Grand Prix of Finland
The Finnish Grand Prix ( Eläintarhan ajot in Finnish ) is a race for automobiles of various classes held between 1932 and 1963 . The venue was the two kilometer long race track in Eläintarha Park, Helsinki . The initiator of the race was the Finnish racing driver SPJ Keinänen . The Finnish Grand Prix was held until 1963, with the exception of 1938 and 1940 to 1946.
The first race
The first race took place on May 8, 1932 under the name I Suomen Suurajo in front of about 21,000 spectators. Only Finnish and Swedish drivers took part. The winner of the race was the Swede Per Viktor Widengren in a Mercedes-Benz SSK .
The last race
The last race was held in 1963. The winner of the 1150 cm³ class was Timo Mäkinen from Finland on a Morris Mini Cooper . The main event that day was the race of the Formula Junior will, but shortly after the start disaster struck: the Brabham BT6 by Curt Lincoln was hit by another vehicle and placed transversely. Most of the drivers were still able to evade the damaged car, but the Swede Örjan Atterberg met his compatriot Freddy Kottulinsky while trying to evade and rolled over. Atterberg was thrown out of the cockpit and buried under the wreckage of his Focus MkIV. In the hospital, the 19-year-old died of serious head injuries. The race was first stopped, then canceled a little later. After this accident, no more races were started on the course.