| World Rally Championship |
|---|
| Current season |
| Support categories |
|
| Current car classes |
| Related lists |
| Organisations |
The1988 World Rally Championship was the 16th season of theFédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA)World Rally Championship (WRC). The season consisted of 13rallies, following the same schedule as theprevious season.
Martini Lancia followed their successful previous season with an even more dominant performance in 1988, winning ten of the eleven rallies in which manufacturer points were awarded. TheLancia Delta HF 4WD proved fast and reliable in the hands of returning drivers FinnMarkku Alén and ItalianMiki Biasion. During the season, the car was replaced by the Delta HF Integrale, which was an immediate success. Biasion would take the drivers' title, with his Finnish teammate placing second behind him. Third driver FrenchmanBruno Saby also contributed to the effort with a rally win, though was not a major contender for the title.Jolly Club driver, ItalianAlex Fiorio, would take third place in the driver championship at the wheel of a Lancia Delta as well.
Ford Motor Company struggled to compete, though it was the only other manufacturer besides Lancia to win a rally, with primary driverDidier Auriol winning theTour de Corse in hisSierra RS Cosworth. Auriol would only reach 6th in the drivers' competition, while Spanish teammateCarlos Sainz would struggle to reach 11th in the standings.Stig Blomqvist, racing forRallysport Sweden in a Sierra, would finish best amongst Ford drivers, taking 4th in the championship standings.
1988 marked the withdrawal ofAudi Sport from the WRC, although a number of small teams and privateers were successful enough usingAudi Quattro versions for the manufacturer to place 3rd amongst manufacturers despite the lack of a works effort.Mazda Rally Team Europe made a significant effort to compete with FinnTimo Salonen as their primary driver for theMazda 323 4WD. Timo would garner 5th place in the driver standings while the manufacturer gained 4th place.
In addition to the primary driver and manufacturer championships, WRC also awarded the FIA Cup for Drivers of Production Cars for a second season. BelgianPascal Gaban won the hotly contested contest in a Mazda 323 against ArgentineJorge Recalde in his Lancia Delta while ItalianGiovanni Del Zoppo, another Delta pilot, finished well behind in third place.
| Rd. | Start date | Finish date | Rally | Rally headquarters | Surface | Stages | Distance | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 January | 21 January |  56th Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo | Monte Carlo | Mixed | 26 | 621 km | Drivers & Manufacturers |
| 2 | 4 February | 6 February |  38th International Swedish Rally | Karlstad,Värmland County | Snow | 36 | 500.30 km | Drivers & Manufacturers |
| 3 | 1 March | 5 March |  22nd Rallye de Portugal - Vinho do Porto | Estoril, Lisbon | Mixed | 37 | 588.70 km | Drivers & Manufacturers |
| 4 | 31 March | 4 April |  36th Marlboro Safari Rally | Nairobi | Gravel | N/A | 4205.77 km | Drivers & Manufacturers |
| 5 | 3 May | 6 May |  32nd Tour de Corse - Rallye de France | Ajaccio, Corsica | Tarmac | 30 | 622.84 km | Drivers & Manufacturers |
| 6 | 29 May | 1 June |  35th Acropolis Rally | Athens | Gravel | 32 | 526.10 km | Drivers & Manufacturers |
| 7 | 23 June | 26 June |  16th Olympus Rally | Tacoma, Washington | Gravel | 38 | 549.91 km | Drivers & Manufacturers |
| 8 | 9 July | 12 July |  19th Rothmans Rally of New Zealand | Auckland | Gravel | 40 | 614.56 km | Drivers only |
| 9 | 2 August | 6 August |  8th Marlboro Rally of Argentina | Buenos Aires | Gravel | 29 | 583.60 km | Drivers & Manufacturers |
| 10 | 26 August | 28 August |  38th 1000 Lakes Rally | Jyväskylä, Central Finland | Gravel | 39 | 496.33 km | Drivers & Manufacturers |
| 11 | 20 September | 24 September |  20th Marlboro Rallye Cote d'Ivoire | Abidjan | Gravel | N/A | 3421.81 km | Drivers only |
| 12 | 10 October | 14 October |  30th Rallye Sanremo - Rallye d'Italia | Sanremo, Liguria | Mixed | 43 | 564.96 km | Drivers & Manufacturers |
| 13 | 20 November | 24 November |  44th Lombard RAC Rally | Harrogate | Gravel | 52 | 602.60 km | Drivers & Manufacturers |
| Sources:[1][2] | ||||||||
 | |||
| Black = Tarmac | Brown = Gravel | Blue = Snow/Ice | Red = Mixed Surface |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Manufacturers | Event | Total points | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MON | SWE | POR | KEN | FRA | GRC | USA | ARG | FIN | ITA | GBR | |||
| 1 | Lancia | (20) | (20) | (20) | 20 | (17) | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 140 |
| 2 | Ford | – | 17 | 10 | – | 20 | – | – | – | 14 | 10 | 8 | 79 |
| 3 |  Audi | 7 | 14 | – | 4 | – | 10 | 14 | 12 | (2) | (2) | 10 | 71 |
| 4 |  Mazda | 10 | – | 12 | – | – | 9 | 6 | – | 12 | – | 17 | 66 |
| 5 | Toyota | – | – | – | 12 | 8 | – | – | 4 | – | 8 | 14 | 46 |
| 6 | Renault | 12 | – | 4 | – | 8 | – | – | 8 | – | – | – | 32 |
| 7 | BMW | 13 | – | – | – | 12 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 25 |
| 8 | Nissan | – | – | – | 17 | – | 6 | – | – | – | – | – | 23 |
| 9 | Subaru | – | – | – | 8 | – | – | – | 10 | – | – | – | 18 |
| 10 | Peugeot | 14 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 15 |
| 11 | Volkswagen | – | – | 6 | – | – | 4 | – | – | – | 4 | – | 14 |
| 12 | Opel | – | 10 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | 2 | 13 |
| 13 | Suzuki | – | – | – | – | – | – | 8 | 1 | – | – | – | 9 |
| 14 | Mitsubishi | – | – | – | – | – | – | 7 | – | – | – | – | 7 |
| 15 | Alfa Romeo | – | – | – | – | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 |
| 16 | Fiat | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | – | – | 2 |
| Rank | Driver | Event | Total points | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MON | SWE | POR | KEN | FRA | GRC | USA | NZL | ARG | FIN | CIV | ITA | GBR | |||
| 1 | Miki Biasion | – | – | 20 | 20 | – | 20 | 20 | – | 15 | – | – | 20 | – | 115 |
| 2 | Markku Alén | – | 20 | 6 | – | – | 10 | – | – | – | 20 | – | 10 | 20 | 86 |
| 3 | Alex Fiorio | 15 | – | 15 | – | – | 12 | 15 | – | – | 4 | – | 15 | – | 76 |
| 4 | Stig Blomqvist | – | 15 | 8 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 8 | – | 4 | 6 | 41 |
| 5 | Timo Salonen | 8 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 10 | – | – | 15 | 33 |
| 6 | Bruno Saby | 20 | – | – | – | 12 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 32 |
| Didier Auriol | – | – | – | – | 20 | – | – | – | – | 12 | – | – | – | 32 | |
| 8 | Mikael Ericsson | – | – | – | – | – | 15 | – | – | – | 15 | – | – | – | 30 |
| 9 | Jorge Recalde | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | 6 | – | 20 | – | – | – | – | 27 |
| 10 | Yves Loubet | – | – | 12 | – | 15 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 27 |
| 11 |  Carlos Sainz | – | – | – | – | 8 | – | – | – | – | 6 | – | 8 | 4 | 26 |
| 12 | Kenneth Eriksson | – | – | – | 10 | 6 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 6 | – | 22 |
| 13 |  Rudi Stohl | – | – | – | 3 | – | 8 | – | – | 10 | – | – | – | – | 21 |
| 14 | Sepp Haider | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 20 | – | – | – | – | – | 20 |
| Alain Ambrosino | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 20 | – | – | 20 | |
| 16 |  Pascal Gaban | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | 15 | – | – | 16 |
| 17 | Björn Waldegård | – | – | – | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 12 | 16 |
| 18 | Mike Kirkland | – | – | – | 15 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 15 |
| Ray Wilson | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 15 | – | – | – | – | – | 15 | |
| 20 | Jean-Pierre Ballet | 12 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 12 |
| Lars-Erik Torph | – | 12 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 12 | |
| Per Eklund | – | – | – | 12 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 12 | |
| John Buffum | – | – | – | – | – | – | 12 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 12 | |
| Malcolm Stewart | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 12 | – | – | – | – | – | 12 | |
| Franz Wittmann Sr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 12 | – | – | – | – | 12 | |
| Patrick Tauziac | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 12 | – | – | 12 | |
| Dario Cerrato | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 12 | – | 12 | |
| 28 | Alain Oreille | 10 | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 11 |
| 29 | Giovanni Del Zoppo | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | 8 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 11 |
| 30 | Erik Johansson | – | 10 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 10 |
| Hannu Mikkola | – | – | 10 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 10 | |
| François Chatriot | – | – | – | – | 10 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 10 | |
| Georg Fischer | – | – | – | – | – | – | 10 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 10 | |
 David Officer | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 10 | – | – | – | – | – | 10 | |
| Alain Oudit | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 10 | – | – | 10 | |
| Pentti Airikkala | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 10 | 10 | |
| 37 | Håkan Eriksson | – | 8 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 8 |
| Juha Kankkunen | – | – | – | 8 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 8 | |
| Ross Meekings | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 8 | – | – | – | – | – | 8 | |
 José Celsi | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 8 | – | – | – | – | 8 | |
| Adolphe Choteau | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 8 | – | – | 8 | |
| Armin Schwarz | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 8 | 8 | |
| 43 | François Chauche | 6 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 6 |
| Björn Johansson | – | 6 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 6 | |
| Ian Duncan | – | – | – | 6 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 6 | |
| Jigger | – | – | – | – | – | 6 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 6 | |
| Marty Roestenburg | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 6 | – | – | – | – | – | 6 | |
| Juan Maria Traverso | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 6 | – | – | – | – | 6 | |
| Didier Monin | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 6 | – | – | 6 | |
| 50 | Christophe Spiliotis | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 |
| Bror Danielsson | – | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | |
| Erwin Weber | – | – | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | |
| Bernard Béguin | – | – | – | – | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | |
| Stratissino | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | |
| Nobuhiro Tajima | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | |
| Joe McAndrew | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | |
| Marcelo Raies | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | – | – | – | – | 4 | |
| Roberto Ambrosoli | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | – | – | 4 | |
| 59 | Malcolm Wilson | – | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 |
| Inverno Amaral | – | – | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | |
| Paul Rouby | – | – | – | – | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | |
| Kóstas Apostolou | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | |
| Rod Millen | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | |
| Tetsuo Sano | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | |
| Claudio Israel | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | – | – | – | – | 3 | |
| Harry Joki | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | – | – | – | 3 | |
| Soumare Mafell | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | – | – | 3 | |
| Raimund Baumschlager | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | – | 3 | |
| Stig-Olov Walfridsson | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | 3 | |
| 70 | Tomas Jansson | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | – | – | 3 |
| Mats Jonsson | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | 2 | 3 | |
| 72 | Pierre Bos | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 |
| Sebastian Lindholm | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | |
| Carlos Bica | – | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | |
| 'Possum' Bourne | – | – | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | |
| César Baroni | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | |
| Flory Roothaert | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | |
| Alan Carter | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | |
| Dave Strong | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | |
| José Luis Grasso | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | 2 | |
| Michel Molinie | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | – | 2 | |
| Paola De Martini | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | 2 | |
| 83 | Richard Frau | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| Jim Heather-Hayes | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | |
 Michael Lieu | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | |
| Murray Walker | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | |
| Fernando Urrutia | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | 1 | |
| Samir Assef | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | 1 | |
| Paolo Alessandrini | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | 1 | |
| Kalle Grundel | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | |
| Points awarded by finish | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Rank | Driver | Event | Total points | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MON | SWE | POR | KEN | FRA | GRC | USA | NZL | ARG | FIN | CIV | ITA | GBR | |||
| 1 | Pascal Gaban | – | – | 10 | – | – | 13 | – | – | – | – | 13 | 7 | 2 | 45 |
| 2 | Jorge Recalde | – | – | 13 | – | – | – | 10 | – | – | 13 | – | – | 7 | 43 |
| 3 | Giovanni Del Zoppo | 10 | – | – | – | – | – | 13 | – | – | 7 | – | – | – | 30 |
| 4 | Grégoire de Mévius | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | – | – | 13 | 16 |
| 5 |  Massimo Ercolani | – | 5 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 5 | – | – | 5 | 15 |
| 6 | François Chauche | 13 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 13 |
| Sören Nilsson | – | 13 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 13 | |
| César Baroni | – | – | – | – | 13 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 13 | |
| Dave Strong | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 13 | – | – | – | – | – | 13 | |
| Andrea Aghini | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 13 | – | 13 | |
| 11 | Richard Frau | 7 | – | – | – | 5 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 12 |
