Monte Carlo Rally 1984
Round 1 of the 1984 World Rally Championship · 21–27 January 1984
Walter Röhrl’s first rally for Audi ended in an Audi one-two-three — and his fourth Monte Carlo win in five years.
Episode 3 — The Peugeot Revolution: 205 Turbo 16, Todt & Vatanen (1984–85)
The Monte Carlo Rally 1984 features in this episode of our documentary series.
At a glance
The podium
Photo: Jiří Sedláček via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0Photo: Jiří Sedláček via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0Photo: Jiří Sedláček via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0Car photos are representative pictures of the model, not of this event.
Route and surface
Snowy and icy Alpine tarmac in the French departments north and west of Monaco.
Key entries
The leading seeded crews (start numbers 1–8):
- #1 Walter Röhrl / Christian Geistdörfer — Audi Quattro A2 (Audi Sport)
- #2 Markku Alén / Ilkka Kivimäki — Lancia Rally 037 Evo (Martini Racing)
- #3 Timo Salonen / Seppo Harjanne — Nissan 240RS (Nissan Motor Co)
- #4 Hannu Mikkola / Arne Hertz — Audi Quattro A2 (Audi Sport)
- #5 Jean-Claude Andruet / Sergio Cresto — Lancia Rally 037 Evo (Martini Racing)
- #6 Jean-Luc Thérier / Michel Vial — Renault 5 Turbo (Jean-Luc Therier)
- #7 Stig Blomqvist / Björn Cederberg — Audi Quattro A2 (Audi Sport)
- #8 Attilio Bettega / Maurizio Perissinot — Lancia Rally 037 Evo (Martini Racing)
Walter Röhrl’s first rally for Audi ended in an Audi one-two-three — and his fourth Monte Carlo win in five years.
How the rally unfolded
Röhrl had left Lancia for Audi at the end of 1983. On the Monte the four-wheel-drive Quattro A2 was finally in its element: Blomqvist led the first half, but Röhrl overtook him on stage 17 and won 15 of the 30 stages. The final gap was 1 minute 13 seconds, with Mikkola third.
Lancia’s rear-wheel-drive 037s had no answer on snow. Bettega was the best of them in fifth, while Alén finished only eighth. Jean-Claude Andruet, with Sergio Cresto co-driving, was excluded on stage 25 after his bonnet was opened in parc fermé.
The decisive moment
Röhrl’s move into the lead on stage 17 ended the battle with Blomqvist. The result signalled that 1984 would be Audi’s year.
Result — top 10
| Pos. | No. | Crew | Car | Entrant | Gp. | Time / gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Walter Röhrl / Christian Geistdörfer | Audi Quattro A2 | Audi Sport | B | 8:52:29 |
| 2 | 7 | Stig Blomqvist / Björn Cederberg | Audi Quattro A2 | Audi Sport | B | +1:13 |
| 3 | 4 | Hannu Mikkola / Arne Hertz | Audi Quattro A2 | Audi Sport | B | +12:40 |
| 4 | 6 | Jean-Luc Thérier / Michel Vial | Renault 5 Turbo | Jean-Luc Therier | B | +24:24 |
| 5 | 8 | Attilio Bettega / Maurizio Perissinot | Lancia Rally 037 Evo | Martini Racing | B | +29:12 |
| 6 | 9 | Miki Biasion / Tiziano Siviero | Lancia Rally 037 | Jolly Club | B | +37:20 |
| 7 | 10 | Bernard Darniche / Alain Mahé | Audi 80 Quattro | Yacco S.A. | A | +40:10 |
| 8 | 2 | Markku Alén / Ilkka Kivimäki | Lancia Rally 037 Evo | Martini Racing | B | +43:36 |
| 9 | 17 | Kalle Grundel / Peter Diekmann | Volkswagen Golf GTI | Volkswagen Motorsport | A | +52:24 |
| 10 | 3 | Timo Salonen / Seppo Harjanne | Nissan 240RS | Nissan Motor Co | B | +52:24 |
Retirements of note
- #5 Jean-Claude Andruet / Sergio Cresto (Lancia Rally 037 Evo) — excluded (opened bonnet in parc ferme), stage 25
Results, retirements, stage wins and leaders are taken from Jonkka’s World Rally Archive. Names are given with their correct spelling; the archive itself omits diacritics.
Related pages
- 1984 season overview
- All 1984 rallies
- Next round: Swedish Rally 1984
- Cars: Audi Quattro
- Teams: Audi Sport
- Iconic moments · Timeline · Statistics
All rounds of 1984
In pictures 4 photos
Photos from this event where free-licensed pictures exist; otherwise the podium cars, photographed on the occasion stated in each caption.
Further resources
- Motor Sport (March 1984): Monte Carlo Rally EN · article · subscription
Contemporary report from Motor Sport magazine's March 1984 issue, written as the season unfolded. - WRC.com season archive 1984 EN · archive
Official summary of the 1984 season: calendar, winners and both championship tables. - Wikipedia: Monte Carlo Rally EN · archive
History of the Monte Carlo Rally with its list of winners over the decades. - Automobile Club de Monaco (organiser of the Rallye Monte-Carlo) EN · event
Today's organiser of the Monte Carlo Rally, with information about the current event.
The same rally in other Group B years
Sources
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive (juwra.com), Monte Carlo Rally 1984: event page — https://www.juwra.com/monte_carlo_1984.html
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive, results — https://www.juwra.com/monte_carlo_1984_results.html
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive, entry list — https://www.juwra.com/monte_carlo_1984_entries.html
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive, stage winners and leaders — https://www.juwra.com/monte_carlo_1984_stage_winners.html
- Wikipedia (EN), 1984 World Rally Championship — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_World_Rally_Championship
All text is original writing for Grouve Sports Management Group, based on the sources above. Facts checked on 21 October 2026.
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SubscribeThumbnail photos on this page: Jiří Sedláček (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); MPW57 (Wikimedia Commons, Public domain); Rutger van der Maar (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Rally Paradise (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0); Clive Horsman (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Mr.choppers (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0); Thesupermat (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Brian Snelson (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0).