Salonen achieved his first podium place in the World Rally Championship by driving his Fiat 131 Abarth to second place at the 1977 1000 Lakes Rally. He then won the 1977 Critérium du Québec, his fifth WRC event and his first outside of Finland.
His factory team career at World Championship level began with Nissan, focusing on long-distance events. In 1984, he achieved a string of top-ten finishes, leading to an invitation from Jean Todt to drive for Peugeot in the 1985 season. Initially playing a supporting role to Ari Vatanen, Salonen proved his capability, particularly after Vatanen's accident in Argentina. Salonen set a record by winning four world rallies consecutively, a feat unmatched until Sébastien Loeb's six wins in a row in 2005, and secured the World Championship with a record 52-point margin ahead of Stig Blomqvist. He remained with Peugeot for the 1986 season, finishing third in the drivers' championship behind Juha Kankkunen and Markku Alén.
In the post-Group B era, Salonen drove for Mazda, taking a popular win on the 1987 Swedish Rally. His last WRC event was the 1992 Rally Portugal in a Mitsubishi Galant VR-4. He made a one-time comeback at the 2002 Neste Rally Finland, finishing 14th overall in a Peugeot 206 WRC.
Salonen was mainly co-driven by Seppo Harjanne, who later achieved success with Tommi Mäkinen. After retiring from rallying, Salonen became the CEO of his car sales company, Autotalo Timo Salonen, in Finland.
Following his full-time WRC career, Salonen drove for Guy Fréquelin's Citroën rally raid team. During the 1992 Paris-Moscow-Beijing rally raid, his ZX was destroyed by fire. In 1993, he won the Pharaohs Rally Raid in the works ZX, contributing to the team’s Cross-Country World Cup manufacturers' title. That same season, he finished fourth on the Baja Aragon Raid, second on the Atlas Rally Raid, and third on the United Arab Emirates Desert Challenge. He withdrew from the 1993 Paris-Dakar rally after co-driver Fred Gallagher injured his back.
In 1994, Salonen's participation in the Paris-Dakar-Paris was limited due to a disagreement between Citroën and the event organisers. He still competed in the World Cup, finishing second on the Tunisia Rally Raid and winning the Baja Aragón. He also provided a test drive for Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear. The 1995 Granda-Dakar saw him finish fifth, despite losing over five hours due to a front wheel drive issue. He also finished third on the Atlas Rally and second on the Baja España-Aragón that season.
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