The History of the World Rally Championship: 1983

The year began with Audi still having the only homologated, turbocharged, four wheel drive rally car. Both championships were theirs for the taking. That it didn't happen was down to three factors; a lack of reliability, dry weather, and Walter Rohrl.

The year began as ever with the Monte Carlo rally. Audi had been working on their cars and Quattros lines up on the start line leaner and meaner than ever before. So effortless had been the Quattro's superiority that until now the Germans had done very little in the way of actual performance testing, instead just concentrating on learning how to keep their complicated machines working in challenging conditions.

Now they found extra speed wherever they'd looked. Simply ditching their loyalty to Kleber tires gained them 2 seconds a mile. The Lanica Rally had ruffled a few feathers with its performance at the end of the previous year, so the Germans were taking no chances.

Lancia meanwhile had spent the winter getting some reliability into the 037 Rally. Here we saw just what Group B actually meant. Every component of the car was specially built and so the 037, despite its flimsy plastic bodywork, was one of the most reliable rally cars ever.

Who would have the upper hand on the first round depended on the weather. if it snowed Audi would walk the event and the Italians may as well call it a day there and then. But it didn't. The elements favoured the southern Europeans and with Lancia trying every trick in the book and a few that weren't, such as mid-stage tire changes (immediately outlawed by the authorities) they brought their two wheel drive racers home first and second, with Rohrl claiming his third Monte crown.


But the Audis didn't do that badly. Although they couldn't keep up with the Lancias they went faster than any Quattro has ever gone before on tarmac and easily held off the Opels, which didn't suit Lancia at all. The fastest Quattro man of all though was Blomqvist again, a portent for the future.

Lancia skipped Sweden, which let Mikkola take the honours in the snow. In Portugal though they put in an all out effort - and learnt just how hard it would be to beat the Germans.

The opening stages of the rally are always run on tarmac, usually between walls of over excited and seemingly suicidal spectators. Lancia, rallying's master tacticians, planned to use them to get their cars in front where they would benefit form dust free roads that would counter the Quattro's superior gravel performance.


The first half of the plan almost worked, and even though some stages were cancelled the Lancias started the gravel stages with a comfortable lead, but in the end it did them no good at all. The Quattro Blomqvist gobbled up the gap in just three stages and the rally ended with an Audi one-two, although it was Mikkola and Mouton as Blomqvist's car had died en route.

Lancia didn't go to the Safari but Audi did, hoping to use the experience they gained in the Ivory Coast the previous year. Their cars had a variety of adventures and eventually finished second and third behind Vatanen's Opel Ascona, the Finn showing the first signs of the African form that would eventually take him to victory in the Paris-Dakar.

Next was Corsica, the only full tarmac round of the year. Now it was Audi's turn to be the underdogs, but they didn't seem phased. A new Quattro was unveiled, with a slightly smaller engine so they could exploit the minimum weight rules and the result was dramatic. For the first time we saw a Quattro go well on tarmac.

In the end Mikkola crashed and Mouton went up in flames, but they were beaten long before they retired. The Lancias on tarmac were like nothing we'd seen before. In the end they took the first four places with the Bruno Saby's Renault 5 Turbo more than 40 minutes behind. The big surprise though was which Lancia actually won.

At the start of the season, Lancia team boss Cesare Fiorio had said it was pointless sending a driver like Alen to Corsica. Finns only go well on gravel, as everyone knew. In the end though it was 'Mr. Maximum Attack' who took the podium ahead of that man Rohrl, in a victory that showed what a truly all-round driver he was.


Lancia were on a high, but they knew it wouldn't last. The next four rallies were all gravel. Audi should have clinched it that summer, they really should. True, in Argentina they too managed their own one-two-three-four, hardly surprising in a rally which included some of the fastest stages ever in World Rallying, stages in which the Quattro's average speed was higher than the Lancia's top speed, and true in Finland Alen could only manage third on a rally that used to be his own.


But in Greece and New Zealand it all went wrong. In each case the rally entered it's last night with a single Quattro leading from Rohrl's hard charging Lancia. On the Acropolis Mikkola's boot lid came loose, severing a pipe to the oil cooler that was mounted on it. In New Zealand Mouton's con rod failed. The result was Rohrl won two unexpected victories.

What was it about Rohrl? Was he just lucky? Or was it that he put the opposition under so much pressure that they make mistakes?

This left just two rounds to go. Lancia had 110 points and Audi 98. A victory was worth 18 points, but as only the best 7 scores counted Lancia would have to start dropping scores. If Lancia won the next round they would only gain 8 points whilst if Audi came second they would score 16, putting them only 4 points behind going into the final round.

As the last rally was to be held in wet British forests Lancia had no illusions about their chances. The series had to be made safe in the next rally, the Sanremo.

You couldn't have designed a rally better suited to bring two such mismatched cars as the Quattro and the 037 together. 55% gravel and 45% asphalt it would be a close contest.


Lancia though had home advantage, and they made the most of it. Not only did they wheel out their three regular drivers in their Martini sponsored cars; Rohrl, Alen and Bettega, but they also entered the junior team of European Champion Miki Biassion and former European Champion Adartico Vudafieri in their Jolly Club 037s. They also offered as much support as they could to the various private Lancia drivers that entered. The aim was not just to win, but to take as many of the top places as possible to stop Audi scoring.

Lancia stormed ahead on the opening tarmac stages, 2 seconds a mile fatser than the Audis and a second a mile faster than the Opel Mantas. The rally then hit the gravel. The Lancias has been reseeded first on the road meaning they had less dust to deal with, but they still expected the Audis to overhaul them. However their calculations were that even if they were two and a half minutes behind when the final tarmac stages began, they could still win.

The plan worked like clockwork. The top Audi started the gravel stages twelfth on the road. Mouton fought her way up to second, only to drop back again with problems. Then Blomqvist had a crack, but as the gravel ended he was still behind Alen, whose main challenger had been Bjorn Waldegard in a Ferrari 308. Only in Italy would they rally a Ferrari on gravel.

The Lancias then changed to slicks for the final stages and Audi's world fell apart. Not only were they beaten by all three Martini Lancias and Biassion, but by the two Rothmans Opel Mantas as well.

Lancia had won the rally and the championship, and fittingly it was Markku Alen taking the laurels in his adopted country. The Drivers crown was still up for grabs, but despite Alen's pleas and threats to steal a car if necessary, Turin decided that they'd spent enough Lira and conceded the title to Audi.

Audi went to the Ivory Coast but again Mikkola could only manage second in Afria.

The winner was his old rival Waldegard in Toyota Celica Twincam Turbo, the first of a string of African victories for this car.


Audi wrapped up a one-two on the RAC. Mikkola was gifted the drivers crown when Alen failed to show up, but that was the end of his luck. On the Knowlsey 'Mickey Mouse' stage on the first day he hit a tree stump and knocked a wheel off. As a result he was once again denied a hat trick of RACs.


The rally was won by Stig Blomqvist, who was rapidly showing himself to be the top Quattro man. Having served an appreticeship in heavy, front wheel drive Saabs, Blomqvist was the one drive rwho could make a Quattro dance. Having been forced to play second fiddle to Mikkola and Mouton for two years he was not laying down the challenge. Next year he was determined to be number one.