Lancia in rallying
Encyclopedia
Lancia in rallying is the department of italian
carmaker Lancia
responsible for rallies
activities.
has been very successful in motorsport over the years, and mostly in the arena of rallying
. Prior to the forming of the World Rally Championship
, Lancia took the final International Championship for Manufacturers
title with the Fulvia
in 1972. In the WRC, they remain the most statistically successful marque (despite having withdrawn at the end of the 1993 season), winning constructors' titles with the Stratos
(1974, 1975 and 1976), the 037
(1983) and the Delta
(six consecutive wins from 1987
to 1992). The Delta is also the most successful individual model designation ever to compete in rallying. All this gave Lancia a total of 10 Championships over the years.
Juha Kankkunen
and Miki Biasion both won two drivers' titles with the Delta. Among other drivers to take several World Rally Championship wins with Lancia were Markku Alén
, Didier Auriol
, Sandro Munari
, Bernard Darniche
, Walter Röhrl
, Björn Waldegård
and Henri Toivonen
. The history of the brand in rallying is also tainted with tragedy, with deaths of Italian driver Attilio Bettega
at the 1985 Tour de Corse
in a Lancia 037
and then Finnish championship favourite Toivonen in a Lancia Delta S4
at the same rally exactly a year later. These deaths would eventually lead to the end of Group B
rallying.
, Martini's first rally challenge was taken up by usual stalwart Porsche. In 1978, Porsche made a return to the World Rally Championship
as a works team, running a 911 SC
for Björn Waldegård
and Vic Preston Jr. in the Safari Rally
. The project did not continue past this one-off entry, where Preston was 2nd and Waldegård 4th.
In 1982
, just as they had done one year previously with sports cars, Martini Racing signed with the works Lancia team, sponsoring the brand new Group B
Lancia 037
, with Attilio Bettega
and Markku Alen
as drivers. The Lancia Martini partnership in the World Rally Championship was one of the company's longest, remaining until the end of the 1992 season, with several cars, including the Group B Delta S4
and Group A
Delta Integrale
winning events and titles with drivers such as Juha Kankkunen
, Bruno Saby
, Massimo Biasion
and Didier Auriol
. The Martini Lancia cars won the WRC Drivers' title in 1987
and 1991
with Kankkunen, and 1988
and 1989
with Biasion, as well as the Constructors' title with the 037 in 1983, and consecutively with the Group A Delta from 1987 to 1992.
In the following years, Martini returned with a smaller sponsorship program, restricted to the Italian Rally Championship, which the Martini Racing driver, Gianfranco Cunico, won from 1994 to 1996 with a Jolly Club
Ford Escort Cosworth. Martini returned to the WRC full-time for the 1999 season onwards with Ford Motor Company
's M-Sport
-run World Rally Team
. With drivers such as Carlos Sainz
, Colin McRae
and Markko Märtin
, the Martini-liveried Fords won several rallies, but never the title. This arrangement ceased at the end of 2002.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
carmaker Lancia
Lancia
Lancia Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian automobile manufacturer founded in 1906 by Vincenzo Lancia and which became part of the Fiat Group in 1969. The company has a long history of producing distinctive cars and also has a strong rally heritage. Some modern Lancias are seen as presenting a more...
responsible for rallies
Rally
Rally refers to a gathering, as in:* Political rally, a demonstration, march, or parade* Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting eventRally as a sports term can also refer to:* Rallying, a category of motorsport...
activities.
History
LanciaLancia
Lancia Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian automobile manufacturer founded in 1906 by Vincenzo Lancia and which became part of the Fiat Group in 1969. The company has a long history of producing distinctive cars and also has a strong rally heritage. Some modern Lancias are seen as presenting a more...
has been very successful in motorsport over the years, and mostly in the arena of rallying
Rallying
Rallying, also known as rally racing, is a form of auto racing that takes place on public or private roads with modified production or specially built road-legal cars...
. Prior to the forming of the World Rally Championship
World Rally Championship
The World Rally Championship is a rallying series organised by the FIA, culminating with a champion driver and manufacturer. The driver's world championship and manufacturer's world championship are separate championships, but based on the same point system. The series currently consists of 13...
, Lancia took the final International Championship for Manufacturers
International Championship for Manufacturers
The FIA International Championship for Manufacturers was a rally series culminating in a champion manufacturer. The championship was run from 1970 to 1972 and it was replaced by the FIA World Rally Championship in 1973...
title with the Fulvia
Lancia Fulvia
The Lancia Fulvia is an Italian car introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in 1963 by Lancia. It was produced by that company through 1976. Fulvias are notable for their role in automobile racing history, including winning the International Rally Championship in 1972...
in 1972. In the WRC, they remain the most statistically successful marque (despite having withdrawn at the end of the 1993 season), winning constructors' titles with the Stratos
Lancia Stratos
The Lancia Stratos HF, widely and more simply known as Lancia Stratos, is a car made by Italian car manufacturer Lancia. The HF stands for High Fidelity...
(1974, 1975 and 1976), the 037
Lancia 037
The Lancia Rally 037 was a mid-engine rally car built by Lancia in the early 1980s purely for the FIA Group B World Rally Championship. Driven by Markku Alén, Attilio Bettega, and Walter Röhrl, the car won Lancia the manufacturers' world championship in the 1983 season...
(1983) and the Delta
Lancia Delta
The Lancia Delta is a small family car produced by Italian automaker Lancia with the first generation being produced between 1979 and 1994, the second generation running from 1993 until 1999, and the third generation Delta entering production in 2008. It was first shown inFrankfurt Motor Show in 1979...
(six consecutive wins from 1987
1987 World Rally Championship season
The 1987 World Rally Championship season was the 15th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile World Rally Championship . The season consisted of 13 rallies in the same venues of the previous season...
to 1992). The Delta is also the most successful individual model designation ever to compete in rallying. All this gave Lancia a total of 10 Championships over the years.
Juha Kankkunen
Juha Kankkunen
Juha Matti Pellervo Kankkunen is a Finnish former rally driver. His factory team career in the World Rally Championship lasted from 1983 to 2002. He won 23 world rallies and four drivers' world championship titles, which were both once records in the series...
and Miki Biasion both won two drivers' titles with the Delta. Among other drivers to take several World Rally Championship wins with Lancia were Markku Alén
Markku Alén
Markku Allan Alén is a Finnish former rally and race car driver. He drove for Fiat, Lancia, Subaru and Toyota in the World Rally Championship, and held the record for most stage wins in the series until 2011...
, Didier Auriol
Didier Auriol
Didier Auriol is a French rally driver.Born in Montpellier, and initially an ambulance driver, Auriol made his name as a French rally driver in the World Rally Championship throughout the 1990s. He became World Rally Champion in 1994, the first from his country to do so...
, Sandro Munari
Sandro Munari
Sandro Munari is a former motor racing and rally driver from Italy.-Career:Born at Cavarzere, Veneto, Sandro Munari began rallying in 1965 and won the Italian Rally Championship in 1967 and 1969, adding the European Rally Championship title in 1973. In 1972 he won the Targa Florio sports car...
, Bernard Darniche
Bernard Darniche
Bernard Darniche is a French former rally driver. He won the European Rally Championship in 1976 and 1977 and the French Rally Championship in 1976 and 1978, each time behind the wheel of a Lancia Stratos...
, Walter Röhrl
Walter Röhrl
Walter Röhrl is a German rally and auto racing driver, with victories for Fiat, Opel, Lancia and Audi as well as Porsche, Ford and BMW.-Career:...
, Björn Waldegård
Björn Waldegård
Björn Waldegård from Rimbo is a former Swedish rally driver, and the winner of the inaugural World Rally Championship for drivers in 1979...
and Henri Toivonen
Henri Toivonen
Henri Pauli Toivonen was a Finnish rally driver born in Jyväskylä, the home of Rally Finland. His father, Pauli Toivonen, was the 1968 European Rally Champion for Porsche and his brother, Harri Toivonen, became a professional circuit racer.Toivonen's first World Rally Championship victory came...
. The history of the brand in rallying is also tainted with tragedy, with deaths of Italian driver Attilio Bettega
Attilio Bettega
Attilio Bettega was an Italian rally driver.Bettega was born in Molveno, Trentino. In 1982, he joined the Lancia squad driving the Lancia 037 after some years with Fiat. In his Lancia years he gained four podium finishes in rallies counting towards the World Rally Championship...
at the 1985 Tour de Corse
Tour de Corse
The Tour de Corse - Rallye de France is a rally first held in 1956 on the island of Corsica. It was part of the World Rally Championship from the inaugural 1973 season to 2008. The name "Tour de Corse" refers to the fact that in the early days it was run around the island; nowadays it only features...
in a Lancia 037
Lancia 037
The Lancia Rally 037 was a mid-engine rally car built by Lancia in the early 1980s purely for the FIA Group B World Rally Championship. Driven by Markku Alén, Attilio Bettega, and Walter Röhrl, the car won Lancia the manufacturers' world championship in the 1983 season...
and then Finnish championship favourite Toivonen in a Lancia Delta S4
Lancia Delta S4
The Lancia Delta S4 is a Group B rally car that competed in the World Rally Championship in 1985 and 1986, until Group B cars were banned from competition by the FIA. The car replaced and was an evolution of the Lancia 037 Monte Carlo. The S4 took full advantage of the Group B regulations, and...
at the same rally exactly a year later. These deaths would eventually lead to the end of Group B
Group B
Group B was a set of regulations introduced in 1982 for competition vehicles in sportscar racing and rallying regulated by the FIA. The Group B regulations fostered some of the quickest, most powerful and sophisticated rally cars ever built. However, a series of major accidents, some fatal, were...
rallying.
Martini Racing
The official name of Team Lancia in rallying was Martini RacingMartini Racing
Martini Racing is the name under which various motor racing teams raced when sponsored by the Martini & Rossi distillery that produces Martini vermouth. Martini's sponsorship program began in 1968...
, Martini's first rally challenge was taken up by usual stalwart Porsche. In 1978, Porsche made a return to the World Rally Championship
World Rally Championship
The World Rally Championship is a rallying series organised by the FIA, culminating with a champion driver and manufacturer. The driver's world championship and manufacturer's world championship are separate championships, but based on the same point system. The series currently consists of 13...
as a works team, running a 911 SC
Porsche 911
The Porsche 911 is a luxury 2-door sports coupe made by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. It has a distinctive design, rear-engined and with independent rear suspension, an evolution of the swing axle on the Porsche 356. The engine was also air-cooled until the introduction of the Type 996 in 1998...
for Björn Waldegård
Björn Waldegård
Björn Waldegård from Rimbo is a former Swedish rally driver, and the winner of the inaugural World Rally Championship for drivers in 1979...
and Vic Preston Jr. in the Safari Rally
Safari Rally
The Safari Rally is considered by many to be the world's toughest rally. It was first held from 27 May to 1 June 1953 as the East African Coronation Safari in Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika, as a celebration of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II...
. The project did not continue past this one-off entry, where Preston was 2nd and Waldegård 4th.
In 1982
1982 World Rally Championship season
The 1982 World Rally Championship season was the tenth season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile World Rally Championship . The season consisted of 12 rallies. By this time, the schedule format had become generally stable, with only one or two changes to venues year to year...
, just as they had done one year previously with sports cars, Martini Racing signed with the works Lancia team, sponsoring the brand new Group B
Group B
Group B was a set of regulations introduced in 1982 for competition vehicles in sportscar racing and rallying regulated by the FIA. The Group B regulations fostered some of the quickest, most powerful and sophisticated rally cars ever built. However, a series of major accidents, some fatal, were...
Lancia 037
Lancia 037
The Lancia Rally 037 was a mid-engine rally car built by Lancia in the early 1980s purely for the FIA Group B World Rally Championship. Driven by Markku Alén, Attilio Bettega, and Walter Röhrl, the car won Lancia the manufacturers' world championship in the 1983 season...
, with Attilio Bettega
Attilio Bettega
Attilio Bettega was an Italian rally driver.Bettega was born in Molveno, Trentino. In 1982, he joined the Lancia squad driving the Lancia 037 after some years with Fiat. In his Lancia years he gained four podium finishes in rallies counting towards the World Rally Championship...
and Markku Alen
Markku Alén
Markku Allan Alén is a Finnish former rally and race car driver. He drove for Fiat, Lancia, Subaru and Toyota in the World Rally Championship, and held the record for most stage wins in the series until 2011...
as drivers. The Lancia Martini partnership in the World Rally Championship was one of the company's longest, remaining until the end of the 1992 season, with several cars, including the Group B Delta S4
Lancia Delta S4
The Lancia Delta S4 is a Group B rally car that competed in the World Rally Championship in 1985 and 1986, until Group B cars were banned from competition by the FIA. The car replaced and was an evolution of the Lancia 037 Monte Carlo. The S4 took full advantage of the Group B regulations, and...
and Group A
Group A
In relation to motorsport governed by the FIA, Group A referred to a set of regulations providing production-derived vehicles for outright competition. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, the Group A referred to production-derived vehicles limited in terms of power, weight, allowed...
Delta Integrale
Lancia Delta Group A
The Lancia Delta Group A is a Group A rally car built for the Martini Lancia by Lancia to compete in the World Rally Championship. It is based upon the Lancia Delta road car and replaced the Lancia Delta S4...
winning events and titles with drivers such as Juha Kankkunen
Juha Kankkunen
Juha Matti Pellervo Kankkunen is a Finnish former rally driver. His factory team career in the World Rally Championship lasted from 1983 to 2002. He won 23 world rallies and four drivers' world championship titles, which were both once records in the series...
, Bruno Saby
Bruno Saby
Bruno Saby is a rally driver from France.In 1981, Saby became French Rally Champion in a Renault 5 Turbo. He drove for the works teams of Renault, Peugeot, Volkswagen and Lancia during his career in the World Rally Championship...
, Massimo Biasion
Massimo Biasion
Massimo 'Miki' Biasion is an Italian rally driver, two times world rally champion.-Career:Born at Bassano del Grappa, Biasion came to prominence in the early 1980s, winning both the Italian and European Rally Championships in 1983, driving a Lancia 037...
and Didier Auriol
Didier Auriol
Didier Auriol is a French rally driver.Born in Montpellier, and initially an ambulance driver, Auriol made his name as a French rally driver in the World Rally Championship throughout the 1990s. He became World Rally Champion in 1994, the first from his country to do so...
. The Martini Lancia cars won the WRC Drivers' title in 1987
1987 World Rally Championship season
The 1987 World Rally Championship season was the 15th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile World Rally Championship . The season consisted of 13 rallies in the same venues of the previous season...
and 1991
1991 World Rally Championship season
The 1991 World Rally Championship season was the 19th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile World Rally Championship . The season consisted of 14 rallies. The drivers' world championship was won by Juha Kankkunen in a Lancia Delta Integrale 16V, ahead of Carlos Sainz and Didier...
with Kankkunen, and 1988
1988 World Rally Championship season
The 1988 World Rally Championship season was the 16th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile World Rally Championship...
and 1989
1989 World Rally Championship season
The 1989 World Rally Championship season was the 17th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile World Rally Championship . The season consisted of 13 rallies, with some adjustments to the schedule versus the previous season...
with Biasion, as well as the Constructors' title with the 037 in 1983, and consecutively with the Group A Delta from 1987 to 1992.
In the following years, Martini returned with a smaller sponsorship program, restricted to the Italian Rally Championship, which the Martini Racing driver, Gianfranco Cunico, won from 1994 to 1996 with a Jolly Club
Jolly Club
Jolly Club was a Italian racing team, which competed in the World Rally Championship and Formula 1, it was mainly connected to brands like Lancia and Alfa Romeo. It was created in 1957 in Milan by idea of Mario Angiolini, the team won several championships...
Ford Escort Cosworth. Martini returned to the WRC full-time for the 1999 season onwards with Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
's M-Sport
M-Sport
M-Sport is a large and successful motorsport team based in Cockermouth, Cumbria in England. Formed in 1979 by former WRC driver Malcolm Wilson, and originally known as Malcolm Wilson Motorsport, the team has had varying success running cars in several rally championships...
-run World Rally Team
BP Ford World Rally Team
The Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team, also known as the Ford Motor Co. Team prior to 2005, is Ford Motor Company's full factory World Rally Championship team. In its current form, it has been a competitor since the 1997 season, when Ford Motor Company's motorsport arm selected the Malcolm Wilson...
. With drivers such as Carlos Sainz
Carlos Sainz
Carlos Sainz Cenamor is a Spanish rally driver. He won the World Rally Championship drivers' title with Toyota in 1990 and 1992, and finished runner-up four times...
, Colin McRae
Colin McRae
Colin Steele McRae, MBE was a Scottish rally driver born in Lanark.The son of five-time British Rally Champion Jimmy McRae and brother of rally driver Alister McRae, Colin McRae was the 1991 and 1992 British Rally Champion and, in 1995, became the first British person and the youngest to win the...
and Markko Märtin
Markko Märtin
Markko Märtin is a rally driver from Estonia, who competed in the World Rally Championship from 2000 until 2005.-Career:...
, the Martini-liveried Fords won several rallies, but never the title. This arrangement ceased at the end of 2002.
Titles
- 11 World Rally Championship for Manufacturers as LanciaLanciaLancia Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian automobile manufacturer founded in 1906 by Vincenzo Lancia and which became part of the Fiat Group in 1969. The company has a long history of producing distinctive cars and also has a strong rally heritage. Some modern Lancias are seen as presenting a more...
(1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1983, 19871987 World Rally Championship seasonThe 1987 World Rally Championship season was the 15th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile World Rally Championship . The season consisted of 13 rallies in the same venues of the previous season...
, 19881988 World Rally Championship seasonThe 1988 World Rally Championship season was the 16th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile World Rally Championship...
, 19891989 World Rally Championship seasonThe 1989 World Rally Championship season was the 17th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile World Rally Championship . The season consisted of 13 rallies, with some adjustments to the schedule versus the previous season...
, 19901990 World Rally Championship seasonThe 1990 World Rally Championship season was the 18th season of the FIA World Rally Championship. The season consisted of 12 rallies. The drivers' world championship was won by Carlos Sainz in a Toyota Celica GT-Four, ahead of Didier Auriol and Juha Kankkunen...
, 19911991 World Rally Championship seasonThe 1991 World Rally Championship season was the 19th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile World Rally Championship . The season consisted of 14 rallies. The drivers' world championship was won by Juha Kankkunen in a Lancia Delta Integrale 16V, ahead of Carlos Sainz and Didier...
, 1992)
- 6 World Rally Championship for Drivers: Sandro MunariSandro MunariSandro Munari is a former motor racing and rally driver from Italy.-Career:Born at Cavarzere, Veneto, Sandro Munari began rallying in 1965 and won the Italian Rally Championship in 1967 and 1969, adding the European Rally Championship title in 1973. In 1972 he won the Targa Florio sports car...
in 1977, Markku AlenMarkku AlénMarkku Allan Alén is a Finnish former rally and race car driver. He drove for Fiat, Lancia, Subaru and Toyota in the World Rally Championship, and held the record for most stage wins in the series until 2011...
in 1978, Juha KankkunenJuha KankkunenJuha Matti Pellervo Kankkunen is a Finnish former rally driver. His factory team career in the World Rally Championship lasted from 1983 to 2002. He won 23 world rallies and four drivers' world championship titles, which were both once records in the series...
in 19871987 World Rally Championship seasonThe 1987 World Rally Championship season was the 15th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile World Rally Championship . The season consisted of 13 rallies in the same venues of the previous season...
and 19911991 World Rally Championship seasonThe 1991 World Rally Championship season was the 19th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile World Rally Championship . The season consisted of 14 rallies. The drivers' world championship was won by Juha Kankkunen in a Lancia Delta Integrale 16V, ahead of Carlos Sainz and Didier...
, Miki Biasion nel 19881988 World Rally Championship seasonThe 1988 World Rally Championship season was the 16th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile World Rally Championship...
and 19891989 World Rally Championship seasonThe 1989 World Rally Championship season was the 17th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile World Rally Championship . The season consisted of 13 rallies, with some adjustments to the schedule versus the previous season...