JJ Lehto

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

JJ Lehto JJ Lehto (Petit Le Mans, 2004).jpg
Born
31 January 1966 (age 48)
Espoo, Finland
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality
Finland Finnish
Active years
1989 1994
Teams Onyx, Scuderia Italia, Sauber, Benetton
Races 70 (62 starts)
Championships 0
Wins
0
Podiums
1
Career points 10
Pole positions 0
Fastest laps
0
First race
1989 Portuguese Grand Prix
Last race
1994 Australian Grand Prix
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Participating years
1990 1991, 1995 1997, 1999, 2002 2005
Teams Richard Lloyd Racing, Kremer Racing, Kokusai Kaihatsu, GTC Competition,
BMW Motorsport, Team Cadillac, Champion Racing
Best finish
1st (1995, 2005)
Class wins
2 (1995, 2005)
Jyrki Juhani Jrvilehto (Finnish pronunciation: ['jyrki 'jrvilehto]), better known
as "JJ Lehto", (born 31 January 1966 in Espoo), is a racing driver from Finland.
He won the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice, in 1995 and 2005. He is also a former For
mula One driver.
He was a protg of Finnish 1982 Formula One World Champion Keke Rosberg, who first
suggested that Jyrki Jrvilehto should abbreviate his name to the more manageable
JJ Lehto, much as Rosberg had done before him ("Keke" being derived from Keijo,
his own given name).
Contents
1
2
3
4
5

Early career
Formula One career
Post-Formula One career
Boating accident
Racing record
5.1 Complete International Formula 3000 results
5.2 Complete Formula One results
5.3 Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
5.4 American open-wheel racing results
5.4.1 CART
5.5 Complete American Le Mans Series results
6 References
7 External links
Early career
Like many racing drivers Lehto began in karts at age 8, winning numerous events,
before graduating to Formula Ford at the early age of 15. A switch to single se
aters saw him dominate the Scandinavian Formula Ford. He then won the British an
d European Formula 2000 championship in 1987 and went on to win the coveted Brit
ish Formula 3 title in 1988,[1] driving for Pacific Racing. In 1989 Lehto drove
in Formula 3000, again for Pacific Racing. The season was not successful and he
failed to score any podium finishes. He did not participate in the last race whi

ch was held in Dijon-Prenois.

Formula One career
In 1989 Lehto tested for Ferrari before making his Formula One debut for the Ony
x team as a late-season replacement for Bertrand Gachot.[1] Though he failed to
prequalify for his first race at Estoril he impressed with his speed in the toug
h sessions and made his first start in the following meeting. In the wet season
finale at Adelaide he ran as high as 5th before retiring with waterlogged electr
ics. Over the summer Onyx were sold to Swiss racer turned businessman Peter Mont
everdi. Lehto, marked by many as a star of the future, was paired with Gregor Fo
itek but financial difficulties hampered his season, leading to the team's withd
rawal after the Hungarian Grand Prix (one of five events the Finn failed to qual
ify for
though he had been hindered by the team's poor preparation, including a
driveshaft being fitted the wrong way around for several meetings, and favouriti
sm towards Foitek, whose father was involved with the buyout).
For 1991 he was signed by the ambitious Scuderia Italia team, financed by Beppe
Lucchini with a Dallara chassis, Judd V10 engines and Emanuele Pirro in the seco
nd car. Due to poor results in 1990 the cars had to prequalify but soon establis
hed themselves as decent midfield runners. In the wet San Marino Grand Prix Leht
o impressed by lasting in a race of attrition to finish 3rd, scoring his first F
1 points. He impressed elsewhere but did not score again through poor reliabilit
y and bad luck (only finishing on four other occasions). He stayed with the team
in 1992, now paired with Pierluigi Martini and using Ferrari V12 engines but th
e new Dallara B192 chassis had severe handling problems. Lehto's best result was
7th at Spa, his worst a failure to qualify at the Hungaroring.
He landed the second seat (alongside Austrian Karl Wendlinger) at the new, muchanticipated Sauber team for 1993, running Ilmor engines. The season started very
well as Lehto survived a late downpour at Kyalami to score 5th place on the tea
m's debut, then finished 4th at Imola despite a late engine failure. However, af
ter a collision with Wendlinger at Monaco his relationship with both his team-ma
te and Sauber became frosty and his season tailed off with no more points scored
.
For 1994 he saw off competition from Michele Alboreto and Luca Badoer to land th
e second seat at Benetton alongside Michael Schumacher. However, he injured his
neck testing the new B194 in pre-season with test driver Jos Verstappen taking h
is place for the first two rounds of the championship. Lehto returned to the coc
kpit for the ill-fated San Marino Grand Prix despite some question marks over hi
s fitness. He qualified 5th but stalled on the grid, his car being struck from b
ehind by Pedro Lamy's Lotus. This led to the safety car period which may have co
ntributed to the death of three-times world champion Ayrton Senna. Despite runni
ng 3rd in Spain before an engine failure and scoring a point in Canada (after th
e disqualification of Christian Fittipaldi) it was clear his injuries had not he
aled fully and he was replaced once again by Verstappen for the French Grand Pri
x. He returned to the cockpit for the Italian and Portuguese rounds in place of
the suspended Schumacher but did not impress and was released entirely soon afte
rwards when the team signed Johnny Herbert. This freed him up to drive in the la
st two rounds for Sauber Wendlinger's own injuries had failed to heal and his pr
evious replacement Andrea de Cesaris was unreachable. Lehto's final Formula 1 dr
ives were again mediocre.
Post-Formula One career
After his Formula One career stalled, and advised by his manager Keke Rosberg, L
ehto joined the German Touring Car Championship, DTM, in 1995 and 1996. Even tho
ugh rated highly, victories eluded him, but this loss was probably made up by hi
s successes in GT and sports car racing.
An ex-Lehto McLaren F1 GTR

He was a late addition to the 1995 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a McLar
en F1 GTR, but he won the race outright, at his third attempt, sharing the car w
ith Yannick Dalmas and Masanori Sekiya. Lehto was an integral part of the win, g
aining the lead for the team by driving a few stints during the rainy night. Whi
le others were driving cautiously, Lehto was seen to be sliding the car, lapping
at times 30sec faster than everyone else.[2] He had three more guest appearance
s in the same car the next year, winning another race, before he got picked up b
y BMW to join the factory squad in the inaugural FIA GT season, partnering Steve
Soper. Even though success came initially easily, including a win in front of h
is home crowd at the Thunder In Helsinki event, the might of Mercedes-Benz caugh
t up with the McLarens and left Lehto conceding the title to former DTM rival Be
rnd Schneider.
After an unsuccessful 1998 campaign as a Mercedes-Benz factory driver in the Ame
rican-based single-seater CART series with Team Hogan, Lehto stayed Stateside bu
t returned to the BMW camp, which entered their V12 LMR sportscar racer in the A
merican Le Mans Series, ALMS. Even though he ended up winning four races, Lehto
lost the title on the account of a formality (he was not awarded the points gain
ed for winning the 12 Hours of Sebring because he did not have an American racin
g license at that time). 2000 proved less successful as the near-unbeatable Audi
R8 entered the scene.
BMW and Lehto stayed in the ALMS series, but stepped down to the GT-class with t
he controversial M3 GTR. The team was virtually unbeatable but Lehto lost out in
the championship to the driver he shared the car with, Jrg Mller, as the latter h
ad more fastest laps and laps in the lead to his name.
He found the M3 already not fast enough to his liking, so it was not surprising
when Lehto turned down BMW's offer to join them in the European Touring Car Cham
pionship (ETCC) the following year, having to race a near standard 320i tin-top
racer. 2002 started with unemployment, but he was picked up by Cadillac as an ad
dition to their Northstar LMP sportscar programme at Le Mans and in the ALMS ser
ies. Although the car was not on the pace of the Audi R8s or Panoz LMPs, the car
's fortunes did seem to turn for the better when it started to notch up regular
podium finishes in the second half of the year. Cadillac's mother company Genera
l Motors pulled the plug on the project, leaving Lehto again without a job if it
had not been for Champion Racing, who offered him a drive in their Audi R8.
JJ Lehto at 2005 Petit Le Mans.
Lehto won four times in 2003 (including the prestigious Petit Le Mans event at R
oad Atlanta), but it was not until the factory Audi squad left the ALMS series t
hat he was finally able to reap full rewards in 2004 and score his first champio
nship success since his 1988 title in the British Formula Three, picking up six
victories on the way.
A disappointing second half of the 2005 season prevented him from scoring double
championship success, but nonetheless he managed to end his last year in full-t
ime racing on an impressive note when winning both the 12 Hours of Sebring and t
he 24 Hours of Le Mans again.
In 2006 it was announced the Solaroli team would purchase two Porsche RS Spyders
to be entered in the ALMS series. One car would be driven by Lehto, partnered b
y Johnny Herbert. However, even though getting confirmation about the deal going
through in early 2007, nothing ever materialised.
Lehto did show up at the 2007 edition of the 24 Hours of Daytona to team up with
Colin Braun and Max Papis in the Krohn Racing Pontiac-Riley. His first particip
ation in the event was not a success though as the car suffered from a misfire,
and after having spent a long time in the pits, finished 17th.

In 2008 he made an unexpected return to the race tracks when he showed up at the
Malaysian Grand Prix to drive in the Speedcar support race, taking over the #90
car previously vacated by Narain Karthikeyan.
In 2001 Lehto joined Finnish television as an expert race commentator and has re
mained a mainstay at MTV3's Finnish Formula One race broadcasts (and also for th
e pay-channel MTV3 MAX) until 2010, alongside Oskari Saari.
Boating accident
The scene of the boating accident
On 17 June 2010, Lehto was involved in a boating accident in Ekens. The accident
happened when the boat carrying Lehto and his friend, whose identity was not rel
eased, hit the base of a bridge in a canal. Lehto was injured and the other man
was killed in the accident. Lehto had been drinking throughout the day and was h
eavily intoxicated at the time of the accident.[3][4]
In January 2011, Ilta-Sanomat reported that the police investigations had conclu
ded that no one besides Lehto could have been driving the boat at the time of th
e accident.[5] Lehto faced charges of negligent homicide, reckless driving and d
riving under the influence.[6][7] Regardless of the pending trial, Lehto made a
return to sportscasting on the Finnish sports-channel UrhoTV, commentating on a
DTM event.[8] On 14 December 2011, the District Court found Lehto guilty of drun
k sailing and negligent homicide, and sentenced him to two years and four months
in prison.[6] Lehto however appealed the decision, and on 30 November 2012, the
Court of Appeal cleared him of all charges relating to the accident, finding th
e evidence regarding who had been driving the boat inconclusive.[9][10]
Racing record
Complete International Formula 3000 results
(key)
Year
8
1989
DSQ
Ret
4
6
Ret
Ret
Ret
5
Ret

Entrant
1
9
10
DC
Pacific Racing SIL
VAL
PAU
JER
PER
BRH
BIR
SPA
BUG
DIJ
14th
6
Complete Formula One results
(key)
Year
5
15
1989

Entrant
6
7
16
WDC
Moneytron Onyx
SMR
MON
MEX
USA
CAN
FRA
GBR
GER
HUN
BEL

2
3
Points

Chassis
8
9
Pts
Onyx ORE-1

Engine 1
10
11

2
12

3
13

4
14

Ford V8

BRA

ITA
POR
ESP
JPN
AUS
NC
0
Monteverdi Onyx Formula One
BRA

DNPQ
Ret
DNPQ
Ret
1990
Onyx ORE-1
DNQ
DNQ
NC
0
Onyx ORE-1B
Ford V8
SMR
12
MON
Ret
CAN
Ret
MEX
Ret
FRA
DNQ
GBR
DNQ
GER
NC
HUN
DNQ
BEL
ITA
POR
ESP
JPN
AUS
1991
Scuderia Italia SpA
Dallara BMS-191
Ret
BRA
Ret
SMR
3
MON
11
CAN
Ret
MEX
Ret
FRA
Ret
GBR
13
GER
Ret
HUN
Ret
BEL
Ret
ITA
Ret
POR
Ret
ESP
8
JPN
Ret
AUS
12
12th
4
1992
Scuderia Italia SpA
Dallara BMS-192
Ret
MEX
8
BRA
8
ESP
Ret
SMR
11
MON
9
CAN
9
FRA
9
GBR
13
GER
10
HUN
DNQ
BEL
7
ITA
11
POR
Ret
JPN
9
AUS
Ret
NC
0
1993
Sauber AG
Sauber C12
Sauber V10
5
BRA

Ford V8

USA

Judd V10

USA

Ferrari V12

RSA

RSA

Ret
Ret
4
Ret
Ret
7
Ret
8
Ret
Ret
9
Ret
7
8
Ret
1994

EUR
SMR
ESP
MON
CAN
FRA
GBR
GER
HUN
BEL
ITA
POR
JPN
AUS
13th
5
Mild Seven Benetton Ford
Benetton B194 Ford V8
PAC
SMR
Ret
MON
7
ESP
Ret
CAN
6
FRA
GBR
GER
HUN
BEL
ITA
9
POR
Ret
EUR
24th
1
PP Sauber AG
Sauber C13
Mercedes V10
JPN
Ret
AUS
10
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
Year
Team
Co-Drivers
Car
Class Laps
Pos.
Class
Pos.
1990
United Kingdom Richard Lloyd Racing
Italy Italya Sport
Germany Manuel Reuter
United Kingdom James Weaver
Porsche 962C GTi
C1
181
DNF
1991
Germany Porsche Kremer Racing Germany Manuel Reuter
Finland Harri Toivonen Porsche 962CK6 C2
343
9th
9th
1995
United Kingdom Kokusai Kaihatsu Racing France Yannick Dalmas
Japan Masanori Sekiya McLaren F1 GTR GT1
298
1st
1st
1996
United Kingdom Gulf Racing
United Kingdom GTC Racing
United Kingdom Ray Bellm
United Kingdom James Weaver
McLaren F1 GTR GT1
323
9th
1997
Germany Team BMW Motorsport
Germany BMW Team Schnitzer
United Kingdom Steve Soper
Brazil Nelson Piquet
McLaren F1 GTR GT1
236
DNF
DNF
1999
Germany Team BMW Motorsport
Denmark Tom Kristensen
Germany Jrg Mller
BMW V12 LMR
LMP
304
DNF
DNF
2002
United States Team Cadillac
France ric Bernard
France Emmanuel Collard
Cadillac Northstar LMP02
LMP1
12th
10th
2003
United States Champion Racing Italy Emanuele Pirro
Sweden Stefan Johansson
Audi R8
LMP1
372
3rd
2004
United States ADT Champion Racing
Germany Marco Werner
Italy Emanuele Pirro
Audi R8
LMP1
368
3rd
3rd

BRA

DNF

7th

334
1st

2005
United States ADT Champion Racing
Germany Marco Werner
Audi R8
LMP1
American open-wheel racing results

Denmark Tom Kristensen

370
1st
1st

(key)
CART
Year
Team
Chassis
Engine 1
2
3
4
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
16
17
18
19
Rank
Points
1998
Hogan Racing
Reynard 98i
Mercedes-Benz IC108E
MIA
14
MOT
Ret
LBH
18
NZR
16
RIO
10
STL
9
MIL
Ret
DET
Ret
POR
Ret
CLE
Ret
TOR
Ret
MIS
Ret
MDO
15
ROA
Ret
VAN
8
LS
Ret
HOU
10
SRF
5
FON
Ret
20th
25
Complete American Le Mans Series results
Year
Entrant
Class Chassis
Engine Tyres 1
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Rank
Points
1999
BMW Motorsport LMP
BMW V12 LMR
BMW S70 6.0 L V12
SEB
ovr:1
cls:1
ATL
MOS
SON
ovr:1
cls:1
POR
ovr:2
cls:2
PET
ovr:3
cls:3
MON
ovr:1
cls:1
LSV
ovr:1
cls:1
4th
123
2000
BMW Motorsport LMP
BMW V12 LMR
BMW S70 6.0 L V12
SEB
ovr:3
cls:3
CHA
ovr:1
cls:1

5
15

2
12
M

SIL
ovr:1
cls:1
NR
ovr:2
cls:2
SON
ovr:3
cls:3
MOS
ovr:2
cls:2
ovr:4
cls:4

TEX
ROS

ovr:3
cls:3
PET
ovr:5
cls:5
MON
ovr:3
cls:3
LSV
ovr:26
cls:9
ADE
6th
220
2001
BMW Motorsport GT
ovr:12
cls:5
2nd
180
BMW M3 GTR
ovr:10
cls:3
DON
ovr:Ret
cls:Ret
ovr:6
cls:2
SON
ovr:7
cls:1
POR
ovr:10
cls:3
MOS
ovr:10
cls:1
MID
ovr:14
cls:1
MON
ovr:9
cls:1
PET
ovr:12
cls:4
2002

BMW 4.0L V8

BMW M3 BMW 3.2L I6

TEX

SEB

JAR

Team Cadillac

LMP900 Cadillac Northstar LMP02

Cadillac Northst

ar 4.0L Turbo V8
ovr:Ret
cls:Ret
SON

SEB

MID

AME

WAS