Eläintarhan ajot


Eläintarhan ajot or Suomen Suurajot as it was called in 1932 was a motor racing competition arranged between years 1932 and 1963 in Eläintarha, Helsinki, Finland. The idea for the race came from a racing driver, S. P. J. Keinänen. Its racing history included the pre-war Finnish Grand Prix.

First race

The first Grand Prix-race was a success and it attracted around 25,000 spectators. There were ten cars in the first start, six of them Finnish and four Swedish. The very first win went to the Swede Per Viktor Widengren who drove a Mercedes-Benz, second to qualify was S. P. J. Keinänen in a Chrysler and the third place went to Karl Ebb driving a Mercedes-Benz.

Motorcycles

Motorcycle races were also held from the beginning – the first motorcycle win was also taken by a Swede – Gunnar Kalén. The best-placed Finn was Raine Lampinen who finished second in the lower class.

Last race

The Eläintarha race was an annual happening in Helsinki for almost 30 years until the final race was held in 1963. The winner of this last race was Timo Mäkinen, although the main start was canceled after a fatal accident. At the start a driver hit Curt Lincoln's Brabham BT6, and the car slid to the left side of track. Most drivers managed to avoid a collision but the Swedish Örjan Atterberg hit his countryman Freddy Kottulinsky. Unfortunately Atterberg's car flipped over and the driver was pinned under his vehicle. As a result of the crash Atterberg sustained fatal injuries. The race was stopped by the race officials one minute after crash and the jury told the race was over.
As the setup was considered too dangerous this was the final race to be conducted on the city circuit. The racing events that followed the ill-fated Eläintarha race were held at Keimola Motor Stadium between 1966–1978.
In the 1930s motor racing events were also arranged couple of times in Munkkiniemi, a residential district in northwest Helsinki.

Afterwards

The race has been arranged three times since to honour its memory – the first time was in 1982, then 1992 and the last time was in 2002. In the 1992 event Juan Manuel Fangio was present. Around 2005, a detailed and driveable virtual recreation of the circuit appeared for the Grand Prix Legends historical racing simulation.

Statistics


YearDriverCarClassReport
1932 Per-Viktor WidengrenMercedes-Benz SSKGrand PrixReport
1933 Karl EbbMercedes-Benz SSKGrand PrixReport
1934 Eugen BjørnstadAlfa Romeo 8C 2300 MonzaGrand PrixReport
1935 Karl EbbMercedes Benz SSK 7.1LGrand PrixReport
1936 Eugen BjørnstadAlfa Romeo 8C 2300 MonzaGrand PrixReport
1937 Hans RüeschAlfa Romeo 8C-35 3.8LGrand PrixReport
1938Not held---
1939 Adolf WesterblomAlfa Romeo Monza 2.6LGrand PrixReport
1946Only motorcycles---
1947 Asser WalleniusFord Roadster 1934Class B–
1947 Helge HallmannFord specialFormula Libre–
1948 Magnus KnutssonBMWClass A–
1948 Leo MattilaFord RoadsterClass B–
1948 S. P. J. KeinänenChrysler specialFormula Libre–
1949 S. P. J. KeinänenBMW 328Class A–
1951 S. P. J. KeinänenJaguar XK120Production–
1952 Michael HeadJaguar XK120Division +2000–
1952 Valdemar StenerFerrari 166 MM Touring BarchettaDivision 2000–
1952 Roger LaurentTalbot-Lago T26C1952 Formula One seasonReport
1953 Robert NellemanAllard+2000 GT–
1953 Valdemar StenerFerrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta2000 GT–
1953 Rodney NuckeyCooper T231953 Formula One seasonReport
1953 Curt LincolnCooper-NortonFormula 3–
1954 Michael HeadJaguar C-typeGT +2000–
1954 John BengtssonFerrari 166 Touring BarchettaGT 2000–
1954 Rodney NuckeyCooper-Bristol F2Formula Libre–
1954 Eric BrandonCooper-NortonFormula 3–
1955 Michael HeadJaguar D-typeDivision +2000–
1955 Curt LincolnJaguar C-type+2000 production–
1955 Joakim BonnierAlfa Romeo 1900 Sprint2000 production–
1955 Eric BrandonCooperFormula 3–
1956 Curt LincolnJaguar D-type+2000 production–
1956 Harry SaaristoTriumph TR22000 production–
1956 John KvarnströmFerrari 750 Monza+2000–
1956 Eric BrandonHalselec-Climax2000–
1956 Eric BrandonCooperFormula 3–
1957 Joakim BonnierMaserati 200SS+2.0–
1957 Curt LincolnFerrari 500 TRS 2.0–
1957 Arne LindbergMercedes-Benz 300 SLGT+2.0–
1957 J.A. IversenPorsche 356 CarreraGT 2.0–
1957 Curt LincolnCooper T 42 Mark XIFormula 3–