Monte Carlo Rally 1983

Walter Röhrl and Christian Geistdörfer won their third Monte Carlo Rally and led a Lancia one-two, the Rally 037’s first world championship win.

Round 1
of 12 in 1983
Röhrl
winner
31
special stages
149/250
finishers/starters
Grouve Sport documentary

Episode 2 — Rear-Wheel Drive’s Last Stand: Lancia 037 vs Audi quattro (1983)

The Monte Carlo Rally 1983 features in this episode of our documentary series.

At a glance

Round1 of 12 — 1983 World Rally Championship
Dates22–29 January 1983
BaseMonaco (concentration runs from several European cities)
CountryMonaco
SurfaceTarmac and snow
Competitive distance31 special stages, 716.80 km
Starters / finishers250 / 149
Counted forDrivers’ and manufacturers’ championships
WinnerWalter Röhrl / Christian Geistdörfer — Lancia Rally 037
Most stage winsRöhrl 11, Andruet 8, Alén 4, Toivonen 3

The podium

Lancia Rally 037Photo: Miloslav Rejha via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
2Markku AlénIlkka KivimäkiLancia Rally 037Martini Racing
Lancia Rally 037Photo: Miloslav Rejha via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
1Walter RöhrlChristian GeistdörferLancia Rally 037Martini Racing
Audi Quattro A1Photo: Jiří Sedláček via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
3Stig BlomqvistBjörn CederbergAudi Quattro A1Audi Sport

Car photos are representative pictures of the model, not of this event.

Route and surface

Alpine tarmac in the hinterland of Monaco and in the French departments to the north-west, with snow and ice on the high passes.

Key entries

The leading seeded crews (start numbers 1–8):

Walter Röhrl and Christian Geistdörfer won their third Monte Carlo Rally and led a Lancia one-two, the Rally 037’s first world championship win.

How the rally unfolded

Röhrl had moved from Opel to Lancia, where Cesare Fiorio built the season around asphalt and mixed events. The 037 was quick on dry tarmac and Röhrl won 11 of the 31 stages. Markku Alén finished second, 6 minutes 52 seconds behind. The Audis of Blomqvist and Mikkola, still in the Quattro A1, were third and fourth.

Mouton crashed out on stage 10. Jean-Claude Andruet, in a third works 037, won eight stages but fell to eighth. The Rothmans Opels of Vatanen and Toivonen finished fifth and sixth.

The decisive moment

The 037’s speed on dry asphalt, combined with Lancia’s tyre strategy, proved that a light rear-wheel-drive car could still beat the Quattro on the Monte.

Result — top 10

Pos. No. Crew Car Entrant Gp. Time / gap
1 1 Walter Röhrl / Christian Geistdörfer Lancia Rally 037 Martini Racing B 7:58:57
2 4 Markku Alén / Ilkka Kivimäki Lancia Rally 037 Martini Racing B +6:52
3 8 Stig Blomqvist / Björn Cederberg Audi Quattro A1 Audi Sport B +11:18
4 2 Hannu Mikkola / Arne Hertz Audi Quattro A1 Audi Sport B +14:05
5 3 Ari Vatanen / Terry Harryman Opel Ascona 400 Rothmans Opel Rally Team B +15:06
6 6 Henri Toivonen / Fred Gallagher Opel Ascona 400 Rothmans Opel Rally Team B +16:57
7 9 Jean Ragnotti / Jean-Marc Andrié Renault 5 Turbo Renault-Elf B +19:13
8 7 Jean-Claude Andruet / Michèle Petit Lancia Rally 037 Martini Racing B +20:40
9 33 Francis Serpaggi / Michel Neri Lancia Rally 037 Francis Serpaggi B +33:43
10 19 Salvador Servia / Jorge Sabater Opel Ascona 400 RAC Cataluna G4 +41:05

Retirements of note

Results, retirements, stage wins and leaders are taken from Jonkka’s World Rally Archive. Names are given with their correct spelling; the archive itself omits diacritics.

Related pages

All rounds of 1983

Round 1Monte Carlo RallyWalter Röhrl · Lancia Rally 037Round 2Swedish RallyHannu Mikkola · Audi Quattro A1Round 3Rally de PortugalHannu Mikkola · Audi Quattro A1Round 4Safari Rally (Kenya)Ari Vatanen · Opel Ascona 400Round 5Tour de CorseMarkku Alén · Lancia Rally 037Round 6Acropolis Rally (Greece)Walter Röhrl · Lancia Rally 037Round 7Rally New ZealandWalter Röhrl · Lancia Rally 037Round 8Rally ArgentinaHannu Mikkola · Audi Quattro A2Round 91000 Lakes Rally (Finland)Hannu Mikkola · Audi Quattro A2Round 10Rallye SanremoMarkku Alén · Lancia Rally 037Round 11Ivory Coast RallyBjörn Waldegård · Toyota Celica TCTRound 12RAC Rally (Great Britain)Stig Blomqvist · Audi Quattro A2

In pictures 4 photos

Photos from this event where free-licensed pictures exist; otherwise the podium cars, photographed on the occasion stated in each caption.

Christian Geistdörfer with the Lancia 037 in which he and Röhrl finished runners-up in 1983.
Christian Geistdörfer with the Lancia 037 in which he and Röhrl finished runners-up in 1983.Photo: Osvaldo di Mando via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Lancia 037
Lancia 037Photo: Calreyn88 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
The Lancia 037: long, low rear deck with the engine in the middle and the supercharger alongside.
The Lancia 037: long, low rear deck with the engine in the middle and the supercharger alongside.Photo: Calreyn88 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
A Lancia 037 shown as a 1985 Safari Rally car at the Classic Motor Show, Birmingham, 2023. None of the three Martini 037s reached the finish that year.
A Lancia 037 shown as a 1985 Safari Rally car at the Classic Motor Show, Birmingham, 2023. None of the three Martini 037s reached the finish that year.Photo: Andrew Bone from Weymouth, England via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Further resources

All Group B resources →

The same rally in other Group B years

1982Monte Carlo Rally 1982The first Monte Carlo Rally of the Group B era was a duel between old and new: Walter Röhrl's rear-wheel-drive Opel Ascona 400 against the four-wheel-drive Audi Quattro.Read more →1984Monte Carlo Rally 1984Walter Röhrl's first rally for Audi ended in an Audi one-two-three — and his fourth Monte Carlo win in five years.Read more →1985Monte Carlo Rally 1985Ari Vatanen won the Monte Carlo Rally despite an eight-minute penalty, the 205 T16's fourth win in its last four starts.Read more →1986Monte Carlo Rally 1986Henri Toivonen and Sergio Cresto won the Monte Carlo Rally in the Lancia Delta S4, despite a collision with a non-competing car on a road section.Read more →

Sources

  1. Jonkka's World Rally Archive (juwra.com), Monte Carlo Rally 1983: event page — https://www.juwra.com/monte_carlo_1983.html
  2. Jonkka's World Rally Archive, results — https://www.juwra.com/monte_carlo_1983_results.html
  3. Jonkka's World Rally Archive, entry list — https://www.juwra.com/monte_carlo_1983_entries.html
  4. Jonkka's World Rally Archive, stage winners and leaders — https://www.juwra.com/monte_carlo_1983_stage_winners.html
  5. Wikipedia (EN), 1983 World Rally Championship — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_World_Rally_Championship

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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Thumbnail photos on this page: Miloslav Rejha (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0); Jiří Sedláček (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); © 1971markus (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); © 1971markus (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Steffs88 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Kevauto (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Mr.choppers (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0); © 1971markus (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); sv1ambo (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); nakhon100 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Rutger van der Maar (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Nicky Clarke (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Marlis Decker (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0); Thesupermat (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Brian Snelson (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0).