1988 Race of Champions

The 1988 Race of Champions was the inaugural event and was held on December 4 at the Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry near Paris, in memory of Henri Toivonen, who died while leading the 1986 Tour de Corse, and to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the world championship for rally drivers.[1] This first event was the only Race of Champions event to feature a more conventional single-car rally stage format.

Participants

The inaugural cast included all the eight world rally champions from 1979 to 1988.[2]

Driver Reason for Qualification
Sweden Björn Waldegård World Rally champion in 1979
Germany Walter Röhrl World Rally champion in 1980,1982
Finland Ari Vatanen World Rally champion in 1981
Finland Hannu Mikkola World Rally champion in 1983
Sweden Stig Blomqvist World Rally champion in 1984
Finland Timo Salonen World Rally champion in 1985
Finland Juha Kankkunen World Rally champion in 1986,1987
Italy Miki Biasion World Rally champion in 1988

Race of Champions

Prologue

All drivers used BMW M3 (E30)

First Qualification round
Cars

Ford Sierra RS Cosworth, plate D933 UOO (GBR), for Juha Kankkunen, Miki Biasion, Timo Salonen and Hannu Mikkola.

Ford Sierra RS Cosworth, plate D935 UOO (GBR), for Walter Röhrl, Stig Blomqvist*, Björn Waldegård and Ari Vatanen.

  • Note: Stig Blomqvist used this car in Rally of the 1000 Lakes 1987, Lombard RAC Rally 1987, 1000 Lakes Rally 1988, Rallye Sanremo - Rallye d'Italia 1988 and Lombard RAC Rally 1988.

Starting order on stage: Juha Kankkunen, Walter Röhrl, Miki Biasion, Stig Blomqvist, Timo Salonen, Björn Waldegård, Hannu Mikkola and Ari Vatanen.

Pos. Driver Time
1 Sweden Stig Blomqvist 2:15.99
2 Finland Timo Salonen 2:16.45
3 Finland Juha Kankkunen 2:17.07
4 Finland Ari Vatanen 2:17.61
5 Italy Miki Biasion 2:17.79
6 Germany Walter Röhrl 2:19.24
7 Sweden Björn Waldegård 2:21.04
8 Finland Hannu Mikkola 2:22.35

Second Qualification round
Cars

2 cars Opel Manta 400 with number plates OPEL MANTA.

Starting order on stage: Hannu Mikkola, Björn Waldegård, Walter Röhrl, Miki Biasion, Ari Vatanen, Juha Kankkunen, Timo Salonen and Stig Blomqvist.

Pos. Driver Time
1 Germany Walter Röhrl 2:17.11
2 Finland Timo Salonen 2:17.46
3 Finland Juha Kankkunen 2:17.93
4 Sweden Stig Blomqvist 2:19.19
5 Italy Miki Biasion 2:19.51
6 Sweden Björn Waldegård 2:19.63
7 Finland Ari Vatanen 2:21.75
8 Finland Hannu Mikkola 2:27.62

Qualification results

Time includes first and second Qualification round

Pos. Driver Time
1 Finland Timo Salonen 4:34.91
2 Finland Juha Kankkunen 4:35.00
3 Sweden Stig Blomqvist 4:35.18
4 Germany Walter Röhrl 4:36.35
5 Italy Miki Biasion 4:37.30
6 Finland Ari Vatanen 4:39.36
7 Sweden Björn Waldegård 4:40.67
8 Finland Hannu Mikkola 4:49.97

Semi-final
Cars

2 cars Audi Sport Quattro S1 E2 without number plates. Starting order on stage: Walter Röhrl, Stig Blomqvist, Juha Kankkunen and Timo Salonen.

Pos. Driver Time
1 Finland Juha Kankkunen 3:46.15
2 Finland Timo Salonen 3:46.24
3 Germany Walter Röhrl 3:49.65
4 Sweden Stig Blomqvist 3:53.16

Final

Starting order on stage: Juha Kankkunen, Timo Salonen

Car 1

Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2, plate 290 FPF 75 (FRA)*, for both drivers

  • Note: Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 (but another chassis) with this number plate in Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo 1986 livery belongs to Juha Kankkunen and was demonstrated by him on Neste Rally Finland 2019 dates.
Pos. Driver Time
1 Finland Juha Kankkunen 3:41.98
2 Finland Timo Salonen 3:43.78
Car 2

Lancia Delta Integrale, plate TO 89092H (ITA) (chassis #417880), for both drivers

Pos. Driver Time
1 Finland Timo Salonen 3:53.02
2 Finland Juha Kankkunen 3:53.68

Final results

Time includes first and second heats

Pos. Driver Time
W Finland Juha Kankkunen 7:35.66
2 Finland Timo Salonen 7:36.80

References
  1. "The concept". Race of Champions. Retrieved 28 February 2011.
  2. "Action from the inaugural Race of Champions". Retrieved 25 February 2023.
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