1991
1991 opened with three new arrivals in the Group A ranks and a new one in Group S. The new arrivals in Group A were Chrysler's Gremlin R/T 4WD, Nissan's Pulsar GTI-R and Subaru's Legacy Turbo, all of them aiming to beat the Group A dominating Delta Integrale. Chrysler's Gremlin, which would dominate the 1991 United States ProRally Championship, was clearly the most polished of them though the Legacy Turbo was fast off the blocks. In Group S, Ford and Mazda replaced their cars, with Ford retiring the RS200 in favor of the Escort RS Cosworth and Mazda replacing the RX-7 with the Lantis X, a mid-engined supersedan. General Motors moved from Group S2 into Group S, replacing the Corvette with the Opel Calibra, while the Corvettes were sold to private owners. Peugeot's dominance in Group S2 didn't last, with BMW's improved 318i Turbo and Ferrari, who entered a team with factory support into the WRC for the first time in 1991, with the Jolly Club running two factory-developed Ferrari 348RCs for the full season.
They entered into a record-breaking season, with 18 rallies making up the 1991 WRC season - and all 18 counted towards all titles, ensuring the empty fields in the African rallies stopped cold. The season began in Monte Carlo, where the tight roads were uncharacteristically dry and free of ice, something which gave the edge to the S2 cars - and true to form, Ari Vatanen's Peugeot 405 VR3 won the rally, with the BMWs of Hannu Mikkola and Alain Bergeron finishing second and third. The Lancia ECV2 of Juha Kankkunen was the first Group S finisher, in fifth, with the Ferrari 348RC of Gustavo Trelles being the fourth-placed finisher. Those tables turned a 180 in Sweden. Kenneth Ericcson's Toyota SW20 came out victorious, with teammate Carlos Sainz in third, with Kankkunen between them. On to Canada for round three, and Frank and Dan Sprongl, who had won Group A there in their Audi 90 in 1990, had a tuned-up Porsche 961 with a later-model engine, and they had a cinderella run, leading every stage until a broken shift fork on the second to last stage handed the win to Kankkunen. The rally in Canada saw the first win of the year for Carlos Sainz's Toyota SW20, but the Group A winner was another story, that being the Chrysler Gremlin R/T 4WD driven by David Summerbell, the Jamaican outrunning all of the works Lancias, Toyotas and Mitsubishis.
The United States was more of the same as Canada, though the snow of Canada was replaced with the incredibly rain-soaked, muddy roads of the Olympus Rally. The Group S2s never had a prayer, and indeed both of the Ferraris, both of the Peugeots and Mikkola's BMW all didn't finish, leaving Alain Bergeron's BMW to claim the S2 win. This time, the agile Lancia outdid the faster Toyota, and Miki Biasion got his first win of 1991. Again, Summerbell claimed the Group A win in the Gremlin, a surprising win to say the least. Japan was round five, and this time the paved roads mixed with dirt sections, and for the first time in the year the Group S and S2 cars were on even terms. Carlos Sainz got his second win of the year in the Toyota, but Hannu Mikkola's BMW ran him hard right to the finish, them finishing an amazing fourteen minutes ahead of third-placed finisher Bruno Saby's Lancia. For the first seven stages, a truly-charging Colin McRae in the Opel Calibra kept the Lancia and the BMW close, but a blown engine on SS8 ended his day. By the time, everyone hit the dirt of Kenya for round six, the game was on, and while Ford, Mazda and Opel were chasing for Group S, it was clear that the WRC's Group S2 entries were for real.
Kenya was a punishing event, as usual. This time, Toyota's SW20s couldn't survive the African dirt - which surprised some, because Toyota had won this event in 1990 - and neither could the Lancias. Ford's Francois Delecour duly earn the Escort's first WRC win since 1980, with the Ford RS200 of Ian Duncan being the runner-up in his home event and giving Ford a one-two. Portugal was a closer event, with again the half-paved half-gravel event being a tossup, a tossup won by the Peugeot 405 VR3 of Markku Alen, with the Toyotas of Carlos Sainz and Armin Schwarz finishing second and third. The event was the first Group A win for Subaru for Possum Bourne at the wheel of his Legacy RS. Round eight was the return for Corsica to the schedule for the first time since 1986, and the paved rally again was a chance for the S2s to shine - which they did, with Didier Auriol scoring his first win of the year, and the first for BMW in the WRC. The Lancia ECV2 of Juha Kankkunen was the first Group S finisher in third, with the Peugeot 405VR2 of Vatanen being the P2 finisher. Gustavo Trelles and Gilles Panizzi both crashes their Ferrari 348s, and Mohammed bin Sulayem did the same with his privately-entered F40. Greece was round nine, and the nasty Acropolis Rally was again reliability event - and as with Kenya, Ford won it, this with Malcolm Wilson leading home Delecour, with Colin McRae finishing third in his Opel Calibra, which was starting to show speed. Greece was the end of the season for Toyota's Kenneth Ericcson, who was injured when his Toyota SW20 plunged down a hillside. Toyota signed up a fast-rising Group A driver, Tommi Makinen, to take over the second car.
Toyota's faith in Makinen was rewarded when he drove his SW20 to the win in New Zealand. Juha Kankkunen finished third, with a season-best third for Jesus Paras in his Mazda Lantis X. New Zealand's Group S2 win was taken by Vatanen's Peugeot, though that was after the BMW of Alain Bergeron crashed out. In Australia shortly after, to nobody's surprise, Carlos Sainz took his second win, though Makinen retired with four stages to go with a gearbox failure, leaving Biasion to grab second and Delecour to finish third in the Escort.
On to a hot Rally Argentina, and mechanical problems again slowed both Toyotas, and Kankkunen and Biasion took full advantage, racing to the win. The third for Colin McRae was his best event of the year at that point, and the third for McRae and fifth for Jorge Recalde was the first time both Calibras made it home of the year. Group S2 was won by the BMW of Hannu Mikkola, though Gustavo Trelles lost the win due to a poorly-timed navigational error on the third to last stage. Back to Europe for the 1000 Lakes Rally, and Kankkunen made it two in a row, with Timo Salonen's Escort being fairly close, and the 405 VR2 of Vatanen proving that Finns are tough to top on their home track. Makinen lost what looked like a win when he crashed out from the lead on SS10. Even Group A was won by a Finn, with Lasse Lampi's Galant VR-4 beating home JJ Lehto's Gremlin to the Group A win.
Round 14 at Sanremo was another victory for the Lancias, with Miki Biasion winning at his home rally. The second place for Carlos Sainz kept him in it. McRae got his second podium of the year, and the three stage wins for the aggressive young Scotsman and his getting-fast Calibra were proof GM meant business. The Ferrari 348RC of Gustavo Trelles led home the F40 of Piero Liatti, with only a last-minute charge by Ari Vatanen and his 405 stopping an Italian sweep of the S2 podium. The Integrales of Dario Cerrato and Andrea Aghini easily won Group A in Italy. Round 15 was the last new rally of 1991 in Germany, the all-pavement rally being the very devil for predictability, with crazy weather catching numerous guys out. The BMW of Hannu Mikkola came ahead in Germany overall, though the Escort of Francois Delecour and the Lancia of Juha Kankkunen also made it to the finish to finish second and third, with Ari Vatanen's 405 finishing fourth. Sainz's DNF and Makinen's mechanical problems cost Toyota dearly, giving them a big gap to make up in the final three rallies.
For the first time, all of the racers appeared for real in the Ivory Coast, and the African Rally proved to be a serious proving ground, just as Kenya had been. A rollover by Miki Biasion ended his hopes at the driver's title, but Kankkunen, despite problems of his own, managed to finish in third. Looking to make up the manufacturer's gap, saw the Toyotas finish 1-2, with Makinen leading Sainz across the line. For the only time in 1991, neither Calibra made it to finish, and Ford's Escorts both broke, leaving the fourth place to the Mazda Lantis of Jesus Paras, and fifth to the Ford RS200 of Ian Duncan. Nearly all of the S2 cars broke, leaving Ari Vatanen's 405 to finish over twenty minutes ahead of second place in S2, the Corvette of Patrick Tauziac. Group A was won by the Subaru of Patrick Njiru, a surprise win for the Kenyan rallier. Back to Europe for the final two rounds, and Toyota's slim chance at the manufacturer's title was ended by Miki Biasion's win in Spain, though the real story was the near-win by Jorge Recalde's Opel Calibra - he was only behind Biasion by eleven seconds at the end of the rally. Sainz's third put him back on top of the points table, but only ahead by Kankkunen by a single point. Possum Bourne's win in Group A with the Legacy RS locked up the Group A title for Subaru - something that had most certainly not been expected, though Dario Cerrato's second meant that he very nearly won the driver's title.
With all three drivers' titles and the S2 manufacturer's title to play for, the RAC rally was mayhem. It was also a watershed, as Malcolm Wilson finally won his home rally, though McRae made him work his ass off for it, the two drivers winning all but two stages of the 1991 RAC Rally. Juha Kankkunen's third place made him the World Champion for 1991, confirmed when Group S2 points leader Ari Vatanen crashed out, though his teammate Markku Alen settled the second straight S2 title for Peugeot by finishing second - the Ferrari of Gustavo Trelles coming out the S2 winner. Cerrato had DNF and Bourne win for the Subaru pilot to win the Group A title, and while Bourne did win, Cerrato finished third and thus won the WRC's Group A championship.
WRC Driver's Champion: Juha Kankkunen (Lancia ECV2)
WRC Makes Champion: Lancia
WRC Group S Champion: Lancia
WRC Group S2 Driver's Champion: Ari Vatanen (Peugeot 405 VR2)
WRC Group S2 Makes Champion: Peugeot
WRC Group A Driver's Champion: Dario Cerrato (Lancia Delta Integrale 16V)
WRC Group A Makes Champion: Subaru
