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BJORN WALDEGÅRD
Bjorn Waldegård is popularly acclaimed as Sweden’s greatest rally driver, an accolade that is supported by his victory in 16 World Championship events, including four wins on the gruelling Safari Rally.
In his competition career he has driven everything from Volkswagen Beetles to the mighty Group A Toyota Celica GT-Four, the car in which he posted his most memorable victory and which he drives once again at the 2006 Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Waldegård, born in 1943, first demonstrated his natural talent in the Swedish national rally championship in 1962, before stepping up to international competition. He was a regular competitor in the world championship from 1973 and scored his first victory appropriately enough on the 1975 Swedish Rally, driving a Lancia Stratos HF.
In 1979 Waldegård became the first winner of the newly-inaugurated World Championship for Drivers, a season he campaigned in both a Ford Escort RS and a Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC.
His impressive qualities kept him in demand among the front-ranked factory teams, with drives for Lancia and Ford before joining Toyota in 1981. Since then he has enjoyed a long and fruitful association with Toyota and Toyota Team Europe, contributing to success both his driving skills and his informed insights into the sport. In his WRC career, from 1973 to 1992, Waldegård amassed 16 victories and 35 podium finishes in 95 starts.
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