Southern Finland. The regulations in this race were not close to those of the Monte Carlo Rally, leading to a demand for a Monte Carlo type of rally in Finland. In July 1951, Pentti Barck's proposal for an annual competition in Jyväskylä was accepted. The first-ever rally began on 1 September 1951 as Jyväskylän Suurajot (Jyväskylä Grand Prix). 26 entrants tackled the 1,700 kilometre (1,060 mi) route that stretched to Rovaniemi in Lapland, through Kokkola and Oulu, and back to the rally headquarters in Jyväskylä. The winner Arvo Karlsson, driving an Austin Atlantic, had accumulated the least penalty points and had been the closest to the target times throughout the route and the special tests involving hillclimbing and acceleration. The 1952 event included Helsinki as an alternative starting point and the field expanded to 48 entries. Eino Elo was the only driver to finish the route and the acceleration and braking tests without penalty points. In 1953, Oulu was added as a third starting point, and 66 crews started the 2,200 kilometre course in two-minute intervals. The 1954 running of the rally saw the introduction of the international name "The Rally of the Thousand Lakes". There were now eleven starting cities, one of which was Sundsvall in neighbouring Sweden. In 1955, the event became increasingly closer to the format of a modern rally competition; the number of special stages was increased to eleven, marking the highest amount in any European rally. Elo and Peugeot became the first two-time winners of the event. The 1956 rally featured 19 stages totaling . In 1957, the rally had a record number of entries from foreign countries and the organisers developed a sign language that marshals could use to communicate with drivers. The event also started the Finland-Sweden international in rallying, comparable to the traditional Finland-Sweden athletics international. Sweden's Erik Carlsson drove his Saab 93 to victory as the first non-Finn. In the 1958 1000 Lakes, documented by a 20th Century Fox film crew, seven drivers crashed out on the same curve on a foggy night. Brothers Osmo and Eino Kalpala took a record third win in an Alfa Romeo Giulietta TI, which marked the first victory for an Italian car. In 1959, the 1000 Lakes Rally was included in the European Rally Championship calendar. It was also one of the four rallies that counted towards the first-ever Finnish Rally Championship. 1960s At the