Björn Waldegård

The father of this Swede from Solna was already a passionate rally driver and supported the career of his talented son to the best of his ability. His first rally car was a VW Beetle, and his first international victory came in 1968 with a Porsche 911 T at the Sweden Rally, which he won a total of three times.

For Mercedes-Benz, Waldegård (for whom the spelling Waldegaard can also be found), together with his compatriot and regular co-driver Hans Thorszelius, competed in selected rounds of the World Rally Championship from 1979 onwards in the SLC Coupé. In their debut year, the duo finished sixth in the Safari Rally in Kenya and second in the Bandama Rally Cȏte d'Ivoire, both in a 450 SLC 5.0. The following year, after finishing fourth in the Portugal Rally and sixth in the Motogard Rally New Zealand, the team managed to win the Bandama Rally Cȏte d'Ivoire, its last factory event with the large coupés, this time in a 500 SLC.

In the course of his career spanning three decades, the Swede won a total of 16 WRC rallies from 1975 onwards, including the Safari Rally in Kenya three times. Before that, he won the Monte-Carlo Rally in 1969 and 1970. Waldegård crowned his career as one of the world's most successful rally drivers with the world championship title in 1979. The Swede remained active in historic rally events until shortly before his death.