Rallye Sanremo 1983
Round 10 of the 1983 World Rally Championship · 2–8 October 1983
Lancia sealed the 1983 manufacturers’ title with a one-two-three in Sanremo: Alén, Röhrl, Bettega.
Episode 2 — Rear-Wheel Drive’s Last Stand: Lancia 037 vs Audi quattro (1983)
The Rallye Sanremo 1983 features in this episode of our documentary series.
At a glance
The podium
Photo: Miloslav Rejha via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0Photo: Miloslav Rejha via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0Photo: Miloslav Rejha via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0Car photos are representative pictures of the model, not of this event.
Route and surface
Ligurian tarmac and Tuscan gravel.
Key entries
The leading seeded crews (start numbers 1–8):
- #1 Stig Blomqvist / Björn Cederberg — Audi Quattro A2 (Audi Sport)
- #2 Walter Röhrl / Christian Geistdörfer — Lancia Rally 037 (Martini Racing)
- #3 Björn Waldegård / Claes Billstam — Ferrari 308 GTB (Bjorn Waldegard)
- #4 Ari Vatanen / Terry Harryman — Opel Manta 400 (Rothmans Opel Rally Team)
- #5 Hannu Mikkola / Arne Hertz — Audi Quattro A2 (Audi Sport)
- #6 Markku Alén / Ilkka Kivimäki — Lancia Rally 037 (Martini Racing)
- #7 Henri Toivonen / Fred Gallagher — Opel Manta 400 (Rothmans Opel Rally Team)
- #8 Michèle Mouton / Fabrizia Pons — Audi Quattro A2 (Audi Sport)
Lancia sealed the 1983 manufacturers’ title with a one-two-three in Sanremo: Alén, Röhrl, Bettega.
How the rally unfolded
Audi needed points but had a disastrous rally: Mikkola’s car caught fire, Blomqvist crashed on stage 53, and only Mouton (seventh) and Bernard Darniche (ninth) finished. Ari Vatanen also crashed his Opel.
Alén won by 2 minutes 9 seconds from Röhrl, with Bettega third. Henri Toivonen was fourth for Opel and Miki Biasion fifth in a Jolly Club 037 — another sign of Lancia’s strength in depth.
The decisive moment
The Audi retirements left the way open for Lancia’s clean sweep. This result effectively decided the manufacturers’ title: Lancia did not contest the RAC Rally and still won the championship by two points.
Result — top 10
| Pos. | No. | Crew | Car | Entrant | Gp. | Time / gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Markku Alén / Ilkka Kivimäki | Lancia Rally 037 | Martini Racing | B | 8:50:17 |
| 2 | 2 | Walter Röhrl / Christian Geistdörfer | Lancia Rally 037 | Martini Racing | B | +2:09 |
| 3 | 9 | Attilio Bettega / Maurizio Perissinot | Lancia Rally 037 | Martini Racing | B | +5:10 |
| 4 | 7 | Henri Toivonen / Fred Gallagher | Opel Manta 400 | Rothmans Opel Rally Team | B | +9:32 |
| 5 | 18 | Miki Biasion / Tiziano Siviero | Lancia Rally 037 | Jolly Club Totip | B | +10:25 |
| 6 | 15 | Dario Cerrato / Giuseppe Cerri | Opel Manta 400 | Conrero | B | +17:47 |
| 7 | 8 | Michèle Mouton / Fabrizia Pons | Audi Quattro A2 | Audi Sport | B | +24:03 |
| 8 | 19 | Luigi Battistoli / ‘Rudy’ | Opel Manta 400 | Conrero | B | +27:00 |
| 9 | 11 | Bernard Darniche / Alain Mahé | Audi Quattro A2 | Audi Sport | B | +38:18 |
| 10 | 22 | Gabriele Noberasco / Daniele Cianci | Alfa Romeo GTV6 | Tre Gazzelle | A | +1:08:22 |
Retirements of note
- #1 Stig Blomqvist / Björn Cederberg (Audi Quattro A2) — accident, stage 53
- #3 Björn Waldegård / Claes Billstam (Ferrari 308 GTB) — engine, stage 24
- #4 Ari Vatanen / Terry Harryman (Opel Manta 400) — accident, stage 50
- #5 Hannu Mikkola / Arne Hertz (Audi Quattro A2) — fire, stage 27
- #10 Adartico Vudafieri / Luigi Pirollo (Lancia Rally 037) — accident, stage 50
- #12 Andrea Zanussi / Sergio Cresto (Lancia Rally 037) — accident, stage 33
- #14 Federico Ormezzano / Claudio Berro (Ferrari 308 GTB) — halfshaft, 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
- 1983 season overview
- All 1983 rallies
- Previous round: 1000 Lakes Rally 1983
- Next round: Ivory Coast Rally 1983
- Cars: Lancia 037
- Teams: Lancia Martini
- Iconic moments · Timeline · Statistics
All rounds of 1983
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 (November 1983): Sanremo Rally EN · article · subscription
Contemporary report from Motor Sport magazine's November 1983 issue, written as the season unfolded. - WRC.com season archive 1983 EN · archive
Official summary of the 1983 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 1983: event page — https://www.juwra.com/san_remo_1983.html
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive, results — https://www.juwra.com/san_remo_1983_results.html
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive, entry list — https://www.juwra.com/san_remo_1983_entries.html
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive, stage winners and leaders — https://www.juwra.com/sanremo_1983_stage_winners.html
- Wikipedia (EN), 1983 World Rally Championship — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_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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