Rally of the 1000 Lakes 1976

Finland 1976. Legendary Rally Of The Thousand Lakes, almost 100 cars in the lineup.
The entry list can be found here.

The Rally went through some changes since the first race in 1951. I guess we were lucky enough to have been there during the peak of the 1000 Lakes Rally in the 1970th.
Wikipedia has detailed information about the rally's history. The rally is now known as the Neste Oil Rally Finland. Looking at some current race footage, it is as exciting as it was back in 1976. Spectators were roaming freely along the 400km track. Finding the perfect spot was never a problem for us. After looking though our slides, I just had to scan some of them and post them here for everybody to enjoy. Keep in mind that shooting these pictures was a lot of guesswork for me. I'm not a professional photographer and light conditions in the forest are less than perfect. There was some luck involved when trying to capture these very fast moving object.

Starting the picture sequence with the winning team
Alén Markku and Kivimäki Ilkka, Autonovo, Fiat 131 Abarth
They finished the 428km race in 4 hours 10 minutes 18 seconds, that translates to an average of just over 100km per hour.

And more pictures from the race in no particular order.

Support vehicle Saab Team

Lampinen Simo and Markkanen Juhani, Saab 96 V4. Finished 5th place.

Vilkas Jari and Soini Juhani, Saab 96 V4. Finished 8th place.

Blomqvist Stig and Sylvan Hans, Saab 99 EMS. Did not finish.

Galle Heinz and Kiessling Wolfgang, Trabant P601. Finished 39th place

Ullmann Hans and Riedel Klaus, Trabant P601. Finished 46th place.

Galle Franz and Sachse Lothar, Trabant P601. Finished 48th place.

Varis Pentti and Vehvilainen Erkki, Fiat 850. Finished 36th place.

Westermarck Joel and Alaspää Jussi, Fiat 850. Finished 40th place.

Mäkinen Timo and Liddon Henry, Ford Escort RS 1800 MKII. Finished 4th place.

Könönen Erkki and Könönen Raimo, Ford Escort. Finished 43rd place.

Oksala Marketta and Palmuaro Sinikka, Lada 1300. Finished 22nd place.

Sahari Tapio and Sahari-Winogra Tarja, Opel Kadett GT/E. Finished 27th place.

Paalanen Kari and Saari Ilpo, Opel Kadett. Finished 42nd place.

Jouhki Timo and Piironen Juha, Opel Kadett GT/E. Did not finish.

Schwartz Jukka and Harvia Kullervo, Volvo 142. Finished 24th place.

Geitel Peter and Mesterton Rolf, Sunbeam Avenger. Finished 19th place.

Seltmann Ehrenfried and Hoffman Heinz, Wartburg 353 W. Finished 38th place.

Luc Jean-Paul and de Roux Christian, Citroën CX 2200. Did not finish.

Salonen Timo and Markkula Jaakko, Datsun 160J. Finished 6th place.

Pahkinen Erkki and Kaipainen Kauko, BMW 2002 Tii. Finished 25th place.

Enomaa Heikki and Ahava Jyrki, BMW 2002. Did not finish.