RAC Rally 1983

Stig Blomqvist won the RAC Rally with 36 stage wins — his only world championship win of 1983.

Round 12
of 12 in 1983
Blomqvist
winner
59
special stages
61/127
finishers/starters
Grouve Sport documentary

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

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

At a glance

Round12 of 12 — 1983 World Rally Championship
Dates19–23 November 1983
BaseBath (stages across England, Wales and Scotland)
CountryGreat Britain
SurfaceGravel
Competitive distance59 special stages, 797.19 km
Starters / finishers127 / 61
Counted forDrivers’ and manufacturers’ championships
WinnerStig Blomqvist / Björn Cederberg — Audi Quattro A2
Most stage winsBlomqvist 36, Mikkola 16, Brookes 3, Mouton 2
LeadersMikkola (stages 1–4); Blomqvist (stages 5–59)

The podium

Audi Quattro A2Photo: Jiří Sedláček via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
2Hannu MikkolaArne HertzAudi Quattro A2Audi Sport
Audi Quattro A2Photo: Jiří Sedláček via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
1Stig BlomqvistBjörn CederbergAudi Quattro A2Audi Sport UK
Opel Manta 400Photo: SG2012 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
3Jimmy McRaeIan GrindrodOpel Manta 400Rothmans Opel Rally Team

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

Route and surface

Forest gravel in Wales, northern England and Scotland, plus spectator stages in parks, on estates and at race circuits.

Key entries

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

Stig Blomqvist won the RAC Rally with 36 stage wins — his only world championship win of 1983.

How the rally unfolded

Mikkola led the first four stages; Blomqvist then took over and stayed ahead for 55 stages, winning by 9 minutes 53 seconds. Jimmy McRae was third in a Rothmans Opel Manta 400. Lasse Lampi was fourth, and the American John Buffum sixth in a Quattro.

With Lancia absent, Audi had little opposition. Toivonen and Vatanen both retired, as did Mouton after an accident. Juha Kankkunen was seventh for Toyota.

The decisive moment

Blomqvist’s lead from stage 5 was never threatened. Mikkola’s second place completed his successful title season.

Result — top 10

Pos. No. Crew Car Entrant Gp. Time / gap
1 3 Stig Blomqvist / Björn Cederberg Audi Quattro A2 Audi Sport UK B12 8:50:28
2 1 Hannu Mikkola / Arne Hertz Audi Quattro A2 Audi Sport B12 +9:53
3 8 Jimmy McRae / Ian Grindrod Opel Manta 400 Rothmans Opel Rally Team B12 +21:51
4 10 Lasse Lampi / Pentti Kuukkala Audi Quattro A2 Lasse Lampi B12 +26:29
5 14 Russell Brookes / Vittorio Brambilla Vauxhall Chevette 2300HSR Andrews Heat for Hire B12 +28:33
6 15 John Buffum / Neil Wilson Audi Quattro A2 B F Goodrich B12 +30:48
7 16 Juha Kankkunen / Juha Piironen Toyota Celica Twin-Cam Turbo Team Toyota GB B12 +41:21
8 19 Kalle Grundel / Reinhard Michel Volkswagen Golf GTI Volkswagen Motorsport A7 +47:52
9 37 Mikael Sundström / David Orrick Opel Ascona Mikael Sundstrom A7 +51:50
10 31 Mats Jonsson / Johnny Johansson Opel Ascona Mats Jonsson G2 +54:39

Retirements of note

The RAC Rally base given here is inferred from the start and finish locations in the itinerary; the event visited several regions of Great Britain.

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.

John Hanlon / Karol Wiechczyński, Audi Sport Quattro, at the Rally Bohemia historic show 2012
John Hanlon / Karol Wiechczyński, Audi Sport Quattro, at the Rally Bohemia historic show 2012Photo: Miloslav Rejha via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Monte Carlo 1982: Michèle Mouton's Audi Quattro parked between the Porsche 911 SCs of Guy Fréquelin and Björn Waldegård — the transition year in which old and new groups ran side by side.
Monte Carlo 1982: Michèle Mouton's Audi Quattro parked between the Porsche 911 SCs of Guy Fréquelin and Björn Waldegård — the transition year in which old and new groups ran side by side.Photo: Nicky Clarke via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
The Audi Quattro A2 — Blomqvist's winning car type on the 1984 Acropolis.
The Audi Quattro A2 — Blomqvist's winning car type on the 1984 Acropolis.Photo: Calreyn88 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
A 205 T16 in its original 1984 specification, roughly 200 kg lighter than the Audi Quattro.
A 205 T16 in its original 1984 specification, roughly 200 kg lighter than the Audi Quattro.Photo: Kieran White from Manchester, England via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Further resources

All Group B resources →

The same rally in other Group B years

1982RAC Rally 1982Hannu Mikkola's RAC win sealed Audi's first manufacturers' title, with Mouton second.Read more →1984RAC Rally 1984Ari Vatanen beat Hannu Mikkola by 41 seconds to give the 205 T16 its third win in a row.Read more →1985RAC Rally 1985Henri Toivonen and Neil Wilson won the RAC Rally on the debut of the Lancia Delta S4, with Alén second — and Tony Pond third on the debut of the MG Metro 6R4.Read more →1986RAC Rally 1986Timo Salonen won the last RAC Rally of the Group B era, with Alén second and Kankkunen third.Read more →

Sources

  1. Jonkka's World Rally Archive (juwra.com), RAC Rally 1983: event page — https://www.juwra.com/rac_rally_1983.html
  2. Jonkka's World Rally Archive, results — https://www.juwra.com/rac_rally_1983_results.html
  3. Jonkka's World Rally Archive, entry list — https://www.juwra.com/rac_rally_1983_entries.html
  4. Jonkka's World Rally Archive, stage winners and leaders — https://www.juwra.com/rac_rally_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: Jiří Sedláček (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); SG2012 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Mr.choppers (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0); © 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); Calreyn88 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); © 1971markus (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); nakhon100 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Rutger van der Maar (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Clive Horsman (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Calreyn88 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Havard01 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0).