Rally Argentina 1983

Audi took the first four places in Argentina, with Mikkola heading Blomqvist, Mouton and Shekhar Mehta.

Round 8
of 12 in 1983
Mikkola
winner
18
special stages
27/94
finishers/starters
Grouve Sport documentary

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

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

At a glance

Round8 of 12 — 1983 World Rally Championship
Dates2–6 August 1983
BaseSan Carlos de Bariloche, Patagonia
CountryArgentina
SurfaceGravel
Competitive distance18 special stages, 1,253.96 km
Starters / finishers94 / 27
Counted forDrivers’ and manufacturers’ championships
WinnerHannu Mikkola / Arne Hertz — Audi Quattro A2
Most stage winsBlomqvist 6, Mehta 4, Mouton 4, Mikkola 3
LeadersBlomqvist (stages 1–11); Mikkola (stages 12–18)

The podium

Audi Quattro A2Photo: Jiří Sedláček via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
2Stig BlomqvistBjörn CederbergAudi Quattro A2Audi Sport
Audi Quattro A2Photo: Jiří Sedláček via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
1Hannu MikkolaArne HertzAudi Quattro A2Audi Sport
Audi Quattro A2Photo: Jiří Sedláček via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
3Michèle MoutonFabrizia PonsAudi Quattro A2Audi Sport

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

Route and surface

A long rally on gravel roads in the lake district of northern Patagonia: only 18 special stages, but more than 1,250 km of them.

Key entries

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

Audi took the first four places in Argentina, with Mikkola heading Blomqvist, Mouton and Shekhar Mehta.

How the rally unfolded

Blomqvist led the first eleven stages; Mikkola took over on stage 12 and won by 2 minutes 34 seconds. Mouton was third, and Mehta — in a fourth works Quattro — finished fourth. Lancia sent two cars: Markku Alén was fifth, while Vudafieri crashed out.

Argentina had taken Brazil’s place on the calendar. The win strengthened Mikkola’s position at the top of the drivers’ standings.

The decisive moment

Mikkola’s move into the lead on stage 12 decided the rally; Audi’s top-four sweep was its strongest team result of the year.

Result — top 10

Pos. No. Crew Car Entrant Gp. Time / gap
1 2 Hannu Mikkola / Arne Hertz Audi Quattro A2 Audi Sport B 10:18:54
2 1 Stig Blomqvist / Björn Cederberg Audi Quattro A2 Audi Sport B +2:34
3 5 Michèle Mouton / Fabrizia Pons Audi Quattro A2 Audi Sport B +6:41
4 3 Shekhar Mehta / Yvonne Mehta Audi Quattro A2 Audi Sport B +21:08
5 7 Markku Alén / Ilkka Kivimäki Lancia Rally 037 Martini Racing B +31:18
6 18 Franz Wurz / Rudolf Stohl Audi 80 Quattro Eskimo A +1:50:43
7 22 Ernesto Soto / Mario Stillo Renault 18 Ernesto Soto A +2:21:54
8 10 Jorge Recalde / Jorge del Buono Renault 18 Jorge Recalde A +2:42:46
9 23 Carlos Celis / Ernesto Quiroz Renault 12 Carlos Celis A +3:32:12
10 58 Gerardo del Campo / Omar Carbonari Renault 12 Ruben del Campo A +4:35:31

Retirements of note

  • #4 Adartico Vudafieri / Maurizio Perissinot (Lancia Rally 037) — accident, stage 15
  • #8 Jorge Bescham / José García (Fiat 128) — unknown, leg 3
  • #9 Alejandro Moroni / Raúl Campana (Renault 18) — accident, stage 16
  • #11 Gabriel Raies / Bizzochi (Renault 12) — unknown, leg 4

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.

An Audi Quattro A2 of 1983, the type that won the Finnish Group B class.
An Audi Quattro A2 of 1983, the type that won the Finnish Group B class.Photo: sv1ambo via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
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

1984Rally Argentina 1984Audi one-two-three in Argentina: Blomqvist, Mikkola and local hero Jorge Recalde.Read more →1985Rally Argentina 1985Ari Vatanen crashed heavily on stage 2 and was badly injured. Timo Salonen won, and former Formula One driver Carlos Reutemann finished third in a second Peugeot.Read more →1986Rally Argentina 1986Miki Biasion won his first world championship rally, leading from start to finish. Markku Alén was second, just 24 seconds behind.Read more →

Sources

  1. Jonkka's World Rally Archive (juwra.com), Rally Argentina 1983: event page — https://www.juwra.com/argentina_1983.html
  2. Jonkka's World Rally Archive, results — https://www.juwra.com/argentina_1983_results.html
  3. Jonkka's World Rally Archive, entry list — https://www.juwra.com/argentina_1983_entries.html
  4. Jonkka's World Rally Archive, stage winners and leaders — https://www.juwra.com/argentina_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); 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); nakhon100 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Rutger van der Maar (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); MrWalkr (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); MrWalkr (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).