Markko Märtin

Markko Märtin
Personal information
Markko Märtin in 2006.
Nationality	Estonian
Born	(1975-11-10) 10 November 1975 Tartu, Estonia
World Rally Championship record
Active years	1997–2005
Co-driver	Michael Park
Teams	Lukoil EOS Rally Team, Subaru World Rally Team, Ford, Peugeot
Rallies	86
Championships	0
Rally wins	5
Podiums	18
Stage wins	101
Total points	207
First rally	1997 Neste Rally Finland
First win	2003 Acropolis Rally
Last win	2004 Rally Catalunya
Last rally	2005 Rally Great Britain

Markko Märtin (born 10 November 1975 in Tartu) is a rally driver from Estonia, who competed in the World Rally Championship from 2000 until 2005.

Career

Märtin with a Ford Focus RS WRC 04 at the 2004 Cyprus Rally.

Märtin with a Peugeot 307 WRC at the 2005 Cyprus Rally.

Märtin, as understudy to then-team mates Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz, shot to prominence with the Ford World Rally Team in the 2002 season. He was on target to notch up a victory on that year's Acropolis Rally Greece, his career first, until suffering two punctures and instead being forced to concede to the more experienced McRae. Nonetheless, Märtin still impressed during his time as pilot of the Ford Focus RS WRC. He won the equivalent event in Greece the following year as well as being only the third driver in the history of the WRC to break the Scandinavian stranglehold on the Neste Rally Finland. In addition to this, Märtin was inaugural winner, again with Ford, of the Corona Rally Mexico in the 2004 season. He also won the tarmac rallies of Corsica and Catalunya in the same year. These victories happened to be the last for the Märtin/Michael Park partnership.

For 2005 Märtin departed the team for former constructors' champion Peugeot and its 307 car. In comparison to the heights of previous seasons, initial promise was to give way to grief. Although 2005 was by no means an exemplary season by Märtin's standards, he and co-driver Park had still notched up four podium finishes for their new employers by the time they had arrived in Wales to contest the Wales Rally Great Britain.

However, on Sunday, 18 September 2005, the final leg of the event, two kilometres from the start of Stage 15 at Margam Park, Märtin's Peugeot crashed heavily into a tree. Although the Estonian driver was left unhurt by the shunt, co-driver Michael Park was immediately killed in the accident, the first fatality for a competitor at WRC-level for over a decade. As a result, Märtin announced that he would pull out of the last four events of the 2005 season.

Understandably shaken by the death of Park, Märtin effectively left the WRC stage. He went on to manage a junior rallying team in the Estonian rally scene, indicating that he would likely refuse any offers to drive at the top level again. He has since spoken out against the FIA's treatment of the WRC, claiming that the series had lost much of its lustre and calling for a far-reaching rules overhaul.^[1]

However, Märtin made a limited return to competitive rallying in March 2006 at the 2006 Rally of Portugal. The invitational event was held as a candidate for full WRC status. Märtin competed in a Subaru Impreza, his first outing in an FIA-spec Group N car in nearly a decade. He was co-driven by David Senior, who formerly worked with Alister McRae. Märtin also partook in the 2006 Danish Touring Car Championship with Hans Hartmann's Honda Racing.

Märtin signed a deal to become the official test driver for the Subaru World Rally Team in 2008.^[2] He has since test-driven for Ford and Mini.

Life after WRC

In 2009, Märtin was hired by Ford to work as a R&D factory driver.^[3] He helped to train WRC rookie Ken Block for the 2010 WRC season.^[4] On 7 June 2010, it was announced that Märtin would race in Rally Estonia, which took place on 16–18 July 2010 and which was also an IRC candidate event. Märtin drove a Ford Focus RS WRC 03, which he referred to as "the best rally car in the world."^[5] Märtin won all twelve stages, second place, Ott Tänak lost 2.50,3.^[6]

Together with his father, Märtin runs a haulage company in Estonia. He also bought a car dealership in 2005 and has started selling Subarus. On the same year he also created MM Motorsport, which won several Estonian Rally Championship titles. The team also has numerous Ford Fiesta R5 for rent.

Personal life

Märtin lives in Monaco with Miss Model Estonia 2004 Mari-Liis Sallo and they welcomed their first child together in summer 2007.^[7]

WRC career results

1997 – NC – 0 points – Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD
1999 – 18th – 2 points – best finish 5th – Ford Escort WRC, Toyota Corolla WRC
2000 – 21st – 1 point – best finish 6th – Toyota Corolla WRC, Subaru Impreza WRC
2001 – 19th – 3 points – best finish 5th – Subaru Impreza WRC
2002 – 9th – 20 points – best finish 2nd – Ford Focus WRC 02
2003 – 5th – 49 points – 2 rally wins – Ford Focus WRC 03
2004 – 3rd – 79 points – 3 rally wins – Ford Focus WRC 04
2005 – 5th – 53 points – best finish 2nd – Peugeot 307 WRC (season unfinished)

Complete World Rally Championship results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	WDC	Points
1997	Markko Märtin	Toyota Celica GT-Four ST185	MON	SWE	KEN	POR	ESP	FRA	ARG	GRC	NZL	FIN Ret	IDN	ITA	AUS	GBR			NC	0
1998	Markko Märtin	Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205	MON	SWE	KEN	POR Ret	ESP	FRA	ARG	GRC	NZL	FIN 12	ITA 9	AUS	GBR Ret				NC	0
1999	Markko Märtin	Ford Escort WRC	MON	SWE 8	KEN	POR Ret													18th	2
1999	Markko Märtin	Toyota Corolla WRC AE111					ESP	FRA	ARG	GRC 5	NZL	FIN Ret	CHN	ITA Ret	AUS	GBR 8			18th	2
2000	Lukoil EOS Rally Team	Toyota Corolla WRC AE111	MON	SWE 9	KEN	POR 7	ESP 10	ARG	GRC Ret	NZL	FIN 10	CYP 6	FRA	ITA Ret		GBR 7			21st	1
2000	Subaru World Rally Team	Subaru Impreza WRC2000													AUS Ret				21st	1
2001	Subaru World Rally Team	Subaru Impreza WRC2001	MON Ret	SWE 12	POR Ret	ESP Ret	ARG	CYP	GRC Ret	KEN	FIN 5	NZL	ITA Ret	FRA 6	AUS	GBR Ret			19th	3
2002	Ford Motor Co	Ford Focus RS WRC 02	MON 12	SWE	FRA 8	ESP 8	CYP 8	ARG 4	GRC 6	KEN 4	FIN 5	GER 6	ITA 5	NZL Ret	AUS 5	GBR 2			9th	20
2003	Ford Motor Co	Ford Focus RS WRC 02	MON 4	SWE 4	TUR 6														5th	49
2003	Ford Motor Co	Ford Focus RS WRC 03				NZL Ret	ARG Ret	GRC 1	CYP Ret	GER 5	FIN 1	AUS DSQ	ITA 3	FRA Ret	ESP 3	GBR Ret			5th	49
2004	Ford Motor Co	Ford Focus RS WRC 03	MON 2	SWE 7	MEX 1														3rd	79
2004	Ford Motor Co	Ford Focus RS WRC 04				NZL 3	CYP 2	GRC Ret	TUR 24	ARG Ret	FIN 2	GER 4	JPN 3	GBR 3	ITA Ret	FRA 1	ESP 1	AUS Ret	3rd	79
2005	Peugeot	Peugeot 307 WRC	MON 4	SWE 2	MEX 3	NZL 5	ITA 4	CYP 3	TUR 5	GRC 8	ARG 6	FIN 3	GER 4	GBR Ret	JPN	FRA	ESP	AUS	5th	53

WRC victories

Number	Event	Season	Co-driver	Car
1	50 th BP Ultimate Acropolis Rally of Greece	2003	Michael Park	Ford Focus RS WRC 03
2	53rd Neste Rally Finland	2003
3	18º Corona Rally México	2004
4	48ème Tour de Corse – Rallye de France			Ford Focus RS WRC 04
5	40º Rallye Catalunya-Costa Brava (Rallye de España)			Ford Focus RS WRC 04

References

External links

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