finished the rally in 38th.

#### **1992**

Petteri decided to commit to a full season in the Finnish Rally Championship in 1992. He ran the season in a privateer Mitsubishi Galant VR-4, still being co-driven by Hannes Korhonen.

   The first two rallies were ran cautiously as he was getting used to the Galant, but he still ran respectably in both of them, earning 9th and 7th place finishes. A severe mechanical issue in the third round did little to help his season, however he would bounce back with two 4th place finishes right afterwards, managing 4 stage wins over the two rallies. After a crash while running 2nd during the sixth rally of the season, Kaartoranta decided to drive the remaining two rallies more cautiously, resulting in finishes of 6th and 7th and no more stage wins. He ended the season in 6th place with five stage wins in total.

#### **1993**

Petteri ran another full season in 1993, however with a new car and a new co-driver. He drove a privateer Audi 200 Quattro, with Markus Kajo replacing Hannes Korhonen as his co-driver.

Results immediately improved over last year. With Petteri being able to practice the car over the course of the winter, he had gotten to grips with it by the time the first round was underway in late January. He finished 4th, 2nd and 7th in the first three rallies of the season, getting numerous stage wins in each one, the 7th place in the third round being a result of mechanical issues.

The breakthrough came in the SM Osuuspankki Ralli, with Kaartoranta winning the rally and five of the eight stages run on his way to finishing over 50 seconds in front of 2nd place. His good form continued in the next two rounds, with him coming 3rd and 5th in rounds five and six respectively. Bad luck struck in the seventh rally of the season however, with a bad crash forcing him to sit out the final round of the season. He finished the season in 4th place overall.

#### **1994**

Petteri ran his final season in the Finnish Rally Championship in 1994. He drove a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution I and was co-driven by Markus Kajo and Matias Harmaajärvi.

The year started off very well, with the first three rallies of the season yielding finishes of 1st, 4th and 3rd. However, an accident in the fourth round vanquished his championship lead and injured Kajo, with him being replaced by Matias Harmaajärvi for the rest of the season. His results in the next couple of rallies were slightly worse as a result of the crash, with him only being able to manage two 5th place finishes. His rivals were inconsistent though, and he was still in the title fight going into the last two rallies. A win in the seventh round of the season meant he led the points, but the final rally of the season would end in disaster. The car broke down on the third stage of the rally, Kaartoranta finishing the season in 2nd as a result.

### **World Rally Championship**

#### **1995**

Kaartoranta was signed by the Mazda World Rally Team to run the 1995 season from Round 3 (Rallye de Portugal) onwards. His results throughout the season were inconsistent, with his best showings being two back-to-back 4th place finishes at the Tour de Corse and 1000 Lakes Rally, Kaartoranta scoring his first points and stage wins in the former. He eventually finished 10th in the standings with 23 points and 2 stage wins to his name.

#### 1996

With co-driver Markus Kajo's move back to the Finnish Rally Championship after the end of 1995, Petteri decided it was best to get a fresh start in a competitive car. He signed for Toyota, with his new co-driver for the season being experienced Polish co-driver Mariusz Szczeciński. He finished 7th in the final standings with 38 points, having scored two second place finishes in Kenya and Finland.

## Career Results

### Finnish Rally Championship

 **1992** | 8/8
 **1993** | 7/8
 **1994** | 8/8