WRC
Remembered: Ari Vatanen’s 1985 Rallye Monte-Carlo miracle
Four decades ago this month, Ari Vatanen achieved what was widely regarded as the impossible result on the 1985 Rallye Monte-Carlo.
The then Peugeot 205 T16-driving Finn won the event. Twice. Comfortably ahead as the rally reached its halfway point and an overnight halt in the French Alps, the 1981 world champion was looking forward to nursing a three-minute lead across the remaining 14 stages which stood between him and a champagne finish in the principality.
It was in Gap – the same town which hosts the service park for the opening round of this year's championship – where everything changed.
Vatanen's co-driver Terry Harryman made an entirely uncharacteristic mistake and booked the #2 Peugeot into the control four minutes early. The ensuing eight-minute penalty tipped the rally on its head.
Early leader Walter Röhrl was back to the top of the classification with a five-minute lead heading towards the Sisteron stage which began the road south. Despite his significant advantage, Audi's German star was one of the few who could see Vatanen reeling him in across the next 450 competitive kilometres.
Remembered: Ari Vatanen’s 1985 Rallye Monte-Carlo miracle
© WRC
And, in a drive that remains one of the most astonishing in the entire history of the FIA World Rally Championship, that's precisely what the Finn did.
As Röhrl struggled to get his Quattro dialled into the changeable conditions, Vatanen's confidence grew and he and Harryman flew. The Col St Raphael stage sealed the deal as Röhrl's choice of an intermediate slick tyre was undone almost immediately. Running on studs, the Peugeot caught and passed the ailing Audi.
On the road, Vatanen had won by 13 minutes, even if the final classification registered a lead of only five. He'd won it, lost everything and won it again in a series of events which made the 1985 Rallye Monte-Carlo a landmark event for Vatanen, Harryman and the Peugeot.
