1986 World Rally Championship season

The 1986 World Rally Championship season was the 13th 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. The drivers' championship was won by Juha Kankkunen of Finland, followed by two other "Flying Finns", Markku Alén and Timo Salonen. The manufacturers' title was taken by Peugeot, after a close battle with Lancia. [cite web | title=FIA World Rally Championship 1986 | work=RallyBase | url=http://www.rallybase.nl/index.php?type=season&champid=wrc1986 | accessdate=2007-01-17]

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 Kankkunen won the event with his Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2, ahead of Toivonen's teammate Alén. At the next rally in Portugal, Joaquim Santos lost control of his Ford RS200 plunging into the crowd, killing three spectators and injuring more than 30. [cite web | author=Noakes, Andrew | title=Group Therapy | work=PistonHeads.com | url=http://www.pistonheads.com/doc.asp?c=129&i=11606 | accessdate=2007-01-17] . All the factory teams decided to withdraw from the race, giving the win to home country's relatively unknown driver, Joaquim Moutinho.

At the Tour de Corse, happened another fatal accident that 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. [cite web | author=Maruszewska, Witolda | title=Henri Toivonen biography | work=Post 14 | url=http://www.thruxton.f9.co.uk/henri/henri_career.htm | accessdate=2007-01-17] This caused the Jean-Marie Balestre and the FISA immediately to 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.

The season ended with more controversy when the organizers of the San Remo Rally 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 Peugeot's Kankkunen was not sure about his title over Lancia's Alén until three weeks after the season ended. [cite web | author=Biewer, Chris | title=1986 World Rally Championship Summary | work=Rallye-Info.com | url=http://www.rallye-info.com/seasoninfo.asp?series=1986 | accessdate=2007-01-17]

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.

__TOC__

Events

References

See also

* 1986 in sports