Group B produced a generation of drivers who are still the benchmark today. Five of them became world champions during the era; others, such as Henri Toivonen and Michèle Mouton, made history without a title. And beside every driver sat a co-driver reading the road at 200 km/h through the forest.
Grouve Sport documentary Episode 8 — The Architects: Fiorio, Todt, Gumpert, Turner & the People Behind Group B Röhrl, Mouton, Mikkola, Blomqvist, Vatanen, Salonen, Kankkunen, Alén, Toivonen and Biasion — and the people who put them in the car.
Profiles
Walter Röhrl Two-time world champion (1980, 1982), four-time Monte Carlo winner with four different makes. Read more → Stig Blomqvist The 1984 world champion and, with eight wins, the driver who won the most world rallies between 1982 and 1986. A master of left-foot braking. Read more → Hannu Mikkola The 1983 world champion, the first man to drive the Quattro to victory, and a seven-time winner of the 1000 Lakes. Read more → Michèle Mouton The only woman to win world championship rallies — four of them — and runner-up in the 1982 World Championship. German champion in 1986. Read more → Ari Vatanen 1981 world champion, the man who gave the Peugeot 205 T16 its first wins, survivor of a huge crash in Argentina. Read more → Timo Salonen 1985 world champion with five wins. Calm, bespectacled, often steering with one hand — and with seven wins, the most successful driver of 1983–1986. Read more → Juha Kankkunen The last Group B champion (1986) and, at 27, the youngest world champion up to that point. His first world rally win came on the Safari, for Toyota. Read more → Markku Alén ‘Now maximum attack.’ Lancia’s most loyal driver, holder of the record for stage wins, and world champion in 1986 — for eleven days. Read more → Henri Toivonen The prodigy of Group B. Won the 1985 RAC and the 1986 Monte Carlo Rally in the Delta S4, and was killed with Sergio Cresto in Corsica on 2 May 1986. Read more → Attilio Bettega Lancia works driver from Molveno with four world championship podiums. Killed on 2 May 1985 on the Tour de Corse — a year before Toivonen. Read more → Miki Biasion 1983 European champion in the 037, winner in Argentina in 1986 in the Delta S4, and later a two-time Group A world champion. Read more → Björn Waldegård The first world champion, five Group B-era wins and Toyota’s master of the African rallies. Read more → Per Eklund Six podiums in Saab, Toyota and Audi machinery, and Metro 6R4 machinery. Read more → Jean Ragnotti Renault’s asphalt ace: Tour de Corse winner in 1982 and on the Maxi Turbo’s debut in 1985. Read more → Bruno Saby French champion with Renault, winner of the tragic 1986 Tour de Corse for Peugeot. Read more → Lars-Erik Torph Two second places in three starts in 1986: Toyota’s young Swede in the final Group B season. Read more → Tony Pond Britain’s fast man: a podium on the Metro 6R4’s debut. Read more → Kalle Grundel From Golf GTI giant-killer to the RS200 podium and a German title. Read more → Jimmy McRae Five British titles, an RAC podium and the founder of a rallying dynasty. Read more → Malcolm Wilson Audi quattro privateer, works Metro 6R4 driver and later founder of M-Sport. Read more → Shekhar Mehta Five-time Safari winner and Nissan’s leader on the rough rallies of the Group B era. Read more → Jean-Claude Andruet The first world championship rally winner, later second in a Ferrari and sixth in the BX 4TC. Read more → Pentti Airikkala Mitsubishi and Lancia driver, 1979 British champion and 1989 RAC Rally winner. Read more → The co-drivers of Group B No co-driver, no victory. The men and women in the right-hand seat: Geistdörfer, Hertz, Cederberg, Pons, Harjanne, Harryman, Piironen, Gallagher, Kivimäki, Cresto and more. Read more → More Group B drivers Santos, Darniche, Reutemann, Carlsson, Aaltonen, Chatriot and other drivers of the Group B era, with links to the full profiles of Waldegård, Eklund, Ragnotti, Saby and more. Read more → Drivers’ world rally wins 1982–1986
Click a column header to sort. Every win and podium in world championship rallies between January 1982 and December 1986, based on the official results. The annulled 1986 Rallye Sanremo is not counted.
Who was the most successful Group B driver? It depends where you draw the line. Counting from 1982 (the first year of the rules, when many cars were still Group 4 machines), Stig Blomqvist has the most wins with eight. Counting only 1983–1986, when Group B was truly the top class, Timo Salonen leads with seven. Both claims appear in the sources.
More from Group B Teams and team managers Audi Sport, Lancia Martini, Peugeot Talbot Sport, Ford, Austin Rover, Toyota Team Europe, Opel, Rothmans Porsche/Prodrive and the private teams: who ran them, where were they based and what did they win? Read more → Iconic rallies and moments The Col de Turini, Mouton in Sanremo, Vatanen in Argentina, Bettega and Toivonen in Corsica, the tragedy of Portugal 1986 and the Sanremo title that was taken back. Read more → The end of Group B Portugal, Corsica and FISA's decision of May 1986: how Group B was removed from the World Rally Championship, why Group S died with it, and how the 1986 season played out. Read more → The cars of Group B From the Audi Quattro to the Ferrari 288 GTO Evoluzione: every significant Group B car, with engineering, history, results and an interactive comparison tool. Read more → European and national championships The European Rally Championship and the national championships where Group B cars raced most: how they worked, who won them and links to every championship page. Read more → World Championship rallies 1982–1986 All 61 world championship rallies of the Group B era, each with its own page — searchable and filterable by season, surface and winning make. Read more → Follow Grouve Sport on YouTube — rally Shorts now, Group B documentaries soon.
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