Round 6 of the 1986 World Rally Championship and once again the Acropolis Rally proved to be one of the toughest events of the season.
There was plenty of slipping and sliding on the loose gravel stages, plenty of punctures and out of the 101 starters, only 34 cars were to finish. Tough indeed - and that was without the battle that ensued at the top of the
leaderboard!
The event was billed as a three way battle between the big guns of Peugeot, Ford and Lancia (Audi had withdrawn from the series after the recent tragedies). With top drivers Stig Blomqvist (Ford RS200), Juha Kankkunen (Peugeot) and Markku Alen (Lancia) all leading on the road at some point during the event - the outcome was unpredictable!
It was Kankkunen who was to hold onto the lead when it came his way and despite a hard charging Alen and then Biasion, he held on to take the win, increasing his lead in the Drivers’ World Championship along the way. Peugeot moved further ahead of Lancia in the manufacturers’ standings but there was a long way to go until the end of the season - and in world rallying anything can happen!