Lancia in rallying

Twice world rally champion, the Italian Miki Biasion and his Lancia Delta Integrale in the colors of Martini Racing.

Italian car manufacturer Lancia participated in top-level rallying until 1992, winning fifteen World Rally Championship titles.

History[]

Lancia 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 In the WRC, they remain the most statistically successful marque (despite having withdrawn at the end of the 1993 season), winning constructors' titles with the Stratos (1974, 1975 and 1976), the 037 (1983) and the Delta (six consecutive wins from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 Racing[]

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 Alén as drivers.^[1] 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 1993, Martini managed a smaller sponsorship program, restricted to the Italian Rally Championship with Italian rallyman Dario Cerrato.

WRC Results (Group B era)[]

Year	Car	Driver	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	WDC	Points	WMC	Points
1982	Lancia 037	Markku Alén					9	Ret			Ret	Ret		4		21st	12	9th	25
		Attilio Bettega					Ret									-	0
								Ret					Ret			-	0
		Fabrizio Tabaton										Ret				-	0
1983	Lancia 037	Walter Röhrl	1		3		2	1	1			2				2nd	102	1st	118
		Markku Alén	2		4		1	2		5	3	1				3rd	100
		Jean-Claude Andruet	8				Ret									41st	3
					5					Ret						12th*	20*
		Attilio Bettega					4	5	3			3				7th	42
		Francisco Mayorga								Ret						-	0
		Pentti Airikkala									5					21st	8
1984	Lancia 037	Markku Alén	8		2	4	1	3	2		2	Ret				3rd	90	2nd	108
		Jean-Claude Andruet	Ret				6									30th	6
		Attilio Bettega	5		3		7	4				2				5th	49
		Henri Toivonen			Ret			Ret			3					16th	12
		Vic Preston Jr				6										30th	6
1985	Lancia 037	Markku Alén				Ret	Ret				3	4				7th	37	3rd	70
		Henri Toivonen	6								4	3				6th	48
		Attilio Bettega				Ret	Ret									-	0
		Vic Preston Jr				Ret										-	0
	Lancia Delta S4	Markku Alén												2		-	0
	Lancia Delta S4	Henri Toivonen												1		-	0
1986	Lancia Delta S4	Markku Alén	Ret	2	Ret		Ret	Ret	2	2	3		1	2	1	2nd	104	2nd	122
		Henri Toivonen	1	Ret	Ret		Ret									13th	20
		Miki Biasion	68		Ret		Ret	2	3	1			3			5th	47
		Mikael Ericsson						Ret	4		5			Ret		-	0
		Jorge Recalde								4						22nd	10
		Kalle Grundel									6					9th*	26*
	Lancia 037	Markku Alén				3
		Miki Biasion				Ret
						9										60th	2
						10										70th	1
		Vic Preston Jr				Ret										-	0

WRC Results (Group A era)[]

Year	Car	Driver	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	WDC	Points	WMC	Points
1987	Lancia Delta HF 4WD	Juha Kankkunen	2	3	4			2	1			5			1		1st	100	1st	140
		Miki Biasion	1		8		3	7	2		1			1			2nd	94
		Markku Alén		5	1			1	3			1		Ret	5		3rd	88
		Bruno Saby	Ret				Ret										-	0
		Mikael Ericsson		2											4		10th	28
						14											-	0
		Yves Loubet					2										20th	15
		Jorge Recalde									2						9th*	30*
1988	Lancia Delta HF 4WD Lancia Delta Integrale	Miki Biasion	Ret		1	1		1	1		2			1			1st	115	1st	140
		Bruno Saby	1				3										6th	32
		Yves Loubet	Ret				2										10th*	27*
		Mikael Ericsson		Ret	Ret			2				2			Ret		8th	30
		Markku Alén		1	6			4				1		4	1		2nd	86
						Ret											-	0
		Jorge Recalde									1						9th*	27*
1989	Lancia Delta Integrale Lancia Delta Integrale 16V	Miki Biasion		1	1	1		1			6		1				1st	106	1st	140
		Didier Auriol		2	Ret		1	2			Ret		Ret				5th	50
		Bruno Saby		3			Ret										25th	12
		Markku Alén			2						Ret	3					9th	27
		Jorge Recalde				Ret				3							15th*	20*
		Yves Loubet					4										29th	10
		Mikael Ericsson								1							4th*	50*
1990	Lancia Delta Integrale 16V	Miki Biasion	3	1	Ret		3		1			Ret		3			4th	76	1st	137
		Juha Kankkunen	Ret	3	2		2		Ret	5	1	2		Ret			3rd	85
		Didier Auriol	1	2		1	Ret		3	Ret	Ret	1		5			2nd	95
		Alex Fiorio			Ret						3						9th*	25*
		Yves Loubet				Ret											-	0
1991	Lancia Delta Integrale 16V	Miki Biasion	2		3	Ret		3		2			2			Ret	4th	69	1st	137
		Juha Kankkunen	5		4	1		1	2	4	1	1	Ret		2	1	1st	150
		Jorge Recalde				3				5		8					9th*	29*
		Bruno Saby					Ret										33rd*	8*
		Yves Loubet					6										33rd*	8*
1992	Lancia Delta Integrale HF	Juha Kankkunen	3		1	2		2			2	2	2		2	3	2nd	134	1st	140
		Didier Auriol	1		Ret		1	1		1	1	1	Ret		10	Ret	3rd	121
		Andrea Aghini			Ret		6						1		3	10	7th	39
		Björn Waldegård				Ret											-	0
		Jorge Recalde				3				Ret							10th*	28*
		Philippe Bugalski					3				9						13th*	22*