Monte Carlo Rally 1985

Ari Vatanen won the Monte Carlo Rally despite an eight-minute penalty, the 205 T16’s fourth win in its last four starts.

Round 1
of 12 in 1985
Vatanen
winner
34
special stages
87/117
finishers/starters
Grouve Sport documentary

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

The Monte Carlo Rally 1985 features in this episode of our documentary series.

At a glance

Round1 of 12 — 1985 World Rally Championship
Dates26 January – 1 February 1985
BaseMonaco (concentration runs from several European cities)
CountryMonaco
SurfaceTarmac and snow
Competitive distance34 special stages, 851.70 km
Starters / finishers117 / 87
Counted forDrivers’ and manufacturers’ championships
WinnerAri Vatanen / Terry Harryman — Peugeot 205 Turbo 16
Most stage winsVatanen 21, Röhrl 5, Biasion 3, Toivonen 3
LeadersVatanen (stage 1); Röhrl (stages 2–8); Vatanen (stages 9–18); Röhrl (stages 19–26); Vatanen (stages 27–34)

The podium

Audi Sport QuattroPhoto: Calreyn88 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
2Walter RöhrlChristian GeistdörferAudi Sport QuattroAudi Sport
Peugeot 205 T16Photo: _morgado via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
1Ari VatanenTerry HarrymanPeugeot 205 T16Peugeot Talbot Sport
Peugeot 205 T16Photo: _morgado via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
3Timo SalonenSeppo HarjannePeugeot 205 T16Peugeot Talbot Sport

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

Route and surface

More than 850 km of stages on Alpine tarmac, much of it covered in snow and ice.

Key entries

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

Ari Vatanen won the Monte Carlo Rally despite an eight-minute penalty, the 205 T16’s fourth win in its last four starts.

How the rally unfolded

Vatanen and Röhrl swapped the lead several times. Vatanen and Terry Harryman were given an eight-minute penalty after a mistake at a time control, which dropped them behind the Audi. Vatanen fought back, winning 21 of the 34 stages, and retook the lead on stage 27. He finished 5 minutes 17 seconds ahead of Röhrl’s Sport Quattro.

Timo Salonen made it two 205 T16s on the podium, and Bruno Saby was fifth in a third. Lancia’s 037s were outclassed: Henri Toivonen was sixth and Miki Biasion ninth.

The decisive moment

Vatanen’s recovery after the penalty is one of the great drives of the Group B era. He retook the lead on stage 27 and pulled away.

Result — top 10

Pos. No. Crew Car Entrant Gp. Time / gap
1 2 Ari Vatanen / Terry Harryman Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 Peugeot Talbot Sport B 10:20:49
2 3 Walter Röhrl / Christian Geistdörfer Audi Sport Quattro Audi Sport B +5:17
3 6 Timo Salonen / Seppo Harjanne Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 Peugeot Talbot Sport B +10:05
4 1 Stig Blomqvist / Björn Cederberg Audi Sport Quattro Audi Sport B +19:22
5 8 Bruno Saby / Jean-François Fauchille Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 Peugeot Talbot Sport B +19:56
6 4 Henri Toivonen / Juha Piironen Lancia Rally 037 Evo Martini Racing B +22:27
7 10 Dany Snobeck / Jean-Pierre Bechu Renault 5 Turbo Dany Snobeck B +48:16
8 7 Jean-Claude Andruet / Annick Peuvergne Citroën Visa Citroën Competitions B +52:23
9 5 Miki Biasion / Tiziano Siviero Lancia Rally 037 Evo Jolly Club B +53:02
10 21 Maurice Chomat / Didier Breton Citroën Visa Citroën Competitions B +59:11

Retirements of note

  • #12 Alain Beauchef / Jean-René Dubois (Ford Escort RS) — engine, stage 23
  • #14 Philippe Wambergue / Bernard Martin-Dondoz (Citroën Visa) — accident, stage 22

The eight-minute penalty is attributed to a co-driver error at a time control in Wikipedia’s 1985 season article; Jonkka’s World Rally Archive lists only the final result. The exact circumstances are a secondary-source account.

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 1985

Round 1Monte Carlo RallyAri Vatanen · Peugeot 205 T16Round 2Swedish RallyAri Vatanen · Peugeot 205 T16Round 3Rally de PortugalTimo Salonen · Peugeot 205 T16Round 4Safari Rally (Kenya)Juha Kankkunen · Toyota Celica TCTRound 5Tour de CorseJean Ragnotti · Renault R5 Maxi TurboRound 6Acropolis Rally (Greece)Timo Salonen · Peugeot 205 T16Round 7Rally New ZealandTimo Salonen · Peugeot 205 T16 E2Round 8Rally ArgentinaTimo Salonen · Peugeot 205 T16 E2Round 91000 Lakes Rally (Finland)Timo Salonen · Peugeot 205 T16 E2Round 10Rallye SanremoWalter Röhrl · Audi Sport Quattro S1Round 11Ivory Coast RallyJuha Kankkunen · Toyota Celica TCTRound 12RAC Rally (Great Britain)Henri Toivonen · Lancia Delta S4

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.

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
1985 Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 in the Prince of Monaco's car collection
1985 Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 in the Prince of Monaco's car collectionPhoto: MrWalkr via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 at the Rally de Galicia Histórico 2012
Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 at the Rally de Galicia Histórico 2012Photo: Jorjum via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Two opposites from the final Group B year: the MG Metro 6R4 with its naturally aspirated V6, and the turbocharged Peugeot 205 T16.
Two opposites from the final Group B year: the MG Metro 6R4 with its naturally aspirated V6, and the turbocharged Peugeot 205 T16.Photo: Andrew Basterfield via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 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 →1983Monte Carlo Rally 1983Walter Röhrl and Christian Geistdörfer won their third Monte Carlo Rally and led a Lancia one-two, the Rally 037's first world championship win.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 →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 1985: event page — https://www.juwra.com/monte_carlo_1985.html
  2. Jonkka's World Rally Archive, results — https://www.juwra.com/monte_carlo_1985_results.html
  3. Jonkka's World Rally Archive, entry list — https://www.juwra.com/monte_carlo_1985_entries.html
  4. Jonkka's World Rally Archive, stage winners and leaders — https://www.juwra.com/monte_carlo_1985_stage_winners.html
  5. 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.

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Thumbnail photos on this page: Calreyn88 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); _morgado (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); _morgado (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); _morgado (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Rikita (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0); Thesupermat (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Mr.choppers (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0); Michael Barera (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); MrWalkr (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Calreyn88 (Wikimedia Commons, CC0); Rally Paradise (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0); Rutger van der Maar (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Calreyn88 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Nicky Clarke (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Mr.choppers (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0); Marlis Decker (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0); Brian Snelson (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0).