1986 World Rally Championship

1986 World Rally Championship

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The 1986 World Rally Championship season 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 powerful and 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. 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, 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.

Another fatal accident at the Tour de Corse would change the course of rallying. Toivonen's and his co-driver, Sergio Cresto's, Lancia went off the side of the road, plunged down a ravine and landed on its roof. The aluminum fuel tank underneath the driver's seat was ruptured by the trees and exploded. Toivonen and Cresto had no time to get out and burned to death on their seats. The accident had no witnesses.

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. The Tour de Corse was eventually won by Peugeot's Bruno Saby, which marked his career-first WRC victory. 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.

The season ended with 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 FIA 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.

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 Coupe 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	Constructor	Car	Tyre	Drivers	Rounds
Peugeot Talbot Sport	Peugeot	205 Turbo 16 E2	M	Timo Salonen	1–3, 5–7, 9, 11–12
				Juha Kankkunen	1–4, 6–9, 11–13
				Bruno Saby	1, 5–6, 8, 11
				Shekhar Mehta	4
				Michèle Mouton	5
				Stig Blomqvist	9
				Andrea Zanussi	11
				Mikael Sundström	12
Audi Sport	Audi	Quattro Sport S1	M	Walter Röhrl	1, 3
				Hannu Mikkola	1
				Mikael Ericsson	2
				Gunner Pettesson	2
				Rudi Stohl	4
				Malcolm Stewart	7
				Wilfred Wiedner	10
				John Buffum	13
Martini Racing	Lancia	Delta S4 Rally 037 evo	P	Markku Alén	1–9, 11–13
				Henri Toivonen	1–3, 5
				Miki Biasion	1, 3–8, 11
				Vic Preston Jr	4
				Greg Criticos	4
				John Hellier	4
				Mikael Ericsson	6–7, 9, 12
				Jorge Recalde	8
				Kalle Grundel	9
Austin Rover World Championship Team	MG	Metro 6R4	M	Tony Pond	1, 3, 5, 11–12
				Malcolm Wilson	1–3, 5, 9, 11–12
				Per Eklund	2, 9, 12
				Marc Duez	3, 11–12
				Didier Auriol	5
				Harri Toivonen	9, 12
				David Llewellin	12
				Jimmy McRae	12
Volkswagen Motorsport	Volkswagen	Golf GTi	P	Franz Wittmann	1, 3–6, 8
				Kenneth Eriksson	1–9, 11–12
Mazda Rally Team Europe	Mazda	Familia 4WD	M	Ingvar Carlsson	1–2, 9, 12
				Achim Warmbold	1
				Rod Millen	7, 13
Citroën Competition	Citroen	BX 4TC	M	Jean-Claude Andruet	1–2, 6
				Philippe Wambergue	1–2, 6
				Maurice Chomat	6
Ford Motor Company	Ford	RS200	M	Stig Blomqvist	2–3, 6, 12
				Kalle Grundel	2–3, 6, 12
				Joaquim Santos	3
				Mark Lovell	12
				Stig Andervang	12
Toyota Team Europe	Toyota	Celica TCT	P	Björn Waldegård	4, 10, 13
				Erwin Weber	4, 10
				Lars-Erik Torph	4, 10, 13
				Robin Ulyate	10
				Steve Millen	13
Team Nissan Europe	Nissan	240RS	D	Jayant Shah	4
				George Moschous	6
				Stratis Hatzipanayiotou	6
				Reg Cook	7
				Paddy Davidson	7
				Alain Ambrosino	10
				Louise Aitken-Walker	12
Fuji Heavy Industries	Subaru	RX Turbo	P	Mike Kirkland	4, 7
				Possum Bourne	4, 7
				Frank Tundo	4, 7
Renault Elf Philips	Renault	11 Turbo R5 Maxi Turbo	M	Jean Ragnotti	5, 11
				François Chatriot	5
Rothmans Porsche Rally Team	Porsche	911SC RS	M	Saeed Al-Hajri	6
Jolly Club	Lancia	Delta S4	P	Dario Cerrato	11
Grifone	Lancia	Delta S4	M	Fabrizio Tabaton	11
Major entries not registered as manufacturers
Jolly Club	Fiat	Uno Turbo	P	Giovanni del Zoppo	1, 3, 5–6, 11
				Michele Rayneri	1, 5–6, 11
				Alex Fiorio	1, 3, 5, 11

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	Car	Time
1	54ème Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo (January 18–24)	36 stages 867 km Tarmac	1	Henri Toivonen	Sergio Cresto	Lancia Delta S4	10:11:24
			2	Timo Salonen	Seppo Harjanne	Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2	10:15:28
			3	Hannu Mikkola	Arne Hertz	Audi Sport Quattro S1	10:18:46
2	36th International Swedish Rally (February 14–16)	30 stages 558 km Snow/Ice	1	Juha Kankkunen	Juha Piironen	Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2	5:09:19
			2	Markku Alén	Ilkka Kivimäki	Lancia Delta S4	5:11:13
			3	Kalle Grundel	Terry Harryman	Ford RS200	5:15:35
3	19º Rallye de Portugal Vinho do Porto (March 5–8)	42 stages 556 km Gravel/Tarmac	1	Joaquim Moutinho	Edgar Fortes	Renault 5 Turbo	7:50:44
			2	Carlos Bica	Cândido Júnior	Lancia Rally 037	8:04:11
			3	Giovanni Del Zoppo	Loris Roggia	Fiat Uno Turbo	8:07:36
4	34th Marlboro Safari Rally (March 29–April 2)	63 controls 4190 km Gravel	1	Björn Waldegård	Fred Gallagher	Toyota Celica TCT	+5:06 pen
			2	Lars-Erik Torph	Bo Thorszelius	Toyota Celica TCT	+5:34 pen
			3	Markku Alén	Ilkka Kivimäki	Lancia Rallye 037	+6.12 pen
5	30ème Tour de Corse - Rallye de France (May 1–3)	24 stages 1017 km Tarmac	1	Bruno Saby	Jean-François Fauchille	Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2	11:52:44
			2	François Chatriot	Michel Périn	Renault 5 Maxi Turbo	12:06:32
			3	Yves Loubet	Jean-Marc Andrié	Alfa Romeo GTV6	12:45:59
6	33rd Acropolis Rally (June 2–4)	38 stages 575 km Gravel	1	Juha Kankkunen	Juha Piironen	Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2	7:20:01
			2	Miki Biasion	Tiziano Siviero	Lancia Delta S4	7:21:38
			3	Bruno Saby	Jean-François Fauchille	Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2	7:29:55
7	16th AWA Clarion Rally of New Zealand (July 5–8)	34 stages 597 km Gravel	1	Juha Kankkunen	Juha Piironen	Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2	5:43:45
			2	Markku Alén	Ilkka Kivimäki	Lancia Delta S4	5:45:25
			3	Miki Biasion	Tiziano Siviero	Lancia Delta S4	5:53:36
8	6º Marlboro Rally Argentina (August 6–9)	26 stages 569 km Gravel	1	Miki Biasion	Tiziano Siviero	Lancia Delta S4	6:36:26
			2	Markku Alén	Ilkka Kivimäki	Lancia Delta S4	6:36:50
			3	Stig Blomqvist	Bruno Berglund	Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2	6:40:42
9	36th 1000 Lakes Rally (September 5–7)	47 stages 382 km Gravel	1	Timo Salonen	Seppo Harjanne	Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2	3:32:45
			2	Juha Kankkunen	Juha Piironen	Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2	3:33:09
			3	Markku Alén	Ilkka Kivimäki	Lancia Delta S4	3:34:30
10	18ème Rallye Côte d'Ivoire (September 24–27)	73 controls 3763 km Gravel	1	Björn Waldegård	Fred Gallagher	Toyota Celica TCT	+1:29 pen
			2	Lars-Erik Torph	Bo Thorszelius	Toyota Celica TCT	+1:37 pen
			3	Erwin Weber	Günter Wanger	Toyota Celica TCT	+2:27 pen
11	28º Rallye Sanremo (October 13–17)	39 stages 488 km Gravel/Tarmac	1	Markku Alén	Ilkka Kivimäki	Lancia Delta S4	5:31:35
			2	Dario Cerrato	Giuseppe Cerri	Lancia Delta S4	5:32:53
			3	Miki Biasion	Tiziano Siviero	Lancia Delta S4	5:33:17
12	35th Lombard RAC Rally (November 16–19)	45 stages 517 km Gravel/Tarmac	1	Timo Salonen	Seppo Harjanne	Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2	5:21:11
			2	Markku Alén	Ilkka Kivimäki	Lancia Delta S4	5:22:33
			3	Juha Kankkunen	Juha Piironen	Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2	5:27:16
13	21st Olympus Rally (December 4–7)	39 stages 525 km Gravel/Tarmac	1	Markku Alén	Ilkka Kivimäki	Lancia Delta S4	5:26:10
			2	Juha Kankkunen	Juha Piironen	Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2	5:29:36
			3	John Buffum	Neil Wilson	Audi Sport Quattro	5:50:24

Standings

Drivers' championship

Rank	Driver	Event													Total points
		MON	SWE	POR	KEN	FRA	GRC	NZL	ARG	FIN	CIV	ITA	GBR	USA
1	Juha Kankkunen	8	20	-	8	-	20	20	-	15	-	*	12	15	118
2	Markku Alén	-	15	-	12	-	-	15	15	12	-	*	15	20	104
3	Timo Salonen	15	-	-	-	-	-	8	-	20	-	*	20	-	63
4	Björn Waldegård	-	-	-	20	-	-	-	-	-	20	*	-	8	48
5	Miki Biasion	-	-	-	-	-	15	12	20	-	-	*	-	-	47
6	Lars-Erik Torph	-	-	-	15	-	-	-	-	-	15	*	-	10	40
7	Bruno Saby	6	-	-	-	20	12	-	-	-	-	*	-	-	38
8	Mikael Ericsson	-	10	-	-	-	-	10	-	8	-	*	-	-	28
9	Kalle Grundel	-	12	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	-	*	8	-	26
10	Kenneth Eriksson	2	4	-	-	3	4	4	8	-	-	*	-	-	25
11	Stig Blomqvist	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	12	10	-	*	-	-	22
	Erwin Weber	-	-	-	10	-	-	-	-	-	12	*	-	-	22
13	Henri Toivonen	20	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	-	20
	Joaquim Moutinho	-	-	20	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	-	20
15	Rudi Stohl	-	-	-	-	-	6	-	6	-	4	*	-	-	16
16	Carlos Bica	-	-	15	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	-	15
	François Chatriot	-	-	-	-	15	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	-	15
18	Hannu Mikkola	12	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	-	12
	Giovanni Del Zoppo	-	-	12	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	-	12
	Yves Loubet	-	-	-	-	12	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	-	12
	John Buffum	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	12	12
22	Walter Röhrl	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	-	10
	Jorge Ortigão	-	-	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	-	10
	Jean Ragnotti	-	-	-	-	10	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	-	10
	Saeed Al-Hajri	-	-	-	-	-	10	-	-	-	-	*	-	-	10
	Jorge Recalde	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	10	-	-	*	-	-	10
	Robin Ulyate	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	10	*	-	-	10
	Mikael Sundström	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	10	-	10
29	Gunnar Pettersson	-	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	-	8
	Auguste Turiani	-	-	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	-	8
	Jean-Claude Torre	-	-	-	-	8	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	-	8
	Stratis Hatzipanayiotou	-	-	-	-	-	8	-	-	-	-	*	-	-	8
	Samir Assef	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8	*	-	-	8
34	Per Eklund	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	-	*	4	-	8
35	Franz Wittmann	1	-	-	-	-	2	-	4	-	-	*	-	-	7
36	Jean-Claude Andruet	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	-	6
	Jean-Sébastien Couloumiès	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	-	6
	Mike Kirkland	-	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	-	6
	Paul Rouby	-	-	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	-	6
	Neil Allport	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	-	-	-	*	-	-	6
	Wilfried Wiedner	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	*	-	-	6
	Tony Pond	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	6	-	6
	Paolo Alessandrini	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	6	6
44	Rod Millen	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	*	-	4	5
45	Salvador Servià	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	-	4
	Ramiro Fernandes	-	-	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	-	4
	Frank Tundo	-	-	-	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	-	4
	Michel Neri	-	-	-	-	4	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	-	4
49	Alain Oreille	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	-	3
	Roger Ericsson	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	-	3
	Giovanni Recordati	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	-	3
	Shekhar Mehta	-	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	-	3
	Iórgos Moschous	-	-	-	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	*	-	-	3
	Paddy Davidson	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	-	-	-	*	-	-	3
	José Celsi	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	-	-	*	-	-	3
	Harri Toivonen	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	-	*	-	-	3
	Alain Ambrosino	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	*	-	-	3
	Jimmy McRae	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	3	-	3
	Possum Bourne	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	3	3
60	Björn Johansson	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	-	2
	António Segurado	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	-	2
	Greg Criticos	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	-	2
	Gilbert Casanova	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	-	2
	Reg Cook	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	*	-	-	2
	Ernesto Soto	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	*	-	-	2
	Lasse Lampi	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	*	-	-	2
	Patrick Copetti	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	*	-	-	2
	David Llewellin	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	2	-	2
	Clive Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	2	2
70	Sören Nilsson	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	-	1
	António Coutinho	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	-	1
	Johnny Hellier	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	-	1
	Christian Gardavot	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	-	1
	Michele Rayneri	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	*	-	-	1
	Basil Criticos	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	*	-	-	1
	Malcolm Wilson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	*	-	-	1
	Martial Yacé	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	*	-	-	1
	Ingvar Carlsson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	1	-	1
	Paul Choiniere	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	1	1
* - Note: FISA annulled the results for the Rallye Sanremo

Manufacturers' championship

Rank	Manufacturers	Event											Total points
		MON	SWE	POR	KEN	FRA	GRC	NZL	ARG	FIN	ITA	GBR
1	Peugeot	17	20	-	(10)	20	20	20	(14)	20	*	20	137
2	Lancia	20	17	-	(14)	-	17	17	20	14	*	17	122
3	Volkswagen	9	10	-	-	9	11	12	14	-	*	-	65
4	Audi	14	15	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	29
5	Ford	-	14	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	10	24
6	Toyota	-	-	-	20	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	20
7	Renault	-	-	-	-	14	-	-	-	-	*	-	14
8	Subaru	-	-	-	13	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	13
9	Austin Rover	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	*	8	12
10	Citroën	-	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	-	10
11	Mazda	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	9	9
12	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

Overall finish	Group finish
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
1	18	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2	17	16	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
3	16	15	14	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
4	15	14	13	12	-	-	-	-	-	-
5	14	13	12	11	10	-	-	-	-	-
6	13	12	11	10	9	8	-	-	-	-
7	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	-	-	-
8	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	-	-
9	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	-
10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1	1

See also

• 1986 in sports