Acropolis Rally 1986
Round 6 of the 1986 World Rally Championship · 2–4 June 1986
Juha Kankkunen won the Acropolis, with Miki Biasion second for Lancia. It was the first rally after the Group B ban was announced.
Episode 9 — 1986: Portugal, Corsica and the End of Group B
The Acropolis Rally 1986 features in this episode of our documentary series.
At a glance
The podium
Photo: MrWalkr via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Calreyn88 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0Photo: Calreyn88 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0Car photos are representative pictures of the model, not of this event.
Route and surface
Rough Greek mountain gravel (Jonkka’s World Rally Archive lists the surface as tarmac/gravel).
Key entries
The leading seeded crews (start numbers 1–8):
- #1 Timo Salonen / Seppo Harjanne — Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 (Peugeot Talbot Sport)
- #2 Stig Blomqvist / Bruno Berglund — Ford RS200 (Ford Motor Company)
- #3 Markku Alén / Ilkka Kivimäki — Lancia Delta S4 (Martini Lancia)
- #5 Juha Kankkunen / Juha Piironen — Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 (Peugeot Talbot Sport)
- #6 Kalle Grundel / Benny Melander — Ford RS200 (Ford Motor Company)
- #8 Miki Biasion / Tiziano Siviero — Lancia Delta S4 (Martini Lancia)
- #9 Bruno Saby / Jean-François Fauchille — Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 (Peugeot Talbot Sport)
- #10 Giovanni del Zoppo / Loris Roggia — Fiat Uno Turbo (Jolly Club)
Juha Kankkunen won the Acropolis, with Miki Biasion second for Lancia. It was the first rally after the Group B ban was announced.
How the rally unfolded
The lead changed hands five times in the first 18 stages. Kalle Grundel led twice in the Ford RS200, before his car retired with broken wheel studs on stage 20. Kankkunen took over on stage 18 and held the lead to the end.
Salonen’s suspension failed and Alén’s engine broke on stage 44. Bruno Saby was third, Saeed al-Hajri fourth in a Rothmans Porsche 911. Audi had withdrawn its works team after Portugal.
The decisive moment
Kankkunen’s lead from stage 18 was never lost. He went into the second half of the season leading the championship.
Result — top 10
| Pos. | No. | Crew | Car | Entrant | Gp. | Time / gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Juha Kankkunen / Juha Piironen | Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 | Peugeot Talbot Sport | B | 7:20:01 |
| 2 | 8 | Miki Biasion / Tiziano Siviero | Lancia Delta S4 | Martini Lancia | B | +1:37 |
| 3 | 9 | Bruno Saby / Jean-François Fauchille | Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 | Peugeot Talbot Sport | B | +9:54 |
| 4 | 15 | Saeed al-Hajri / John Spiller | Porsche 911 SC RS | Rothmans Porsche Rally Team | B | +51:10 |
| 5 | 16 | Stratis Hatzipanayiotou / Kostas Fertakis | Nissan 240RS | Nic. I. Theocharakis S.A. | B | +1:00:50 |
| 6 | 35 | Rudolf Stohl / Reinhard Kaufmann | Audi Coupé | Rudolf Stohl | A | +1:04:43 |
| 7 | 23 | Kenneth Eriksson / Peter Diekmann | Volkswagen Golf GTI | Volkswagen Motorsport | A | +1:07:24 |
| 8 | 12 | George Moschous / Dimitris Vazakas | Nissan 240RS | Nic. I. Theocharakis S.A. | B | +1:08:33 |
| 9 | 25 | Franz Wittmann / Matthias Feltz | Volkswagen Golf GTI | Volkswagen Motorsport | A | +1:14:21 |
| 10 | 24 | Michele Rayneri / Carlo Cassina | Fiat Uno Turbo | Jolly Club | A | +1:19:59 |
Retirements of note
- #1 Timo Salonen / Seppo Harjanne (Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2) — suspension, stage 28
- #2 Stig Blomqvist / Bruno Berglund (Ford RS200) — accident, stage 18
- #3 Markku Alén / Ilkka Kivimäki (Lancia Delta S4) — engine, stage 44
- #6 Kalle Grundel / Benny Melander (Ford RS200) — wheel studs, stage 20
- #10 Giovanni del Zoppo / Loris Roggia (Fiat Uno Turbo) — suspension, stage 1
- #11 Mikael Ericsson / Claes Billstam (Lancia Delta S4) — suspension, stage 18
- #14 Jean-Claude Andruet / Annick Peuvergne (Citroën BX 4TC) — accident, stage 3
Jonkka’s World Rally Archive gives the dates as ‘2 to 24 Jun 1986’. This is almost certainly a typo for 2–4 June; the rally ran over three days.
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: Tour de Corse 1986
- Next round: Rally New Zealand 1986
- Cars: Peugeot 205 T16, Lancia Delta S4
- Teams: Peugeot Talbot Sport, Lancia Martini
- 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 (July 1986): Acropolis Rally EN · article · subscription
Contemporary report from Motor Sport magazine's July 1986 issue, written as the season unfolded. - WRC.com season archive 1986 EN · archive
Official summary of the 1986 season: calendar, winners and both championship tables. - Wikipedia: Acropolis Rally EN · archive
History of the Acropolis Rally with its list of winners over the decades. - Acropolis Rally (official site) EN · event
Today's organiser of the Acropolis Rally, with information about the current event.
The same rally in other Group B years
Sources
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive (juwra.com), Acropolis Rally 1986: event page — https://www.juwra.com/acropolis_1986.html
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive, results — https://www.juwra.com/acropolis_1986_results.html
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive, entry list — https://www.juwra.com/acropolis_1986_entries.html
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive, stage winners and leaders — https://www.juwra.com/acropolis_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.
Follow Grouve Sport on YouTube — rally Shorts now, Group B documentaries soon.
SubscribeThumbnail photos on this page: Calreyn88 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Brian Snelson (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Thesupermat (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Brian Snelson (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Sicnag (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); MrWalkr (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Rutger van der Maar (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Carlo Marzetti (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0); Havard01 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0); Carlom1961 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0); Calreyn88 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Mr.choppers (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0); sv1ambo (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Mr.choppers (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0).