Career
lieutenant was commented of him that he stood out from other drivers, because he was overweight, wore thick glasses and smoked heavily, but still remained one of the fastest and most competitive drivers in the sport. He was also known for his relaxed attitude and for his habit of steering his rally car with one hand only. These factors led to the nickname Löysä ("Slack").
With his 7 rally wins he remained the most successful driver of Group B era (1983–1986) of WRC. Salonen"s factory team career at World Championship level began with Nissan, mainly on long-distance events.
He began that year playing a supporting role to Ari Vatanen but quickly proved capable of being in a leading role, especially after Vatanen"s near-fatal accident in Argentina. Salonen then remained at Peugeot for the 1986 season, and finished third in the drivers" championship, behind his new team-mate Juha Kankkunen and Lancia driver Markku Alén.
His last WRC event in action was the 1992 Rally Portugal in a Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 until he made a one-time comeback at the 2002 Neste Rally Finland. He managed his Peugeot 206 WRC to 14th place overall.
After retiring from rallying, Salonen has worked as the Chief Executive Officer for his car sales company Autotalo Timo Salonen in Finland.