The drivers

Juha Kankkunen

Photo: Yaamboo via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Juha Kankkunen (born 2 April 1959) was the youngest of the great Finns. He won his first world rally on the Safari in a two-wheel-drive Toyota, and a year later became Group B’s last world champion.

Grouve Sport documentary

Episode 9 — 1986: Portugal, Corsica and the End of Group B

The champion decided eleven days after the final rally.

Toyota Team Europe

Strong results for Toyota Finland earned him a place in Ove Andersson’s Toyota Team Europe works team in 1983, alongside Björn Waldegård. In the Celica Twincam Turbo he and co-driver Fred Gallagher won the 1985 Safari Rally and the Ivory Coast Rally — two of the toughest events on the calendar.

Peugeot and the 1986 title

Those performances earned him a seat with reigning champions Peugeot. With co-driver Juha Piironen he won in Sweden, Greece and New Zealand in 1986 and stood on the podium five more times. Once the Sanremo result had been annulled, the title was confirmed as his eleven days after the final rally, with 118 points to Markku Alén’s 104. See 1986 season.

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.

After Group B

After the ban Kankkunen moved to Lancia and in 1987 became the first driver to successfully defend the world title. He won further titles in 1991 (Lancia) and 1993 (Toyota), making him champion with three different makes.

Career in the Group B years

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

1982

0wins

0 podiums

1983

0wins

0 podiums

1984

0wins

0 podiums

1985

2wins

2 podiums

• Safari Rally (Kenya)
• Ivory Coast Rally

1986

3wins

6 podiums

• Swedish Rally
• Acropolis Rally (Greece)
• Rally New Zealand

5 WRC wins · 8 podium finishes, 1982–1986

In pictures 3 photos

Further resources

• Yle: Juha Kankkunen on his Peugeot contract FI · article
  Finnish broadcaster's interview about how the Peugeot deal came about.
• WRC.com: Juha Kankkunen EN · archive
  The WRC's official champion profile of Juha Kankkunen, with career statistics.
• Motorsport.com: Peugeot's Group B gold standard EN · article
  The 205 T16 E2 that gave Juha Kankkunen his first world title.
• 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.

All Group B resources →

More from Drivers

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 ToivonenThe 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 BettegaLancia 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 →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 →Ari Vatanen1981 world champion, the man who gave the Peugeot 205 T16 its first wins, survivor of a huge crash in Argentina.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 →

Sources

1. Wikipedia (EN), Juha Kankkunen — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juha_Kankkunen
2. Wikipedia (EN), 1986 World Rally Championship — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1986_World_Rally_Championship
3. Wikipedia (EN), Toyota Team Europe — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Team_Europe

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: Sicnag (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Michel Cromer (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0); Syrio (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Arnaud 25 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); David Merrett from Daventry, England (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); realname (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0).