1988 World Rally Championship

1988 World Rally Championship

World Drivers' Champion:
Miki Biasion
World Manufacturers' Champion:
Lancia

Previous

1987

Next

1989

The 1988 World Rally Championship was the 16th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) World Rally Championship (WRC). The season consisted of 13 rallies, following the same schedule as the previous season.

Martini Lancia followed their successful previous season with an even more dominant performance in 1988, winning ten of the eleven rallies in which manufacturer points were awarded. The Lancia Delta HF 4WD proved fast and reliable in the hands of returning drivers Finn Markku Alén and Italian Miki Biasion. During the season, the car was replaced by the Delta HF Integrale, which was an immediate success. Biasion would take the drivers' title, with his Finnish teammate placing second behind him. Third driver Frenchman Bruno Saby also contributed to the effort with a rally win, though was not a major contender for the title. Jolly Club driver, Italian Alex Fiorio, would take third place in the driver championship at the wheel of a Lancia Delta as well.

Ford Motor Company struggled to compete, though it was the only other manufacturer besides Lancia to win a rally, with primary driver Didier Auriol winning the Tour de Corse in his Sierra RS Cosworth. Auriol would only reach 6th in the drivers' competition, while Spanish teammate Carlos Sainz would struggle to reach 11th in the standings. Stig Blomqvist, racing for Rallysport Sweden in a Sierra, would finish best amongst Ford drivers, taking 4th in the championship standings.

1988 marked the withdrawal of Audi Sport from the WRC, although a number of small teams and privateers were successful enough using Audi Quattro versions for the manufacturer to place 3rd amongst manufacturers despite the lack of a works effort. Mazda Rally Team Europe made a significant effort to compete with Finn Timo Salonen as their primary driver for the Mazda 323 4WD. Timo would garner 5th place in the driver standings while the manufacturer gained 4th place.

In addition to the primary driver and manufacturer championships, WRC also awarded the FIA Cup for Drivers of Production Cars for a second season. Belgian Pascal Gaban won the hotly contested contest in a Mazda 323 against Argentine Jorge Recalde in his Lancia Delta while Italian Giovanni Del Zoppo, another Delta pilot, finished well behind in third place.

Teams and drivers

Team	Manufacturer	Car	Tyre	Drivers	Rounds
Martini Lancia	Lancia	Delta HF 4WD Delta HF Integrale	M	Miki Biasion	1, 3–4, 6–7, 9, 12
				Bruno Saby	1, 5
				Yves Loubet	1, 5
				Mikael Ericsson	2–3, 6, 10, 13
				Markku Alén	2–3, 6, 10, 12–13
				Vic Preston Jr	4
				Jorge Recalde	9
Mazda Rally Team Europe	Mazda	323 4WD	M	Timo Salonen	1–2, 6, 10, 13
				Hannu Mikkola	1–3, 6, 10, 13
				Ingvar Carlsson	1–3
				Thorbjörn Edling	2, 10
				Pascal Gaban	2–3, 6, 10–13
				Rod Millen	7
				Neil Allport	8
Jolly Club	Lancia	Delta HF 4WD Delta HF Integrale	P	Alex Fiorio	1–3, 6–7, 10, 12
				Yves Loubet	3, 6, 12
				Dario Cerrato	12
Philips Renault Elf   Simon Racing	Renault	11 Turbo 5 GT Turbo	M	Alain Oreille	1, 5
				Richard Frau	1, 5
				Christophe Lapierre	1
Citroën Compétitions	Citroën	AX Sport	M	Maurice Chomat	1–2, 5
				Dany Montagne	1, 3, 5, 12–13
				Denise Jacques	1, 3, 5, 12–13
				Rufino Fontes	3
				Carole Vergnaud	3, 12–13
				Laurent Poggi	5
				Massimo Ercolani	12
				Terry Kaby	13
Top Run SRL	Lancia	Delta HF 4WD Delta HF Integrale	M P	Giovanni del Zoppo	1, 3, 5–7, 10, 12
				Jorge Recalde	3, 5–7, 10, 12–13
				Massimo Ercolani	6, 10, 13
				Fredrik Skoghag	13
Peugeot France	Peugeot	205 GTI	M	Jean-Pierre Ballet	1
Audi Sport	Audi	Coupé Quattro 200 Quattro 90 Quattro	M	Christophe Spiliotis	1
				Sebastian Lindholm	2–3, 6, 13
				David Llewellin	3
				Georg Fischer	3, 7, 9
				Rudi Stohl	4, 6, 9, 11
				John Buffum	7
				Malcolm Stewart	8
				Paola de Martini	12
				Armin Schwarz	13
Ford Motor Co Ltd	Ford	Sierra RS Cosworth	M P	Stig Blomqvist	2–3, 10, 12–13
				Didier Auriol	3, 5, 10, 12
				Carlos Sainz	3, 5, 10, 12–13
				Joaquim Santos	3
				John Hellier	4
				Pierre-César Baroni	5
				Gianfranco Cunico	12
				David Llewellin	13
				Mark Lovell	13
GM Euro Sport	Opel Vauxhall	Kadett GSI 16V Astra GTE	M	Mats Jonsson	2, 10, 13
				Malcolm Wilson	2, 6, 13
				Björn Johansson	2
				Håkan Eriksson	2
				Hannu Mikkola	4
				Sepp Haider	4, 8
				Derek Bell	13
				David Metcalfe	13
				Chris Birkbeck	13
Volkswagen Motorsport	Volkswagen	Golf GTI 16V	P	Erwin Weber	3–4
				Lars-Erik Torph	4
				Konstantinos Apostolou	6, 13
				Raimund Baumschlager	12
Toyota Team Europe	Toyota	Supra Turbo Celica GT-Four ST165	P	Kenneth Eriksson	4–5, 10, 12–13
				Juha Kankkunen	4–6, 10, 12–13
				Björn Waldegård	4, 6, 13
				Jimmy McRae	13
Nissan Motorsports International	Nissan	200SX	D	Per Eklund	4
				Alain Ambrosino	4, 11
				Mike Kirkland	4
				Jayant Shah	4
				Stratis Hatzipanayiotou	6
				Flory Roothaert	6
				Paddy Davidson	8
Fuji Heavy Industries	Subaru	RX Turbo	D	Peter 'Possum' Bourne	4, 8
				Ian Duncan	4
				Patrick Njiru	4
				José Celsi	9
Bastos Motul BMW	BMW	M3	P	Bernard Béguin	5
				François Chatriot	5
				Marc Duez	5
				Ari Vatanen	10
				Andrea Zanussi	12
Gema Racing	Alfa Romeo	75 V6	P	Paul Rouby	5
				Jacques Panciatici	5
Suzuki Sport	Suzuki	Cultus GTI	Y	Alan Carter	7
				Nobuhiro Tajima	7
Mitsubishi Ralliart Europe	Mitsubishi	Galant VR-4	M	Kenjiro Shinozuka	8, 13
				Ari Vatanen	13
Lancia Rally Team Austria	Lancia	Delta HF Integrale	M	Franz Wittmann	9

Events

1988 World Rally Championship event map

Black = Tarmac	Brown = Gravel	Blue = Snow/Ice	Red = Mixed Surface

1988 World Rally Championship schedule and results

Round	Rally name	Stages	Podium finishers
			Rank	Driver	Co-driver	Team	Car	Time
1	Rallye Monte Carlo (16–21 January)	26 stages 624 km Tarmac	1	Bruno Saby	Jean-François Fauchille	Martini Lancia	Lancia Delta HF 4WD	7:19.11
			2	Alex Fiorio	Luigi Pirollo	Jolly Club	Lancia Delta HF 4WD	7:30.01
			3	Jean-Pierre Ballet	Marie-Christine Lallement	Peugeot France	Peugeot 205 GTI	7:42.46
2	Swedish Rally (4–6 February)	35 stages 491 km Snow/Ice	1	Markku Alén	Ilkka Kivimäki	Martini Lancia	Lancia Delta HF 4WD	5:02.31
			2	Stig Blomqvist	Benny Melander	Rallysport Sweden	Ford Sierra XR 4x4	5:04.08
			3	Lars-Erik Torph	Tina Thörner	Team VAG Sweden	Audi Coupé Quattro	5:10.03
3	Rallye de Portugal (1–6 March)	37 stages 589 km Gravel/Tarmac	1	Miki Biasion	Carlo Cassina	Martini Lancia	Lancia Delta HF Integrale	6:44.01
			2	Alex Fiorio	Luigi Pirollo	Jolly Club	Lancia Delta HF 4WD	6:52.47
			3	Yves Loubet	Jean-Bernard Vieu	Jolly Club	Lancia Delta HF 4WD	6:53.23
4	Safari Rally (31 March – 4 April)	82 controls 4205 km Gravel	1	Miki Biasion	Tiziano Siviero	Martini Lancia	Lancia Delta HF Integrale	2:51.04
			2	Mike Kirkland	Robin Nixon	Nissan Motorsports International	Nissan 200SX	3:03.57
			3	Per Eklund	Dave Whittock	Nissan Motorsports International	Nissan 200SX	3:38.26
5	Tour de Corse (3–6 May)	30 stages 623 km Tarmac	1	Didier Auriol	Bernard Occelli	Ford Motor Co Ltd	Ford Sierra RS Cosworth	7:12.04
			2	Yves Loubet	Jean-Bernard Vieu	Martini Lancia	Lancia Delta HF Integrale	7:15.09
			3	Bruno Saby	Jean-François Fauchille	Martini Lancia	Lancia Delta HF Integrale	7:16:53
6	Acropolis Rally (29 May – 1 June)	36 stages 526 km Gravel	1	Miki Biasion	Tiziano Siviero	Martini Lancia	Lancia Delta HF Integrale	7:03.00
			2	Mikael Ericsson	Claes Billstam	Martini Lancia	Lancia Delta HF Integrale	7:04.43
			3	Alex Fiorio	Luigi Pirollo	Jolly Club	Lancia Delta HF Integrale	7:10.40
7	Olympus Rally (23–26 June)	36 stages 502 km Gravel	1	Miki Biasion	Tiziano Siviero	Martini Lancia	Lancia Delta HF Integrale	5:28.44
			2	Alex Fiorio	Luigi Pirollo	Jolly Club	Lancia Delta HF Integrale	5:34.07
			3	John Buffum	John Bellefleur	Audi Sport	Audi Coupé Quattro	5:44.59
8	Rally New Zealand^[1] (9–12 July)	39 stages 611 km Gravel	1	Sepp Haider	Ferdi Hinterleitner	GM Euro Sport	Opel Kadett GSI 16V	7:38.39
			2	Ray Wilson	Stuart Lewis	Mobil 1 Racing	Mazda 323 4WD	7:57.16
			3	Malcolm Stewart	John Kennard	Audi Sport New Zealand	Audi Coupe Quattro	8:02.25
9	Rally Argentina (2–6 August)	29 stages 588 km Gtavel	1	Jorge Recalde	Jorge del Buono	Martini Lancia	Lancia Delta HF Integrale	7:05.16
			2	Miki Biasion	Tiziano Siviero	Martini Lancia	Lancia Delta HF Integrale	7:08.51
			3	Franz Wittmann	Jörg Pattermann	Lancia Rally Team Austria	Lancia Delta HF Integrale	7:34.13
10	1000 Lakes Rally (26–28 August)	39 stages 496 km Gravel	1	Markku Alén	Ilkka Kivimäki	Martini Lancia	Lancia Delta HF Integrale	4:35.29
			2	Mikael Ericsson	Claes Billstam	Martini Lancia	Lancia Delta HF Integrale	4:38.24
			3	Didier Auriol	Bernard Occelli	Ford Motor Co Ltd	Ford Sierra RS Cosworth	4:45.15
11	Rallye Côte d'Ivoire^[1] (20–24 September)	80 controls 3421 km Gravel	1	Alain Ambrosino	Daniel Le Saux	Nissan Motorsports International	Nissan 200SX	+3:34.51 pen
			2	Pascal Gaban	Willy Lux	Mazda Rally Team Belgium	Mazda 323 4WD	+5:06.33 pen
			3	Patrick Tauziac	Claude Papin	Ralliart	Mitsubishi Starion Turbo	+7:20.20 pen
12	Rallye Sanremo (10–14 October)	39 stages 531 km Tarmac/Gravel	1	Miki Biasion	Tiziano Siviero	Martini Lancia	Lancia Delta HF Integrale	6:06.41
			2	Alex Fiorio	Luigi Pirollo	Jolly Club	Lancia Delta HF Integrale	6:07.34
			3	Dario Cerrato	Giuseppe Cerri	Jolly Club	Lancia Delta HF Integrale	6:08.35
13	RAC Rally (20–24 November)	52 stages 602 km Tarmac/Gravel	1	Markku Alén	Ilkka Kivimäki	Martini Lancia	Lancia Delta HF Integrale	7:15.37
			2	Timo Salonen	Voitto Silander	Mazda Rally Team Europe	Mazda 323 4WD	7:19.43
			3	Björn Waldegard	Fred Gallagher	Toyota Team Europe	Toyota Celica GT-Four ST165	7:22.16

1. Event not included in the Manufacturers' Championship

Championship for manufacturers

1988 World Rally Championship for Manufacturers

Rank	Manufacturers	Event											Total points
		MON	SWE	POR	KEN	FRA	GRC	USA	ARG	FIN	ITA	GBR
1	Lancia	(20)	(20)	(20)	20	(17)	20	20	20	20	20	20	140
2	Ford	–	17	10	–	20	–	–	–	14	10	8	79
3	Audi	7	14	–	4	–	10	14	12	(2)	(2)	10	71
4	Mazda	10	–	12	–	–	9	6	–	12	–	17	66
5	Toyota	–	–	–	12	8	–	–	4	–	8	14	46
6	Renault	12	–	4	–	8	–	–	8	–	–	–	32
7	BMW	13	–	–	–	12	–	–	–	–	–	–	25
8	Nissan	–	–	–	17	–	6	–	–	–	–	–	23
9	Subaru	–	–	–	8	–	–	–	10	–	–	–	18
10	Peugeot	14	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	15
11	Volkswagen	–	–	6	–	–	4	–	–	–	4	–	14
12	Opel	–	10	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	2	13
13	Suzuki	–	–	–	–	–	–	8	1	–	–	–	9
14	Mitsubishi	–	–	–	–	–	–	7	–	–	–	–	7
15	Alfa Romeo	–	–	–	–	4	–	–	–	–	–	–	4
16	Fiat	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2	–	–	–	2

Championship for drivers

1988 World Rally Championship for Drivers

Rank	Driver	Event													Total points
		MON	SWE	POR	KEN	FRA	GRC	USA	NZL	ARG	FIN	CIV	ITA	GBR
1	Miki Biasion	–	–	20	20	–	20	20	–	15	–	–	20	–	115
2	Markku Alén	–	20	6	–	–	10	–	–	–	20	–	10	20	86
3	Alex Fiorio	15	–	15	–	–	12	15	–	–	4	–	15	–	76
4	Stig Blomqvist	–	15	8	–	–	–	–	–	–	8	–	4	6	41
5	Timo Salonen	8	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10	–	–	15	33
6	Bruno Saby	20	–	–	–	12	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	32
	Didier Auriol	–	–	–	–	20	–	–	–	–	12	–	–	–	32
8	Mikael Ericsson	–	–	–	–	–	15	–	–	–	15	–	–	–	30
9	Jorge Recalde	–	–	1	–	–	–	6	–	20	–	–	–	–	27
10	Yves Loubet	–	–	12	–	15	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	27
11	Carlos Sainz	–	–	–	–	8	–	–	–	–	6	–	8	4	26
12	Kenneth Eriksson	–	–	–	10	6	–	–	–	–	–	–	6	–	22
13	Rudi Stohl	–	–	–	3	–	8	–	–	10	–	–	–	–	21
14	Sepp Haider	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	20	–	–	–	–	–	20
	Alain Ambrosino	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	20	–	–	20
16	Pascal Gaban	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	–	–	15	–	–	16
17	Björn Waldegård	–	–	–	4	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12	16
18	Mike Kirkland	–	–	–	15	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15
	Ray Wilson	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15	–	–	–	–	–	15
20	Jean-Pierre Ballet	12	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12
	Lars-Erik Torph	–	12	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12
	Per Eklund	–	–	–	12	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12
	John Buffum	–	–	–	–	–	–	12	–	–	–	–	–	–	12
	Malcolm Stewart	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12	–	–	–	–	–	12
	Franz Wittmann Sr.	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12	–	–	–	–	12
	Patrick Tauziac	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12	–	–	12
	Dario Cerrato	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12	–	12
28	Alain Oreille	10	–	–	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	11
29	Giovanni Del Zoppo	3	–	–	–	–	–	8	–	–	–	–	–	–	11
30	Erik Johansson	–	10	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10
	Hannu Mikkola	–	–	10	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10
	François Chatriot	–	–	–	–	10	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10
	Georg Fischer	–	–	–	–	–	–	10	–	–	–	–	–	–	10
	David Officer	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10	–	–	–	–	–	10
	Alain Oudit	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10	–	–	10
	Pentti Airikkala	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10	10
37	Håkan Eriksson	–	8	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	8
	Juha Kankkunen	–	–	–	8	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	8
	Ross Meekings	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	8	–	–	–	–	–	8
	José Celsi	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	8	–	–	–	–	8
	Adolphe Choteau	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	8	–	–	8
	Armin Schwarz	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	8	8
43	François Chauche	6	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6
	Björn Johansson	–	6	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6
	Ian Duncan	–	–	–	6	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6
	Jigger	–	–	–	–	–	6	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6
	Marty Roestenburg	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6	–	–	–	–	–	6
	Juan Maria Traverso	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6	–	–	–	–	6
	Didier Monin	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6	–	–	6
50	Christophe Spiliotis	4	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4
	Bror Danielsson	–	4	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4
	Erwin Weber	–	–	4	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4
	Bernard Béguin	–	–	–	–	4	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4
	Stratissino	–	–	–	–	–	4	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4
	Nobuhiro Tajima	–	–	–	–	–	–	4	–	–	–	–	–	–	4
	Joe McAndrew	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4	–	–	–	–	–	4
	Marcelo Raies	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4	–	–	–	–	4
	Roberto Ambrosoli	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4	–	–	4
59	Malcolm Wilson	–	3	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3
	Inverno Amaral	–	–	3	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3
	Paul Rouby	–	–	–	–	3	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3
	Kóstas Apostolou	–	–	–	–	–	3	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3
	Rod Millen	–	–	–	–	–	–	3	–	–	–	–	–	–	3
	Tetsuo Sano	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3	–	–	–	–	–	3
	Claudio Israel	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3	–	–	–	–	3
	Harry Joki	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3	–	–	–	3
	Soumare Mafell	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3	–	–	3
	Raimund Baumschlager	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3	–	3
	Stig-Olov Walfridsson	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3	3
70	Tomas Jansson	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2	–	–	–	3
	Mats Jonsson	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	2	3
72	Pierre Bos	2	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2
	Sebastian Lindholm	–	2	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2
	Carlos Bica	–	–	2	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2
	'Possum' Bourne	–	–	–	2	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2
	César Baroni	–	–	–	–	2	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2
	Flory Roothaert	–	–	–	–	–	2	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2
	Alan Carter	–	–	–	–	–	–	2	–	–	–	–	–	–	2
	Dave Strong	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2	–	–	–	–	–	2
	José Luis Grasso	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2	–	–	–	–	2
	Michel Molinie	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2	–	–	2
	Paola De Martini	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2	–	2
83	Richard Frau	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
	Jim Heather-Hayes	–	–	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
	Michael Lieu	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
	Murray Walker	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	1
	Fernando Urrutia	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	–	–	1
	Samir Assef	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	1
	Paolo Alessandrini	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	1
	Kalle Grundel	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	1

1988 World Rally Championship point awards for drivers

Points awarded by finish	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th
	20	15	12	10	8	6	4	3	2	1

Cup for production car drivers

1988 FIA Cup for Drivers of Production Cars

Rank	Driver	Event													Total points
		MON	SWE	POR	KEN	FRA	GRC	USA	NZL	ARG	FIN	CIV	ITA	GBR
1	Pascal Gaban	–	–	10	–	–	13	–	–	–	–	13	7	2	45
2	Jorge Recalde	–	–	13	–	–	–	10	–	–	13	–	–	7	43
3	Giovanni Del Zoppo	10	–	–	–	–	–	13	–	–	7	–	–	–	30
4	Grégoire de Mévius	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3	–	–	13	16
5	Massimo Ercolani	–	5	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	5	–	–	5	15
6	François Chauche	13	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	13
	Sören Nilsson	–	13	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	13
	César Baroni	–	–	–	–	13	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	13
	Dave Strong	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	13	–	–	–	–	–	13
	Andrea Aghini	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	13	–	13
11	Richard Frau	7	–	–	–	5	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12

See also

• 1988 in sports

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1988 in World Rally Championship.

• FIA World Rally Championship 1988 at ewrc-results.com