RAC Rally 1984
Round 12 of the 1984 World Rally Championship · 25–29 November 1984
Ari Vatanen beat Hannu Mikkola by 41 seconds to give the 205 T16 its third win in a row.
Episode 3 — The Peugeot Revolution: 205 Turbo 16, Todt & Vatanen (1984–85)
The RAC Rally 1984 features in this episode of our documentary series.
At a glance
The podium
Photo: Jiří Sedláček via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: _morgado via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Photo: Alf van Beem via Wikimedia Commons, Public domainCar photos are representative pictures of the model, not of this event.
Route and surface
Forest gravel in Wales, northern England and Scotland, plus spectator stages.
Key entries
The leading seeded crews (start numbers 1–8):
- #1 Stig Blomqvist / Björn Cederberg — Audi Sport Quattro (Audi Sport)
- #2 Ari Vatanen / Terry Harryman — Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 (Peugeot-Talbot Sport)
- #3 Hannu Mikkola / Arne Hertz — Audi Quattro A2 (Audi Sport UK)
- #4 Jimmy McRae / Michael Nicholson — Opel Manta 400 (GM Dealersport)
- #5 Björn Waldegård / Hans Thorszelius — Toyota Celica Twin-Cam Turbo (Team Toyota GB)
- #6 Michèle Mouton / Fabrizia Pons — Audi Sport Quattro (Audi Sport)
- #7 Timo Salonen / Seppo Harjanne — Nissan 240RS (Team Nissan Europe)
- #8 Per Eklund / David Whittock — Toyota Celica Twin-Cam Turbo (Team Toyota GB)
Ari Vatanen beat Hannu Mikkola by 41 seconds to give the 205 T16 its third win in a row.
How the rally unfolded
Vatanen led the first 39 stages and won 34 stages in total, but Mikkola twice took the lead in the closing stages. Vatanen recovered and won by 41 seconds. Per Eklund was third for Toyota, Mouton fourth.
The British Manta 400s of Russell Brookes and Jimmy McRae finished fifth and seventh. Björn Waldegård’s Toyota had engine failure early in the rally.
The decisive moment
The lead changed four times in the last 17 stages. Vatanen regained it on stage 51 and held on to the finish.
Result — top 10
| Pos. | No. | Crew | Car | Entrant | Gp. | Time / gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Ari Vatanen / Terry Harryman | Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 | Peugeot-Talbot Sport | B12 | 9:19:48 |
| 2 | 3 | Hannu Mikkola / Arne Hertz | Audi Quattro A2 | Audi Sport UK | B12 | +0:41 |
| 3 | 8 | Per Eklund / David Whittock | Toyota Celica Twin-Cam Turbo | Team Toyota GB | B12 | +17:19 |
| 4 | 6 | Michèle Mouton / Fabrizia Pons | Audi Sport Quattro | Audi Sport | B12 | +17:37 |
| 5 | 16 | Russell Brookes / Mike Broad | Opel Manta 400 | Andrews Heat for Hire | B12 | +28:18 |
| 6 | 7 | Timo Salonen / Seppo Harjanne | Nissan 240RS | Team Nissan Europe | B12 | +29:49 |
| 7 | 4 | Jimmy McRae / Michael Nicholson | Opel Manta 400 | GM Dealersport | B12 | +44:32 |
| 8 | 10 | Shekhar Mehta / Yvonne Mehta | Nissan 240RS | Team Nissan Europe | B12 | +47:13 |
| 9 | 37 | Bertie Fisher / Austin Frazer | Opel Manta 400 | GM Dealersport | B12 | +54:31 |
| 10 | 22 | Mikael Ericsson / Claes Billstam | Audi 80 Quattro | GM Dealersport | A8 | +55:15 |
Retirements of note
- #5 Björn Waldegård / Hans Thorszelius (Toyota Celica Twin-Cam Turbo) — engine, stage 10
- #14 Malcolm Wilson / Nigel Harris (Audi Quattro A1) — engine, stage 17
Period reports describe Vatanen losing time in an off on the final day; we have not confirmed the details in a second source.
The RAC Rally base given here is inferred from the start and finish locations in the itinerary; the event visited several regions of Great Britain.
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
- 1984 season overview
- All 1984 rallies
- Previous round: Ivory Coast Rally 1984
- Cars: Peugeot 205 T16, Audi Quattro, Toyota Celica TCT
- Teams: Peugeot Talbot Sport, Audi Sport
- Iconic moments · Timeline · Statistics
All rounds of 1984
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 (January 1985): Lombard RAC Rally of Great Britain EN · article · subscription
Contemporary report from Motor Sport magazine's January 1985 issue, written as the season unfolded. - WRC.com season archive 1984 EN · archive
Official summary of the 1984 season: calendar, winners and both championship tables. - Wikipedia: RAC Rally EN · archive
History of the RAC Rally with its list of winners over the decades.
The same rally in other Group B years
Sources
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive (juwra.com), RAC Rally 1984: event page — https://www.juwra.com/rac_rally_1984.html
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive, results — https://www.juwra.com/rac_rally_1984_results.html
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive, entry list — https://www.juwra.com/rac_rally_1984_entries.html
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive, stage winners and leaders — https://www.juwra.com/rac_rally_1984_stage_winners.html
- Wikipedia (EN), 1984 World Rally Championship — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_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); _morgado (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Alf van Beem (Wikimedia Commons, Public domain); Marlis Decker (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0); sv1ambo (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); MPW57 (Wikimedia Commons, Public domain); Rutger van der Maar (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Rally Paradise (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0); Calreyn88 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Calreyn88 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Havard01 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0).