The 1985 World Rally Championship was the 13th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) World Rally Championship (WRC). The season consisted of 12 rallies following the same schedule as the previous season. Peugeot Sport's Timo Salonen beat Audi Sport's Stig Blomqvist and Walter Röhrl to the drivers' title. Peugeot won their first manufacturers' title, ahead of Audi and Lancia.
Summary Peugeot Talbot Sport, having made a successful late-season entry to Group B with their new Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 car, returned in 1985 for a full season with the car. Ari Vatanen, who had won three of the last four rallies of 1984 in the car, also returned with the team and in the first rally of the season, passed Walter Röhrl's Quattro in the snowy and icy terrain after incurring an eight-minute penalty caused by co-driver Terry Harryman's error. At the Swedish Rally, Vatanen won again, establishing himself as the early favorite for a driver's title, as well as putting Peugeot ahead of Audi.
A disaster struck in May at the Tour de Corse. On the 4th stage of the rally, Italian driver Attilio Bettega crashed his Lancia 037 into a tree and was killed instantly. His co-driver Maurizio Perissinot survived the crash uninjured. The crash raised questions about the safety aspects of Group B cars. Exactly one year later at the same event Henri Toivonen suffered a similar fatal accident forcing FIA to ban Group B.
Unfortunately, Vatanen had a major accident in Argentina while speeding down a long, straight road in top gear when his car crashed and rolled end-over-front. The flimsy exterior of the car shattered, but the strong rollcage absorbed most of the impact. The drivers were airlifted to hospital by Peugeot's helicopter, and Vatanen's injuries were severe and seemed life-threatening. Although he would recover and return to the sport, the Peugeot team was forced to turn to its other driver, Timo Salonen. Salonen had already taken the points lead and finished with the driver's championship on the strength of five rally wins.
Audi Sport faced the dual pressure of Peugeot's strong 205 car in competition, and waning company commitment to the Quattro rally program. With the danger of the Group B rally becoming a more publicized issue, the company was questioning its involvement in the sport unless major changes were made to improve safety. While both Stig Blomqvist and Walter Röhrl were retained as drivers, they suffered generally at the hands of the Peugeot team although they would ultimately place second and third respectively. Their season however only included a single rally win between them, with Röhrl's triumph at Sanremo proving to be Audi's last Group B victory in the World Rally Championship.
The Lancia Martini team's season was an even greater disappointment than Audi's. The rear-wheel drive Lancia Sport 037 met with little success, even in the hands of such drivers as Markku Alén, Massimo Biasion, and Henri Toivonen. Toivonen would suffer an accident, breaking three vertebrae in his neck early on and missing most of the season. The team awaited the arrival of the Delta S4, a four-wheel-drive car, hoping it would give them a competitive advantage. Arriving for the final rally of the season, the RAC Rally, it succeeded in collecting the victory and giving the team hope for competing in the following season.
Austin Rallying made its entrance to the rally scene with the new MG Metro 6R4 and its 3.0L V6 engine, taking a podium position at the RAC. Austin's success would be brief, however, as the Metro would struggle in the final season of Group B competition in 1986. As with previous seasons, while all 12 events were calculated for tallying the drivers' scores, only 11 of the events applied to the championship for manufacturers. The event in 1985 which applied only to driver standings was Rallye Côte d'Ivoire.
Calendar
Rd.Start dateFinish dateRallyRally headquartersSurfaceStagesDistancePoints126 January1 February 53rd Rallye Automobile Monte-CarloMonte CarloMixed34851.10 kmDrivers & Manufacturers215 February17 February 35th International Swedish RallyKarlstad, Värmland CountySnow29513.68 kmDrivers & Manufacturers36 March9 March 19th Rallye de Portugal - Vinho do PortoEstoril, LisbonMixed47730.50 kmDrivers & Manufacturers44 April8 April 33rd Marlboro Safari RallyNairobiGravelN/A5167 kmDrivers & Manufacturers52 May4 May 29th Tour de Corse - Rallye de FranceAjaccio, CorsicaTarmac301122.25 kmDrivers & Manufacturers627 May30 May 32nd Rothmans Acropolis RallyAthensGravel47807.67 kmDrivers & Manufacturers729 June2 July 16th AWA Clarion Rally of New ZealandAucklandGravel48935.50 kmDrivers & Manufacturers830 July3 August 5th Rally of ArgentinaBuenos AiresGravel23956.71 kmDrivers & Manufacturers923 August25 August 35th Rally of the 1000 LakesJyväskylä, Central FinlandGravel51458.01 kmDrivers & Manufacturers1029 September4 October 27th Rallye SanremoSanremo, LiguriaMixed45696.90 kmDrivers & Manufacturers1130 October3 November 17th Rallye Cote d'IvoireYamoussoukroGravelN/A4103 kmDrivers only1224 November28 November 41st Lombard RAC RallyNottinghamGravel65896.98 kmDrivers & ManufacturersSources:
Teams and drivers Team Manufacturer Car Tyre Drivers Rounds Audi Sport Audi Quattro Sport Stig Blomqvist 1–4, 6–9 Walter Röhrl 1–3, 5–7, 10, 12 Hannu Mikkola 2, 4, 9, 12 Per Eklund 2, 9, 12 Lasse Lampi 2, 9 Malcolm Wilson 2 David Llewellin 2 Malcolm Stewart 7 Wilfred Wiedner 8 Michèle Mouton 11 Franz Braun 11 Peugeot Talbot Sport Peugeot 205 Turbo 16205 Turbo 16 E2 Ari Vatanen 1–8 Timo Salonen 1–10, 12 Bruno Saby 1, 4–5, 10 Carlos Reutemann 8 Kalle Grundel 9, 12 Giovanni del Zoppo 10 Mikael Sundström 12 Martini Racing Lancia Rally 037 evoDelta S4 Henri Toivonen 1, 9–10, 12 Markku Alén 4–5, 9–10, 12 Attilio Bettega 4–5 Vic Preston Jr 4 Greg Criticos 4 Jolly Club Lancia Rally 037 evo Miki Biasion 1, 3, 5, 10 Dario Cerrato 10 Citroën Compétitions Citroën Visa Jean-Claude Andruet 1 Philippe Wambergue 1 François Chauche 1 Maurice Chomat 1 Christian Dorche 1 Olivier Tabatoni 5 Gabriele Noberasco 10 Mazda Rally Team Europe Mazda RX-7 Ingvar Carlsson 2, 6, 12 Achim Warmbold 6 Neil Allport 7 Mike Montgomery 7 Minna Sillankorva 9 Rod Millen 12 Opel Euro Team Opel Manta 400 Rauno Aaltonen 4 Erwin Weber 4, 12 Guy Fréquelin 5 Russell Brookes 12 Jimmy McRae 12 Phil Colins 12 Toyota Team Europe Toyota Celica TCT Björn Waldegård 4, 7, 9, 11–12 Dave Horsey 4 Juha Kankkunen 4, 7, 9, 11–12 Team Nissan Europe Nissan 240RS Shekhar Mehta 4, 6–8 Jayant Shah 4, 6, 8 Mike Kirkland 4, 6, 11 Alain Ambrosino 4, 11 George Moschous 6 Stratis Hatzipanayiotou 6 Reg Cook 7 Jim Donald 7 Peter Geitel 9 Terry Kaby 12 Renault Elf Philips Renault R5 Maxi Turbo Jean Ragnotti 5 François Chatriot 5 Didier Auriol 5 Rothmans Porsche Rally Team Porsche 911SC RS Bernard Béguin 5 Billy Coleman 5 Saeed Al-Hajri 6 West Lancia Team Lancia Rally 037 evo Andrea Zanussi 6 Mauro Pregliasco 6 Austin Rover World Rally Team MG Metro 6R4 Tony Pond 12 Malcolm Wilson 12 Volkswagen Motorsport Volkswagen Golf GTi Jochi Kleint 3, 5–6, 10 Franz Wittmann 3, 5–6, 10 Subaru Motor Sport Subaru RX Turbo Mike Kirkland 7 Possum Bourne 7 Tony Teesdale 7
Events
Map Black = Tarmac Brown = Gravel Blue = Snow/ice Red = Mixed surface
Schedule and results RoundRally nameStagesPodium finishers Rank Driver Co-driver Team Car Time1 Monte Carlo Rally(26 January–1 February) 34 stages852 kmTarmac1 Ari Vatanen Terry Harryman Peugeot Talbot SportPeugeot 205 T1610:20:492 Walter Röhrl Christian Geistdörfer Audi SportAudi Sport Quattro10:26:063 Timo Salonen Seppo Harjanne Peugeot Talbot SportPeugeot 205 T1610:30:54 2 Swedish Rally(15–17 February) 29 stages505 kmSnow/Ice1 Ari Vatanen Terry Harryman Peugeot Talbot SportPeugeot 205 T164:38:492 Stig Blomqvist Björn Cederberg Audi SportAudi Sport Quattro4:40:383 Timo Salonen Seppo Harjanne Peugeot Talbot SportPeugeot 205 T164:42:15 3 Rally de Portugal(6–9 March) 47 stages733 kmGravel/Tarmac1 Timo Salonen Seppo Harjanne Peugeot Talbot SportPeugeot 205 T168:07.252 Miki Biasion Tiziano Siviero Jolly ClubLancia 037 Rally evo8:12:123 Walter Röhrl Christian Geistdörfer Audi SportAudi Sport Quattro8:13:23 4 Safari Rally(4–8 April)88 controls5167.6 kmGravel1 Juha Kankkunen Fred Gallagher Toyota Team EuropeToyota Celica TCT+5:18 pen2 Björn Waldegård Hans Thorszelius Toyota Team EuropeToyota Celica TCT+5:52 pen3 Mike Kirkland Anton Levitan Team Nissan EuropeNissan 240RS+6:01 pen 5 Tour de Corse (2–4 May) 29 stages1078 kmTarmac1 Jean Ragnotti Pierre Thimonier Renault Elf PhilipsRenault R5 Maxi Turbo12:54:152 Bruno Saby Jean-François Fauchille Peugeot Talbot SportPeugeot 205 T16 E213:06:473 Bernard Béguin Jean-Jacques Lenne Rothmans Porsche Rally TeamPorsche 911 SC13:20:04 6 Acropolis Rally (27–30 May) 47 stages807.8 kmGravel1 Timo Salonen Seppo Harjanne Peugeot Talbot SportPeugeot 205 T1610:20:192 Stig Blomqvist Björn Cederberg Audi SportAudi Sport Quattro10:24:343 Ingvar Carlsson Benny Melander Mazda Rally Team EuropeMazda RX-711:08:25 7 Rally New Zealand(29 June–2 July) 46 stages894 kmGravel1 Timo Salonen Seppo Harjanne Peugeot Talbot SportPeugeot 205 T16 E28:29:162 Ari Vatanen Terry Harryman Peugeot Talbot SportPeugeot 205 T16 E28:30:333 Walter Röhrl Christian Geistdörfer Audi SportAudi Sport Quattro8:31:42 8 Rally Argentina(31 July–3 August) 23 stages959 kmGravel1 Timo Salonen Seppo Harjanne Peugeot Talbot SportPeugeot 205 T16 E210:04:332 Wilfred Wiedner Franz Zehetner Audi SportAudi Quattro A210:18:293 Carlos Reutemann Jean-François Fauchille Peugeot Talbot SportPeugeot 205 T16 E210:35:47 9 1000 Lakes Rally (23–25 August) 50 stages479 kmGravel1 Timo Salonen Seppo Harjanne Peugeot Talbot SportPeugeot 205 T16 E24:10:352 Stig Blomqvist Björn Cederberg Audi SportAudi Sport Quattro S14:11:233 Markku Alén Ilkka Kivimäki Martini RacingLancia 037 Rally evo4:14:14 10 Rallye Sanremo (29 September–4 October) 45 stages650 kmGravel/Tarmac1 Walter Röhrl Christian Geistdörfer Audi SportAudi Sport Quattro S17:10:102 Timo Salonen Seppo Harjanne Peugeot Talbot SportPeugeot 205 T16 E27:16:393 Henri Toivonen Juha Piironen Martini RacingLancia 037 Rally evo7:18:02 11 Rallye Côte d'IvoireEvent not included in the Manufacturers' Championship (30 October-3 November)63 controls4187 kmGravel1 Juha Kankkunen Fred Gallagher Toyota Team EuropeToyota Celica TCT+4:46 pen2 Björn Waldegård Hans Thorszelius Toyota Team EuropeToyota Celica TCT+4:46 pen3 Alain Ambrosino Daniel Le Saux Team Nissan EuropeNissan 240RS+6:19 pen 12 RAC Rally (24–28 November) 63 stages880 kmGravel/Tarmac1 Henri Toivonen Neil Wilson Martini RacingLancia Delta S49:32.052 Markku Alén Ilkka Kivimäki Martini RacingLancia Delta S49:33.013 Tony Pond Rob Arthur Austin Rover World Rally TeamMG Metro 6R49:34.32
Standings
Drivers Rank Driver Event Totalpoints MON SWE POR KEN FRA GRC NZL ARG FIN ITA CIV GBR 1 Timo Salonen 12 12 20 4 - 20 20 20 20 15 - - 127 2 Stig Blomqvist 10 15 10 - - 15 10 - 15 - - - 75 3 Walter Röhrl 15 - 12 - - - 12 - - 20 - - 59 4 Ari Vatanen 20 20 - - - - 15 - - - - - 55 5 Juha Kankkunen - - - 20 - - - - - - 20 8 48 6 Henri Toivonen 6 - - - - - - - 10 12 - 20 48 7 Markku Alén - - - - - - - - 12 10 - 15 37 8 Björn Waldegård - - - 15 - - - - 4 - 15 - 34 9 Mike Kirkland - - - 12 - 4 - - - - 10 - 26
References
External links
FIA World Rally Championship 1985 at ewrc-results.com