The 1987 World Rally Championship was the 15th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) World Rally Championship (WRC). The season consisted of 13 rallies in the same venues of the previous season. The only alteration to the schedule was the move of the Olympus Rally from December to June on the calendar.
1987 marked the beginning of a new era for the WRC, as it was the first season driven without the powerful and popular Group B rally cars, seeing the Group A cars come to the forefront of the world stage and the institution of championships not only for manufacturers and drivers, but also drivers of production and two-wheel drive cars. Group A would remain at the forefront of the championship for ten years, where a new specification, World Rally Car were made standard in 1997. The FIA also changed the basic scoring rules for manufacturers although they retained the policy of having two rallies not count toward manufacturers totals. New Zealand and the Ivory Coast were selected in 1987 to count solely for drivers' titles.
Martini Lancia proved most successful in adjusting to the new lower-powered cars, adopting the Lancia Delta HF 4WD, driven by Finns Juha Kankkunen and Markku Alén as well as Italian Miki Biasion. Between the three, Lancia would gather nine rally wins over the thirteen race season, dominating the manufacturers' race for the championship. Meanwhile, the three drivers split success between them, placing closely in the top three places for the drivers' title by the end of the season.
Audi Sport retained both Hannu Mikkola and Walter Röhrl, although they could not duplicate the success of their Group B seasons, both placing well down in the drivers' title competition. Audi however did gain some points from others team running the Quattro. Clarion Team Europe with driver Per Eklund contributed 26 points to the work's effort while Mig Linz's entry, Georg Fischer added another eight, bolstering Audi's bid for second overall.
The Philips Renault Elf team struggled through the season with the Group A Renault 11 Turbo. French drivers Jean Ragnotti and François Chatriot were unable to gain much success, with the highlight of their season coming at Portugal with Ragnotti's second-place finish.
Volkswagen Motorsport followed their success of the previous season with Swede Kenneth Eriksson, the 1986 winner of the championship for drivers of Group A cars. Eriksson was able to place fourth overall on the season, beaten only by Lancia drivers. Volkswagen, lacking a major second driver, was surpassed by not only Lancia, but Audi and Renault as well in the manufacturer standings.
Ford Motor Company made its return to serious competition by enlisting drivers Ari Vatanen and Stig Blomqvist, but struggled early on with the Sierra XR 4x4. The car was dropped, its replacement on the works team coming in the end of the season in the form of the redesigned Sierra RS Cosworth, which met with much greater success, challenging the dominant Lancias in the final three events of the season.
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Calendar
Rd.Start dateFinish dateRallyRally headquartersSurfaceStagesDistancePoints118 January22 January 55th Rallye Automobile Monte-CarloMonte CarloMixed26593.45 kmDrivers & Manufacturers213 February14 February 37th International Swedish RallyKarlstad, Värmland CountySnow27408.15 kmDrivers & Manufacturers311 March14 March 21st Rallye de Portugal - Vinho do PortoEstoril, LisbonMixed37603.50 kmDrivers & Manufacturers416 April20 April 35th Marlboro Safari RallyNairobiGravelN/A4011 kmDrivers & Manufacturers57 May9 May 31st Tour de Corse - Rallye de FranceAjaccio, CorsicaTarmac24618.20 kmDrivers & Manufacturers631 May3 June 34th Acropolis RallyAthensGravel36553 kmDrivers & Manufacturers726 June29 June 15th Toyota Olympus RallyTacoma, WashingtonGravel44539.20 kmDrivers & Manufacturers811 July13 July 18th AWA Clarion Rally of New ZealandAucklandGravel36590.34 kmDrivers only95 August8 August 7th Marlboro Rally of ArgentinaBuenos AiresGravel27596.54 kmDrivers & Manufacturers1027 August30 August 37th Rally of the 1000 LakesJyväskylä, Central FinlandGravel52504.29 kmDrivers & Manufacturers1122 September26 September 19th Rallye Cote d'IvoireAbidjanGravelN/A3831 kmDrivers only1212 October15 October 29th Rallye SanremoSanremo, LiguriaMixed41561.11 kmDrivers & Manufacturers1322 November25 November 43rd Lombard RAC RallyChester, CheshireGravel48513.29 kmDrivers & ManufacturersSources:
Teams and drivers Team Manufacturer Car Tyre Drivers Rounds Martini Lancia Lancia Delta HF 4WD Juha Kankkunen 1–3, 6–7, 10, 13 Miki Biasion 1, 3, 5–7, 9, 12 Bruno Saby 1, 5, 12–13 Markku Alén 2–3, 6–7, 10, 12–13 Mikael Ericsson 2, 13 Vic Preston Jr 4 Yves Loubet 5 Jorge Recalde 9 Mazda Rally Team Europe Mazda 323 4WD Timo Salonen 1–3, 10, 13 Ingvar Carlsson 1–3, 9–10 Mikael Sundström 2, 10, 13 Harri Toivonen 2, 10 Rod Millen 7 Jon Woodner 7 Neil Allport 8 Pascal Gaban 12 Philips Renault Elf Renault Sport Elf Renault 11 Turbo Jean Ragnotti 1, 3, 5–6, 12 François Chatriot 1, 3, 5–6, 12 Alain Oreille 1, 5 Manuel Breyner 3 Inverno Amaral 3 Bento Amaral 3 Audi Sport Audi 200 Quattro80 QuattroCoupé Quattro Walter Röhrl 1, 4, 6 Hannu Mikkola 4, 6, 10 Lars-Erik Torph 2 Per Eklund 2, 9, 10, 13 Göran Åndberg 2 Rudi Stohl 3–4, 6, 11–12 Jorge Recalde 6 Paolo Alessandrini 6 John Buffum 7 David Llewellin 12–13 Ford Motor Co Ltd Ford Sierra XR 4x4Sierra RS Cosworth Stig Blomqvist 1–2, 4–5, 8, 10, 13 Kalle Grundel 1–2, 5 Didier Auriol 1, 5, 12 Carlos Sainz 3, 5, 13 Joaquim Santos 3 John Hellier 4 Ari Vatanen 10 Jimmy McRae 12–13 Mark Lovell 13 George Donaldson 13 Volkswagen Motorsport Volkswagen Golf GTI 16V Kenneth Eriksson 1–6, 8–9, 11, 13 Erwin Weber 1, 3–4, 6, 9, 11 Teemu Tahko 10 Fuji Heavy Industries Subaru RX Turbo Per Eklund 1, 4 Harald Demuth 1 Ari Vatanen 4 Peter 'Possum' Bourne 4, 8, 13 Frank Tundo 4 José Celsi 9 Mercedes France Mercedes 190E 2.3 16V Bernard Darniche 1, 5 Dany Snobeck 1 Jolly Club Lancia Delta HF 4WD Vittorio Caneva 1–3, 6, 12 Alex Fiorio 1–3, 6–7, 10, 12 Giorgio Schön 1 Mikael Ericsson 6, 12 Giannis Vardinogiannis 6 Jorge Recalde 9 Gianfranco Cunico 12 Alex Fassina 12 Pierangela Riva 12 GM Euro Sport OpelVauxhall Kadett GSI 16VAstra GTE Mats Jonsson 2, 10, 13 Björn Johansson 2 Håkan Eriksson 2 David Metcalfe 2, 13 Rauno Aaltonen 4 Guy Fréquelin 5, 12 Sepp Haider 10, 12–13 Derek Bell 13 Malcolm Wilson 13 Andrew Wood 13 Pentti Airikkala 13 Mitsubishi Ralliart Europe Mitsubishi Starion Turbo 4WD Robert Koch 2 David Offier 8 Lasse Lampi 10 Antero Laine 10 Patrick Tauziac 11 Toyota Team Europe Toyota Supra 3.0iSupra Turbo Björn Waldegård 4, 7, 11 Lars-Erik Torph 4, 7, 11 Robin Ulyate 4, 11 Nissan Motorsports International Nissan 200SX Shekhar Mehta 4, 6–7, 11 Andrea Zanussi 4, 6 Mike Kirkland 4, 6, 11 Jayant Shah 4 Stratis Hatzipanayiotou 6 Mikael Ericsson 7 Per Eklund 7 Paddy Davidson 8 Alain Ambrosino 11 Rothmans Motul BMW BMW M3 Bernard Béguin 5 Marc Duez 5 Patrick Bernardini 5 Grifone Esso Lancia Delta HF 4WD Paolo Alessandriani 7, 12 Fabrizio Tabaton 12 Funkberaterring Rally Team Lancia Delta HF 4WD Franz Wittmann 8
Schedule and results
1987 World Rally Championship schedule and results Round Rally name Stages Podium finishers Rank Driver Co-driver Team Car Time 1 Rallye Monte Carlo(17 January–22 January) 26 stages571 kmTarmac1 Miki Biasion Tiziano Siviero Martini LanciaLancia Delta HF 4WD7:39.502 Juha Kankkunen Juha Piironen Martini LanciaLancia Delta HF 4WD7:40.493 Walter Röhrl Christian Geistdörfer Audi SportAudi 200 Quattro7:44.00 2 Swedish Rally(13 February–14 February) 26 stages400 kmSnow/Ice1 Timo Salonen Seppo Harjanne Mazda Rally Team EuropeMazda 323 4WD4:11.002 Mikael Ericsson Claes Billstam Martini LanciaLancia Delta HF 4WD4:11.233 Juha Kankkunen Juha Piironen Martini LanciaLancia Delta HF 4WD4:12.46 3 Rallye de Portugal(11 March–14 March) 37 stages597 kmGravel/Tarmac1 Markku Alén Ilkka Kivimäki Martini LanciaLancia Delta HF 4WD7:09.392 Jean Ragnotti Pierre Thimonier Renault Sport ElfRenault 11 Turbo7:12.323 Kenneth Eriksson Peter Diekmann Volkswagen MotorsportVolkswagen Golf GTI 16V7:14.37 4 Safari Rally(16 April–20 April) 83 controls4011 kmGravel1 Hannu Mikkola Arne Hertz Audi SportAudi 200 Quattro3:39.442 Walter Röhrl Christian Geistdörfer Audi SportAudi 200 Quattro3:56.593 Lars-Erik Torph Benny Melander Toyota Team EuropeToyota Supra 3.0i4:31.09 5 Tour de Corse(7 May–9 May) 24 stages619 kmTarmac1 Bernard Béguin Jean-Jacques Lenne Rothmans Motul BMWBMW M37:22.302 Yves Loubet Jean-Bernard Vieu Martini LanciaLancia Delta HF 4WD7:24.383 Miki Biasion Tiziano Siviero Martini LanciaLancia Delta HF 4WD7:24.58 6 Acropolis Rally(May 31–3) 33 stages538 kmGravel1 Markku Alén Ilkka Kivimäki Martini LanciaLancia Delta HF 4WD7:25.572 Juha Kankkunen Juha Piironen Martini LanciaLancia Delta HF 4WD7:26.453 Hannu Mikkola Arne Hertz Audi SportAudi 200 Quattro7:31.21 7 Olympus Rally(26 June–29 June) 42 stages540 kmGravel1 Juha Kankkunen Juha Piironen Martini LanciaLancia Delta HF 4WD5:59.242 Miki Biasion Tiziano Siviero Martini LanciaLancia Delta HF 4WD5:59.363 Markku Alén Ilkka Kivimäki Martini LanciaLancia Delta HF 4WD6:00.06 8 Rally New ZealandEvent not included in the Manufacturers' Championship(11 July–14 July) 36 stages593 kmGravel1 Franz Wittmann Jörg Pattermann Funkberaterring Rally TeamLancia Delta HF 4WD6:56.002 Kenneth Eriksson Peter Diekmann Volkswagen MotorsportVolkswagen Golf GTI 16V6:56.473 Possum Bourne Michael Eggleton Fuji Heavy IndustriesSubaru RX Turbo7:04.25 9 Rally Argentina(4 August–8 August) 26 stages596 kmGravel1 Miki Biasion Tiziano Siviero Martini LanciaLancia Delta HF 4WD7:10.272 Jorge Recalde Jorge del Buono Martini LanciaLancia Delta HF 4WD7:11.283 Erwin Weber Matthias Feltz Volkswagen MotorsportVolkswagen Golf GTI 16V7:37.11 10 1000 Lakes Rally(27 August–30 August) 52 stages494 kmGravel1 Markku Alén Ilkka Kivimäki Martini LanciaLancia Delta HF 4WD5:12.222 Ari Vatanen Terry Harryman Ford Motor Co LtdFord Sierra RS Cosworth5:17.543 Stig Blomqvist Bruno Berglund Ford Motor Co LtdFord Sierra RS Cosworth5:18.51 11 Rallye Côte d'Ivoire(22 September–26 September) 29 controls3831 kmGravel1 Kenneth Eriksson Peter Diekmann Volkswagen MotorsportVolkswagen Golf GTI 16V+48.57 pen2 Shekhar Mehta Rob Combes Nissan Motorsports InternationalNissan 200SX+1:09.18 pen3 Erwin Weber Matthias Feltz Volkswagen MotorsportVolkswagen Golf GTI 16V+2:05.56 pen 12 Rallye Sanremo(12 October–15 October) 38 stages529 kmGravel/Tarmac1 Miki Biasion Tiziano Siviero Martini LanciaLancia Delta HF 4WD6:09.192 Bruno Saby Jean-François Fauchille Martini LanciaLancia Delta HF 4WD6:14.303 Jean Ragnotti Pierre Thimonier Renault Sport ElfRenault 11 Turbo6:16.55 13 RAC Rally(22 November–25 November) 47 stages539 kmGravel/Tarmac1 Juha Kankkunen Juha Piironen Martini LanciaLancia Delta HF 4WD5:26.362 Stig Blomqvist Bruno Berglund Ford Motor Co LtdFord Sierra RS Cosworth5:29.483 Jimmy McRae Ian Grindrod RED FordFord Sierra RS Cosworth5:33.15
Championship for manufacturers
1987 World Rally Championship for Manufacturers Rank Manufacturers Event Totalpoints MON SWE POR KEN FRA GRC USA ARG FIN ITA GBR 1 Lancia 20 (17) 20 - (17) 20 20 20 20 20 (20) 140 2 Audi 14 6 8 20 - 14 - - 12 - 8 82 3 Renault 8 - 17 - 12 10 - 10 - 14 - 71 4 Volkswagen 10 4 14 12 - 8 - 14 - - 2 64 5 Ford - 8 2 - 6 - - - 17 12 17 62 6 Mazda 12 20 - - - - 12 - 8 - - 52 7 Toyota - - - 14 - - 8 - - - - 22 8 BMW - - - - 20 - - - - - - 20 9 Opel - - - 2 - - - - - 8 6 16 10 Subaru 1 - - 10 - - - - - - 1 12 11 Nissan - - - 4 - 1 4 - - - - 9 12 Fiat - - 1 - - - - 4 - - - 5
1987 World Rally Championship point awards for manufacturers Points awarded by finish 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 20 17 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 1
Championship for drivers