1989 Race of Champions

The 1989 Race of Champions was the second event and was held at the Nürburgring in memory of Henri Toivonen, who died while leading the 1986 Tour de Corse.[1] This event featured the world’s first ever parallel rally track with drivers competing head-to-head in identical cars.

Participants

Before start of the main event Spanish Rally Champion of 1987 and 1988 Carlos Sainz crashed on practice in Toyota Celica GT-4 (ST165) (number plate K-AM 6320). Sepp Haider replased Spaniard. All participants are below.[2][3]

Driver Titles
Juha Kankkunen World Rally champion in 1986, 1987
Timo Salonen World Rally champion in 1985
Stig Blomqvist World Rally champion in 1984
Kenneth Eriksson Group A Rally champion in 1986, 2WD Rally champion in 1987
Sepp Haider German Rally champion in 1989
Björn Waldegård World Rally champion in 1979
Hannu Mikkola World Rally champion in 1983
Marc Duez Belgian Rally champion in 1982 and 1989
Ari Vatanen World Rally champion in 1981
Walter Röhrl World Rally champion in 1980, 1982

Race of Champions

Qualification round

Cars

Opel Kadett E 2.0 GSi Group A with number plates Opel GSI 16V.

Race 1

Driver A Time A Driver B Time B
Juha Kankkunen +0:01.479 Walter Röhrl 1:30.177

Race 2

Driver A Time A Driver B Time B
Ari Vatanen +0:00.469 Timo Salonen 1:31.180

Race 3

Driver A Time A Driver B Time B
Marc Duez 1:30.156 Stig Blomqvist +0:01.270

Race 4

Driver A Time A Driver B Time B
Hannu Mikkola +0:00.610 Kenneth Eriksson 1:30.586

Race 5

Driver A Time A Driver B Time B
Björn Waldegård +0:00.736 Sepp Haider 1:29.938

Race 6

Driver A Time A Driver B Time B
Stig Blomqvist 1:29.863 Björn Waldegård +0:00.638

Quarterfinals

Cars

Toyota Celica GT-4 (ST165) with number plates K-AM 4135, K-AM 5265, K-AM 8582.

Quarterfinal 1

Race 1
Driver A Time A Driver B Time B
Sepp Haider (K-AM 4135) 1:26.344 Kenneth Eriksson (K-AM 8582) +0:00.441
Race 2
Driver A Time A Driver B Time B
Kenneth Eriksson (K-AM 8582) 1:26.762 Sepp Haider (K-AM 4135) +0:00.054
Race 3
Driver A Time A Driver B Time B
Sepp Haider (K-AM 4135) 1:25.919 Kenneth Eriksson (K-AM 8582) +0:00.086

Winner: Sepp Haider.

Quarterfinal 2

Race 1
Driver A Time A Driver B Time B
Walter Röhrl (K-AM 4135) +0:00.246 Stig Blomqvist (K-AM 5265) 1:26.558
Race 2
Driver A Time A Driver B Time B
Stig Blomqvist (K-AM 5265) 1:25.565 Walter Röhrl (K-AM 4135) +0:00.084

Winner: Stig Blomqvist.

Quarterfinal 3

Race 1
Driver A Time A Driver B Time B
Marc Duez ? Timo Salonen ?
Race 2
Driver A Time A Driver B Time B
Timo Salonen ? Marc Duez ?

Winner: Marc Duez.

The last semi-finalist is Walter Röhrl.

Semi-finals

Cars

Audi Sport Quattro S1 E2 without number plates.

Semi-final 1

Race 1

First attempt was cancelled due to technical issues with the starting procedure of Marc Duez.

Driver A Time A Driver B Time B
Marc Duez +0:03.959 Stig Blomqvist 1:23.592
Race 2
Driver A Time A Driver B Time B
Marc Duez +0:01.346 Stig Blomqvist 1:22.601

Winner: Stig Blomqvist.

Semi-final 2

One of couple races ended with the next result:

Driver A Time A Driver B Time B
Sepp Haider +0:00.169 Walter Röhrl 1:23.054

Winner: Walter Röhrl.

Finals

Cars

2 Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2: plate 287 FPF 75 (FRA) for Walter Röhrl and plate 311 FPF 75 (FRA) for Stig Blomqvist in the first run. Then drivers switched cars for 2nd run.

Race 1

Driver A Time A Driver B Time B
Stig Blomqvist 1:22.218 Walter Röhrl +0:01.630

Race 2

Driver A Time A Driver B Time B
Stig Blomqvist 1:21.929 Walter Röhrl +0:02.893

Winner: Stig Blomqvist.

References

  1. ^ "The concept". Race of Champions. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
  2. ^ "Action from the Race of Champions 1989". Retrieved 29 December 2025.
  3. ^ "Action from the Race of Champions Rally Masters 1989 - Nürburgring". Retrieved 29 December 2025.
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