Olympus Rally's History

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.