Rallye Sanremo 1982
Round 10 of the 1982 World Rally Championship · 3–8 October 1982
Stig Blomqvist won Sanremo in a Quattro entered by the Swedish Audi team, ahead of Mikkola — but Röhrl’s third place kept him in control of the championship.
Episode 1 — Birth of a Monster: How Group B Began (1982)
The Rallye Sanremo 1982 features in this episode of our documentary series.
At a glance
The podium
Photo: Jiří Sedláček via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0Photo: Jiří Sedláček via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: SG2012 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0Car photos are representative pictures of the model, not of this event.
Route and surface
Mixed surfaces: tarmac in the Ligurian Alps behind Sanremo and long gravel stages in Tuscany.
Key entries
The leading seeded crews (start numbers 1–8):
- #1 Michèle Mouton / Fabrizia Pons — Audi Quattro (Audi Sport)
- #2 Markku Alén / Ilkka Kivimäki — Lancia Rally 037 (Martini Racing)
- #3 Walter Röhrl / Christian Geistdörfer — Opel Ascona 400 (Rothmans Opel Team)
- #4 Hannu Mikkola / Arne Hertz — Audi Quattro (Audi Sport)
- #5 Per Eklund / Ragnar Spjuth — Volkswagen Golf (Volkswagen Motor Sport)
- #6 Henri Toivonen / Fred Gallagher — Opel Ascona 400 (Rothmans Opel Team)
- #7 Franz Wittmann / Peter Diekmann — Audi Quattro (R6 International Rally Team)
- #8 Anders Kulläng / Bruno Berglund — Mitsubishi Lancer 2000 Turbo (Team Ralliart)
Stig Blomqvist won Sanremo in a Quattro entered by the Swedish Audi team, ahead of Mikkola — but Röhrl’s third place kept him in control of the championship.
How the rally unfolded
Audi finished first and second, with Michèle Mouton fourth. For her, fourth was costly: she needed wins to catch Röhrl. Henri Toivonen was fifth in the second Ascona.
Markku Alén retired the Lancia 037 with engine failure on stage 39. Lancia was still developing the car in its first season, and wins would not come until 1983. Further down, a young Miki Biasion finished eighth in a Conrero Opel.
The decisive moment
Röhrl’s measured third place kept his lead intact going into the African round.
Result — top 10
| Pos. | No. | Crew | Car | Entrant | Gp. | Time / gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | Stig Blomqvist / Björn Cederberg | Audi Quattro | Team Audi Sport Sweden | G4 | 8:37:47 |
| 2 | 4 | Hannu Mikkola / Arne Hertz | Audi Quattro | Audi Sport | G4 | +2:16 |
| 3 | 3 | Walter Röhrl / Christian Geistdörfer | Opel Ascona 400 | Rothmans Opel Team | G4 | +2:27 |
| 4 | 1 | Michèle Mouton / Fabrizia Pons | Audi Quattro | Audi Sport | G4 | +3:12 |
| 5 | 6 | Henri Toivonen / Fred Gallagher | Opel Ascona 400 | Rothmans Opel Team | G4 | +3:56 |
| 6 | 12 | Michele Cinotto / Emilio Radaelli | Audi Quattro | Seree R6 Inter. Audi Sport | G4 | +18:04 |
| 7 | 8 | Anders Kulläng / Bruno Berglund | Mitsubishi Lancer 2000 Turbo | Team Ralliart | G4 | +24:22 |
| 8 | 18 | Miki Biasion / Tiziano Siviero | Opel Ascona 400 | Conrero Squadra Corse | G4 | +48:03 |
| 9 | 35 | Livio Lupidi / Arles Montenesi | Renault 5 Turbo | Livio Lupidi | G4 | +1:02:16 |
| 10 | 75 | Vittorio Caneva / Loris Roggia | Citroën Visa | Vittorio Caneva | B | +1:26:01 |
Retirements of note
- #2 Markku Alén / Ilkka Kivimäki (Lancia Rally 037) — engine, stage 39
- #5 Per Eklund / Ragnar Spjuth (Volkswagen Golf) — clutch, stage 40
- #7 Franz Wittmann / Peter Diekmann (Audi Quattro) — accident, stage 1
- #10 Fabrizio Tabaton / Luciano Tedeschini (Lancia Rally 037) — accident, stage 1
- #11 Federico Ormezzano / Claudio Berro (Talbot Sunbeam) — halfshaft, stage 34
- #14 Mauro Pregliasco / Ergy Bartolich (Ford Escort XR3) — brakes, 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
- 1982 season overview
- All 1982 rallies
- Previous round: 1000 Lakes Rally 1982
- Next round: Ivory Coast Rally 1982
- Cars: Audi Quattro, Opel Manta 400
- Teams: Audi Sport, Opel
- Iconic moments · Timeline · Statistics
All rounds of 1982
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
- WRC.com season archive 1982 EN · archive
Official summary of the 1982 season: calendar, winners and both championship tables. - Wikipedia: Rallye Sanremo EN · archive
History of the Rallye Sanremo with its list of winners over the decades. - Rallye Sanremo (official site) IT · event
Today's organiser of the Rallye Sanremo, with information about the current event.
The same rally in other Group B years
Sources
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive (juwra.com), Rallye Sanremo 1982: event page — https://www.juwra.com/san_remo_1982.html
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive, results — https://www.juwra.com/san_remo_1982_results.html
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive, entry list — https://www.juwra.com/san_remo_1982_entries.html
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive, stage winners and leaders — https://www.juwra.com/sanremo_1982_stage_winners.html
- Wikipedia (EN), 1982 World Rally Championship — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1982_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: Jiří Sedláček (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); SG2012 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Morio (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Thesupermat (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Rutger van der Maar (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Steffs88 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); nakhon100 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Rally Paradise (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0); Carlo Marzetti (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0).