Monte Carlo Rally 1986
Round 1 of the 1986 World Rally Championship · 18–24 January 1986
Henri 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.
Episode 6 — Lancia Delta S4 & Henri Toivonen
The Monte Carlo Rally 1986 features in this episode of our documentary series.
At a glance
The podium
Photo: Calreyn88 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: MrWalkr via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: MrWalkr via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0Car photos are representative pictures of the model, not of this event.
Route and surface
Almost 900 km of Alpine stages on tarmac, snow and ice.
Key entries
The leading seeded crews (start numbers 1–8):
- #1 Timo Salonen / Seppo Harjanne — Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 (Peugeot Talbot Sport)
- #2 Walter Röhrl / Christian Geistdörfer — Audi Sport Quattro S1 (Audi Sport)
- #3 Markku Alén / Ilkka Kivimäki — Lancia Delta S4 (Martini Lancia)
- #4 Juha Kankkunen / Juha Piironen — Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 (Peugeot Talbot Sport)
- #5 Tony Pond / Rob Arthur — MG Metro 6R4 (Austin Rover World Championship Team)
- #6 Hannu Mikkola / Arne Hertz — Audi Sport Quattro S1 (Audi Sport)
- #7 Henri Toivonen / Sergio Cresto — Lancia Delta S4 (Martini Lancia)
- #8 Bruno Saby / Jean-François Fauchille — Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 (Peugeot Talbot Sport)
Henri 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.
How the rally unfolded
Toivonen led from stage 2 to stage 22. He then lost time after his Delta S4 was hit by a non-competing car on a road section, and Timo Salonen took the lead in the 205 T16 E2. Toivonen fought back, won 13 stages in total and retook the lead on stage 28. He won by 4 minutes 4 seconds from Salonen, with the two Audi S1s of Mikkola and Röhrl third and fourth.
Markku Alén’s Delta S4 broke a camshaft on stage 16. Tony Pond withdrew his Metro 6R4 after a road accident, and Malcolm Wilson’s Metro retired with transmission failure. Michèle Mouton, now driving a 205 T16 for Peugeot’s German importer, retired with low oil pressure.
The decisive moment
Toivonen’s recovery after the road-section collision: he retook the lead on stage 28 and pulled away. Lancia started 1986 as the team to beat.
Result — top 10
| Pos. | No. | Crew | Car | Entrant | Gp. | Time / gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Henri Toivonen / Sergio Cresto | Lancia Delta S4 | Martini Lancia | B | 10:11:24 |
| 2 | 1 | Timo Salonen / Seppo Harjanne | Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 | Peugeot Talbot Sport | B | +4:04 |
| 3 | 6 | Hannu Mikkola / Arne Hertz | Audi Sport Quattro S1 | Audi Sport | B | +7:22 |
| 4 | 2 | Walter Röhrl / Christian Geistdörfer | Audi Sport Quattro S1 | Audi Sport | B | +9:35 |
| 5 | 4 | Juha Kankkunen / Juha Piironen | Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 | Peugeot Talbot Sport | B | +28:23 |
| 6 | 8 | Bruno Saby / Jean-François Fauchille | Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 | Peugeot Talbot Sport | B | +34:30 |
| 7 | 12 | Salvador Servia / Jorge Sabater | Lancia Rally 037 | RACC Bendiberica | B | +47:08 |
| 8 | 25 | Alain Oreille / Sylvie Oreille | Renault 11 Turbo | Alain Oreille | A | +1:12:23 |
| 9 | 22 | Kenneth Eriksson / Peter Diekmann | Volkswagen Golf GTI | Volkswagen Motorsport | A | +1:15:32 |
| 10 | 20 | Franz Wittmann / Matthias Feltz | Volkswagen Golf GTI | Volkswagen Motorsport | A | +1:20:44 |
Retirements of note
- #3 Markku Alén / Ilkka Kivimäki (Lancia Delta S4) — camshaft, stage 16
- #5 Tony Pond / Rob Arthur (MG Metro 6R4) — withdrew (road accident), after stage 6
- #10 Michèle Mouton / Terry Harryman (Peugeot 205 Turbo 16) — oil pressure, stage 14
- #11 Malcolm Wilson / Nigel Harris (MG Metro 6R4) — transmission, stage 12
- #14 Ingvar Carlsson / Jan-Olof Bohlin (Mazda Familia 4WD) — gearbox, stage 19
The collision with a non-competing car on a road section is widely reported in period coverage but is not described in the Wikipedia articles we used; Jonkka’s World Rally Archive records only the lead changes (Salonen led stages 23–27). Treat the details as 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
- 1986 season overview
- All 1986 rallies
- Next round: Swedish Rally 1986
- Cars: Lancia Delta S4, Peugeot 205 T16, Audi Quattro
- Teams: Lancia Martini, Peugeot Talbot Sport, Audi Sport
- Iconic moments · Timeline · Statistics
All rounds of 1986
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.
Further resources
- Motor Sport (March 1986): Rally review EN · article · subscription
Contemporary report from Motor Sport magazine's March 1986 issue, written as the season unfolded. - WRC.com season archive 1986 EN · archive
Official summary of the 1986 season: calendar, winners and both championship tables. - Motor Sport: 'King B' — Henri Toivonen EN · article · subscription
John Davenport on Henri Toivonen and the cars that made and ended his career. - Wikipedia: Monte Carlo Rally EN · archive
History of the Monte Carlo Rally with its list of winners over the decades. - Automobile Club de Monaco (organiser of the Rallye Monte-Carlo) EN · event
Today's organiser of the Monte Carlo Rally, with information about the current event.
The same rally in other Group B years
Sources
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive (juwra.com), Monte Carlo Rally 1986: event page — https://www.juwra.com/monte_carlo_1986.html
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive, results — https://www.juwra.com/monte_carlo_1986_results.html
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive, entry list — https://www.juwra.com/monte_carlo_1986_entries.html
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive, stage winners and leaders — https://www.juwra.com/monte_carlo_1986_stage_winners.html
- Wikipedia (EN), 1986 World Rally Championship — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1986_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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