The
Olympus Rally was part of the first US rally championship staged in
1973 and it later evolved to become part of the World Rally Championship
from 1986 through 1988. The
list of past winners reads like the who’s who of rally history.
- John Buffum, America’s most successful rally driver, won the Olympus four times on his way to
117 US rally wins and eight national championships.
- Rod Millen, three time New Zealand rally champion and three time US champion also won the Olympus
four times.
- The most famous of the ‘Flying Finns’ Hannu Mikkola was the dominant driver in world rallying in
the 1970s and 1980s. He won the Olympus in 1985, a prototype for the world championship events that
followed.
- Markku Alen claimed the FIA Driver’s Cup and won 20 world championship events including the 1986
Olympus.
- Four time world rally champion Juha Kankkunen won the Olympus in 1987 after finishing second in
1986.
- 1988 Olympus winner Miki Biasion was world champion twice, the only Italian driver to capture the
title.
The
1986 Olympus is fondly remembered as the last rally for the ‘Group B’
cars. Group B regulations created flyweight, 600 horse power,
all-wheel-drive rally cars, like the Delta S4 that could go from zero to
60 mph in 2.3 seconds.
Toyota, Nissan and Lancia
brought full factory teams to the 1987 Olympus, and unofficial works
entries from Audi, Mazda and Suzuki filled out the entry. The rally
started with stages in Seattle’s Golden Gardens Park and downtown Tacoma
before heading into the forests. At the finish, Kankkunen edged Miki
Biasion and Alen to give Lancia a one-two-three sweep. Clive Smith won
the Production GT class with Ritchey and Howard Watanabe in second. In
third place was Scott Child and Steve Laverty in their factory Toyota.
