The 1988 Race of Champions was the inaugural event and was held on December 4 at the Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry near Paris, in memory of Henri Toivonen, who died while leading the 1986 Tour de Corse, and to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the world championship for rally drivers. This first event was the only Race of Champions event to feature a more conventional single-car rally stage format.
Participants
The inaugural cast included all the eight world rally champions from 1979 to 1988.
DriverReason for Qualification Björn WaldegårdWorld Rally champion in 1979 Walter RöhrlWorld Rally champion in 1980, 1982 Ari VatanenWorld Rally champion in 1981 Hannu MikkolaWorld Rally champion in 1983 Stig BlomqvistWorld Rally champion in 1984 Timo SalonenWorld Rally champion in 1985 Juha KankkunenWorld Rally champion in 1986, 1987 Miki BiasionWorld Rally champion in 1988
Race of Champions
Prologue All drivers used BMW M3 (E30)
First Qualification round
Cars Ford Sierra RS Cosworth, plate D933 UOO (GBR), for Juha Kankkunen, Miki Biasion, Timo Salonen and Hannu Mikkola.
Ford Sierra RS Cosworth, plate D935 UOO (GBR), for Walter Röhrl, Stig Blomqvist*, Björn Waldegård and Ari Vatanen. Note: Stig Blomqvist used this car in Rally of the 1000 Lakes 1987, Lombard RAC Rally 1987, 1000 Lakes Rally 1988, Rallye Sanremo - Rallye d'Italia 1988 and Lombard RAC Rally 1988.
Starting order on stage: Juha Kankkunen, Walter Röhrl, Miki Biasion, Stig Blomqvist, Timo Salonen, Björn Waldegård, Hannu Mikkola and Ari Vatanen.
DriverTime1 Stig Blomqvist2:15.992 Timo Salonen2:16.453 Juha Kankkunen2:17.074 Ari Vatanen2:17.615 Miki Biasion2:17.796 Walter Röhrl2:19.247 Björn Waldegård2:21.048 Hannu Mikkola2:22.35
Second Qualification round
Cars 2 cars Opel Manta 400 with number plates OPEL MANTA.
Starting order on stage: Hannu Mikkola, Björn Waldegård, Walter Röhrl, Miki Biasion, Ari Vatanen, Juha Kankkunen, Timo Salonen and Stig Blomqvist.
DriverTime1 Walter Röhrl2:17.112 Timo Salonen2:17.463 Juha Kankkunen2:17.934 Stig Blomqvist2:19.195 Miki Biasion2:19.516 Björn Waldegård2:19.637 Ari Vatanen2:21.758 Hannu Mikkola2:27.62
Qualification results Time includes first and second Qualification round DriverTime1 Timo Salonen4:34.912 Juha Kankkunen4:35.003 Stig Blomqvist4:35.184 Walter Röhrl4:36.355 Miki Biasion4:37.306 Ari Vatanen4:39.367 Björn Waldegård4:40.678 Hannu Mikkola4:49.97
Semi-final Cars 2 cars Audi Sport Quattro S1 E2 without number plates. Starting order on stage: Walter Röhrl, Stig Blomqvist, Juha Kankkunen and Timo Salonen.
DriverTime1 Juha Kankkunen3:46.152 Timo Salonen3:46.243 Walter Röhrl3:49.654 Stig Blomqvist3:53.16
Final
Starting order on stage: Juha Kankkunen, Timo Salonen
Car 1 Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2, plate 290 FPF 75 (FRA)*, for both drivers Note: Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 (but another chassis) with this number plate in Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo 1986 livery belongs to Juha Kankkunen and was demonstrated by him on Neste Rally Finland 2019 dates.
DriverTime1 Juha Kankkunen3:41.982 Timo Salonen3:43.78
Car 2 Lancia Delta Integrale, plate TO 89092H (ITA) (chassis #417880), for both drivers
DriverTime1 Timo Salonen3:53.022 Juha Kankkunen3:53.68
Final results Time includes first and second heats DriverTime Juha Kankkunen7:35.662 Timo Salonen7:36.80
References