Rally Argentina 1986
Round 8 of the 1986 World Rally Championship · 6–9 August 1986
Miki Biasion won his first world championship rally, leading from start to finish. Markku Alén was second, just 24 seconds behind.
Episode 9 — 1986: Portugal, Corsica and the End of Group B
The Rally Argentina 1986 features in this episode of our documentary series.
At a glance
The podium
Photo: MrWalkr via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0Photo: MrWalkr via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Calreyn88 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0Car photos are representative pictures of the model, not of this event.
Route and surface
Gravel and rock in the Córdoba hills.
Key entries
The leading seeded crews (start numbers 1–8):
- #1 Juha Kankkunen / Juha Piironen — Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 (Peugeot Talbot Sport)
- #2 Stig Blomqvist / Bruno Berglund — Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 (Peugeot Talbot Sport)
- #3 Markku Alén / Ilkka Kivimäki — Lancia Delta S4 (Martini Lancia)
- #4 Bruno Saby / Jean-François Fauchille — Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 (Peugeot Talbot Sport)
- #5 Miki Biasion / Tiziano Siviero — Lancia Delta S4 (Martini Lancia)
- #6 Jorge Recalde / Jorge del Buono — Lancia Delta S4 (Martini Lancia)
- #7 Basil Criticos / Surinder Thatthi — Opel Manta 400 (Basil Criticos)
- #8 Ernesto Soto / Martin Christie — Renault 18 (Ernesto Soto)
Miki Biasion won his first world championship rally, leading from start to finish. Markku Alén was second, just 24 seconds behind.
How the rally unfolded
Biasion and Tiziano Siviero led all 27 stages, although Alén won nine stages and Jorge Recalde eight. Stig Blomqvist, driving a third 205 T16 for Peugeot on this event, was third.
Kankkunen’s suspension broke on stage 16, and Saby’s engine failed. It was a Lancia one-two and a strong result in the title fight.
The decisive moment
Biasion led every stage and held off Alén’s late charge by 24 seconds.
Result — top 10
| Pos. | No. | Crew | Car | Entrant | Gp. | Time / gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Miki Biasion / Tiziano Siviero | Lancia Delta S4 | Martini Lancia | B | 6:36:26 |
| 2 | 3 | Markku Alén / Ilkka Kivimäki | Lancia Delta S4 | Martini Lancia | B | +0:24 |
| 3 | 2 | Stig Blomqvist / Bruno Berglund | Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 | Peugeot Talbot Sport | B | +4:16 |
| 4 | 6 | Jorge Recalde / Jorge del Buono | Lancia Delta S4 | Martini Lancia | B | +5:07 |
| 5 | 10 | Kenneth Eriksson / Peter Diekmann | Volkswagen Golf GTI | Volkswagen Motorsport | A | +45:51 |
| 6 | 26 | Rudolf Stohl / Reinhard Kaufmann | Audi Coupé | Rudolf Stohl | A | +53:39 |
| 7 | 9 | Franz Wittmann / Matthias Feltz | Volkswagen Golf GTI | Volkswagen Motorsport | A | +1:00:04 |
| 8 | 12 | José Celsi / Elvio Gutiérrez | Subaru RX Turbo | Jose Celsi | A | +1:12:18 |
| 9 | 8 | Ernesto Soto / Martin Christie | Renault 18 | Ernesto Soto | A | +1:15:17 |
| 10 | 7 | Basil Criticos / Surinder Thatthi | Opel Manta 400 | Basil Criticos | B | +1:26:18 |
Retirements of note
- #1 Juha Kankkunen / Juha Piironen (Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2) — suspension, stage 16
- #4 Bruno Saby / Jean-François Fauchille (Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2) — engine, stage 9
- #11 Mario Stillo / Fernando Stella (Renault 18) — gearbox, stage 14
- #14 Gabriel Raies / Raúl Campana (Renault 18) — gearbox, stage 14
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
- Previous round: Rally New Zealand 1986
- Next round: 1000 Lakes Rally 1986
- Cars: Lancia Delta S4, Peugeot 205 T16
- Teams: Lancia Martini, Peugeot Talbot 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 (September 1986): Rally review EN · article · subscription
Contemporary report from Motor Sport magazine's September 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. - Wikipedia: Rally Argentina EN · archive
History of the Rally Argentina with its list of winners over the decades.
The same rally in other Group B years
Sources
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive (juwra.com), Rally Argentina 1986: event page — https://www.juwra.com/argentina_1986.html
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive, results — https://www.juwra.com/argentina_1986_results.html
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive, entry list — https://www.juwra.com/argentina_1986_entries.html
- Jonkka's World Rally Archive, stage winners and leaders — https://www.juwra.com/argentina_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.
Follow Grouve Sport on YouTube — rally Shorts now, Group B documentaries soon.
SubscribeThumbnail photos on this page: Calreyn88 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Calreyn88 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Brian Snelson (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Calreyn88 (Wikimedia Commons, CC0); Thesupermat (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Brian Snelson (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Matthew Lamb (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0); Sicnag (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Rutger van der Maar (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Carlo Marzetti (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0); Havard01 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0); © 1971markus (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); sv1ambo (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); MrWalkr (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).