_(cropped).jpg) Biasion at 2018Estoril Classic Week | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality |  Italian |
| Born | (1958-01-07)7 January 1958 (age 67) Bassano del Grappa,Veneto, Italy |
| World Rally Championship record | |
| Active years | 1980–1994 |
| Co-driver | Tiziano Siviero Carlo Cassina |
| Teams | Lancia,Ford |
| Rallies | 78 |
| Championships | 2 (1988,1989) |
| Rally wins | 17 |
| Podiums | 40 |
| Stage wins | 373 |
| Total points | 768 |
| First rally | 1980Rallye Sanremo |
| First win | 1986Rally Argentina |
| Last win | 1993Acropolis Rally |
| Last rally | 1994RAC Rally |
Massimo "Miki" Biasion (born 7 January 1958) is an Italian rally driver, two-timeWorld Rally champion.
Biasion was born inBassano del Grappa,Veneto.
Biasion came to prominence in the early 1980s, winning both the Italian and European Rally Championships in 1983, driving aLancia 037. He began competing in 1979, in anOpel Kadett GT/E.[1] He was later drafted in to play a key role for the worksLanciaWorld Rally Championship team in the mid-1980s as the squad sought to regroup after previous star driverHenri Toivonen's fatal crash, and would go on to dominate earlyGroup A rallying, taking the world championship in the years 1988 and 1989. At his peak, Biasion was notching victories in almost three quarters of all events he entered. He also was only the second driver to successfully defend his title (afterJuha Kankkunen) and the third one to win two titles (after Kankkunen andWalter Röhrl).
After his championship years, Biasion was never able to achieve that level of success again. He failed to win an event for Lancia in 1991, and switched to Ford for 1992 on a contract that made him the highest-paid driver of his day, and gave him some managerial input. The optimism did not last. Biasion reputedly described theFord Sierra RS Cosworth 4x4 as "a pile of shit" after his first event for the team (the 1992Monte Carlo Rally), although on thePortuguese Rally he did give the car its best WRC result by finishing second. The following year, driving the newFord Escort RS Cosworth, he won theAcropolis Rally and led the driver's championship for part of the season.
Throughout Biasion's tenure at Ford he was overshadowed by the youngerFrançois Delecour, who generally proved to be faster, especially on tarmac. Moreover, Delecour's road accident, which forced him to sit out much of the1994 season, exposed the weaknesses in the team. Insufficient resources meant that development of the Escort slipped behind its rivals, and Biasion's relationship with the team worsened as the season progressed. He was subsequently dropped for the following year. After contesting a couple of rallies for private teams, he retired quietly at the end of the 1995 season (his two last WRC events were part of the 2LWC prior to the lateColin McRae's honor as 1995 World Rally Champion, but this truly last WRC event was the RAC (now Wales Rally GB) in 1994 when it was won by McRae himself and Didier Auriol's honor as 1994 World Rally Champion).
Throughout his entire career he was co-driven byTiziano Siviero, the sole exception being the Portuguese Rally of 1988, where Siviero was replaced by Carlo Cassina due to health problems.
He drove for the works Mitsubishi team on the Dakar rally in both 2003[2] and 2004. In 2003, he finished the event's penultimate stage in third place, but his gearbox seized on the podium. Trying to move and fix the car in that area resulted in a 10-hour penalty. He fell from what was a podium in overall rally time to outside the top 10 in the final standings. In 2004, a roll ended his event - despite making it to service, the team could not fix the Pajero well enough to continue.
He returned to the event in 2006,[3] this time in the truck category. He drove for the manufacturer Iveco team, alongside team-mateMarkku Alén. In 2007, he was part of the manufacturer Fiat team, running the diminutive Panda 4x4 ('PanDakar') on the event, alongside team-mateBruno Saby.[4] He would once again return in the works Iveco team for the2012 Dakar Rally, winning three stages and finishing sixth overall.
Biasion won the World Truck Championship in 1998 and 1999 driving anIveco.
Biasion was married to Italian rally driver Chantal Galli, who won the Italian women's rally championship several times.[1] They had four children, named Bettina, Isotta, Jacobo, and Olivia. The pair are now divorced, and Biasion is currently married to Paola.[5][6][7]
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Autosport International Rally Driver Award 1989 | Succeeded by |
| Sporting positions | ||
| Preceded by | European Rally Champion 1983 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | World Rally Champion 1988–1989 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Race of Champions Classic Master 1998 | Succeeded by Not held |
