In season 2024 RS Motorsport competes in selected rallyes
12.9.2024 – RS Motorsport ends season 2024 and turns focus to season 2025 – New car project has also begun
In current season RS Motorsport competed in two Finnish national rally events with Ford Fiesta v1600 rally car. Now team and its’ driver Timo Rintanen has made a decision to skip season 2024 final rallyes and start focusing on forthcoming Finnish Rally Championship series season 2025 which gets underway in second weekend of January. Team uses this time to fix, repair, develope and test its’ rally car.
– Even in season 2024 we drove only two events, we still managed to collect lots of special stage kilometres for under the belt. The first event, which was driven inside WRC Rally Finland, delivered us lots of experience from rallying and second one, which was 6th round of Finnish Rally Championship series, was a big disapointment due technical problems, Rintanen analyzes his two events.
– However the positive thing was that I’ve managed to suit myself into front-wheel-car quite well. After many seasons with rear-wheel-drive car I have had to adjust my driving style. Therefore when the snow has arrived we face a fierce test program in front of us with my co-driver Tiina Tanner, Rintanen continues.
All three winter rounds of the Finnish Rally Championship series are to be driven in stages which aren’t familiar from previous seasons.
– Our focus is now turned into season 2025 and its’ winter stages which are over 90% new to all drivers. Therefore it is vital that now we get our car into competition mode and then start testing to accomplish our goals. Furthermore we have also started a new project with another car which is now on its’ modifications and alterations. We publish more information later in autumn, Rintanen shares his plans.
28.8.2024 – Timo Rintanen had a challenging FRC Lahti rally with v1600 rally car – Low-performance engine ruled out all possibilities to compete against young top drivers
A month ago Timo Rintanen competed his first season 2024 rally which was driven in region of spiritual home of rallying, Jyväskylä. Now in final weekend of August he continued rallying at sixth round of Finnish Rally Championship series with co-driver Tiina Tanner. In nine special stages and 105 special stage kilometres RS Motorsport competed with Ford Fiesta v1600 rally car and suffered lack of horse powers. Therefore 12th position in FRC4-group was a disapointing result.
– We couldn’t fix all the troubles we had encountered in previous rally and therefore in FRC Lahti rally we were forced to compete with lack of engine power. New Engine Control Unit didn’t arrive in time and therefore our competition experience was turned into pace-note check-up. After three stages I was ready to give up and retire because the engine was complitely dead. Also we had some problem with brakes. However even we managed to improve suspension setup to give us better grip for the gravel surface, it was a frustrating weekend for our team, Rintanen tells.
– In past seasons the FRC4-group has also complitely changed from group of standard rally cars into full-blood rally cars. We had standard engine control unit and 120bhp in our car and top Toyota Auris competitors has more than 50bhp. Therefore this group needs to get new rules to divide the cars into non-tuned and tuned standard rally cars. The spirit in FRC4-group was that all cars are truly standard rally cars and not highly expensive and full-blooded rally cars. FRC4-group also supposed to be low-cost rally group. However now money also talks in this group, Rintanen tells.
All podium positions were collected with Toyota Auris rally cars which have proven to be the only winning car in FRC4-group. RS Motorsport heads for future by developing its’ Ford Fiesta v1600 rally car to deliver more engine power for driver Timo Rintanen.
Final results Future FRC-rally 2024, Lahti: FRC4-group, top-3:
1. Lauri Halonen & Niklas Heino, Toyota Auris, 58:07,9
2. Aatu Hakalento & Joni Seilo, Toyota Auris, +22,9s
3. Viljami Salminen & Topi Kärpijoki, Toyota Auris, +33,7s
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12. Timo Rintanen & Tiina Tanner, Ford Fiesta v1600
5.8.2024 – Technical problems slowed down Timo Rintanen in Vetomies rally – Brake and engine problems caused worries
Traditional Vetomies rally was driven in first weekend of August 2024 as a part of WRC Rally Finland. The highly appreciated rally included eight special stages and 131,28 special stage kilometres. For Flying Finn, Timo Rintanen and his co-driver Mika Kauppinen the rally was very challenging due brake and engine problems of their Ford Fiesta v1600 car.
Theme of the duo’s competition was a struggle for survival as a result of an powerless engine and powerless brakes. Therefore 32nd position in overall classifications was a big disappointment, even though the v1600 car would not have had a chance to win the race anyway.
– Inefficiency of the engine and brake problems became alive right away at the first special stage and we because we could not fix the problems, we were unable to show our speed. I was forced almost to stand on the brake pedal to get the car to stop. And on the uphill sections, like in the Harju special stage, the car didn’t want to forward even in second gear. Under 4500 revs the engine was completely uninformative. After the competition, the cause was revealed to be a faulty engine control unit, Rintanen says.
– After the rally, the brake problems was solved by SRT-Racing’s Kalle Sarlin and Seppo Harinen is currently soving the engine problems. Vetomies rally was so big dissapointment for me that I want to show my speed in next Finnish Rally Championship series event with co-driver Tiina Tanner if the engine problems are solved, Rintanen continues.
Vetomies rally was won by Markus Hellström and his co-driver Tapio Järvi, who competed with BMW M3.
Timos’ driving is based on stability, certainty and avoiding unnecessary risks
Timo Rintanen
The main focus of Timo Rintanen’s competition activities has always been in pace note events and otherwise more in driving exactly the same races as we will be driving again in the 2025 season, when we will be driving the entire Finnish Rally Championship Series.
The standard v1600 rally car is a familiar tool when in 2015 and 2016 Rintanen measured his skills with his regular co-driver Harri Pettersson in the legendary Vetomies rally.
In 2015, in the first Vetomies rally, Rintanen was about to retire the rally in Ouninpohja when 4th gear speed caused the BMW to run straight into the ditch and slide on its side there for a long distance. With a big luck involved, the car jumped back on the stage and the journey continued.
In season 2024 we competed Vetomies Rally, which was driven as a part of WRC Rally Finland. Due brake problems we finished the event in 32th position in overall classifications.
Timo Rintanen has lots of experience which has taught him the reality of rally car driving, as individual special test times is not the solution to the game, but getting to the finish check station through consistency. Only then is the name on the results list.
Tiina Tanner
Our common rally journey together started in season 2022 when in January Timo Rintanen tested for the Arctic Lapland rally in the surroundings of Tanner’s farm at Uurainen. Tiina co-driven throughout the test and that’s when Timo noticed that things were mutually working well. When Janette Styf, co-driver at the time, got injured during the 2022 Arctic Lapland Rally, the situation came up later where Rintanen needed a new co-driver and then his first choice was Tiina. Later in the same year, during the tests in Keuruu, Timo and Tiina found that our cooperation works great. So Tiina Tanner will work as a co-driver in forthcoming events.
Ford Fiesta v1600 Sport
- Transmission: Ford 5-speed H-pattern
- Dampers & Suspension: Reiger / Eibach
- Wheel base & Weight: 2490 mm, 1124 kg
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By participating only as a supporter, you’ll get your name on the list of names placed on the roof of the rally car and the same list will also be published on the website.
In addition, you are participating in a raffle, where 32 people can participate in the car sports day organized at the Saukkola rally driving training center.
At the end of the season, we’ll organize a two-day event in Saukkola, where you can also drive yourself. You’ll be one of the 16 guests with us for one day.
Our rally event will be hosted by Finland’s most famous stuntman Crazy Mike, who will bring the show Ford Focus known from Finnish television show. With this car, we form teams from the people present and you get to show your skills yourself, while one drives and the other takes care of the throttle, brake, gears, etc.
Each of our guests also gets to go to Saukkola’s actual special test as a co-driver in a car, which leaves unforgettable experience as Crazy Mike rides the guests in a Rallycross Jaguar. The car has almost 400 horsepower engine which gives a unique experience of the speed.
There will be surprises and who knows if you might catch a glimpse of a few celebrities there.
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Entities to be negotiated separately
When you are interested in going along with the overall co-operation that we build with you in a customized way, contact us and we can arrange a meeting.
We have several different options to offer you, with which we can combine cooperation from the world of car parts, TV-production, customer driving events, as well as your company’s customer events, parties, etc., for which we have sound, light, performers and much more produced by our other company Timtech Productions more.
In addition to the season 2024 Finnish Rally Championship events, we’ll also be participating in other events and exhibitions during the next season, and our competition calendar will be expanded to the full season.
Our goal is to compete at least one event in Sweden.
The co-operation between motorsport and companies is always completely customized and based on the things we can find as common things that give the best possible efficiency on both sides.
We’re ready, so bring your company and then let’s make a great collaboration together.
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Customer events in rally are fun and well-liked events, because speed always brings excitement.
The customer event is a day that can be carried out only in different areas of motorsport, when it includes a rally car driver’s seat, a ride in a real rally special test, skill driving in a show car, etc.
You can combine your company’s own things with the customer event, such as personnel training or a sales day aimed at customers, or you can go together just to relax with a nice experience day.
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As a customer service location, e.g. Saukkola Special Stage, where in addition to a tasty breakfast, you can find full lunch services, meeting rooms with the necessary meeting technology, etc. Read more information about the venue on their Facebook feed.
In principle, a customer event can be held anywhere in Finland, as long as there is a location available where the event can be held safely on a closed track or road section and there is sufficient space in the area for the other functions of the customer event.
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RS Motorsport and its driver Timo Rintanen can be said to have been born in the middle of motorsport!
Timo’s father was already an active car sports enthusiast and a competitor in car orienteering. He is, for example, one of the founding members of Naantalin Seudun Urheiluautoilijat registered association. In this way, Timo was also ”forced” to join the speed sport.
After experimenting with motocross and karting, work in the entertainment world took 15-year-old Timo to work as a disc jockey, and with that, his professional speaking skills began until in 1981 Rintanen ended up driving his brother Jukka’s car in his first rally.
Two years later, Sunbeam IMP was changed to his own Ford Escort 1300 Sport car until in 1986 Timo returned to Sunbeam. In the same year he made his debut in the Finnish Junior Rally series in which Timo was the third fastest in his group.
In the season 1987 Timo collect group wins in the first two rounds of the Rally Junior Championship series and was second fastest in the third. In the last race of the winter season he was at the top pace of the overall race until the engine gave out. After the winter season, Rintanen was third in the series. However, the series was abandoned due to financial problems due the completely destroyed engine. As a result, he drove only selected races for two years.
In the 1991 season, competition activities were joined by announcing services for competition events, which expanded the service package of his broadcasting work. Since there were a lot of work tasks for the speaking profession, there was no longer enough time for the actual competition activities.
Since 1985, Rintanen had been making reports for local radio stations about the WRC Rally Finland or the Rally of a Thousand Lakes. In 1992, Finnish main radio, Yleisradio, hired Rintanen for the rally radio group of the World Rally Championship, which expanded to the TV side the following year. This was also where Rintanen’s cooperation with Yleisradio television sports program called Urheiluruutu began, and this is how he was able to use his professional skills in the work of a TV reporter and reporting.
The contract with YLE continued for the seasons 1993-1994. As in 1995 the Finnish World Rally Championship was only a front-wheel drive European Championship event, Yleisradio decided to television the race with a reduced production and therefore Rintanen returned to Rally Radio.
During the following years, Rintanen handled the duties of an announcer in hundreds of motor sports competitions. In addition, several national TV-channels have broadcast his motorsport programs.
In addition to television and competition announcement services, he has implemented sound and light technology production services for e.g. all motor circuits in Finland, the Elite Series of Finnish athletics, Pori Jazz’s street sound production, numerous corporate events, etc. AV-technician services have also been in his field.
In the summer of 2012, the gravel started flying again when Timo’s nephew offered his own car. As a result of the race in Naantali, he ended up driving a total of 29 races with a rear-wheel drive v1600 BMW rally car.
Images from previous rally seasons
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