1986 World Rally Championship

The 1986 World Rally Championship was the 14th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) World Rally Championship (WRC). The season consisted of 13 rallies, including all twelve venues of the previous season as well as the addition of the Olympus Rally. This marked the return of the WRC to the United States and North America, as well as the first world rally to be held on the western side of the continent. The December rally would also be the only WRC event to feature Group B competition in the United States.

The 1986 season was notable for being the last World Rally Championship season driven with the popular Group B rally cars, which were banned after the fatal crashes at the Rally Portugal, where three spectators were killed and more than 30 injured, and at the Tour de Corse, where Henri Toivonen and his co-driver Sergio Cresto died in a fireball accident. This was the year where Group B (first introduced in 1982) was at its peak, and the 1986 season saw some of the most powerful and sophisticated rally cars ever built, some of which were mid-engined, like the Lancia Delta S4 and the Ford RS200. The drivers' championship was won by Peugeot's Juha Kankkunen, followed by two other "Flying Finns", Lancia's Markku Alén and Kankkunen's teammate Timo Salonen. The manufacturers' title was taken by Peugeot, after a close battle with the Martini-sponsored Lancia team.

Summary

Hannu Mikkola at the Monte Carlo Rally

The season began with the Monte Carlo Rally and Henri Toivonen took the win with his Lancia Delta S4, making himself the favourite for the title. At the International Swedish Rally in wintery snow and ice, Toivonen had to retire due to an engine failure and Juha Kankkunen won the event with his Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2, ahead of Toivonen's teammate Markku Alén. At the next rally in Portugal, Joaquim Santos lost control of his Ford RS200 and plunged into the crowd, killing three spectators and injuring more than 30. All the factory team drivers decided to withdraw from the race, giving the win to home country's relatively unknown driver, Joaquim Moutinho.

After veteran Swede Björn Waldegård's triumph at the extremely arduous and difficult Safari Rally in Kenya driving a Toyota Celica TCT over Alén and his Lancia 037 Evo (which was the S4's predecessor and used only by Lancia for the Safari Rally; the S4 was not used for the Safari Rally due to Lancia determining that it was too new and not developed enough for that rally), another fatal accident at the Tour de Corse on the French island of Corsica would change the course of rallying. Toivonen and his co-driver Sergio Cresto in their Lancia went off the side of the road, plunged down a ravine and landed on its roof. The aluminium fuel tank underneath the driver's seat was ruptured by the trees and exploded. Toivonen and Cresto had no time to get out and both men burned to death in their seats. The accident had no witnesses close enough to clearly see the accident.

Peugeot 205 T16 E2, Audi Quattro S1 and Lancia Delta S4 in Monte Carlo

This caused Jean-Marie Balestre and the FISA to immediately freeze the development of the Group B cars and ban them from competing for the 1987 season. Audi and Ford decided to withdraw from competing, while other teams continued with their Group B models until the end of the season. Peugeot boss Jean Todt was outraged over the ban and pursued legal action against the federation. After Lancia's remaining car retirement, the Tour de Corse was eventually won by Peugeot's Bruno Saby, which marked his career-first WRC victory. The Acropolis Rally in Greece and the New Zealand Rally were won consecutively by Kankkunen; and the third driver to take his debut win during the season was Lancia's Miki Biasion, who edged out teammate Alén to win the Rally Argentina.

Finnish drivers finished first, second and third in the Jyväskylä Rally (otherwise known as the Finnish Rally, the fastest race of the year), with Salonen and Kankkunen giving Peugeot a 1-2 result, with Alén coming in third for Lancia. This was not much of a surprise, as this rally had only ever been won by Finnish and Swedish drivers until 1990. The Ivory Coast Rally, which was considered to be the most demanding, gruelling and certainly the most attrition-filled rally of the year (a rally where drivers had an unbelievable one in ten chance of finishing) was skipped by all of the Group B teams except Toyota, and was won by Waldegård in his Celica, completing his World Championship African rally sweep. The season included more controversy when the organizers of the Rallye Sanremo disqualified the entire Peugeot team from the event due to illegal side skirts. However, the cars were proven legal by the FIA, and the Italian organizers were blamed for not allowing French Peugeots to take the win ahead of the Italian Lancias. Eventually, the FISA annulled the results of the whole event. Peugeot then became the manufacturers' champions, but Kankkunen was not sure about his title over Alén until three weeks after the season ended, at the RAC Rally in the United Kingdom, specifically Wales and England. Salonen won this race, with Alen finishing second and Kankkunen third, this was enough for Kankkunen to take the Driver's Championship. The last WRC round of the year was the first Olympus Rally in the state of Washington in the northwest United States, which Alén won, with Kankkunen finishing second.

1986 marked the only season in which the FIA issued the World Championship for Drivers of Group A Cars. Swede Kenneth Eriksson, driving a Volkswagen Golf GTI 16V took the title ahead of Austrian Rudi Stohl in his Audi Coupé Quattro, a lower powered version of the Group B Quattros. This championship became unnecessary in future years due to the elimination of Group B cars. From 1987 onwards, Group A cars would be the vehicles used by drivers competing for the main World Rally Championship for Drivers.

Teams and drivers

Team Manufacturer Car Tyre Drivers Rounds
France Peugeot Talbot Sport Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 M Finland Timo Salonen 1–3, 5–7, 9, 11–12
Finland Juha Kankkunen 1–4, 6–9, 11–13
France Bruno Saby 1, 5–6, 8, 11
France Michèle Mouton 1, 5
Kenya Shekhar Mehta 4
Sweden Stig Blomqvist 9
Italy Andrea Zanussi 11
Italy Paolo Alessandrini 11
Finland Mikael Sundström 12
United States Jon Woodner 13
Germany Audi Sport Audi Quattro Sport S1 M Germany Walter Röhrl 1, 3, 6
Finland Hannu Mikkola 1, 6
Austria Rudi Stohl 1, 3–4, 6–8, 10–11
Sweden Mikael Ericsson 2
Sweden Gunner Pettersson 2
New Zealand Malcolm Stewart 7
Austria Wilfred Wiedner 10
France Adolphe Choteau 10
Germany Harald Demuth 12
United States John Buffum 13
Italy Martini Lancia Lancia Delta S4
Rally 037 evo*
P Finland Markku Alén 1–9, 11–13
Finland Henri Toivonen 1–3, 5
Italy Miki Biasion 1, 3–8, 11
Kenya Vic Preston Jr 4
Kenya Greg Criticos 4
Kenya John Hellier 4
Sweden Mikael Ericsson 6–7, 9, 12
Argentina Jorge Recalde 8
Sweden Kalle Grundel 9
Italy Dario Cerrato 11
United Kingdom Austin Rover World Rally Team MG Metro 6R4 M United Kingdom Tony Pond 1, 3, 5, 11–12
United Kingdom Malcolm Wilson 1–3, 5, 9, 11–12
Sweden Per Eklund 2, 9, 12
Belgium Marc Duez 3, 11–12
France Didier Auriol 5
Finland Harri Toivonen 9, 12
United Kingdom David Llewellin 12
United Kingdom Jimmy McRae 12
France Citroën Compétitions Citroën BX 4TC M France Jean-Claude Andruet 1–2, 6
France Philippe Wambergue 1–2, 6
France Maurice Chomat 6
United Kingdom Ford Motor Co Ltd Ford RS200 P Sweden Stig Blomqvist 2–3, 6, 12
Sweden Kalle Grundel 2–3, 6, 12
Portugal Joaquim Santos 3
United Kingdom Mark Lovell 12
Sweden Stig Andervang 12
Japan Toyota Team Europe Toyota Celica TCT P Sweden Björn Waldegård 4, 10, 13
Germany Erwin Weber 4, 10
Sweden Lars-Erik Torph 4, 10, 13
Kenya Robin Ulyate 10
New Zealand Steve Millen 13
Germany Opel Euro Team Opel Manta 400 M Kenya Basil Criticos 4, 8
Germany Rothmans Porsche Rally Team Porsche 911SC RS M Qatar Saeed Al-Hajri 6
Japan Mazda Rally Team Europe Mazda Familia 4WD M Sweden Ingvar Carlsson 1–2, 9, 12
Germany Achim Warmbold 1
New Zealand Rod Millen 7, 13
Germany Volkswagen Motorsport Volkswagen Golf GTi P Austria Franz Wittmann 1, 3–6, 8
Sweden Kenneth Eriksson 1–9, 11–12
Japan Fuji Heavy Industries Subaru RX Turbo P Kenya Mike Kirkland 4, 7
New Zealand Possum Bourne 4, 7, 13
Kenya Frank Tundo 4, 7
France Renault Elf Philips Renault 11 Turbo M France Jean Ragnotti 5, 11
Czech Republic Škoda Motorsport Škoda Škoda 130 LR P Czech Republic Ladislav Krecek 6, 9
Czech Republic Svatopluk Kvaizar 6, 9
Major entries not registered as manufacturers
Italy Jolly Club Fiat Uno Turbo P Italy Giovanni del Zoppo 1, 3, 5–6, 11
Italy Michele Rayneri 1, 5–6, 11
Italy Alex Fiorio 1, 3, 5, 11
Japan Team Nissan Europe Nissan 240RS D Kenya Jayant Shah 4
Greece George Moschous 6
Greece Stratis Hatzipanayiotou 6
New Zealand Reg Cook 7
New Zealand Paddy Davidson 7
France Alain Ambrosino 10
United Kingdom Louise Aitken-Walker 12
France Société Diac Renault R5 Maxi Turbo M France François Chatriot 5
  • Lancia ran out of time to build the safari version of the Delta S4

Events

Map

Black = Tarmac Brown = Gravel Blue = Snow/ice Red = Mixed surface

Schedule and results

Round Rally name Stages Podium finishers
Rank Driver Co-driver Team Car Time
1 Monaco Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo
(18–24 January)
36 stages
867 km
Tarmac/Snow
1 Finland Henri Toivonen United States Sergio Cresto Italy Martini Racing Lancia Delta S4 10:11:24
2 Finland Timo Salonen Finland Seppo Harjanne France Peugeot Talbot Sport Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 10:15:28
3 Finland Hannu Mikkola Sweden Arne Hertz West Germany Audi Sport Audi Sport Quattro S1 10:18:46
2 Sweden Swedish Rally
(14–16 February)
30 stages
558 km
Snow/Ice
1 Finland Juha Kankkunen Finland Juha Piironen France Peugeot Talbot Sport Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 5:09:19
2 Finland Markku Alén Finland Ilkka Kivimäki Italy Martini Racing Lancia Delta S4 5:11:13
3 Sweden Kalle Grundel United Kingdom Terry Harryman United Kingdom Ford Motor Co Ltd Ford RS200 5:15:35
3 Portugal Rallye de Portugal
(5–8 March)
42 stages
556 km
Gravel/Tarmac
1 Portugal Joaquim Moutinho Portugal Edgar Fortes Portugal Renault Galp Renault 5 Turbo 7:50:44
2 Portugal Carlos Bica Portugal Cândido Júnior Portugal Duriforte Construções Lancia Rally 037 8:04:11
3 Italy Giovanni Del Zoppo Italy Loris Roggia Italy Jolly Club Fiat Uno Turbo 8:07:36
4 Kenya Safari Rally
(29 March–2 April)
63 controls
4190 km
Gravel
1 Sweden Björn Waldegård United Kingdom Fred Gallagher Japan Toyota Team Europe Toyota Celica TCT +5:06 pen
2 Sweden Lars-Erik Torph Sweden Bo Thorszelius Japan Toyota Team Europe Toyota Celica TCT +5:34 pen
3 Finland Markku Alén Finland Ilkka Kivimäki Italy Martini Racing Lancia Rally 037 evo +6.12 pen
5 France Tour de Corse
(1–3 May)
24 stages
1017 km
Tarmac
1 France Bruno Saby France Jean-François Fauchille France Peugeot Talbot Sport Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 11:52:44
2 France François Chatriot France Michel Périn France Société Diac Renault 5 Maxi Turbo 12:06:32
3 France Yves Loubet France Jean-Marc Andrié France Alfa Romeo Rothmans Team Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV6 12:45:59
6 Greece Acropolis Rally
(2–4 June)
38 stages
575 km
Gravel
1 Finland Juha Kankkunen Finland Juha Piironen France Peugeot Talbot Sport Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 7:20:01
2 Italy Miki Biasion Italy Tiziano Siviero Italy Martini Racing Lancia Delta S4 7:21:38
3 France Bruno Saby France Jean-François Fauchille France Peugeot Talbot Sport Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 7:29:55
7 New Zealand Rally New Zealand
(5–8 July)
34 stages
597 km
Gravel/Tarmac
1 Finland Juha Kankkunen Finland Juha Piironen France Peugeot Talbot Sport Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 5:43:45
2 Finland Markku Alén Finland Ilkka Kivimäki Italy Martini Racing Lancia Delta S4 5:45:25
3 Italy Miki Biasion Italy Tiziano Siviero Italy Martini Racing Lancia Delta S4 5:53:36
8 Argentina Rally Argentina
(6–9 August)
26 stages
569 km
Gravel
1 Italy Miki Biasion Italy Tiziano Siviero Italy Martini Racing Lancia Delta S4 6:36:26
2 Finland Markku Alén Finland Ilkka Kivimäki Italy Martini Racing Lancia Delta S4 6:36:50
3 Sweden Stig Blomqvist Sweden Bruno Berglund France Peugeot Talbot Sport Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 6:40:42
9 Finland 1000 Lakes Rally
(5–7 September)
47 stages
382 km
Gravel
1 Finland Timo Salonen Finland Seppo Harjanne France Peugeot Talbot Sport Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 3:32:45
2 Finland Juha Kankkunen Finland Juha Piironen France Peugeot Talbot Sport Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 3:33:09
3 Finland Markku Alén Finland Ilkka Kivimäki Italy Martini Racing Lancia Delta S4 3:34:30
10 Ivory Coast Rallye Côte d'Ivoire
(24–27 September)
73 controls
3763 km
Gravel
1 Sweden Björn Waldegård United Kingdom Fred Gallagher Japan Toyota Team Europe Toyota Celica TCT +1:29 pen
2 Sweden Lars-Erik Torph Sweden Bo Thorszelius Japan Toyota Team Europe Toyota Celica TCT +1:37 pen
3 West Germany Erwin Weber West Germany Günter Wanger Japan Toyota Team Europe Toyota Celica TCT +2:27 pen
11 Italy Rallye Sanremo
(13–17 October)
39 stages
488 km
Gravel/Tarmac
1 Finland Markku Alén Finland Ilkka Kivimäki Italy Martini Racing Lancia Delta S4 5:31:35
2 Italy Dario Cerrato Italy Giuseppe Cerri Italy Martini Racing Lancia Delta S4 5:32:53
3 Italy Miki Biasion Italy Tiziano Siviero Italy Martini Racing Lancia Delta S4 5:33:17
12 United Kingdom RAC Rally
(16–19 November)
45 stages
517 km
Gravel
1 Finland Timo Salonen Finland Seppo Harjanne France Peugeot Talbot Sport Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 5:21:11
2 Finland Markku Alén Finland Ilkka Kivimäki Italy Martini Racing Lancia Delta S4 5:22:33
3 Finland Juha Kankkunen Finland Juha Piironen France Peugeot Talbot Sport Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 5:27:16
13 United States Olympus Rally
(4–7 December)
39 stages
525 km
Gravel
1 Finland Markku Alén Finland Ilkka Kivimäki Italy Martini Racing Lancia Delta S4 5:26:10
2 Finland Juha Kankkunen Finland Juha Piironen France Peugeot Talbot Sport Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 5:29:36
3 United States John Buffum United Kingdom Neil Wilson West Germany Audi Sport Audi Sport Quattro 5:50:24
1 FISA later annulled the results.

Standings

Drivers' championship

Rank Driver Event Total
points
Monaco
MON
Sweden
SWE
Portugal
POR
Kenya
KEN
France
FRA
Greece
GRC
New Zealand
NZL
Argentina
ARG
Finland
FIN
Ivory Coast
CIV
Italy
ITA
United Kingdom
GBR
United States
USA
1 Finland Juha Kankkunen 5 1 WD 5 1 1 Ret 2 * 3 2 118
2 Finland Markku Alén Ret 2 WD 3 WD Ret 2 2 3 * 2 1 104
3 Finland Timo Salonen 2 Ret WD Ret Ret 5 1 * 1 63
4 Sweden Björn Waldegård 1 1 * 5 48
5 Italy Miki Biasion Ret WD Ret WD 2 3 1 * 47
6 Sweden Lars-Erik Torph 2 2 * 4 40
7 France Bruno Saby 6 1 3 Ret * 38
8 Sweden Mikael Ericsson 4 Ret 4 5 * Ret 28
9 Sweden Kalle Grundel 3 WD Ret 6 * 5 26
10 Sweden Kenneth Eriksson 9 7 WD Ret 8 7 7 5 12 * 11 25
11 Sweden Stig Blomqvist Ret WD Ret 3 4 * Ret 22
West Germany Erwin Weber 4 3 * 22
13 Finland Henri Toivonen 1 Ret WD Ret * 20
Portugal Joaquim Moutinho 1 * 20
15 Austria Rudi Stohl 17 WD Ret 6 12 6 7 * 16
16 Portugal Carlos Bica 2 * 15
France François Chatriot 2 * 15
18 Finland Hannu Mikkola 3 * 12
Italy Giovanni Del Zoppo Ret 3 Ret Ret * 12
France Yves Loubet 3 * 12
United States John Buffum * 3 12
22 West Germany Walter Röhrl 4 WD * 10
Portugal Jorge Ortigão 4 * 10
France Jean Ragnotti 4 * 10
Qatar Saeed Al-Hajri 4 * 10
Argentina Jorge Recalde 4 * 10
Kenya Robin Ulyate 4 * 10
Finland Mikael Sundström Ret * 4 10
29 Sweden Gunnar Pettersson 5 Ret * 8
Monaco Auguste Turiani Ret 5 Ret * 8
France Jean-Claude Torre 5 * 8
Greece Stratis Hatzipanayiotou 5 * 8
Ivory Coast Samir Assef 5 * 8
34 Sweden Per Eklund Ret 7 * 7 8
35 Austria Franz Wittmann 10 WD 12 Ret 9 7 * 7
36 France Jean-Claude Andruet Ret 6 Ret * 6
France Jean-Sébastien Couloumiès 6 * 6
Kenya Mike Kirkland 6 Ret * 6
France Paul Rouby 6 * 6
New Zealand Neil Allport 6 * 6
Austria Wilfried Wiedner 6 * 6
United Kingdom Tony Pond Ret WD Ret * 6 6
Italy Paolo Alessandrini * 6 6
44 New Zealand Rod Millen 10 * 7 5
45 Spain Salvador Servià 7 * 4
Portugal Ramiro Fernandes 7 * 4
Kenya Frank Tundo 7 Ret * 4
France Michel Neri 7 * 4
49 France Alain Oreille 8 Ret * 3
Sweden Roger Ericsson 8 * 3
Italy Giovanni Recordati 8 Ret 19 * 3
Kenya Shekhar Mehta 8 * 3
Greece Iórgos Moschous 8 * 3
New Zealand Paddy Davidson 8 * 3
Chile José Celsi 8 * 3
Finland Harri Toivonen 8 * Ret 3
France Alain Ambrosino 8 * 3
United Kingdom Jimmy McRae * 8 3
New Zealand Possum Bourne Ret Ret * 8 3
60 Sweden Björn Johansson 9 * 2
Portugal António Segurado 9 * 2
Kenya Greg Criticos 9 * 2
France Gilbert Casanova 9 * 2
New Zealand Reg Cook 9 * 2
Argentina Ernesto Soto 9 * 2
Finland Lasse Lampi 9 * 2
France Patrick Copetti 9 * 2
United Kingdom David Llewellin * 9 2
New Zealand Clive Smith * 9 2
70 Sweden Sören Nilsson 10 * 1
Portugal António Coutinho 10 * 1
Kenya Johnny Hellier 10 * 1
France Christian Gardavot 10 * 1
Italy Michele Rayneri Ret Ret Ret 10 * 1
Kenya Basil Criticos 11 10 * 1
United Kingdom Malcolm Wilson Ret Ret WD Ret 10 * 17 1
Ivory Coast Martial Yacé 10 * 1
Sweden Ingvar Carlsson Ret Ret Ret * 10 1
United States Paul Choiniere * 10 1
Czech Republic Ladislav Krecek 12 26 * 0
Czech Republic Svatopluk Kvaizar 14 37 * 0
Italy Alex Fiorio Ret Ret WD Ret * 0
France Philippe Wambergue Ret Ret Ret * 0
France Michele Mouton Ret Ret * 0
Germany Achim Warmbold Ret * 0
Portugal Joaquim Santos Ret * 0
Tanzania Jayant Shah Ret * 0
Kenya Vic Preston Jr. Ret * 0
France Didier Auriol Ret * 0
France Maurice Chomat Ret * 0
New Zealand Malcolm Stewart Ret * 0
France Adolphe Choteau Ret * 0
Belgium Marc Duez WD * Ret 0
* - Note: FISA annulled the results for the Rallye Sanremo

Manufacturers' championship

Rank Manufacturers Event Total
points
Monaco
MON
Sweden
SWE
Portugal
POR
Kenya
KEN
France
FRA
Greece
GRC
New Zealand
NZL
Argentina
ARG
Finland
FIN
Italy
ITA
United Kingdom
GBR
1 France Peugeot 17 20 - (10) 20 20 20 (14) 20 * 20 137
2 Italy Lancia 20 17 - (14) - 17 17 20 14 * 17 122
3 West Germany Volkswagen 9 10 - - 9 11 12 14 - * - 65
4 West Germany Audi 14 15 - - - - - - - * - 29
5 United Kingdom Ford - 14 - - - - - - - * 10 24
6 Japan Toyota - - - 20 - - - - - * - 20
7 France Renault - - - - 14 - - - - * - 14
8 Japan Subaru - - - 13 - - - - - * - 13
9 United Kingdom Austin Rover - - - - - - - - 4 * 8 12
10 France Citroën - 10 - - - - - - - * - 10
11 Japan Mazda - - - - - - - - - * 9 9
12 West Germany Opel - - - - - - - 5 - * - 5
* - Note: FISA annulled the results for the San Remo Rally

Pointscoring systems

Drivers' championship

Points awarded by finish 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th
20 15 12 10 8 6 4 3 2 1

Manufacturers' championship

Points awarded by overall finish 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th
12 10 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Points awarded by group finish 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th
8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

This page was last updated at 2024-03-04 14:35 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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