Alessandro Munari (27 March 1940 – 27 February 2026), also nicknamed Il Drago, was an Italian motor racing and rally driver.
Biography Alessandro Munari was born in Cavarzere, in the Veneto region, on 27 March 1940. He began rallying in 1965 and won the Italian Rally Championship in 1967 and 1969, adding the European Rally Championship title in 1973 driving a Lancia Fulvia Coupé 1.6 HF. In 1972, he won the Targa Florio sports car endurance race, partnering Arturo Merzario in a works Ferrari 312PB. Also in 1972, Munari claimed his first major rally victory, winning the Monte Carlo Rally in a works Lancia Fulvia.
Munari was to become strongly associated with another of Lancia's rally icons – the Lancia Stratos HF. The partnership between the Italian car and the driver scooped a further Monte Carlo Rally hat-trick in the mid-1970s, among a total of seven World Rally Championship victories. Munari also won the 1977 FIA Cup for Rally Drivers title. Later in his career, he competed with a Fiat 131 Abarth, finishing third at the 1978 Tour de Corse and sixth at the 1980 Rallye Côte d'Ivoire. His last WRC appearances were at the Safari Rally, which he contested from 1981 to 1984, but retired each time.
Munari died on 27 February 2026, at the age of 85.
Bibliography Sandro Munari and Cesare De Agostini, La coda del Drago, Edizioni Rombo, Bologna, 1981 Sandro Munari and Sergio Remondino, Sandro Munari: Una vita di traverso, Giorgio Nada Editore, Milan, 2007
Complete IMC results Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1970 Lancia HF Squadra Corse Lancia Fulvia 1.6 Coupé HF MONRet SWERet ITARet KENRet AUT GRERet GBRRet 1971 Lancia HF Squadra Corse Lancia Fulvia 1.6 Coupé HF MONRet SWE ITARet KENRet MAR AUT GRE FRA GBR9 1972 Lancia HF Squadra Corse Lancia Fulvia 1.6 Coupé HF MON1 SWE KEN MAR GRE AUT ITARet USA GBR
Complete WRC results Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 WDC Points 1973 Lancia Marlboro Lancia Fulvia HF MONRet SWE POR KEN MOR GRE POL FIN AUT ITA USA GBR FRA N/A N/A 1974 Lancia Marlboro Lancia Fulvia HF POR KEN3 FIN N/A N/A Lancia Stratos HF ITA1 CAN1 USARet GBR3 FRARet 1975 Lancia Alitalia Lancia Stratos HF MON1 SWE KEN2 GRE MOR POR FIN ITARet FRARet GBRRet N/A N/A 1976 Lancia Alitalia Lancia Stratos HF MON1 SWE POR1 KENRet GRE MOR3 FIN ITA2 FRA1 GBR4 N/A N/A 1977 Lancia Alitalia Lancia Stratos HF MON1 SWE POR KEN3 NZL GRE FIN CAN ITARet FRARet GBR25 1st 31 1978 Lancia Pirelli Lancia Stratos HF MONRet SWE KEN GBRRet NC 0 Alitalia Fiat Fiat 131 Abarth PORRet GRERet FIN CAN ITARet CIV FRA3 1979 Alitalia Fiat Fiat 131 Abarth MON SWE POR KEN10 GRE NZL FIN CAN ITA FRA GBR CIV 73rd 1 1980 Sandro Munari Fiat 131 Abarth MON SWE POR KEN GRE ARG FIN NZL ITA FRA GBR CIV6 36th 6 1981 Sandro Munari Dodge Ramcharger MON SWE POR KENRet FRA GRE ARG BRA FIN ITA CIV GBR NC 0 1982 Sandro Munari Porsche 911 SC MON SWE POR KENRet FRA GRE NZL BRA FIN ITA CIV GBR NC 0 1983 Autodelta Alfa Romeo GTV6 MON SWE POR KENRet FRA GRE NZL ARG FIN ITA CIV GBR NC 0 1984 International Casino Toyota Celica Twincam Turbo MON SWE POR KENRet FRA GRE NZL ARG FIN ITA CIV GBR NC 0
WRC victories {|class="wikitable" ! # ! Event ! Season ! Co-driver ! Car |- | 1 | 16º Rallye Sanremo | | Mario Mannucci | Lancia Stratos HF |- | 2 | 3rd Rally Rideau Lakes | | Mario Mannucci | Lancia Stratos HF |- | 3 | 43ème Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo | | Mario Mannucci | Lancia Stratos HF |- | 4 | 44ème Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo | | Silvio Maiga | Lancia Stratos HF |- | 5 | 10º Rallye de Portugal Vinho do Porto | | Silvio Maiga | Lancia Stratos HF |- | 6 | 20ème Tour de Corse | | Silvio Maiga | Lancia Stratos HF |- | 7 | 45ème Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo | | Silvio Maiga | Lancia Stratos HF
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