European & national championships

Swiss Rally Championship (Group B era)

Photo: Calreyn88 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Switzerland’s championship was fought between two men, Jean-Pierre Balmer and Eric Ferreux, in Opel, Porsche, Renault and Lancia machinery. Its biggest event, the Rallye du Valais at Martigny, drew European title contenders every autumn.

Champions

Year	Driver	Co-driver	Car
1982	Jean-Pierre Balmer	Fabio Cavalli	Opel Ascona 400
1983	Eric Ferreux	Serge Audemars	Porsche 911 SC
1984	Eric Ferreux	Serge Audemars	Renault 5 Turbo
1985	Eric Ferreux	Serge Audemars	Renault 5 Turbo
1986	Jean-Pierre Balmer	Denis Indermühle	Lancia 037

After 1986 the Automobile Club de Suisse banned Group B cars from the national championship; Ferreux and Audemars won again in 1987 in a Renault 11 Turbo.

Balmer against Ferreux, and the Rallye du Valais: Switzerland’s championship until Group B was banned there.

The Rallye du Valais

The Valais rally was a European championship round, and the winners’ list shows who came to Switzerland:

• 1982: Sepp Haider won in an Irmscher-entered Opel Ascona 400.
• 1983: Robert Droogmans won in a Ford Escort RS1800, ahead of Béring’s Renault 5 Turbo ‘Tour de Corse’ and Christian Blanc’s Lancia 037.
• 1984: Harald Demuth and Willy Lux won in an Audi Quattro A1, ahead of Ferreux and of the former Formula 1 driver Marc Surer, both in Renault 5 Turbos.
• 1985: Patrick Snijers won in his Lancia 037.
• 1986: Droogmans won in a Ford RS200.

The Biella rally in Italy also counted for the Swiss championship in several years; Ferreux was second there in 1985.

More from Championships

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 →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 →French Rally Championship (Group B era)Renault against Opel on French asphalt: Thérier, Fréquelin, Ragnotti and Auriol, and the 119-point tie of 1986.Read more →Austrian Rally Championship (Group B era)Wittmann, Wiedner and the Audi Quattro on the snow of the Jänner Rallye: Austria’s championship from 1982 to 1986.Read more →Portuguese Rally Championship (Group B era)Santos’ Escort and Moutinho’s Renault 5 Turbo, plus the Madeira rally: Portugal’s championship in the Group B years.Read more →Irish Tarmac Rally Championship (Group B era)Coleman, McHale and the Opel Manta 400 on the narrow asphalt of Galway, the Circuit of Ireland and the Lakes.Read more →

Sources

1. Wikipedia (DE), Schweizer Rallyemeisterschaft — https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schweizer_Rallyemeisterschaft
2. Wikipedia (FR), Championnat de Suisse des rallyes — https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Championnat_de_Suisse_des_rallyes
3. eWRC-results.com, FIA European Rally Championship 1982 (event results) — https://www.ewrc-results.com/season/1982/6-erc/
4. eWRC-results.com, FIA European Rally Championship 1983 (event results) — https://www.ewrc-results.com/season/1983/6-erc/
5. eWRC-results.com, FIA European Rally Championship 1984 (event results) — https://www.ewrc-results.com/season/1984/6-erc/
6. eWRC-results.com, FIA European Rally Championship 1985 (event results) — https://www.ewrc-results.com/season/1985/6-erc/
7. 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.

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