November 12, 1943) is a Swedish rally driver, and the winner of the inaugural World Rally Championship for drivers in 1979.

Career

Waldegård's career spans four decades; he debuted in 1962 and, after winning the Swedish Rally Championship in 1967 and '68, continued to compete at the top level until 1992 when a broken arm suffered during a crash in the 1992 Safari Rally forced his retirement. His first international victory, at the wheel of a Porsche 911, came on the 1969 Monte Carlo Rally, while his last came for Toyota on the 1990 Safari. It made him the oldest driver to win a World Rally Championship event, a record he still retains.

The Alitalia-backed Lancia team of the 1970s frequently choose between star drivers Waldegård and Italian frontrunner Sandro Munari. Waldegård and Munari came head to head in the 1976 Rallye Sanremo. Waldegård had a four-second lead over Munari entering the final stage, only to be forced to squander that advantage in keeping with the team's hopes for an 'equal' shootout. Waldegård, however, emerged as victor by four seconds, having disobeyed team orders and overtaken Munari – as a result, Waldegård left Lancia and joined Ford in late 1976.

Driving Ford Escort RS models, Waldegård won three of the world's most punishing rallies in 1977; the East African Safari Rally, the Acropolis Rally, and the RAC Rally.

He was later victor in the inaugural World Rally Championship series in 1979 for Ford and Mercedes-Benz, beating Hannu Mikkola in the final round at the Rallye Côte d'Ivoire in the Ivory Coast, by finishing second behind his rival.

International victories

Björn Waldegård, International victories
1969	38ème Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo	Porsche 911 S
1970	39ème Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo	Porsche 911 S
1970	21st International Swedish Rally	Porsche 911 S
1970	41. Österreichische Alpenfahrt	Porsche 911 S
1975	26th International Swedish Rally	Lancia Stratos HF
1975	17º Rallye Sanremo	Lancia Stratos HF
1976	18º Rallye Sanremo	Lancia Stratos HF
1977	25th Safari Rally	Ford Escort RS1800
1977	24th Acropolis Rally	Ford Escort RS1800
1977	26th Lombard RAC Rally	Ford Escort RS1800
1978	29th International Swedish Rally	Ford Escort RS1800
1979	26th Acropolis Rally	Ford Escort RS1800
1979	7ème Critérium Molson du Québec	Ford Escort RS1800
1980	12ème Rallye Côte d'Ivoire	Ford Escort RS1800
1982	12th Motogard Rally of New Zealand	Toyota Celica 2000GT
1983	15ème Rallye Côte d'Ivoire	Toyota Celica TCT
1984	32nd Marlboro Safari Rally	Toyota Celica TCT
1986	34th Marlboro Safari Rally Kenya	Toyota Celica TCT
1986	18ème Rallye Côte d'Ivoire	Toyota Celica TCT
1990	38th Marlboro Safari Rally Kenya	Toyota Celica GT-Four

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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Mille Miglia".