Olympus Rally 1986
Round 13 of the 1986 World Rally Championship · 4–7 December 1986
Markku Alén won the last world championship rally for Group B cars — and briefly became world champion, until the FIA annulled the Sanremo result.
Episode 9 — 1986: Portugal, Corsica and the End of Group B
The Olympus Rally 1986 features in this episode of our documentary series.
At a glance
The podium
Photo: Calreyn88 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: MrWalkr via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Calreyn88 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0Car photos are representative pictures of the model, not of this event.
Route and surface
Forest gravel roads on the Olympic Peninsula in the north-west of the USA.
Key entries
The leading seeded crews (start numbers 1–8):
- #1 Juha Kankkunen / Juha Piironen — Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 (Peugeot Talbot Sport)
- #2 Markku Alén / Ilkka Kivimäki — Lancia Delta S4 (Martini Lancia)
- #3 Björn Waldegård / Fred Gallagher — Toyota Celica Twin-Cam Turbo (Toyota Team Europe)
- #4 Lars-Erik Torph / Bo Thorszelius — Toyota Celica Twin-Cam Turbo (Toyota Team Europe)
- #5 John Buffum / Neil Wilson — Audi Sport Quattro (John Buffum)
- #7 Jon Woodner / Tony Sircombe — Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 (Jon Woodner)
- #8 Rod Millen / John Bellefleur — Mazda Familia 4WD (Rod Millen)
- #10 Peter Bourne / Jim Scott — Subaru RX Turbo (Peter Bourne)
Markku Alén won the last world championship rally for Group B cars — and briefly became world champion, until the FIA annulled the Sanremo result.
How the rally unfolded
Alén led from stage 7 to the finish and won by 3 minutes 26 seconds from Kankkunen. American John Buffum was third in a private Audi Sport Quattro. The Olympus Rally counted only for the drivers’ championship.
After the event, Alén was champion on the provisional standings. But Peugeot’s appeal against its Sanremo exclusion succeeded: the FIA annulled the Sanremo results, and Kankkunen became champion. Alén’s title lasted only eleven days.
The decisive moment
The FIA’s decision on Sanremo, not the result on the road in Washington, settled the 1986 drivers’ title.
Result — top 10
| Pos. | No. | Crew | Car | Entrant | Gp. | Time / gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Markku Alén / Ilkka Kivimäki | Lancia Delta S4 | Martini Lancia | B | 5:26:10 |
| 2 | 1 | Juha Kankkunen / Juha Piironen | Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 | Peugeot Talbot Sport | B | +3:26 |
| 3 | 5 | John Buffum / Neil Wilson | Audi Sport Quattro | John Buffum | B | +24:14 |
| 4 | 4 | Lars-Erik Torph / Bo Thorszelius | Toyota Celica Twin-Cam Turbo | Toyota Team Europe | B | +30:19 |
| 5 | 3 | Björn Waldegård / Fred Gallagher | Toyota Celica Twin-Cam Turbo | Toyota Team Europe | B | +32:22 |
| 6 | 11 | Paolo Alessandrini / Alessandro Alessandrini | Lancia Delta S4 | Paolo Alessandrini | B | +35:45 |
| 7 | 8 | Rod Millen / John Bellefleur | Mazda Familia 4WD | Rod Millen | A | +46:46 |
| 8 | 10 | Peter Bourne / Jim Scott | Subaru RX Turbo | Peter Bourne | A | +54:17 |
| 9 | 16 | Clive Smith / Harry Ward III | Toyota Corolla | Clive Smith | A | +1:06:03 |
| 10 | 47 | Paul Choinière / Tom Grimshaw | Audi 80 Quattro | Paul Choiniere | N | +1:19:18 |
Retirements of note
- #7 Jon Woodner / Tony Sircombe (Peugeot 205 Turbo 16) — accident, stage 2
- #12 Steve Millen / Hans Thorszelius (Toyota Celica Twin-Cam Turbo) — accident, stage 18
- #14 Doug Shepherd / Virginia Reese (Toyota Celica) — driveshaft, stage 9
The ‘eleven days’ figure follows Kankkunen’s Wikipedia biography.
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: RAC Rally 1986
- Cars: Lancia Delta S4, Peugeot 205 T16, Audi Quattro
- Teams: Lancia Martini, Peugeot Talbot Sport
- 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
- DirtFish: How Olympus came into the WRC EN · article
The story of the American WRC round that hosted Group B's farewell. - Wikipedia: Olympus Rally EN · archive
History of the Olympus Rally with its list of winners over the decades. - WRC.com season archive 1986 EN · archive
Official summary of the 1986 season: calendar, winners and both championship tables. - DirtFish: The WRC's most controversial title decider EN · article
The 1986 Olympus Rally, the last Group B round, and the title that changed hands afterwards.
Sources
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive (juwra.com), Olympus Rally 1986: event page — https://www.juwra.com/olympus_rally_1986.html
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive, results — https://www.juwra.com/olympus_rally_1986_results.html
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive, entry list — https://www.juwra.com/olympus_rally_1986_entries.html
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive, stage winners and leaders — https://www.juwra.com/olympus_rally_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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SubscribeThumbnail photos on this page: Calreyn88 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Calreyn88 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Calreyn88 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Brian Snelson (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Thesupermat (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Brian Snelson (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Matthew Lamb (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0); Sicnag (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); MrWalkr (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Rutger van der Maar (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Carlo Marzetti (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0); Havard01 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0).