Rally de Portugal 1983

Hannu Mikkola beat team-mate Michèle Mouton by 55 seconds in a close Audi one-two; Walter Röhrl was third for Lancia.

Round 3
of 12 in 1983
Mikkola
winner
43
special stages
31/86
finishers/starters
Grouve Sport documentary

Episode 2 — Rear-Wheel Drive’s Last Stand: Lancia 037 vs Audi quattro (1983)

The Rally de Portugal 1983 features in this episode of our documentary series.

At a glance

Round3 of 12 — 1983 World Rally Championship
Dates2–5 March 1983
BaseEstoril / Lisbon area
CountryPortugal
SurfaceTarmac and gravel
Competitive distance43 special stages, 643.00 km
Starters / finishers86 / 31
Counted forDrivers’ and manufacturers’ championships
WinnerHannu Mikkola / Arne Hertz — Audi Quattro A1
Most stage winsMouton 14, Mikkola 10, Röhrl 10, Alén 6
LeadersAlén (stage 1); Röhrl (stages 2–18); Blomqvist (stages 19–22); Mikkola (stage 23); Blomqvist (stages 24–25); Mikkola (stages 26–43)

The podium

Audi Quattro A1Photo: Jiří Sedláček via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
2Michèle MoutonFabrizia PonsAudi Quattro A1Audi Sport
Audi Quattro A1Photo: Jiří Sedláček via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
1Hannu MikkolaArne HertzAudi Quattro A1Audi Sport
Lancia Rally 037Photo: Miloslav Rejha via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
3Walter RöhrlChristian GeistdörferLancia Rally 037Martini Racing

Car photos are representative pictures of the model, not of this event.

Route and surface

Tarmac and dirt in the Sintra hills near Estoril, then gravel in central and northern Portugal.

Key entries

The leading seeded crews (start numbers 1–8):

Hannu Mikkola beat team-mate Michèle Mouton by 55 seconds in a close Audi one-two; Walter Röhrl was third for Lancia.

How the rally unfolded

The lead changed six times. Röhrl led from stage 2 to stage 18, before Blomqvist and Mikkola took over. Blomqvist was later excluded for lateness, and Mikkola led from stage 26 to the finish.

Mouton won the most stages (14) but finished 55 seconds behind. Röhrl, 1 minute 50 seconds behind the winner, showed that the 037 could fight on gravel too. Markku Alén was fourth, ahead of Adartico Vudafieri in a third 037.

The decisive moment

Röhrl’s run in the lead ended on stage 19; from then on the battle was between the Audis, and Mikkola had the edge.

Result — top 10

Pos. No. Crew Car Entrant Gp. Time / gap
1 3 Hannu Mikkola / Arne Hertz Audi Quattro A1 Audi Sport B11 7:17:24
2 1 Michèle Mouton / Fabrizia Pons Audi Quattro A1 Audi Sport B11 +0:55
3 2 Walter Röhrl / Christian Geistdörfer Lancia Rally 037 Martini Racing B11 +1:50
4 4 Markku Alén / Ilkka Kivimäki Lancia Rally 037 Martini Racing B11 +7:05
5 7 Adartico Vudafieri / Maurizio Perissinot Lancia Rally 037 Martini Racing B11 +24:25
6 10 Antonio Zanini / Victor Sabater Talbot Sunbeam Automobiles Talbot B11 +33:05
7 9 Franz Wittmann / Peter Diekmann Audi Quattro A1 Funkberaterring R.T. B11 +36:32
8 12 Terry Kaby / Rob Arthur Nissan 240RS Terry Kaby B11 +36:44
9 15 Joaquim Santos / Miguel Oliveira Ford Escort RS1800 Diabolique Motorsport G4 +59:14
10 19 Georg Fischer / Michael Weinzierl Mitsubishi Lancer 2000 Turbo Georg Fischer G4 +1:10:28

Retirements of note

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

All rounds of 1983

Round 1Monte Carlo RallyWalter Röhrl · Lancia Rally 037Round 2Swedish RallyHannu Mikkola · Audi Quattro A1Round 3Rally de PortugalHannu Mikkola · Audi Quattro A1Round 4Safari Rally (Kenya)Ari Vatanen · Opel Ascona 400Round 5Tour de CorseMarkku Alén · Lancia Rally 037Round 6Acropolis Rally (Greece)Walter Röhrl · Lancia Rally 037Round 7Rally New ZealandWalter Röhrl · Lancia Rally 037Round 8Rally ArgentinaHannu Mikkola · Audi Quattro A2Round 91000 Lakes Rally (Finland)Hannu Mikkola · Audi Quattro A2Round 10Rallye SanremoMarkku Alén · Lancia Rally 037Round 11Ivory Coast RallyBjörn Waldegård · Toyota Celica TCTRound 12RAC Rally (Great Britain)Stig Blomqvist · Audi Quattro A2

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.

An Audi Quattro A2 of 1983, the type that won the Finnish Group B class.
An Audi Quattro A2 of 1983, the type that won the Finnish Group B class.Photo: sv1ambo via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Monte Carlo 1982: Michèle Mouton's Audi Quattro parked between the Porsche 911 SCs of Guy Fréquelin and Björn Waldegård — the transition year in which old and new groups ran side by side.
Monte Carlo 1982: Michèle Mouton's Audi Quattro parked between the Porsche 911 SCs of Guy Fréquelin and Björn Waldegård — the transition year in which old and new groups ran side by side.Photo: Nicky Clarke via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
The Audi Quattro A2 — Blomqvist's winning car type on the 1984 Acropolis.
The Audi Quattro A2 — Blomqvist's winning car type on the 1984 Acropolis.Photo: Calreyn88 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
A 205 T16 in its original 1984 specification, roughly 200 kg lighter than the Audi Quattro.
A 205 T16 in its original 1984 specification, roughly 200 kg lighter than the Audi Quattro.Photo: Kieran White from Manchester, England via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Further resources

All Group B resources →

The same rally in other Group B years

1982Rally de Portugal 1982Michèle Mouton and Fabrizia Pons won in Portugal by more than 13 minutes — and showed that their win in Sanremo the previous autumn had been no one-off.Read more →1984Rally de Portugal 1984Hannu Mikkola beat Markku Alén by just 27 seconds after one of the most open battles of the season.Read more →1985Rally de Portugal 1985Timo Salonen won in Portugal after Walter Röhrl, who had led for 21 stages, lost the lead late on.Read more →1986Rally de Portugal 1986The rally where Group B's crowd problem became a tragedy. Joaquim Santos's Ford RS200 crashed into spectators on the first stage, killing three people and injuring many more. The works teams withdrew; Joaquim Moutinho won.Read more →

Sources

  1. Jonkka's World Rally Archive (juwra.com), Rally de Portugal 1983: event page — https://www.juwra.com/portugal_1983.html
  2. Jonkka's World Rally Archive, results — https://www.juwra.com/portugal_1983_results.html
  3. Jonkka's World Rally Archive, entry list — https://www.juwra.com/portugal_1983_entries.html
  4. Jonkka's World Rally Archive, stage winners and leaders — https://www.juwra.com/portugal_1983_stage_winners.html
  5. Wikipedia (EN), 1983 World Rally Championship — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_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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Thumbnail photos on this page: Jiří Sedláček (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Miloslav Rejha (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0); Mr.choppers (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0); © 1971markus (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Steffs88 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Kevauto (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Mr.choppers (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0); Calreyn88 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); © 1971markus (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); nakhon100 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Rutger van der Maar (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); MPW57 (Wikimedia Commons, Public domain); _morgado (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Thesupermat (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).