DO YOU KNOW THE BEST YEARS OF THE MOST IMPORTANT RALLY COMPETITION IN THE WORLD?
In the mid-1980s, the World Rally Championship was already a reality and had become a mass phenomenon. The various rounds of the championship had become an annual tradition that delighted the growing number of fans who followed these vehicles capable of racing at the limit on asphalt, dirt, gravel or snow...
In this way, Alpine-Renault had become the first champion of the competition in the hands of the incredible Jean-Luc Thérier, the Lancia Stratos had dominated thanks to drivers like Sandro Munari, and vehicles like the Fiat 131 Abarth showed their power rally after rally.
In 1985, where this second volume of the series begins, the Lancia Rally 037 was fighting with the all-powerful Audi Quattro, which with its revolutionary four-wheel drive had won the 1982 and 1984 constructors' and 1983 and 1984 drivers' world championships. But Peugeot was also making its appearance with a magnificent end to the 1984 season.
However, it would not be any of these brands that would mark an epoch between the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s. Throughout these pages, you will enjoy the rise and fall of one of the most brilliant vehicles of this competition, the Lancia Delta, and its exciting rivalry with the Toyota Celica, through legendary drivers such as Juha Kankkunen, Didier Auriol, Carlos Sainz or Miki Biasion. All this, without forgetting the omnipresence of Ford and the thrust of Mitsubishi and Subaru.
In this book you will be able to enjoy this part of the history of the World Rally Championship, in a race-by-race format so that you can relive the evolution of the competition through its main protagonists.
In this book you will find:
- Peugeot's first successes in the championship with the Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 of Timo Salonen and Juha Kankkunen.
- The fateful 1985 Corsica rally in which Attilio Bettega lost his life.
- The 1986 Portugal disaster and the massive accident of Joaquim Santos among the fans.
- The rise of one of the most dominant vehicles of the competition, the Lancia Delta
- Henri Toivonen's fatal accident in Corsica in 1986 and the debate over the safety of Group B cars that ended with the end of one of the most legendary categories
- Peugeot's controversial disqualification at the 1986 San Remo Rally and its drastic effect on the drivers' championship
- Miki Biasion's glory beyond his two world championships
- The rivalry between the Lancia Delta and the Toyota Celica, as represented through the successful Kankkunen and Carlos Sainz.
- The disaster and retirement of the Lancia Delta to mark an era in the world championship
- The attempt of the Ford Escort RS Cosworth to join the fight for the title through François Delecour and Biasion.
- The timid breakthrough and occasional successes of Kenneth Eriksson's Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 and Colin McRae's Subaru Legacy RS, giving rise to the subsequent Japanese ague in the competition.
All this and much more in a journey through a wonderful stage of the World Rally Championship through each of its events. Ready to relive each of its rallies again?