Tour de Corse 1985
Round 5 of the 1985 World Rally Championship · 2–4 May 1985
A rally overshadowed by tragedy: Attilio Bettega was killed when his Lancia 037 hit a tree. Jean Ragnotti won in the Renault 5 Maxi Turbo.
Episode 3 — The Peugeot Revolution: 205 Turbo 16, Todt & Vatanen (1984–85)
The Tour de Corse 1985 features in this episode of our documentary series.
At a glance
The podium
Photo: Calreyn88 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: HombreDHojalata via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Brian Snelson from Hockley, Essex, England via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0Car photos are representative pictures of the model, not of this event.
Route and surface
More than 1,000 km of narrow mountain asphalt.
Key entries
The leading seeded crews (start numbers 1–8):
- #1 Markku Alén / Ilkka Kivimäki — Lancia Rally 037 Evo (Martini Racing)
- #2 Ari Vatanen / Terry Harryman — Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 (Peugeot Talbot Sport)
- #3 Jean Ragnotti / Gilles Thimonier — Renault 5 Maxi Turbo (Renault Elf Philips)
- #4 Attilio Bettega / Maurizio Perissinot — Lancia Rally 037 Evo (Martini Racing)
- #5 Walter Röhrl / Christian Geistdörfer — Audi Sport Quattro (Audi Sport)
- #6 Timo Salonen / Seppo Harjanne — Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 (Peugeot Talbot Sport)
- #7 Miki Biasion / Tiziano Siviero — Lancia Rally 037 Evo (Jolly Club Totop)
- #8 Guy Fréquelin / Christian Gilbert — Opel Manta 400 (Opel Euro Team)
A rally overshadowed by tragedy: Attilio Bettega was killed when his Lancia 037 hit a tree. Jean Ragnotti won in the Renault 5 Maxi Turbo.
How the rally unfolded
Bettega crashed early in the first leg. His co-driver Maurizio Perissinot was unhurt. Lancia withdrew its other cars, Markku Alén and Miki Biasion, as a mark of respect.
Ragnotti led every stage and won by 12 minutes 32 seconds from Bruno Saby in the new 205 Turbo 16 Evolution 2, on the E2’s debut. Bernard Béguin and Billy Coleman were third and fourth in Prodrive-run Rothmans Porsche 911 SC RSs. Vatanen crashed out of the lead battle on stage 15; Röhrl’s brakes failed on stage 2.
The decisive moment
Bettega’s death raised questions about the speed of the cars on narrow, tree-lined asphalt roads.
Result — top 10
| Pos. | No. | Crew | Car | Entrant | Gp. | Time / gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Jean Ragnotti / Gilles Thimonier | Renault 5 Maxi Turbo | Renault Elf Philips | B | 12:54:15 |
| 2 | 11 | Bruno Saby / Jean-François Fauchille | Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 | Peugeot Talbot Sport | B | +12:32 |
| 3 | 10 | Bernard Béguin / Jean-Jacques Lenne | Porsche 911 SC RS | Rothmans Porsche Rally Team | B | +25:49 |
| 4 | 15 | Billy Coleman / Ronan Morgan | Porsche 911 SC RS | Rothmans Porsche Rally Team | B | +57:07 |
| 5 | 23 | Yves Loubet / Jean-Bernard Vieu | Alfa Romeo GTV6 | Yves Loubet | A | +1:09:38 |
| 6 | 22 | Bertrand Balas / Eric Laine | Alfa Romeo GTV6 | Bertrand Balas | A | +1:22:38 |
| 7 | 21 | Jean-Paul Bouquet / Christian Morel | Talbot Samba | Jean-Paul Bouquet | B | +1:30:22 |
| 8 | 34 | Camille Bartoli / Bernard Falempin | Renault 5 Turbo | Camille Bartoli | B | +1:32:15 |
| 9 | 41 | Jean-Jacques Paoletti / Claude Santucci | Renault 5 Turbo | Jean-Jacques Paoletti | B | +1:58:20 |
| 10 | 112 | Patrick Bernardini / José Bernardini | BMW 323i | Patrick Bernardini | N | +2:02:07 |
Retirements of note
- #1 Markku Alén / Ilkka Kivimäki (Lancia Rally 037 Evo) — withdrew (Bettega’s death), stage 5
- #2 Ari Vatanen / Terry Harryman (Peugeot 205 Turbo 16) — accident, stage 15
- #4 Attilio Bettega / Maurizio Perissinot (Lancia Rally 037 Evo) — accident, stage 3
- #5 Walter Röhrl / Christian Geistdörfer (Audi Sport Quattro) — brakes, stage 2
- #6 Timo Salonen / Seppo Harjanne (Peugeot 205 Turbo 16) — electrical, stage 1
- #7 Miki Biasion / Tiziano Siviero (Lancia Rally 037 Evo) — withdrew (Bettega’s death), stage 6
- #8 Guy Fréquelin / Christian Gilbert (Opel Manta 400) — oil pump, stage 1
- #12 François Chatriot / Michel Perin (Renault 5 Maxi Turbo) — engine, stage 6
- #14 Bernard Darniche / Alain Mahé (Peugeot 205 Turbo 16) — fuel pump, stage 1
Jonkka’s World Rally Archive gives Bettega’s retirement as SS3, while Bettega’s Wikipedia biography says the crash happened on the fourth stage (Zerubia). We have not been able to resolve this from a second primary source.
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
- 1985 season overview
- All 1985 rallies
- Previous round: Safari Rally 1985
- Next round: Acropolis Rally 1985
- Cars: Renault 5 Turbo, Peugeot 205 T16, Porsche 911 SC RS
- Teams: Other Teams, Peugeot Talbot Sport, Rothmans Porsche Prodrive
- Iconic moments · Timeline · Statistics
All rounds of 1985
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 (June 1985): Rally review EN · article · subscription
Contemporary report from Motor Sport magazine's June 1985 issue, written as the season unfolded. - WRC.com season archive 1985 EN · archive
Official summary of the 1985 season: calendar, winners and both championship tables. - RallySport Magazine: Attilio Bettega, 35 years on EN · article
Looking back at Bettega's death on the 1985 Tour de Corse. - Motorsport Memorial: Attilio Bettega EN · archive
Sourced account of Attilio Bettega's life and fatal accident. - Wikipedia: Tour de Corse EN · archive
History of the Tour de Corse with its list of winners over the decades.
The same rally in other Group B years
Sources
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive (juwra.com), Tour de Corse 1985: event page — https://www.juwra.com/corsica_1985.html
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive, results — https://www.juwra.com/corsica_1985_results.html
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive, entry list — https://www.juwra.com/corsica_1985_entries.html
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive, stage winners and leaders — https://www.juwra.com/corsica_1985_stage_winners.html
- Wikipedia (EN), 1985 World Rally Championship — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_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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