- 1988 World Rally Championship season
The 1988 World Rally Championship season was the 15th season of the
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA)World Rally Championship (WRC). The season consisted of 13 rallies, following the same schedule as the previous 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. The Lancia Delta HF 4WD proved fast and reliable in the hands of returning drivers Finn
Markku Alén and ItalianMiki Biasion . During the season, the car was replaced by the Delta Integrale, which was an immediate success. Biaison 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 the Tour de Corse in his Sierra 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 of
Audi 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 the Mazda 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. Belgian
Pascal Gaban won the hotly contested condest in a Mazda 323 against ArgentineJorge Recalde in his Lancia Delta while ItalianGiovanni Del Zoppo , another Delta pilot, finished well behind in third place.__TOC__
Events
Championship for drivers
See also
*
1988 in sports
* [http://www.rallybase.nl/index.php?type=season&champid=wrc1988 FIA World Rally Championship 1988] at [http://www.rallybase.nl/ rallybase]
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