European & national championships

French Rally Championship (Group B era)

Photo: estoril via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

In France, Group B meant a long duel between Renault and Opel on asphalt, with Lancia, Porsche, Audi and, at the very end, MG Metro 6R4s joining in. The Tour de France Automobile and the Tour de Corse counted for the national title.

Champions

Year	Driver	Co-driver	Car
1982	Jean-Luc Thérier	Michel Vial	Renault 5 Turbo
1983	Guy Fréquelin	Jean-François Fauchille	Opel Ascona 400 (one round), Opel Manta 400
1984	Jean Ragnotti	Pierre Thimonier	Renault 5 Turbo
1985	Guy Fréquelin	Christian Gilbert	Opel Manta 400
1986	Didier Auriol	Bernard Occelli	MG Metro 6R4

Renault against Opel on French asphalt: Thérier, Fréquelin, Ragnotti and Auriol, and the 119-point tie of 1986.

Season by season

1982. Thérier won the Critérium Alpin, the 1000 Pistes and the Terre de Biarritz and took the title with 107 points to the 98 of Bernard Béguin’s Porsche 911 SC; Bruno Saby, the 1981 champion, was third in another Renault 5 Turbo. Renault 5 Turbos won seven of the ten rounds, including Ragnotti’s Tour de Corse, but the Tour de France Automobile went to Jean-Claude Andruet and ‘Biche’ in Charles Pozzi’s Ferrari 308 GTB.

1983. Fréquelin and Fauchille won six of the ten rounds — the Lyon-Charbonnières in the old Ascona 400, then the Garrigues, the Pays Basque, the 1000 Pistes, the Tour de France Automobile and the Var in the new Manta 400 — and beat Saby’s Renault 135 points to 93. It was the first French title for an Opel driver. Markku Alén‘s Tour de Corse win in a Lancia 037 counted too.

1984. Jean Ragnotti and Pierre Thimonier won the Critérium Alpin, the Mont-Blanc and the Tour de France Automobile in a Renault 5 Turbo and beat Fréquelin 104 to 85. The winners’ list shows how open the year was: Bernard Darniche (Audi Quattro) won the Lyon-Charbonnières, Andruet (Lancia 037) the Garrigues and the Var, Carlo Capone and Sergio Cresto (037) Antibes, and Henri Toivonen and Ian Grindrod the 1000 Pistes in a Rothmans Porsche 911 SC RS. It was the last French championship to mix gravel and asphalt rallies.

1985. Fréquelin, now with Christian Gilbert, won the first three rounds (Touraine, Garrigues, Critérium Alpin) and the Rouergue and Aquitaine rallies to take his third French title. Renault’s new 5 Maxi Turbo won six rounds between Ragnotti (Tour de Corse, Tour de France Automobile, Alsace-Vosges) and François Chatriot (Touquet, Mont-Blanc, Var), but they split the points between them.

1986. Didier Auriol and Bernard Occelli won five rounds — the Rouergue, Mont-Blanc, Antibes, Alsace-Vosges and the Cévennes — in an MG Metro 6R4; for the Tour de France Automobile Auriol switched to a Mercedes 190. Chatriot and Michel Périn won four in a Maxi 5 Turbo. They finished level on 119 points and Auriol took the title on number of wins. Bruno Saby‘s Tour de Corse victory in a Peugeot 205 T16 also counted.

In pictures 3 photos

More from Championships

German Rally Championship (DRM, Group B era)Audi, Opel and then Peugeot: Demuth, Weber, Grundel and Mouton in the German championship from 1982 to 1986.Read more →Italian Rally Championship (CIR, Group B era)Jolly Club, Grifone and the private Lancias: the Italian championship from Tognana’s Ferrari to Cerrato’s Delta S4.Read more →Belgian Rally Championship (Group B era)Spa, Ypres and the Condroz: Duez, Snijers and Droogmans in the Belgian championship from Porsche to Ford RS200.Read more →British Rally Championship (Group B era)McRae, Blomqvist, Brookes and Lovell: the British Open Rally Championship from 1982 to 1986, with results, cars and the 1984 title fight.Read more →European Rally Championship (Group B era)Fifty rallies a season, points coefficients and four straight Lancia titles: the ERC from 1982 to 1986, season by season.Read more →Swiss Rally Championship (Group B era)Balmer against Ferreux, and the Rallye du Valais: Switzerland’s championship until Group B was banned there.Read more →

Sources

1. Wikipedia (FR), Championnat de France des rallyes — https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Championnat_de_France_des_rallyes
2. Wikipedia (FR), Championnat de France des rallyes 1982 — https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Championnat_de_France_des_rallyes_1982
3. Wikipedia (FR), Championnat de France des rallyes 1983 — https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Championnat_de_France_des_rallyes_1983
4. Wikipedia (FR), Championnat de France des rallyes 1984 — https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Championnat_de_France_des_rallyes_1984
5. Wikipedia (FR), Championnat de France des rallyes 1985 — https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Championnat_de_France_des_rallyes_1985
6. Wikipedia (FR), Championnat de France des rallyes 1986 — https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Championnat_de_France_des_rallyes_1986
7. eWRC-results.com, FIA European Rally Championship 1984 (event results) — https://www.ewrc-results.com/season/1984/6-erc/
8. eWRC-results.com, FIA European Rally Championship 1986 (event results) — https://www.ewrc-results.com/season/1986/6-erc/

All text is original writing for Grouve Sports Management Group, based on the sources above. Facts checked on 21 October 2026.

Thumbnail photos on this page: Ramon Espiña Fernand… (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0); InSapphoWeTrust from Los Angeles, California, USA (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0); Mr.choppers (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0); Brian Snelson (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); estoril (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Calreyn88 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).