1000 Lakes Rally 1986
Round 9 of the 1986 World Rally Championship · 5–7 September 1986
Timo Salonen won the 1000 Lakes by 24 seconds from Kankkunen, after Alén had led for 34 stages.
Episode 9 — 1986: Portugal, Corsica and the End of Group B
The 1000 Lakes Rally 1986 features in this episode of our documentary series.
At a glance
The podium
Photo: Calreyn88 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0Photo: Calreyn88 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: MrWalkr via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0Car photos are representative pictures of the model, not of this event.
Route and surface
High-speed gravel with crests and jumps.
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 Kalle Grundel / Benny Melander — Lancia Delta S4 (Martini Lancia)
- #5 Stig Blomqvist / Bruno Berglund — Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 (Peugeot Talbot Sport)
- #6 Ingvar Carlsson / Jan-Olof Bohlin — Mazda Familia 4WD (Mazda Rallye Team Europe)
- #7 Mikael Ericsson / Claes Billstam — Lancia Delta S4 (Martini Lancia)
- #8 Per Eklund / David Whittock — MG Metro 6R4 (C.T.E/Austin Rover)
Timo Salonen won the 1000 Lakes by 24 seconds from Kankkunen, after Alén had led for 34 stages.
How the rally unfolded
Alén led from the start and won 27 stages, but Salonen took the lead on stage 35 and held it to the end. Kankkunen came through to second, and Alén finished third, 1 minute 45 seconds behind.
Blomqvist was fourth in a third 205. Per Eklund was seventh in a Metro 6R4, ahead of Harri Toivonen, Henri’s younger brother, in another 6R4.
The decisive moment
Salonen overtook Alén on stage 35. The 205 T16 one-two kept Peugeot on course for the manufacturers’ title.
Result — top 10
| Pos. | No. | Crew | Car | Entrant | Gp. | Time / gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Timo Salonen / Seppo Harjanne | Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 | Peugeot Talbot Sport | B | 3:32:45 |
| 2 | 3 | Juha Kankkunen / Juha Piironen | Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 | Peugeot Talbot Sport | B | +0:24 |
| 3 | 2 | Markku Alén / Ilkka Kivimäki | Lancia Delta S4 | Martini Lancia | B | +1:45 |
| 4 | 5 | Stig Blomqvist / Bruno Berglund | Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 | Peugeot Talbot Sport | B | +2:37 |
| 5 | 7 | Mikael Ericsson / Claes Billstam | Lancia Delta S4 | Martini Lancia | B | +8:26 |
| 6 | 4 | Kalle Grundel / Benny Melander | Lancia Delta S4 | Martini Lancia | B | +9:50 |
| 7 | 8 | Per Eklund / David Whittock | MG Metro 6R4 | C.T.E/Austin Rover | B | +10:58 |
| 8 | 17 | Harri Toivonen / Cedric Wrede | MG Metro 6R4 | Austin Rover World Championship Team | B | +19:34 |
| 9 | 14 | Lasse Lampi / Pentti Kuukkala | Audi Coupé | VW-Auto Oy | A | +21:40 |
| 10 | 9 | Malcolm Wilson / Nigel Harris | MG Metro 6R4 | Austin Rover World Championship Team | B | +23:17 |
Retirements of note
- #6 Ingvar Carlsson / Jan-Olof Bohlin (Mazda Familia 4WD) — engine, stage 3
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: Rally Argentina 1986
- Next round: Ivory Coast Rally 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 (October 1986): Rally review EN · article · subscription
Contemporary report from Motor Sport magazine's October 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: 1000 Lakes Rally / Rally Finland EN · archive
History of the 1000 Lakes Rally / Rally Finland with its list of winners over the decades. - Rally Finland (official site, the former 1000 Lakes) FI · event
Today's organiser of the 1000 Lakes Rally / Rally Finland, with information about the current event.
The same rally in other Group B years
Sources
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive (juwra.com), 1000 Lakes Rally 1986: event page — https://www.juwra.com/finland_1986.html
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive, results — https://www.juwra.com/finland_1986_results.html
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive, entry list — https://www.juwra.com/finland_1986_entries.html
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive, stage winners and leaders — https://www.juwra.com/finland_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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