Rally New Zealand 1986
Round 7 of the 1986 World Rally Championship · 5–8 July 1986
Kankkunen beat Alén by 1 minute 40 seconds in New Zealand, his third win of the season.
Episode 9 — 1986: Portugal, Corsica and the End of Group B
The Rally New Zealand 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: MrWalkr via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0Car photos are representative pictures of the model, not of this event.
Route and surface
Fast forest gravel in Northland, north of Auckland.
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 Juha Kankkunen / Juha Piironen — Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 (Peugeot Talbot Sport)
- #4 Miki Biasion / Tiziano Siviero — Lancia Delta S4 (Martini Lancia)
- #5 Mike Kirkland / Robin Nixon — Subaru RX Turbo (Fuji Heavy Industries)
- #6 Mikael Ericsson / Claes Billstam — Lancia Delta S4 (Martini Lancia)
- #7 Malcolm Stewart / Doug Parkhill — Audi Quattro A2 (Malcolm Stewart)
- #8 Reg Cook / Wayne Jones — Nissan 240RS (Nissan NZ Ltd)
Kankkunen beat Alén by 1 minute 40 seconds in New Zealand, his third win of the season.
How the rally unfolded
Kankkunen led the first four stages, Alén the next sixteen. Kankkunen took over on stage 21 and won by 1:40. Biasion and Mikael Ericsson made it three Delta S4s in the top four.
The three Subaru crews withdrew after stage 12. Jonkka’s World Rally Archive gives the reason as a ‘fatal accident’.
The decisive moment
Kankkunen retook the lead on stage 21 and held it — a vital result in his title fight with Alén.
Result — top 10
| Pos. | No. | Crew | Car | Entrant | Gp. | Time / gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Juha Kankkunen / Juha Piironen | Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 | Peugeot Talbot Sport | B | 5:43:45 |
| 2 | 2 | Markku Alén / Ilkka Kivimäki | Lancia Delta S4 | Martini Lancia | B | +1:40 |
| 3 | 4 | Miki Biasion / Tiziano Siviero | Lancia Delta S4 | Martini Lancia | B | +9:51 |
| 4 | 6 | Mikael Ericsson / Claes Billstam | Lancia Delta S4 | Martini Lancia | B | +12:52 |
| 5 | 1 | Timo Salonen / Seppo Harjanne | Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 | Peugeot Talbot Sport | B | +32:51 |
| 6 | 16 | Neil Allport / Rodger Freeth | Mazda RX-7 | Neil Allport | B | +43:42 |
| 7 | 11 | Kenneth Eriksson / Peter Diekmann | Volkswagen Golf GTI | Volkswagen Motorsport | A | +50:30 |
| 8 | 20 | Paddy Davidson / Mike Carmichael | Nissan 240RS | Nissan NZ Ltd | B | +52:33 |
| 9 | 8 | Reg Cook / Wayne Jones | Nissan 240RS | Nissan NZ Ltd | B | +54:27 |
| 10 | 12 | Rod Millen / John Bellefleur | Mazda Familia 4WD | CRC/Mazda | A | +56:18 |
Retirements of note
- #5 Mike Kirkland / Robin Nixon (Subaru RX Turbo) — withdrew (fatal accident), after stage 12
- #7 Malcolm Stewart / Doug Parkhill (Audi Quattro A2) — accident, stage 16
- #10 Peter Bourne / Jim Scott (Subaru RX Turbo) — withdrew (fatal accident), after stage 12
- #14 Frank Tundo / Mike Doughty (Subaru RX Turbo) — withdrew (fatal accident), after stage 12
The circumstances of the Subaru withdrawal are not documented in our other sources and are treated as unverified.
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: Acropolis Rally 1986
- Next round: Rally Argentina 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 (August 1986): Kankkunen wins in New Zealand EN · article · subscription
Contemporary report from Motor Sport magazine's August 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: Rally New Zealand EN · archive
History of the Rally New Zealand 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 New Zealand 1986: event page — https://www.juwra.com/new_zealand_1986.html
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive, results — https://www.juwra.com/new_zealand_1986_results.html
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive, entry list — https://www.juwra.com/new_zealand_1986_entries.html
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive, stage winners and leaders — https://www.juwra.com/new_zealand_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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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); Matthew Lamb (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 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); sv1ambo (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Michael Barera (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).