Ove Andersson

Andersson was born in Uppsala and grew up on a remote farm. His father bought a 98cc motorbike, and Andersson said this was where he first fell in love with speed and machinery. He went on to begin studying engineering in Uppsala, and also began marshalling ice races. He dropped his engineering course and began working as an apprentice to a blacksmith in the city. He then went on to work in a car repair shop, the owner of which encouraged Andersson to begin racing after showing him his skills with a motorbike.

In 1958, Andersson completed his compulsory military service with the United Nations (UN) peace-keeping force in the Gaza Strip. During this service he survived typhoid and a fire. Upon returning home he attempted to rejoin the UN but with little success. A friend encouraged him to join him in a rally, in which the pairing finished in sixth place. Local rally drivers saw that he had potential, but as he had little money he could not afford to race. His friend Bengt Söderström became a Saab factory rally driver, and Andersson was able to borrow parts to make his car more competitive. The UN eventually offered him the opportunity to serve in the Congo, but he turned it down to concentrate on his rallying career.

In 1963, Andersson drove for the first time as a factory-backed driver in the Swedish Rally, using a Mini. He impressed the team boss, Stuart Turner, for him to be given a Mini Cooper S for the RAC Rally. He went on to drive for Saab in 1964 and 1965, but he felt he was in the shadow of Erik Carlsson whom Andersson believed was given better machinery by Saab. In 1965, he rallied the first three rounds of the championship with Lancia, finishing third in all of them. He also drove in the Swedish Rally Championship, and won the Swedish World Rally in a Lotus Cortina. In 1967, he won the Monte Carlo Rally with Lancia.

Despite being signed to Ford for 1968, Andersson competed in Daytona 24 hours with Lancia and also in the Monte Carlo Rally. At the end of the 1970 season, he was approached by Alpine whom he began to drive for in 1971. Andersson won the Monte Carlo Rally, Rallye Sanremo, Österreichische Alpenfahrt and Acropolis Rally with an Alpine A110, winning the International Championship for Manufacturers title for Alpine. In 1972, he came second in the Monte Carlo rally with Jean Todt as his co-driver. After the inauguration of the World Rally Championship in 1973, Andersson, drove mainly a Toyota Celica, achieved seven podium places in his 28 outings in the series and won the 1975 Safari Rally in a Peugeot 504, co-driven by Arne Hertz.