Finland is one of motorsport's biggest and most successful nations. Yet it's never had a sustained presence on the race track front. However, in the mid 90's, an effort was made to try and change that.
6:38 There was a local interview in 2020 with the race promoter and he said that the third (and last) year was economically a loss and that they were planning to continue but they didn't find an attractive enough of a class to race there after DTM stopped racing in Helsinki. Also the promoter himself was really tired and he had a divorce during those times so he was just done with it.
Also, the DTM was very popular in Finland. perhaps even more popular than F1. I had chance to go there 1995 in person and i loved it. I'm still watching the old DTM cars racing the Swiss hill climbs. They just were pure racing.
Little known fact, when the FOTA F1 breakaway was proposed in 2009, there was a 2010 calendar leaked, that included Helsinki. Since there was no F1 racetrack in Finland at the time, it is speculated that the race would have used a modified version of this street track. This has never been confirmed to be true, but it would be great for Formula 1, to FINALLY, go to Finland, and this is probably the closest to it happening. Also, the circuit feels very Champcar to me, similar to Denver or Vegas 07.
Someone else commented that and it surprised me to hear it. It would definitely be cool if F1 did race in Finland. The countries achievements in the sport speak for themselves. I see what you mean in terms of similarities.
yeah I also noticed this the other day. That breakaway series calendar would be so cool these days. I really hate all the dubai and saudi tracks and basically every new track F1 has introduced since 2010
This is really just one in a series of motor sport fails in Helsinki. There used to be the Eläintarhan ajot street race 1932-1963. After that was deemed too dangerous, a new dedicated race track was opened in Keimola. It was the track where Keke Rosberg, Jyrki Järvilehto, Mika Häkkinen and Mika Salo started their careers. Both Mikas actually lived just a few kilometers away, on the same street. The Keimola track was in use only 1966-1978: public interest was declining and there wasn't really anyone interested in putting money into maintaining the track. It remained abandoned and ingrown for decades, until it was redeveloped into a housing area. A few years after Helsinki Thunder, there was an attempt to organize F1 boat races in the bays next to the Helsinki Thunder track. But also that stopped after a few years. It is very unlikely that anything like this would return to Helsinki. Public oppinion in Helsinki isn't particularly supportive anymore, and also the area around the Helsinki Thunder track has gradually been redeveloped. Back in the 90's it was still very industrial, with flour mills and cement silos. Now there are mostly offices. The last industrial building, the big power plant, is going to be closed this spring, and will be replaced with more seaside housing.
With all that history Finland has in racing, I find it a huge shame that no track in the country is able to host top international level circuit racing. Thanks for the information about the track, after it's racing tenure.
@@tydyeracinggaming4742 Kymi Ring was an attempt. It is a high level track but there has been tonns of problems with covid issues postponing lots of Moto-GP events and it has been a disaster.
@@tydyeracinggaming4742 What comes to tracks, Ahvenisto is a fantastic track! Too bad it is too narrow and unsafe for most cars. But the races are always great and drivers really love the track.
Robert Lappalainen was also famous for campaigning a John Player Special sponsored (in full gold-over-black livery) Mustang for Jack Roush in Trans Am, including the full 1989 season.
The pronunciation of street names is absolutely hilarious. Attempt appreciated. On another note, I love this track. On yet another note, some Hyundai Accent WRC representation at 0:40!
I tried..... woeful attempt by me, but I tried. This track does look awesome. I also wanted to include some of the often forgotten WRC manufacturer backed cars in the video, alongside the Subaru's and Peugeot's.
I love this series! Would there ever be a series of this but purpose built tracks? Like Indian GP, South Korean GP, Calder Park, or even the Oschersleben WTTC track
There was a time, in the 2000's or 2010's, when the owners of the big F1 teams were thinking of launching their own league, independent of the FIA, due to having little participation in F1's profits. And they even published a calendar of predicted races. I remember well that among them was a street race in Helsinki. Exactly this circuit. Not sure what layout it would be. But it would be really cool to see F1 in Helsinki. For all the history Finland has in motorsports, F1 should have had a race there a long time ago. Great video !!
A lot of new information to me, thanks. If you want to run some pronunciations by a native for a later video, just slide into my DMs.😅 Oh, and to comment on why it all ended: Mr Lappalainen said later that 1997 was already unprofitable and that since more popular DTM wasn't coming back, he decided to call it quits. Lappalainen also said he was completely mentally exhausted due to years of hard work and a recent divorce.
I appreciate the offer on the pronunciation front. I'll get better at it overtime. Google translate will do the job. Thanks for the further reasons on the tracks demise.
Just drove on Sörnäisten rantatie today. Sadly not at 130 mph though. Also the original layouts would not be possible anymore since the city has evolved and some streets have been partially removed (mainly the sequence of bends at the end).
You can actually do a lap of sorts, in reverse. There's a new bit of road that connects Sörnäisten rantatie to the street where the bendy bit starts in the original track layout, it's just two straights and a 90 degree turn now. Taking the original final corner in reverse just leads to a dead end now.
Thanks for the nice story and footage! We though do still have a street racing located at Seinäjoki Finland. The race is called "Vauhtiajot" (eng. Speed races) but there are no international series racing, only nationals. I have 1 incar video on my channel where I'm racing a time attack sprint on that particular track.
I'm still surprised that this youtuber doesn't have that much subscribers, I think he is a very interesting person which I think he's a great guy an soon he'll get a lot of views and subs but that's my opinion about him but this is a good vid Edit: wow this has alot of likes that is nice also a tip for all if you have a youtube channel and things are abit down don't give up on it and keep trying with ideas cuz you might get an idea that would be loved by all ;)
Those are very kind complements. All I can say is that I do my best to make the videos as good as I can and that I'm always looking to try and improve the quality of my videos.
There is motor racing track history in Finland. Circuits which have hosted World Championship and other international events. E.g. Eläintarhan ajot event was held in Helsinki between years 1932-1963 on a 2 km long street circuit. Street Circuit Pyynikki was used between 1932-1939 and 1946-1971. Motor Racing World Championship events were held there 1962-1963. Motor Racing GP was also driven in Imatra between 1964-1982 on a street circuit. Jarno Saarinen won the World Championship in 250cc in 1972. Jarno Trulli was named after him. 1983-1985 European Championship event was driven there. International Road Racing Championship event has been held there from 2016 on. Keimola Circuit was opened in 1966. interserie event was driven there between 1970-1972. Finnish race driver Leo Kinnunen won the Interserie Championship in seasons 1971-1973 driving Porsche 917. Steve McQueen asked him to drive in a film Le Mans. Ahvenisto Circuit was opened in 1967. The circuit hosted F2 event that year and E.g. World Championship Road Racing events in 750cc in seasons 1973-1975. Top Gear episode with Mika Häkkinen was filmed there. Some other circuts are Kemora and Botniaring. Then there's also tracks suitable for E.g. Karting. Summer Olympics were held in Helsinki in 1952, but nowadays Olympics are way too big event for Finland to organize. Same goes pretty much with the main Motor Sport series.
Finland certainly has had a lot of history when it comes to race tracks. I just find it sad that there currently isn't a venue that can host top level motorsport in the country, considering how good and prominent they are in motor racing.
Finland's great drivers and lack of race tracks is the reason it is 1 of 2 countries to have an F1 World Champion but never hold an F1 World Championship race.
It sounds like "I found no official reason" is going to be an occurring guest for the rest of the series. Love the series btw, as another commenter said, it would be interesting to hear about failed purpose made tracks.
Finland has a long history of not so sound business people building tracks into not so great locations, from which people with nothing better to do complain out of principle. This is accompanied by the bureaucratic nature of local governing, which takes these complaints seriously without too much evidence. This leads to some sad individuals experiencing "power that they never had".
It's very strange thing that Finland has a lot of successes in motorsport but they don't have permanent racing circuit. It's shame that Kymi Ring failed to host MotoGP and some other events. Finland with it's motorsport traditions should have a good circuit.
One large factor why Helsinki Thunder was canceled was that DTM/ITC was much more popular in Finland (thanks to JJ Lehto and Keke Rosberg) than Endurance racing. People just weren´t very familiar with GT/Sportscar machinery while DTM was hugely popular here and thus ticket sales went down. By the way, I was there as a kid in 1996, following practice and qualifying sessions!
Ok, fair enough. To be fair, considering the FIA GT Series was in it's inaugural season, and with there being fewer cars in the race than other FIA GT rounds, then it's understandable that that may have not drawn as much attention over in Finland. Hope you enjoyed the event though.
@@tydyeracinggaming4742 Thanks, it was great, my first time seeing live racing cars! Yes it´s understandable the first FIA GT season was not at the same level as DTM. But also the racing is very different, touring cars have short races and close battles that suite common audience well while 3 hour sports car races with less car to car battles are more for enthusiasts perhaps...
@@Rypsolisti Awesome to hear you enjoyed it. I can definitely see where you're coming from. GT's are a very different form of racing. Perhaps less suited to street tracks than the touring cars are.
@@tydyeracinggaming4742 the FIA GT Championship did exist since 1994…as the BPR Global GT series, it was the controversy surrounding the Porsches (had chassis that came from the 962) that led to FIA stepping in with their rulesets - they were the one who created the 25 car homologation rules - this led to teams such as Nissan and then Toyota build Le Mans specials, with zero intention to commit to the series (as Le Mans never intended to be part of it after their fallout with the FIA years earlier)
Another great video about a unique topic. Two extra notes A. Add a track map, in which you can show which part of the circuit is being described or where the modifications were done to the track. The only oral description with video clips can be difficult to understand without context. B. I've got another idea for a series: unique pit lanes. For example, the long one from covid Nürburgring 24h, strange formula e pitlanes, 70s Anderstorp with an "island" garages and pitlane separate from start/finish straight, Nascar Sonoma with two pitlanes, one called "Gilligan's Island" etc.
I can certainly look into doing that, a good idea. That might not work as a series, but certainly a video or two about that is plausible though. Glad you enjoyed the video.
Wow... I've been to this place a few years ago (Suvilahden kaasukellu to be exact) to take some pictures of the area but I never expected it to be a racetrack once.
Hi TyDye, I think you should talked about the AVUS street circuit in Berlin in your future videos because it had the most dangerous banking corner in motorsports history in it and also it’s an unusual race track that take place on a motorway.
@@Snow_OwL217 I think there was cars who’s flying over the top of this banked curve and I don’t know if there was drivers who’s been seriously injured or unfortunately dies because of this curve.
@@onegrumpyboi2914 Yeah, that’s true and also making a race track with rough bricks nowadays is literally impossible to do probably for safety reasons but I think during the time when this banked curve aka wall was made in 1921 in post WW1 Germany, I think it’s the cheaper option to do and also this track hosted the Formula 1 German Grand Prix in 1926 and 1959 and for people who didn’t know AVUS means Automobil-Verkehrs-und-Übungsstrasse (Automobile traffic and training road in German).
I was there, watching from the first hairpin - good vantage point for admiring the rapid braking and creative driving lines. JJ Lehto was the big local hero.
Just binged the whole series after the algorithm suggested this ep. Most enjoyable. As a suggestion, the Baltimore IMSA/Indy circuit would be a good track to cover - IIRC, the first race featured a big shunt BEFORE any cars crossed the start/finish line. It had all the usual street track regulars - 90* corners, fiddly hairpins, tight chicanes, but with the additions of a couple of rail crossings and a really weird pit lane... Right, off to see what else your channel offers...
Honestly imagined you had 100s of thousands of subscribers, your content is great, I'm really enjoying these street circuit documentaries. You've got 1 more sub now. Keep up the good work my guy 👍
Thanks for the compliments, that's very kind of you to say, as well as subscribe to my channel too. I always do my best to make sure the content is as good as I can, and always look to make them better each time.
One thing that has to be mentioned with this track is that in 1995 you got a Stop & Go penalty for just touching the tyre barriers in the chicanes. That caught out Bartels from the lead before his crash. It was maybe the harshest track limits penalty ever. Some of the track changes for 96 were down to the drivers complaining about this thing.
I always try to include the source of the footage from where it's from. Also it helps people find where the footage came from so that they can watch the race in it's entirety, without my irritating voice narrating it. However, I'm glad you enjoyed the video.
I would recommend the Keimola motor stadion in Vantaa Finland, nowadays it is a residential area. However the old tower is still there and the roads are still following the old track layout. Sometime ago there was a video in RU-vid where one F1 druver explained how to drive the track whike driving like an old Impala or something. The driver was young but can't rememver his name. EDIT found the video and it was Jim Clarck. The guided part starts at 3:40 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-agaFAQ1iA_Q.html
I was aware of the Helsinki Street Circuit - used to live nearby. Nowadays you're more likely to find yourself at a music festival in that part of town: either Flow or Tuska. There are other circuits in Finland, such as Ahvenisto (built in 1967, narrow and definitely not FIA approved), Alastaro (which started out as a drag strip), Botniaring, Motopark, Pesämaäki, Kemora, and the latest Kymiring (which is FIA-approved but struggling to re-emerge from bankruptcy), but these are all mostly used for track days and a bit of classic racing or maybe some GT racing.
lot of discussion about engine noise in the city, those days. that good be one reason why endid, ticket prices if I remember correct, was quite high. I was there and I like
The original track was fantastic in 1995. But just before the event, those chicanes were added to slow the cars down. And that was a big mistake. I'd say a combination between 1995 and 1996 track would have been the best. Shorten down the back straight a bit, adding one more place to overtake and still keeping the speeds high.
Re that GT2 Morgan - I went to the Silverstone FIA GT race in 1997 and saw that in action, certainly a quirky car but surprisingly effective. It was still running at the finish at Silverstone too, in some of the heaviest rain I have ever witnessed!
I would've loved to have seen this car race in real life. Looking back on the race. That was certainly a rainy affair to say the least. Hope you didn't end up too soggy from the event.
Awesome content man, I've always been a huge fan of dead/obscure street tracks in racing. I was gonna suggest San Jose but I see you've already done that 😂
I was there in 1996 as a teenager. I remember sitting in a grandstand near a couple of those 90 degree turns with all the Opel fans. If I remember right there was another grandstand for Mercedes fans. I'm not entirely sure... It's been a while!
@@tydyeracinggaming4742 It was a great day for me. I had been watching ITC and DTM from tv. The next year there was this new GT class which was great on paper, but not interesting to the public because it was less well known, no tv coverage prior and no Finnish drivers.
@@tydyeracinggaming4742 Too bad there is no longer a chance for the race since the back part of the track has been turned into a mall, subway station and apartment buildings.
oh, i *loved* helsinki thunder ! it's the kind of street circuit where there's not a lot happening racing-wise, but damn if the shots aren't impressive and the cars don't look fast. i always thought this track would be a blast to drive, especialy the 1996 layout. always reminded me of st petersburg, somehow, with its deceptively short straights and fast flowing esses. also, i didn't know they raced gt there, i was under the impression 95 and 96 were the only years any races were held ; they don't seem particularly well suited for the track, though.
I never saw the races live, but I'm the exact opposite of you in that the first I knew/saw anything about this circuit, was via the FIA GT Series. Some of the shots of the cars looked fantastic.
Had this popup up in my feed somehow, you have done a great job with this series and all your IRL content. If I can offer some suggestions, -A1GP Beijing circuit for the hairpin too tight for the cars -Shanghai DTM having less than 10,000 turn up And if Newcastle Australia ends up on this list, I can give you insider knowledge :)
Glad your enjoying this series. Both those suggestions have been requested a few times before and will more than likely feature in this series. Newcastle currently isn't on the list but could do in the future. Looks like a great track though.
Some (maybe) helpful suggestions: Usce City Park Circuit (Belgrade, Serbia) - used in 2000's for some national races and it was scheduled 24H GT race n 2010 which was cancelled later Santa Fe (Argentina) - at least there are 2 locations where was a TC2000 and Super TC2000 races Baku (Azerbaijan) - in 2012 it was a standalone GT event (City Challenge), in 2013-14 it was a part of GT series (World Challenge) with different circuit Ribeirão Preto (Brasil) - used for Stock Car Brasil races in 2010-15 and circuit layout was changed three times Circuito Ayrton Senna (Salvador, Brasil) - used for Stock Car Brasil races in 2009-14 Marrakech Street Circuit (Morocco) - a street circuit (semi-permanent after rebuilding in 2016) when was a WTCC/WTCR and Formula E races, now dropped from world championships
All bar Usce have been requested before and could more than likely feature in this series. Never heard of Usce before, will have to do some research on that.
@@tydyeracinggaming4742 I found some info at wiki that races at Ušće started at 1967 (ETCC, Formula Vee) and that races was held there until 2008 then racing returned to Ušće circuit in 2016 (FIA Central European Zone Circuit Championship and some national races)
love these blasts from the past id like to have one thing for the future: would you mind showing a trackmap for every version? if a track has multiple? would be really nice
One track I was just recently reading about that was a bit of a failure was the Beijing A1GP track, I think it was the 06/07 season. It had a hairpin that was apparently too tight for the cars to navigate so had to widen the corner. Then in qualifying the high downforce of the cars started to pull up manhole covers so had to decide the grid on practice times. They then had to start the race behind safety car as turn 1 was deemed unsafe for a normal restart.
There is a much more controversial street circuit in Finland called Imatra. While it wasn't really a car track, you don't really specify that as a rule. It features an actual jump over a railway crossing. It was on the MotoGP calendar for a while until the early eighties before it was called MotoGP.
I hadn't any idea this circuit existed. Its quite mad that I had classes down in the art university on sörnäinenrantatie which you can see around the first chicane. Things have changed quite a lot since then so the circuit is no longer raceable, but still present in parts
The motorcycle races have been back there since I think 2016 with some road racing series that also has races at places like Chimay. The track layout afaik follows the one from the early 80s except with some extra safety features.
A few things not mentioned here… Some of the works teams who also did Le Mans was there, including the McLaren-BMWs. Mercedes, who did not compete at Le Mans, was also there. - Le Mans was never part of the FIA GT series and it attracted teams who was only interested in competing exclusively there such as Porsche the previous year, Nissan that year and controversially, Toyota the next When Lappainenen picked the FIA GT to host a round, it was clearly a death knell to the event as sports car racing was never a crowd draw for most of its existence Not to mention, Lappainenen was a one-win wonder at the Trans-Am series in 1990
Durban wasn’t exactly a failure. The main reason A1GP left after 2007 was due to the new cars being unfit for the venue + Kyalami would replace the track anyways. (Which was the downfall of Durban as a whole if you read the whole history of the venue.)
@@tydyeracinggaming4742 Glad I could share. Visited Des Moines for a couple of days on a cross country racing safari. I drove around the course which was already being set up. Then a couple of weeks later, after I got back, the floods hit and wiped out the race. 😕
Funny story from this track. My dad built gtp cars for John Gunn. And the first year of this race it was an invite only race. The organizers wanted to use their car for promotional ads and they said alright but we want an invite and they got it.
I remember riding the metrotrain (metrotracks went over the circuit) and seeing some cars racing below. It must have been that last 1997 race. I was 8 years old.
Funny to see the unique "Jäger-Tonic" livery on the orange Alfa, that was due to a ban of advertisements for high-alcoholic drinks, so they did that instead of "Jägermeister", but beer was okay as there are "Warsteiner" signs.
Few reasons for the discontinuation of the event: the 1997 race was financially a disaster and did not turn a profit. Also, after the collapse of DTM/ITC, there just wasn't a good enough class to headline the event (the GT championship just wasn't interesting apparently). And finally, the promoter Robert Lappalainen was just too tired to carry on (after all, the event was pretty much "his").
Surprised the GT cars weren't seemingly exciting enough. I think if the date had been better for more of the teams to have taken part, thus resulting in a bigger grid, I think it would've led to more people turning up.
If the FOTA teams had actually broken away from F1 in 2010 then we would've seen this track again. It was on the provisional calendar for the 2010 GPWC season
This would probably be impossible venue anyways because of the housing development on the area. It's actually kinda weird to think that they used to have car races right on my doorstep.
You absolutely butchered the Finnish pronunciation 😂 which doesn't matter really but one tip is O and Ö is different sounding. Good video 👍🏻 and series. Subscribed!
Glad you enjoyed the video and this series so far and that it was good enough to warrant you subscribing, hugely appreciated thanks. Also thanks for the tip on the pronunciation front. I'll take any where I can get them.
Per capita, Finland has 1.6 times more F1 race wins than Great Britain. (calculating years 1983-2023, which is the era Finland had drivers in F1 and populus of GB 40Million, Finland 4.5Million) In rally, it's probably even bigger difference.
I always liked this track, weirdly enough and I don't know why. Maybe it's because it's got good bits unlike Gothenburg, or some other Scandie/European street tracks or maybe because it was in that weird post GTP into GT1 with F3000 time when F3000 (I don't remember if GT1 ever did) race at Pau and Monaco and Enna-Pergusa, not really a street track but those chicanes were brutal both in real lie and in games/sims. I have many many many incidents in GTR2/Race/Race 07 with them -.-
I'd be curious to know i those are the most brutal chicanes really. I'd wager not, then again whoever desine them should join the poor soul who did T1 at Oschersleben too. We all know how John Cleland eels about that
I've only just discovered this series and binged watched the whole thing in one night! Such an interesting topic My suggestions are the Shanghai Street courses that hosted DTM races in 2004 and 2010, as well as Baltimore's Indycar track that they used between 2011 and 2013. I feel at least 10 episodes could be done on German tracks in the early 90s l, especially if airport circuits qualify
Glad you're enjoying this series! Airport tracks don't qualify for this series. However, it could be a series in the future. As for your requests, both tracks will more than likely feature in this series. Baltimore definitely will as it's the most requested track so far.
