Rally de Portugal 1986
Round 3 of the 1986 World Rally Championship · 5–8 March 1986
The 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.
Episode 9 — 1986: Portugal, Corsica and the End of Group B
The Rally de Portugal 1986 features in this episode of our documentary series.
At a glance
The podium
Photo: Miloslav Rejha via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
Photo: _morgado via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0Car photos are representative pictures of the model, not of this event.
Route and surface
Tarmac and dirt in the Sintra hills near Estoril (including the Lagoa Azul stage), then gravel in central and northern Portugal.
Key entries
The leading seeded crews (start numbers 1–8):
- #1 Timo Salonen / Seppo Harjanne — Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 (Peugeot Talbot Sport)
- #2 Markku Alén / Ilkka Kivimäki — Lancia Delta S4 (Martini Lancia)
- #3 Walter Röhrl / Christian Geistdörfer — Audi Sport Quattro S1 (Audi Sport)
- #4 Stig Blomqvist / Bruno Berglund — Ford RS200 (Ford Motor Company)
- #5 Miki Biasion / Tiziano Siviero — Lancia Delta S4 (Martini Lancia)
- #6 Tony Pond / Rob Arthur — MG Metro 6R4 (Austin Rover World Championship Team)
- #7 Juha Kankkunen / Juha Piironen — Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 (Peugeot Talbot Sport)
- #8 Henri Toivonen / Sergio Cresto — Lancia Delta S4 (Martini Lancia)
The 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.
How the rally unfolded
Spectators in Portugal were notorious for standing on the road and stepping aside at the last moment. On the opening stage, Santos lost control of his RS200 while trying to avoid spectators and crashed into the crowd. Three spectators died and more than 30 were injured.
After the third stage the works drivers agreed not to continue: Peugeot, Lancia, Audi, Ford and Austin Rover all withdrew. The event went on without them. Moutinho led from stage 10 in a Renault 5 Turbo and won by 13 minutes 27 seconds from Carlos Bica’s Lancia 037.
The decisive moment
The drivers’ collective withdrawal was an unprecedented protest about safety. It was the first in a chain of events that ended Group B.
Result — top 10
| Pos. | No. | Crew | Car | Entrant | Gp. | Time / gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 | Joaquim Moutinho / Edgar Fortes | Renault 5 Turbo | Renault/Galp | B11 | 7:50:44 |
| 2 | 18 | Carlos Bica / Candido Junior | Lancia Rally 037 | Duriforte Construction | B12 | +13:27 |
| 3 | 22 | Giovanni del Zoppo / Loris Roggia | Fiat Uno Turbo | Jolly Club | A7 | +16:52 |
| 4 | 30 | Jorge Ortigão / Pedro Pérez | Toyota Corolla | Salv. Caetano/Mobil | A6 | +19:42 |
| 5 | 20 | Auguste Turiani / Gilles Thimonier | Opel Manta 400 | Auguste Turiani | B12 | +22:20 |
| 6 | 61 | Jean-Sébastien Couloumies / Claudine Causse | Peugeot 205 GTI | Jean-Sebastien Couloumies | N2 | +45:43 |
| 7 | 32 | Ramiro Fernandes / Antonio Monteiro | Fiat Ritmo | Ramiro Fernandes | A7 | +49:42 |
| 8 | 49 | Giovanni Recordati / Freddy Delorme | Opel Manta 400 | Giovanni Recordati | B12 | +56:47 |
| 9 | 36 | Antonio Segurado / Fernando Prata | Renault 11 Turbo | Autosil Equiprali | N3 | +58:34 |
| 10 | 34 | Antonio Coutinho / Antonio Manuel | Toyota Corolla | Savl.Caetano/Mobil | N2 | +1:00:00 |
Retirements of note
- #1 Timo Salonen / Seppo Harjanne (Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2) — withdrew (fatal accident), after stage 3
- #2 Markku Alén / Ilkka Kivimäki (Lancia Delta S4) — withdrew (fatal accident), after stage 3
- #3 Walter Röhrl / Christian Geistdörfer (Audi Sport Quattro S1) — withdrew (fatal accident), after stage 3
- #4 Stig Blomqvist / Bruno Berglund (Ford RS200) — withdrew (fatal accident), after stage 3
- #5 Miki Biasion / Tiziano Siviero (Lancia Delta S4) — withdrew (fatal accident), after stage 3
- #6 Tony Pond / Rob Arthur (MG Metro 6R4) — withdrew (fatal accident), after stage 3
- #7 Juha Kankkunen / Juha Piironen (Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2) — withdrew (fatal accident), after stage 3
- #8 Henri Toivonen / Sergio Cresto (Lancia Delta S4) — withdrew (fatal accident), after stage 3
- #10 Kalle Grundel / Benny Melander (Ford RS200) — withdrew (fatal accident), after stage 3
- #12 Malcolm Wilson / Nigel Harris (MG Metro 6R4) — withdrew (fatal accident), after stage 3
Casualty figures in our secondary sources (Wikipedia’s 1986 season article and the Ford RS200 article) give three spectators killed and more than 30 injured; exact injury numbers vary between accounts.
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
- 1986 season overview
- All 1986 rallies
- Previous round: Swedish Rally 1986
- Next round: Safari Rally 1986
- Cars: Renault 5 Turbo, Lancia 037
- Teams: Other Teams
- Iconic moments · Timeline · Statistics
All rounds of 1986
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 (April 1986): Disastrous Portuguese Rally EN · article · subscription
Contemporary report from Motor Sport magazine's April 1986 issue, written as the season unfolded. - Motorsport Memorial: Rally de Portugal 1986 spectator accident EN · archive
Sourced account of the Sintra crash that killed three spectators. - WRC.com season archive 1986 EN · archive
Official summary of the 1986 season: calendar, winners and both championship tables. - Wikipedia: Rally de Portugal EN · archive
History of the Rally de Portugal with its list of winners over the decades.
The same rally in other Group B years
Sources
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive (juwra.com), Rally de Portugal 1986: event page — https://www.juwra.com/portugal_1986.html
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive, results — https://www.juwra.com/portugal_1986_results.html
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive, entry list — https://www.juwra.com/portugal_1986_entries.html
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive, stage winners and leaders — https://www.juwra.com/portugal_1986_stage_winners.html
- Wikipedia (EN), 1986 World Rally Championship — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1986_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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