Sergio Cresto

Sergio Cresto won the 1984 European championship and the 1986 Monte Carlo Rally, and died with Henri Toivonen in Corsica on 2 May 1986, a year to the day after the accident that killed Attilio Bettega, whom he had also partnered.

1
WRC win
9
starts 1982–86
1984
European champion
1956–1986
lifespan
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Episode 8 — The Architects: Fiorio, Todt, Gumpert, Turner & the People Behind Group B

The people behind Group B, including the co-drivers.

Career

Born in New York on 19 January 1956, Cresto grew up in Italy and lived in Ospedaletti, near Sanremo. He worked his way up the Italian scene with drivers including Tonino Tognana and Gianfranco Cunico, and won the 1984 European championship with Carlo Capone in a Lancia 037. He also partnered Attilio Bettega in 1984, finishing fourth on the Acropolis.

1986

For 1986 Lancia paired him with Henri Toivonen in the Delta S4. They won the Monte Carlo Rally on the car’s second world championship start. On 2 May 1986, leading the Tour de Corse, their S4 left the road on stage 18 and caught fire; both men were killed. The accident led directly to the end of Group B.

Statistics on this page cover world championship rallies from January 1982 to December 1986, excluding the annulled 1986 Rallye Sanremo, and are counted from the entry lists and results in Jonkka’s World Rally Archive. ‘Starts’ means appearances on an entry list.

European champion in 1984, Monte Carlo winner in 1986, killed with Toivonen in Corsica.

European and national championships

Cresto won the 1984 European championship as co-driver to Carlo Capone in a Lancia 037; they won the Boucles de Spa, Alicante, Albena, Halkidiki and Antibes. In 1985 he partnered Andrea Zanussi, winning the Rallye d’Antibes. His last win came with Henri Toivonen on the 1986 Costa Smeralda. See the European Rally Championship.

Career in the Group B years

World Rally Championship podiums of the co-driver, year by year (1982–1986). win 2nd 3rd

1982
0wins
0 podiums
1983
0wins
0 podiums
1984
0wins
0 podiums
1985
0wins
0 podiums
1986
1win
1 podium

1 WRC wins · 1 podium finishes, 1982–1986

In pictures 1 photos

The Delta S4 Corse built for Henri Toivonen (chassis 202), at the Greenwich Concours d'Elegance in 2021.
The Delta S4 Corse built for Henri Toivonen (chassis 202), at the Greenwich Concours d'Elegance in 2021.Photo: Mr.choppers via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

More from Co-drivers

Tiziano SivieroBiasion's co-driver: European champion in 1983, first world win in Argentina 1986.Read more →Bruno Berglund1980 Swedish Rally winner, and Blomqvist's co-driver at Peugeot in 1986.Read more →Maurizio PerissinotBettega's co-driver, who survived the 1985 Corsica accident.Read more →Ilkka KivimäkiAlén's co-driver for twenty years: 19 Group B-era podiums in Lancias.Read more →Fred GallagherFour African wins with Toyota, and Toivonen's co-driver at Opel.Read more →Juha PiironenToivonen's co-driver at Lancia, then Kankkunen's for the 1986 title.Read more →

Sources

  1. Wikipedia (EN), Sergio Cresto — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergio_Cresto
  2. Wikipedia (EN), 1986 World Rally Championship — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1986_World_Rally_Championship
  3. Jonkka's World Rally Archive (juwra.com), results and entry lists 1982–1986 — https://www.juwra.com/

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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Thumbnail photos on this page: Carlom1961 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0); Havard01 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0); Miloslav Rejha (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0); Rob Croes for Anefo (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0); Rutger van der Maar (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Unknown authorUnknown author (Wikimedia Commons, Public domain).