Kankkunen pushed on and caught with Mehta till the Nissan slid into the bushes. Not far down the street, the Celica was having problems with its personal as he slid off the street right into a water-filled ditch in first gear. Having persuaded the locals to haul the TCT out, Kankkunen and Fred Gallagher elected for an much more cautious strategy.
Three issues occurred then: the rain stopped and Peugeot and Audi hit hassle. The six-speed gearbox on the Sport quattro wasn’t working because it ought to have been, forcing the German producer to withdraw two automobiles and deal with Hannu Mikkola and Stig Blomqvist. Each retired, the previous with an engine fault, the latter with a blown gearbox.
The 1985 occasion was Peugeot’s maiden voyage within the 205 T16. Ari Vatanen departed with a head gasket failure and Tim Salonen completed a distant seventh.
Up entrance, one thing very particular was occurring. Kankkunen takes up the story.
“Actually,” he stated, “I had no thought what was coming. No thought in any respect. I used to be 25. Only a boy. I had heard discuss this being the hardest rally on this planet. The outdated boys then, they weren’t saying a lot, however once we did the recce I used to be fortunate to be along with Björn and, in fact, our crew principal was Ove Andersson, who had additionally gained this occasion in 1975.
“I used to be taking good recommendation from them, after which the driving got here surprisingly good. I got here to the highest and stayed there. I simply saved the identical pace and, instantly, the others had been having little issues after which I noticed I’m main by half an hour!
