History 1980s

1987 Lombard RAC Rally (Great Britain)

Overview Route Results Cars Challenges

Overview

Event Name: 1987 Lombard RAC Rally (Great Britain)

Date: November 22–26, 1987

Start Location: Chester, England

Finish Location: Chester, England

Total Distance: 316 km of special stages

Surface: Gravel

The 1987 RAC Rally served as the dramatic final chapter in a season-long title fight between Juha Kankkunen and Markku Alén. With wet gravel, dense fog, and dozens of forest stages across Wales, Kankkunen kept a cool head and consistent pace in his Lancia Delta HF 4WD to take the victory—and with it, his second world championship. The RAC’s unique no-recce format and ever-changing British weather added an extra layer of difficulty to an already pressure-filled finale.

Route

Kielder Forest: Long and punishing stages with fast straights and minimal margin for error in tight tree-lined sections.

Clocaenog and Dyfi: Welsh forest classics with wet gravel, mist, and blind crests—driver instinct was critical.

Military Areas: Short, high-risk night stages that offered little recovery room from even minor mistakes.

The rally featured over 50 timed stages through British forests and private estates, many of which were driven blind:

The event’s traditional lack of pacenotes required exceptional co-driver timing and map-reading precision under immense pressure.

🏆 Results

Overall Winner

Juha Kankkunen & Juha Piironen · Lancia Delta HF 4WD

2nd Place

Hannu Mikkola & Arne Hertz · Mazda 323 4WD

3rd Place

Jimmy McRae & Ian Grindrod · Ford Sierra RS Cosworth

Kankkunen’s triumph in the RAC sealed both the rally win and the 1987 drivers’ championship, marking Lancia’s growing dynasty in the Group A era.

Navigation & Challenges

No Pacenotes: RAC tradition forced crews to rely on roadbooks and rapid in-stage communication.
Fog and Rain: Classic British weather created poor visibility and traction inconsistencies from stage to stage.
Title Pressure: Kankkunen had to balance outright speed with the need to avoid mistakes in a high-stakes finale.

The 1987 Lombard RAC Rally capped a fiercely contested season—Kankkunen’s clinical win in the forests of Britain delivered him a second world crown and secured Lancia’s hold on the new era of rallying.

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