The drivers

Ari Vatanen

Photo: David Merrett from Daventry, England via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Ari Vatanen (born 27 April 1952) was both the fastest and the most spectacular. He either won or crashed, people said. In the Peugeot 205 T16 that speed was finally rewarded — until Argentina in 1985.

Grouve Sport documentary

Episode 3 — The Peugeot Revolution: 205 Turbo 16, Todt & Vatanen (1984–85)

From world champion to survivor and king of the desert.

Before Peugeot

Vatanen became world champion in 1981 in a Ford Escort RS run by David Sutton’s Rothmans team, with David Richards as co-driver. In 1982 he did not defend his title and competed mainly in the British championship, now with co-driver Terry Harryman. In 1983 he joined Opel. The two-wheel-drive Ascona 400 and Manta 400 were no longer a match for the Quattro, but Vatanen did win the 1983 Safari.

Peugeot: five wins in a row

In 1984 Jean Todt brought him to Peugeot Talbot Sport. Vatanen gave the 205 T16 its first wins: the 1000 Lakes, Sanremo and the RAC Rally. In 1985 he also won Monte Carlo (despite an eight-minute penalty) and Sweden — five world rally wins in a row.

1981 world champion, the man who gave the Peugeot 205 T16 its first wins, survivor of a huge crash in Argentina.

Argentina 1985

By mid-1985 Vatanen had fallen behind team-mate Salonen after a few retirements. In Argentina his 205 T16 E2 rolled end over end at high speed (sources speak of well over 190 km/h). The roll cage held, but the seat broke loose. Vatanen was seriously injured and spent a long time in hospital; his recovery took months, mentally as well as physically. See iconic moments.

After 1985

Vatanen returned to the World Championship in 1987, after Group B had ended. He later became a Member of the European Parliament (1999–2009).

Career in the Group B years

World Rally Championship podiums of the driver, year by year (1982–1986). win 2nd 3rd

1982

0wins

1 podium

1983

1win

1 podium

• Safari Rally (Kenya)

1984

3wins

3 podiums

• 1000 Lakes Rally (Finland)
• Rallye Sanremo
• RAC Rally (Great Britain)

1985

2wins

3 podiums

• Monte Carlo Rally
• Swedish Rally

1986

0wins

0 podiums

6 WRC wins · 8 podium finishes, 1982–1986

In pictures 1 photos

Further resources

• WRC.com: Ari Vatanen EN · archive
  The WRC's official champion profile of Ari Vatanen, with career statistics.
• Rallye-Magazin: Wie Vatanen dem Tod von der Schippe sprang DE · article
  German feature on Ari Vatanen's 1985 Argentina crash and recovery.
• Storie di Rally: Ari Vatanen and the 1985 Rally Argentina crash IT · article
  Italian account of the accident and what followed.

All Group B resources →

More from Drivers

Timo Salonen1985 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 KankkunenThe 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 →Michèle MoutonThe only woman to win world championship rallies — four of them — and runner-up in the 1982 World Championship. German champion in 1986.Read more →Hannu MikkolaThe 1983 world champion, the first man to drive the Quattro to victory, and a seven-time winner of the 1000 Lakes.Read more →Stig BlomqvistThe 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 →

Sources

1. Wikipedia (EN), Ari Vatanen — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ari_Vatanen
2. Wikipedia (EN), 1985 World Rally Championship — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_World_Rally_Championship

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: Arnaud 25 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Yaamboo (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0); Sicnag (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); realname (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0); Michelin LIVE UK from Stoke-On-Trent, UK (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Caroline Jonsson (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).