0:00:11 > 0:00:15In the mid-1980s, rallying became more popular than Formula 1.
0:00:16 > 0:00:18Rules were changed,
0:00:18 > 0:00:22allowing manufacturers to create ever-more crazy and powerful cars.
0:00:23 > 0:00:24Known as Group B machines,
0:00:24 > 0:00:28they unleashed unseen power on the World Rally Championship.
0:00:28 > 0:00:30Too much power, too much speed.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32It was the fastest rallying there'll ever be.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40The 1980s would become known as rallying's golden years.
0:00:43 > 0:00:47Star drivers, given the extreme challenge of keeping
0:00:47 > 0:00:51these cars on the tarmac, gravel, and snow.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54However, rallying quickly became lethal,
0:00:54 > 0:00:58as the race for more power left safety behind.
0:01:00 > 0:01:05In a Group B car, it was so easy to make mistakes.
0:01:08 > 0:01:11And the car was completely destroyed.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14It was crazy. Absolutely crazy.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17An accident, or more, was bound to happen.
0:01:17 > 0:01:22The unregulated mayhem ended abruptly in 1986,
0:01:22 > 0:01:23after a series of tragedies.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28The Group B was something quite emotional,
0:01:28 > 0:01:33but I try always to cancel this period from my mind.
0:01:33 > 0:01:38This is the inside story of when rallying went out of control,
0:01:38 > 0:01:40the madness that happens
0:01:40 > 0:01:44when fans, ambition, politics and cars collide.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01Rallying started as a hobby for motor enthusiasts
0:02:01 > 0:02:03using their everyday car.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05The adventurous and eccentric
0:02:05 > 0:02:09competing in a series of road tests against the clock.
0:02:10 > 0:02:14It was Grand Prix's scruffy cousin.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17Women competed equally alongside men.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22In the 1960s, the sport was predominantly amateur.
0:02:22 > 0:02:24Grand Prix driver Tony Brooks
0:02:24 > 0:02:29even entering a taxi in the 1961 Monte Carlo Rally.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33It was all part of rallying's non-exclusive joie de vivre.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36By the 1980s,
0:02:36 > 0:02:40the World Rally Championship consisted of events in 12 countries,
0:02:40 > 0:02:45up to 5,000km long, split into day and night stages.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50Top car companies and professional teams competed.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53It was the ultimate test of speed and endurance
0:02:53 > 0:02:56for the car, driver and co-driver.
0:02:57 > 0:02:58All these rallies were different.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01You know, you had tarmac in Corsica,
0:03:01 > 0:03:04rough roads in Greece,
0:03:04 > 0:03:06African roads in Africa!
0:03:06 > 0:03:11It was a hell of a challenge, not only for the drivers and crews
0:03:11 > 0:03:15that were actually taking part but also for the engineers,
0:03:15 > 0:03:17because you've got to design a car
0:03:17 > 0:03:19which could perform well in all those conditions.
0:03:24 > 0:03:28But, I mean, it's madness to go rallying in the first place.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33All this was, was a, sort of, refined madness!
0:03:34 > 0:03:37Go on, keep going. Keep going.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39That's it.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42Always follow the arrows, don't I?
0:03:42 > 0:03:44This isn't a laughing matter, is it?
0:03:44 > 0:03:47Well, you got to laugh, or you'd cry, don't you?
0:03:47 > 0:03:49And I don't like crying.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55Motorsport's governing body is based in Paris's Place De La Concorde,
0:03:55 > 0:04:00a long way from the gravel and dirt tracks of rallying.
0:04:00 > 0:04:06Its leader in the 1980s was the unpredictable Jean-Marie Balestre.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08Balestre invited, for the first time,
0:04:08 > 0:04:12manufacturers, to help shake up rallying's rules.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15I think you're wrong, here, to assume that Mr Balestre
0:04:15 > 0:04:20had a very clear view of what the future was going to be.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22I don't think he had any idea about cars or anything like that.
0:04:22 > 0:04:24His business was publishing.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28Balestre's dream, if there was one, was that he was going to get
0:04:28 > 0:04:31a lot of manufacturers in and a lot of people were going to pay fees,
0:04:31 > 0:04:34or a lot of money, you know, to go rallying.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37The manufacturers wanted it easier to make more powerful rally cars,
0:04:37 > 0:04:41to leave behind the need to base them on a road vehicle.
0:04:41 > 0:04:45They wanted to showcase their extreme engineering,
0:04:45 > 0:04:48because it helped sell cars.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55Balestre agreed, and it would radically transform the sport.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03The new Group B rules allowed manufacturers
0:05:03 > 0:05:05to leave behind the standard public production models
0:05:05 > 0:05:10and design their rally cars starting from a clean sheet of paper.
0:05:10 > 0:05:15Exotic materials, clever aerodynamics, unlimited power
0:05:15 > 0:05:20could then be added to the cars that became known as evolutions.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23A new breed of monster car had arrived.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26FISA didn't necessarily understand
0:05:26 > 0:05:29what they were creating with Group B.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31You can't be surprised that the manufacturers exploit that,
0:05:31 > 0:05:34because that's what they're paid to do. That's what they want to do.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36And, I mean, engineers
0:05:36 > 0:05:38and team managers, you know,
0:05:38 > 0:05:40they all get a kick out of this.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42I mean, you've only got to look at the Group B cars
0:05:42 > 0:05:47to understand that there was quite a lot of innovative thinking,
0:05:47 > 0:05:50shall we say, during that period.
0:05:50 > 0:05:54For sure, you must, if you want to be competitive,
0:05:54 > 0:05:58the rules, you must use them
0:05:58 > 0:06:00very borderline...yes.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09Rally cars were becoming more visceral and more challenging.
0:06:09 > 0:06:13Drivers loved it.
0:06:13 > 0:06:17It felt like those fighter plane pilots who are launched off
0:06:17 > 0:06:20the aircraft carrier.
0:06:20 > 0:06:26Like a catapult, which is pushing you. And, of course, it's..."Oh!"
0:06:31 > 0:06:32What I like is,
0:06:32 > 0:06:35it's a challenge to try to feel
0:06:35 > 0:06:37the limit of the car, to feel
0:06:37 > 0:06:39the limit of yourself,
0:06:39 > 0:06:43and in rallying, it's the team, because you're not alone,
0:06:43 > 0:06:44you're with your co-driver.
0:06:47 > 0:06:49And then, to play with the limits of everything.
0:06:49 > 0:06:53It's this adrenaline that will give you the limit of the car
0:06:53 > 0:06:54and yourself.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03I don't do this sport to earn money.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05I do it just for fun. I want to know
0:07:05 > 0:07:07if I'm a dreamer or not.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09That was the reason I have done it.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13In front of the rally car,
0:07:13 > 0:07:14the race car, you must dream.
0:07:14 > 0:07:16And you are dreaming, with those cars.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24If I was able to play piano like a maestro, I mean,
0:07:24 > 0:07:28I would play with my eyes closed, and I would just,
0:07:28 > 0:07:34with the goose pimples on my skin. And driving is like that.
0:07:34 > 0:07:39It's like music. It takes you. But you need a good piano -
0:07:39 > 0:07:43and Group B was a fantastic piano.
0:07:43 > 0:07:4570, absolute right,
0:07:45 > 0:07:49150, unseen easy right,
0:07:49 > 0:07:5350, easy left, 50 grid, 100. Oh!
0:07:54 > 0:07:56Dear God!
0:07:56 > 0:08:00Despite the manufacturers' and drivers' enthusiasm for more speed,
0:08:00 > 0:08:02the omens were not good.
0:08:02 > 0:08:07Rallying had a recent history of fatal accidents in much slower cars.
0:08:08 > 0:08:10In the 1981 Finnish Rally,
0:08:10 > 0:08:12Franz Wittmann failed to see the stop sign,
0:08:12 > 0:08:17driving into official Raul Falin, who died later from his injuries.
0:08:17 > 0:08:22In the 1982 Rally of Brazil, amateur Thomas Fuchs'
0:08:22 > 0:08:25tiny Fiat disappeared off the road into a lake.
0:08:25 > 0:08:29He drowned, and was left in his car.
0:08:29 > 0:08:34In 1983, Reijo Nygren was killed at the Thousand Lakes Rally.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37These accidents showed that event
0:08:37 > 0:08:40and car safety were already often inadequate.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42Group B was taking speed
0:08:42 > 0:08:47and the consequences of an accident to another level.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51Clearly, to produce ever-more powerful cars was going to
0:08:51 > 0:08:53cause a lot of problems.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55That was...that was the nature
0:08:55 > 0:08:56of the sport at that time.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58We were pushing the envelope
0:08:58 > 0:08:59with those cars,
0:08:59 > 0:09:00there's no question about it.
0:09:03 > 0:09:04There was little time
0:09:04 > 0:09:06between the rule change
0:09:06 > 0:09:10and the first Group B rally at Monte Carlo in 1983.
0:09:10 > 0:09:15Cesare Fiorio and his Lancia team were one of only four manufacturers
0:09:15 > 0:09:17to have a car ready.
0:09:17 > 0:09:19Their new car, named the Lancia Rally,
0:09:19 > 0:09:22is a supercharged, tubular-framed, lightweight racer,
0:09:22 > 0:09:24designed for just one purpose. In these dry conditions
0:09:24 > 0:09:26and on the twisting, cambered roads of the Alps,
0:09:26 > 0:09:29it's utterly without equal.
0:09:29 > 0:09:34Making a car 600 pounds lighter had massively improved acceleration.
0:09:34 > 0:09:39It suited their driver, double world champion, Walter Rohrl.
0:09:39 > 0:09:40Before the start of last year,
0:09:40 > 0:09:42this rally, my tactic was the same
0:09:42 > 0:09:43like this year.
0:09:43 > 0:09:47Attack. And I have done it last year and I've been doing it this year.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50Last year's winner, Walter Rohrl, is as good as his word.
0:09:50 > 0:09:54The Lancia Rally may be new to him, but you wouldn't know.
0:09:54 > 0:09:58With little snow, the Lancia's prowess on tarmac led to an easy win
0:09:58 > 0:10:01for Rohrl and his co-driver, Christian Geistdorfer.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05A superbly-professional drive from the world champion.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07His second successive Monte Carlo Rally victory
0:10:07 > 0:10:09and the third of his career.
0:10:09 > 0:10:11Lancia for the world championship?
0:10:11 > 0:10:14Well, the Italian team is certainly looking very impressive.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16Winning Monte Carlo,
0:10:16 > 0:10:18it's the greatest thing
0:10:18 > 0:10:19you can achieve,
0:10:19 > 0:10:21because driving down
0:10:21 > 0:10:23in the morning light
0:10:23 > 0:10:29to Monte Carlo, from La Turbie, it's so emotional.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31Unbelievable.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38Lancia, though, had backed the wrong technology.
0:10:38 > 0:10:44A small German company was about to make two-wheel-drive obsolete.
0:10:46 > 0:10:50Manufacturers knew that fast rally cars winning on the track
0:10:50 > 0:10:52sold more cars in the showroom.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56The Audi Quattro became such a car.
0:10:58 > 0:11:02After test driving the Iltis, an army jeep on snow,
0:11:02 > 0:11:04Audi development engineer, Roland Gumpert,
0:11:04 > 0:11:07realised he had seen the future of rallying.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11It was obvious to Gumpert that four-wheel-drive would give
0:11:11 > 0:11:13twice the traction of two-wheel-drive,
0:11:13 > 0:11:16turbocharging enabling much more power from
0:11:16 > 0:11:18a relatively-small engine.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22They were putting their hands over their head
0:11:22 > 0:11:26and saying, "How you think to sell four-wheel-driven
0:11:26 > 0:11:28"stupid cars to the public?"!
0:11:28 > 0:11:33So, everybody at this time, has a problem,
0:11:33 > 0:11:36couldn't believe that it would be a success in the future.
0:11:36 > 0:11:42All the technical people, or leading technical people, in Mercedes said,
0:11:42 > 0:11:46"This thing will never work, so, don't worry about it.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49"We're doing the right thing. Forget about Audi."
0:11:49 > 0:11:54And we were laughing, saying, "These stupid guys,
0:11:54 > 0:11:56"they do not understand physics."
0:11:56 > 0:11:58It was a fantastic feeling.
0:11:58 > 0:12:00I remember the first time
0:12:00 > 0:12:02I went down to Ingolstadt,
0:12:02 > 0:12:05and get to drive in the car and I couldn't believe
0:12:05 > 0:12:07the difference between
0:12:07 > 0:12:09two-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11Because that's like day and night.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17When I started with Audi,
0:12:17 > 0:12:19they did a survey in France
0:12:19 > 0:12:21to know about what people think
0:12:21 > 0:12:23about Audi.
0:12:23 > 0:12:257% of the French people
0:12:25 > 0:12:27were answering, "It's a washing machine."
0:12:27 > 0:12:32I tell you, after one year, nobody would say that in France, for sure.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50With the promise of 370-brake horsepower
0:12:50 > 0:12:54and four-wheel-drive technology, Audi wooed the best drivers.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58Hannu Mikkola, Stig Blomqvist, Michele Mouton
0:12:58 > 0:12:59were a formidable team.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02And Audi claimed the drivers' world titles
0:13:02 > 0:13:04in the first two years of Group B.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11They blitzed the opposition. There was no way the rest could keep up.
0:13:11 > 0:13:15So, Audi against Lancia. The scene set for a terrific battle.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20Audi had outsmarted the opposition.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28The Audi Quattro revolutionised the sport,
0:13:28 > 0:13:30because they were winning everything.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33I mean, they were completely dominant of the sport.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35The team was really strong
0:13:35 > 0:13:37and they knew what to do.
0:13:37 > 0:13:38So, it was
0:13:38 > 0:13:40a very, very good time.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43We were very hard to beat.
0:13:43 > 0:13:47And winning the championship was a nice feeling.
0:13:47 > 0:13:52The Audi Quattro would become the iconic car of the 1980s,
0:13:52 > 0:13:55entirely due to its rallying success.
0:14:01 > 0:14:06With the commercial rivalry and the drama of the cars, came huge crowds.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16In 1984, over one million people would go to the RAC Rally.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19The people loved the sport.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23Every year, more people showed up to see the stages
0:14:23 > 0:14:29and, in those years, rallying was much more famous than Formula 1.
0:14:30 > 0:14:34The sport was growing into a dimension
0:14:34 > 0:14:36which was just unbelievable.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39We had hundreds of thousands of spectators on the stages.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45There's different attitudes to spectating in some places.
0:14:45 > 0:14:47Some of the Portuguese guys used to touch the cars,
0:14:47 > 0:14:50as the cars went by down the stages.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53So, drivers were faced with going down an avenue of fans
0:14:53 > 0:14:55with hands reaching out, trying to touch the cars.
0:14:55 > 0:14:59And that's not fair on the drivers.
0:15:03 > 0:15:07Driving rallies in Italy or Portugal or Spain,
0:15:07 > 0:15:08the spectators are on the road
0:15:08 > 0:15:12and you couldn't see, even,
0:15:12 > 0:15:16where is the road going on, and the car is coming,
0:15:16 > 0:15:19the driver through the crowd,
0:15:19 > 0:15:24and the crowd opening, and behind the car, closing again.
0:15:27 > 0:15:32If a guy got to touch a car, he was, kind of, a hero.
0:15:32 > 0:15:34He did some dangerous thing.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37There was a guy in San Remo, for example,
0:15:37 > 0:15:40when Rohrl went off a little bit, he broke his leg,
0:15:40 > 0:15:44and he was happy like hell to have his leg broken by Walter Rohrl.
0:15:44 > 0:15:48So, some of the fans are really, really keen about things.
0:15:56 > 0:16:01It was too dangerous, you know, these people, the spectators,
0:16:01 > 0:16:04they wasn't used that the Group B car was so fast.
0:16:05 > 0:16:09People didn't move backwards, putting the car sideways,
0:16:09 > 0:16:14and you could hear "bum, bum, bum", where you were hitting people.
0:16:16 > 0:16:20There is a point where you have to drive thinking like, you know,
0:16:20 > 0:16:21they are part of the game.
0:16:21 > 0:16:27You try to consider that they are like trees.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30You don't want to hit trees or anything. It's difficult.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32Very difficult.
0:16:32 > 0:16:34So, we could not stop this.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40And, for these people, even if you hurt someone,
0:16:40 > 0:16:42then that's their mistake.
0:16:42 > 0:16:48If you look in the FIA Yellow Book of the period,
0:16:48 > 0:16:53there isn't one single page on how to run a rally safely,
0:16:53 > 0:16:57but the problem is, you're so busy competing and organising your team
0:16:57 > 0:16:58and everything like that
0:16:58 > 0:17:01that that sort of thing rather goes past you.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08I think everyone knew
0:17:08 > 0:17:10that it was all getting too quick.
0:17:10 > 0:17:12I think the drivers were scared,
0:17:12 > 0:17:14I think the co-drivers were more scared,
0:17:14 > 0:17:18but there was a momentum with these things.
0:17:18 > 0:17:22I think it takes... It would have taken a very brave person to cancel
0:17:22 > 0:17:24a round of the World Rally Championship.
0:17:24 > 0:17:28It seemed crowds were already too big to deal with,
0:17:28 > 0:17:32but an incredible new car was about to make the sport even more popular.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37In a run-down suburb on the outskirts of Paris,
0:17:37 > 0:17:41Peugeot were out to save their floundering company
0:17:41 > 0:17:44with a secret project in development.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48Going against convention, they hired an experienced rally co-driver,
0:17:48 > 0:17:51Jean Todt, to oversee the task.
0:17:51 > 0:17:53He was always a very strong personality.
0:17:53 > 0:17:55He knew the sport inside out
0:17:55 > 0:18:00and he knew what was required to make a very successful team.
0:18:00 > 0:18:02It's all about human management,
0:18:02 > 0:18:04running a team.
0:18:04 > 0:18:07Technical side is there, engineers take care of it.
0:18:07 > 0:18:08The rest is human management.
0:18:08 > 0:18:13How to bring the best out of human beings.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16And people must have a feeling that they have a boss who cares,
0:18:16 > 0:18:18and Jean, he cared for people,
0:18:18 > 0:18:22and that's why our team was so successful.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26Hiring Jean Todt was to prove a masterstroke,
0:18:26 > 0:18:30as he would oversee the design of the Peugeot 205 T16,
0:18:30 > 0:18:33choosing to put the engine in the middle of the car
0:18:33 > 0:18:35for lightness and balance.
0:18:35 > 0:18:39The thing which was very scaring
0:18:39 > 0:18:43is that all the Audi people
0:18:43 > 0:18:48were saying a four-wheel-drive car mid-engine can never work.
0:18:49 > 0:18:54Putting the engine behind the driver was common in racing cars,
0:18:54 > 0:18:56but nobody had built a transverse, mid-engined,
0:18:56 > 0:18:58four-wheel-drive rally car before.
0:18:58 > 0:19:03The fear was that it would be unstable when it left the ground.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06In 1984, after extensive testing,
0:19:06 > 0:19:09they travelled to the Corsican Rally, with high hopes.
0:19:10 > 0:19:11Their number one driver
0:19:11 > 0:19:16was former world champion and flying Finn, Ari Vatanen.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19I remember when I tested in Corsica,
0:19:19 > 0:19:21and I stopped after a few accelerations
0:19:21 > 0:19:23and looked at Terry Harryman,
0:19:23 > 0:19:25and I said, "Look at this car! It's fast."
0:19:25 > 0:19:29It just felt so good, it rendered me confident in that car.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32It just felt like a glove on my hand. Not only confidence,
0:19:32 > 0:19:35it put a smile on my face when I was driving.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38Vatanen's optimism was borne out.
0:19:38 > 0:19:42After the first few stages, Peugeot were in front.
0:19:42 > 0:19:43Rally history was rewritten
0:19:43 > 0:19:49and the pressure was now on Lancia, Audi and the other teams.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51When you do something, you are always under pressure to deliver.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54Of course.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58You know, it's so many people promise, speak,
0:19:58 > 0:20:00but what is very important,
0:20:00 > 0:20:06and it has always been my philosophy in life, is to deliver.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09If you commit to something, you have to deliver.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13That was the turnaround in the history of Peugeot.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16It was the combination of new car and motorsport programme
0:20:16 > 0:20:21and so, we not just were winning rallies and fighting for victories,
0:20:21 > 0:20:26but this programme played, absolutely, a fundamental role
0:20:26 > 0:20:32in saving livelihoods of ordinary workers at the Peugeot factory.
0:20:32 > 0:20:34The Corsican Rally of 1984 was to sow the seeds for
0:20:34 > 0:20:39a fantastic sequence of victories, ultimately saving the company.
0:20:39 > 0:20:44In 1984, the Peugeot 205 was named Car Of The Year.
0:20:48 > 0:20:53Five races, three victories, this is the 205's score.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56In the World Championship there's not a shadow of doubt,
0:20:56 > 0:20:59the new challenger's name is Peugeot.
0:20:59 > 0:21:01ANNOUNCER: Ari Vatanen and Terry Harryman,
0:21:01 > 0:21:03who've won, this year, by 41 seconds.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07As the Monte Carlo Rally opened
0:21:07 > 0:21:10the 1985 season, Audi had little hope of beating Peugeot.
0:21:10 > 0:21:13The once-struggling French manufacturer
0:21:13 > 0:21:18was rubbing salt into the wounds of their German and Italian rivals.
0:21:18 > 0:21:20Do you think you can be faster?
0:21:20 > 0:21:25With my car, you've seen I am eight minutes slower.
0:21:25 > 0:21:31What's your prognostic? Ari will win and I hope I will be second.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34Rohrl's prediction was right. Vatanen was untouchable.
0:21:35 > 0:21:37But it came at a high price,
0:21:37 > 0:21:41as he ran over some spectators on his way to victory.
0:21:41 > 0:21:45This did not stop Peugeot's marketing execs from lining
0:21:45 > 0:21:48the roads of the rally's final stage to celebrate.
0:21:51 > 0:21:56Timo Salonen, Peugeot's recent addition, came third.
0:22:14 > 0:22:19Peugeot followed Monte Carlo up with another win for Vatanen in Sweden.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21I was trying a little bit too hard,
0:22:21 > 0:22:23I got a little bit too enthusiastic.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26I was trying to decide the whole rally on one stage,
0:22:26 > 0:22:29so I had to pay for it, but, luckily, we got away.
0:22:29 > 0:22:31I only lost some 40 seconds,
0:22:31 > 0:22:33but, in any case, you know,
0:22:33 > 0:22:37that put us back, but we are leading by one minute and 19 seconds, now.
0:22:37 > 0:22:38You made no fault,
0:22:38 > 0:22:40but you can't pass Ari.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43It's a little bit difficult.
0:22:43 > 0:22:45Why? He is too quick.
0:22:45 > 0:22:49What can you do against Ari now? Nothing, I think.
0:22:51 > 0:22:52Thank you.
0:22:52 > 0:22:54Audi even thought about quitting,
0:22:54 > 0:22:57only to plough on with a new evolution of the Quattro.
0:23:01 > 0:23:06By May, 1985, Lancia hadn't won for a year.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11So difficult, you know.
0:23:11 > 0:23:13Everybody go like hell.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15One time, in Finland,
0:23:15 > 0:23:18we were after one week driving,
0:23:18 > 0:23:20we finished second,
0:23:20 > 0:23:22with, I think, seven seconds.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25So, it was like the first place.
0:23:25 > 0:23:30Can you imagine, after one week, seven seconds being the second?
0:23:30 > 0:23:35But, no matter, it's second place, and not counting.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38So, you have the pressure to win.
0:23:38 > 0:23:44And, the whole team was just, "Win is counting."
0:23:44 > 0:23:46So, the victories counting. Nothing else.
0:23:51 > 0:23:53The 1985 season rolled on,
0:23:53 > 0:23:57leading to the high-speed, high-pressure Corsican tarmac rally.
0:23:57 > 0:23:59This was one of the most exciting
0:23:59 > 0:24:02and most dangerous in the season, with sheer cliffs,
0:24:02 > 0:24:04back-to back-corners,
0:24:04 > 0:24:06and little, if any, protection, when things go wrong.
0:24:08 > 0:24:12Former champions Lancia were now relegated to being the also-rans,
0:24:12 > 0:24:16straggling behind Audi and the domineering Peugeots.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19Local hero Attilio Bettega
0:24:19 > 0:24:22had not been on the podium for over eight months
0:24:22 > 0:24:25and was feeling the strain.
0:24:25 > 0:24:29His Lancia 037 was designed for tarmac
0:24:29 > 0:24:31and if he was to steal a victory,
0:24:31 > 0:24:33this would be one of his only chances.
0:24:33 > 0:24:38There's a very high-quality entry for the event, with representation
0:24:38 > 0:24:44from Lancia, Peugeot, Renault, Audi, Opel and Rothmans Porsche.
0:24:44 > 0:24:46Waving the competitors away,
0:24:46 > 0:24:48the rather-controversial president of FISA,
0:24:48 > 0:24:50Jean-Marie Balestre.
0:24:52 > 0:24:54At number four, Attilio Bettega,
0:24:54 > 0:24:58with the second of the two works Lancias.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01The Italian, who went well in the early stages of the safari,
0:25:01 > 0:25:03gets away from the ramp.
0:25:06 > 0:25:08Bettega was a very serious driver
0:25:08 > 0:25:09coming from the mountain.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12You know, people from the mountain
0:25:12 > 0:25:15are very serious and very motivated.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18They don't talk too much, but he drove very, very good.
0:25:18 > 0:25:20Very good driver.
0:25:22 > 0:25:26Standing in Bettega's way was Audi's Walter Rohrl.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29He was also feeling the strain of a losing streak
0:25:29 > 0:25:33and had been on the island practising for six weeks.
0:25:33 > 0:25:38If I say I was good or I was the best, then it was on tarmac.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42You say, of course, I have to win Corsica, because Corsica was,
0:25:42 > 0:25:45at this time, it was the most famous
0:25:45 > 0:25:48and the best tarmac rally in the world.
0:25:48 > 0:25:52But I never won it, because always, I had some technical problems.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54I was sure we can win it.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58The Audi went quite well in the early stages of the Portuguese Rally
0:25:58 > 0:26:00which was held on tarmac stages, as well,
0:26:00 > 0:26:04so things should be fairly good for the German driver.
0:26:05 > 0:26:09However, Rohrl's car had terminal brake failure on the first stage,
0:26:09 > 0:26:15only a few kilometres into the 1,600km event.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18And, that was,
0:26:18 > 0:26:20that was really hard for me.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22I remember, I was completely destroyed.
0:26:23 > 0:26:28I had me under control. Even if my father or my mother has died,
0:26:28 > 0:26:30I was not crying.
0:26:30 > 0:26:34But in this time, I was absolutely...
0:26:34 > 0:26:36I was completely destroyed.
0:26:38 > 0:26:40Ideal conditions on this first leg
0:26:40 > 0:26:43and the first stage threw up a few surprises.
0:26:43 > 0:26:48Competition is often cruel, but as Rohrl got on his aeroplane home,
0:26:48 > 0:26:51his failure became a golden opportunity for others
0:26:51 > 0:26:53down the ranks to take advantage and make their name.
0:26:56 > 0:26:59Could Attilio Bettega be one of those to upset the form book?
0:27:01 > 0:27:05Pushing hard, he was lying in second, after the first stage.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10Three stages later, it would end in tragedy.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16Bettega went off the road.
0:27:20 > 0:27:22He was too much over the limit and...
0:27:22 > 0:27:29...this sport is still too dangerous to play around
0:27:29 > 0:27:31with high-risk things.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37It was a bumpy place, where everybody was lifting.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39And he was the only one who was putting the foot down
0:27:39 > 0:27:42and trying to do it flat out.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46Bettega was an accident that, I think,
0:27:46 > 0:27:50had nothing to do with Group Bs or whatever.
0:27:50 > 0:27:55It was a normal rally accident, which turned bad
0:27:55 > 0:27:57because he hit a tree in the front.
0:27:59 > 0:28:03With Bettega's death, Group B had claimed its first victim.
0:28:05 > 0:28:09The 037, if you have an accident,
0:28:09 > 0:28:13the front was nothing, it was just five tubes like this.
0:28:17 > 0:28:21There are all the drivers who are a category lower,
0:28:21 > 0:28:26and they have to risk much more to achieve what those boys,
0:28:26 > 0:28:30who were world-class drivers, are doing in a very simple way,
0:28:30 > 0:28:33just naturally.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36Bettega was this kind of second-category drivers.
0:28:36 > 0:28:40Good, very good, in some events,
0:28:40 > 0:28:45but he was not at the class of a Rohrl, Alen, a Mikkola.
0:28:49 > 0:28:53Up to this time, he was the fastest driver in Italy
0:28:53 > 0:28:57and then Biasion was coming and he put a lot of pressure on him.
0:28:57 > 0:29:01That was the reason he was killed. He was so under pressure.
0:29:05 > 0:29:07In rally driving, in race driving,
0:29:07 > 0:29:11you have only one person who is interesting for you,
0:29:11 > 0:29:13that's your team-mate.
0:29:13 > 0:29:17The rest has better cars. That's the reason they go faster than you.
0:29:17 > 0:29:22But if your team-mate is faster than you, what do you tell?
0:29:22 > 0:29:25What do you do? You go to Corsica, you know, where you're rallying,
0:29:25 > 0:29:27you know what's going on.
0:29:27 > 0:29:28I think in any sport,
0:29:28 > 0:29:30it doesn't matter what you're doing,
0:29:30 > 0:29:33the participant knows what he's taking on.
0:29:33 > 0:29:36There were no thoughts of grieving or stopping.
0:29:36 > 0:29:39The rally had to continue.
0:29:39 > 0:29:43With Lancia withdrawn and five other cars broken down,
0:29:43 > 0:29:45Ari Vatanen could snatch victory.
0:29:45 > 0:29:50An earlier puncture, however, forced him to drive beyond his limits.
0:29:50 > 0:29:55In second place on the road, but seventh overall, is Ari Vatanen,
0:29:55 > 0:29:58and he's going as quick as ever.
0:30:04 > 0:30:06Vatanen is flying.
0:30:06 > 0:30:09Although, anything can happen when Vatanen is going quick.
0:30:34 > 0:30:35I forgot,
0:30:35 > 0:30:39I just got myself so enthusiastic,
0:30:39 > 0:30:44I went to the floor.
0:30:44 > 0:30:47I just... But I enjoyed it.
0:30:47 > 0:30:49And, also, those setbacks,
0:30:49 > 0:30:53when you drive every corner as if it was your last corner.
0:30:53 > 0:30:58Then, yes, you win less, but you gain a lot.
0:30:58 > 0:31:03Miraculously, Ari Vatanen and his co-driver escaped serious injury.
0:31:06 > 0:31:08But, if it's not dangerous, they're not going to do it.
0:31:08 > 0:31:10They don't want to play with tiddlywinks.
0:31:10 > 0:31:11They want to be challenged.
0:31:11 > 0:31:13They want to do things that are dangerous.
0:31:13 > 0:31:16They want to go faster than others. That's what motorsport's about.
0:31:16 > 0:31:20And if you took today's rally drivers or today's Formula 1 drivers
0:31:20 > 0:31:23and took away the risk, they wouldn't get a kick out of it.
0:31:23 > 0:31:26Everybody starts to laugh at you,
0:31:26 > 0:31:32"You are crazy, you are going so fast," but I was always,
0:31:32 > 0:31:35always behind, I said, "You must be careful.
0:31:35 > 0:31:41"Don't overturn it." And I always realised, also, the dangers.
0:31:41 > 0:31:44Walter's a real gentleman
0:31:44 > 0:31:49and his driving style also was very clean, like a professor.
0:31:49 > 0:31:51Opposite to mine, I suppose.
0:31:53 > 0:32:00Don't tell him tomorrow. Ari was just starting to fly.
0:32:09 > 0:32:13I play music with my eyes closed, but heart open.
0:32:15 > 0:32:18It's up to you to decide what's the definition of that.
0:32:18 > 0:32:20Is it a crazy or what else?
0:32:25 > 0:32:29Driving is, in a way, an extension of your personality.
0:32:34 > 0:32:37He was quite dangerous, too.
0:32:37 > 0:32:43I think if people are not able to be afraid for something,
0:32:43 > 0:32:45then it's dangerous.
0:32:45 > 0:32:51OK, people tell, "This is a hero". But most heroes are died.
0:32:55 > 0:32:58Ari Vatanen's luck ran out in Argentina.
0:32:58 > 0:33:02A crashed turned serious when his seat snapped.
0:33:04 > 0:33:09I remember those bends, the ones I did not make.
0:33:09 > 0:33:12And there are many,
0:33:12 > 0:33:15but maybe it's that dip on the road on that long straight in Argentina
0:33:15 > 0:33:16where I nearly died.
0:33:18 > 0:33:21And my life very, very nearly ended there.
0:33:22 > 0:33:26I hit the dip and the car went end-over-end
0:33:26 > 0:33:31and my seat broke down, entirely. And that's why I wasn't harnessed
0:33:31 > 0:33:33any more by seatbelts,
0:33:33 > 0:33:38I got all these multiple injuries. And if it wasn't for the helicopter
0:33:38 > 0:33:43which came to look for me, I wouldn't be here today.
0:33:43 > 0:33:45I mean, I was not in this world any more.
0:33:45 > 0:33:50All I had kept, apparently, saying - "No more rallies. No more rallies."
0:33:52 > 0:33:55Ari Vatanen almost died. His knees were crushed flat.
0:33:55 > 0:33:57He had eight broken ribs,
0:33:57 > 0:34:01a broken leg, a broken back and a punctured lung.
0:34:01 > 0:34:04He would spend the next 18 months in a deep depression
0:34:04 > 0:34:08and he would never race a competitive Group B rally again.
0:34:12 > 0:34:14That's all part of life.
0:34:14 > 0:34:18I can't see my life without those bends and without those dips.
0:34:18 > 0:34:24Life is full of setbacks, it's full of tragedy.
0:34:24 > 0:34:28I mean, the banana skin is waiting for you around the corner, anyway,
0:34:28 > 0:34:30and you don't know where it is.
0:34:34 > 0:34:38With Bettega dead and Vatanen seriously ill,
0:34:38 > 0:34:40a cloud began to form over Group B.
0:34:42 > 0:34:44Peugeot's second driver, Salonen,
0:34:44 > 0:34:48went on to secure the 1985 championship -
0:34:48 > 0:34:51his conservative and controlled approach
0:34:51 > 0:34:54countering the fiery nature of his 205 T16.
0:34:54 > 0:34:57What are you going to do tomorrow? Same speed.
0:34:57 > 0:35:01I try to maybe a little bit faster, if Stig start pushing.
0:35:09 > 0:35:131986 would be a critical year. Other manufacturers
0:35:13 > 0:35:17were desperately trying to exploit FISA's relaxed rules,
0:35:17 > 0:35:21hoping to use rallying's new-found fame to sell more cars.
0:35:21 > 0:35:25Austin Rover launched its ?10 million Metro 6R4,
0:35:25 > 0:35:27a shopping car on steroids.
0:35:29 > 0:35:32Ford weighed in with its ugly duckling, the RS200.
0:35:32 > 0:35:35Porsche, its ever-delayed 939.
0:35:35 > 0:35:38Audi, their new E2 and S1, set to take power
0:35:38 > 0:35:43through the magical 500-brake horsepower ceiling.
0:35:44 > 0:35:47No-one, though, was prepared for the unveiling in Italy
0:35:47 > 0:35:51of Lancia's brutal, mid-engined, supercharged, turbocharged,
0:35:51 > 0:35:54four-wheel-drive Delta S4.
0:35:55 > 0:35:59It would render all their efforts a waste of time.
0:36:00 > 0:36:04It was almost like a caricature of a Delta.
0:36:04 > 0:36:06You could see Delta bits on it.
0:36:06 > 0:36:07You could see the likeness,
0:36:07 > 0:36:11but under the skin the car was quite, quite different.
0:36:11 > 0:36:14You know, it was like a Formula 1 car for the forest.
0:36:14 > 0:36:15It was so exotic.
0:36:15 > 0:36:20I suppose the Delta S4 was the ultimate Group B rally car.
0:36:20 > 0:36:23It had turbocharger, supercharger, four-wheel-drive,
0:36:23 > 0:36:27all the tricks they could find and a few more they couldn't find.
0:36:27 > 0:36:30And the aerodynamics were outrageous.
0:36:30 > 0:36:33The designers chose to cram all the technology
0:36:33 > 0:36:35in the back of the car
0:36:35 > 0:36:39and to place the driver and co-driver on top of the fuel tanks.
0:36:39 > 0:36:43Couple this machine with one of rallying's hot young talents,
0:36:43 > 0:36:45Henri Toivonen,
0:36:45 > 0:36:51and Lancia were once again primed to win the 1986 championship.
0:36:51 > 0:36:53I knew him since he was seven years old.
0:36:53 > 0:36:58And he was a little boy coming to see his father, Paoli,
0:36:58 > 0:36:59that was driving, already, for me.
0:36:59 > 0:37:02So his story and his relationship
0:37:02 > 0:37:06with our team was quite strong.
0:37:06 > 0:37:09We have the drivers, we have the know-how
0:37:09 > 0:37:12of how to organise the team.
0:37:12 > 0:37:16And we must do it better than the others. And that's what we did.
0:37:16 > 0:37:20Everybody was trying to outdo each other, whether it was in terms of
0:37:20 > 0:37:23facilities, number of personnel,
0:37:23 > 0:37:26number of service vehicles, tyre choice, the drivers, you know,
0:37:26 > 0:37:30everything was just ratcheted up event by event.
0:37:30 > 0:37:36I think when you know that you are not as strong as your competition,
0:37:36 > 0:37:39you must be more clever, to beat them.
0:37:41 > 0:37:45Members of the board expected from me to win.
0:37:45 > 0:37:48They're looking at rallying as a means of selling their products,
0:37:48 > 0:37:50so that the pressure
0:37:50 > 0:37:53is coming from that side, to say, "OK, we're investing
0:37:53 > 0:37:55"all these millions in your rally team.
0:37:55 > 0:37:57"You must deliver us victories."
0:37:57 > 0:37:59When you are engaged with a factory team,
0:37:59 > 0:38:02you have to... the responsibility to try to win.
0:38:04 > 0:38:09I always felt that I had two personality in myself.
0:38:09 > 0:38:12You know, the one who was in rallying - very egoistic -
0:38:12 > 0:38:16and then, out of the car, I was like another person, you know.
0:38:16 > 0:38:20Helmet and gloves change a lot on a rally driver.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24When I was winning the championship, I think, we stayed
0:38:24 > 0:38:27about 290 days at hotel.
0:38:27 > 0:38:29He was never at home, actually.
0:38:31 > 0:38:34You know, I can remember drivers coming to the end of the stage
0:38:34 > 0:38:36and they're absolutely physically drained.
0:38:42 > 0:38:45Of course, it was a big, big challenge.
0:38:45 > 0:38:47Yeah, because you get this, kind of, adrenaline,
0:38:47 > 0:38:49which makes you so enthusiastic
0:38:49 > 0:38:51about what you're doing.
0:38:51 > 0:38:56And it's just over-revving yourself, going into the red,
0:38:56 > 0:38:59then suddenly, you haven't got the reaction any more,
0:38:59 > 0:39:00because you're too tired.
0:39:01 > 0:39:05Group B was pushing drivers to the edge.
0:39:05 > 0:39:08Henri Toivonen, works Lancia. Off!
0:39:08 > 0:39:10Deep in the ditch.
0:39:10 > 0:39:12Try reverse.
0:39:12 > 0:39:13No good.
0:39:18 > 0:39:21The start of the 1986 season
0:39:21 > 0:39:24showed just how much rallying had grown in the last four years.
0:39:26 > 0:39:29On the starting line, teams flexed their wallets,
0:39:29 > 0:39:33Peugeot trumping everyone, by bringing four works cars.
0:39:33 > 0:39:36Michelin arrived with 13,000 tyres - team helicopters
0:39:36 > 0:39:39flying them around the 4,000-km Alpine course
0:39:39 > 0:39:42for mid-stage pit stops.
0:39:42 > 0:39:46Jean Todt declared his Peugeot evolution
0:39:46 > 0:39:48"As good as it needs to be,"
0:39:48 > 0:39:50only to have to eat his words, as Henri Toivonen
0:39:50 > 0:39:55in his Lancia Delta S4, stormed ahead.
0:39:55 > 0:39:59This, despite Toivonen crashing into a spectator's car in between stages.
0:40:03 > 0:40:08The Italians that had poured over the border were in raptures.
0:40:09 > 0:40:12Unfortunately, as the Champagne flowed,
0:40:12 > 0:40:16news came through that yet again a spectator had been hospitalised,
0:40:16 > 0:40:18this time with a smashed leg.
0:40:18 > 0:40:21Questions were asked if rallying was being mismanaged.
0:40:21 > 0:40:25Cars had nearly doubled in power in the space of three years,
0:40:25 > 0:40:27yet FISA had not changed the crowd management
0:40:27 > 0:40:29or structure of the rallies.
0:40:29 > 0:40:33They were now more intense than ever.
0:40:33 > 0:40:37You know, the Group B's cars were very difficult to drive,
0:40:37 > 0:40:39even for the superstars.
0:40:39 > 0:40:41I was in '73, Monte Carlo,
0:40:41 > 0:40:43with 130 horsebrakes,
0:40:43 > 0:40:47and '86, with 530 horsebrakes.
0:40:47 > 0:40:49It was the same ditch, the same rock,
0:40:49 > 0:40:52it was just me and my head to keep me alive.
0:40:54 > 0:40:58Were the rule-makers out of their depth?
0:40:58 > 0:41:00Rallying's darkest day was just around the corner.
0:41:03 > 0:41:08Drivers already went to the Portuguese Rally with trepidation.
0:41:08 > 0:41:12Since the '70s, it had become the most overcrowded of the season.
0:41:12 > 0:41:15Crowd control was an established problem.
0:41:15 > 0:41:19This year, over 300,000 fans piled into the woods.
0:41:19 > 0:41:22Group B was reaching fever pitch.
0:41:22 > 0:41:25And the usual question - Portugal, the spectators.
0:41:25 > 0:41:29That's the only thing which scared me here,
0:41:29 > 0:41:31it is something which I'm really afraid,
0:41:31 > 0:41:34if something happens and it's a disaster.
0:41:34 > 0:41:37Yeah, I'm sure that's going to be a big problem,
0:41:37 > 0:41:38but apparently the Portuguese police
0:41:38 > 0:41:41have guaranteed that they will be under a lot more control on Sintra,
0:41:41 > 0:41:43places like that, which is a critical area.
0:41:43 > 0:41:48Hoping to see the new Group B supercars and join in the fun
0:41:48 > 0:41:52were local rally fans Helio Tomar and Nuno Sardinha.
0:42:23 > 0:42:25Nuno and Helio chose to stand on the popular
0:42:25 > 0:42:28and notorious water bend,
0:42:28 > 0:42:30a bend that rallying would never forget.
0:42:34 > 0:42:36As well as the top names,
0:42:36 > 0:42:42Portuguese national champion Joaquim Santos was also competing.
0:42:42 > 0:42:45In 1983 he had become a local hero, after pushing his broken
0:42:45 > 0:42:47Ford Escort over the finishing line.
0:42:51 > 0:42:57In 1986, his flamboyant team manager and co-driver, Miguel D'Oliviera,
0:42:57 > 0:43:00secured the latest high-powered RS200 from Ford.
0:43:03 > 0:43:06I was hoping to do well. I had a good driver.
0:43:06 > 0:43:09I was a fairly good co-driver.
0:43:09 > 0:43:11You always wanted to have
0:43:11 > 0:43:14the best possible weapon to compete.
0:43:14 > 0:43:15And it was a chance.
0:43:15 > 0:43:17It was a big chance.
0:43:19 > 0:43:23I was hoping to mix with the big boys.
0:44:02 > 0:44:05When Joaquim came into the curve,
0:44:05 > 0:44:09one guy stepped one step into the tarmac,
0:44:09 > 0:44:13so he had to make a correction...
0:44:14 > 0:44:15..and he lost it.
0:44:22 > 0:44:27Joaquim Santos' car had ploughed into the crowd at 135kph.
0:44:29 > 0:44:31A mother and her child were instantly killed,
0:44:31 > 0:44:34while 32 others were injured.
0:44:36 > 0:44:40Helio Tomar and his friend Paoli were rushed to hospital.
0:44:41 > 0:44:42Paoli later died.
0:45:13 > 0:45:17Joaquim Santos, uninjured, did not move.
0:45:17 > 0:45:20He stayed in his car, his head bowed on the steering wheel.
0:45:22 > 0:45:26He was completely in shock.
0:45:26 > 0:45:28Completely in shock.
0:45:28 > 0:45:33He came out of the car, he stayed in the middle of the road
0:45:33 > 0:45:35with his eyes glazed...
0:45:37 > 0:45:42..and..."What happened? Why?"
0:45:46 > 0:45:49The day's racing was cancelled
0:45:49 > 0:45:52and down on the nearby Atlantic coast,
0:45:52 > 0:45:55the top drivers met, to discuss what to do.
0:45:55 > 0:45:57They decided to strike.
0:45:59 > 0:46:03First, as a mark of respect for the families
0:46:03 > 0:46:06of the dead people and for those injured.
0:46:06 > 0:46:10Two, there is a very special situation here in Portugal.
0:46:10 > 0:46:12We feel that this impossible for us
0:46:12 > 0:46:16to guarantee the safety of the spectators.
0:46:16 > 0:46:20Third, the accident on stage one was caused by the driver
0:46:20 > 0:46:24having to try to avoid spectators that were in the road.
0:46:25 > 0:46:30It was not due to the type of car or the speed of it.
0:46:31 > 0:46:37The amateur drivers continued to race, as recriminations began.
0:46:37 > 0:46:39That was, for sure, the biggest mistake,
0:46:39 > 0:46:41that he has not enough experience.
0:46:41 > 0:46:46He was first time in a car like this. And, then, things happen.
0:46:47 > 0:46:51It goes so easy that one situation the car is struggling with him
0:46:51 > 0:46:52and not he with the car.
0:46:52 > 0:46:55It was not my fault,
0:46:55 > 0:47:01I strongly believe that it was not my driver's fault.
0:47:01 > 0:47:02It happened.
0:47:02 > 0:47:08The fault, if there is a fault, is of the organisation.
0:47:08 > 0:47:11People should not be on the road.
0:47:52 > 0:47:57There was danger involved, but I took it, I accepted that risk.
0:47:59 > 0:48:03And, of course, I never thought that
0:48:03 > 0:48:07such a carnage would happen
0:48:07 > 0:48:08with me in the car.
0:48:08 > 0:48:11With my car. With my driver.
0:48:27 > 0:48:29The fall-out from the Portugal incident would become
0:48:29 > 0:48:32a 20-year dispute for compensation.
0:48:32 > 0:48:35However, in the immediate aftermath,
0:48:35 > 0:48:37political wheels began to turn in Paris.
0:48:39 > 0:48:43In defiance of the works teams that had withdrawn from the event,
0:48:43 > 0:48:46FISA boss, Balestre, wrote a letter to the organisers,
0:48:46 > 0:48:51praising them for allowing the rally to continue with amateur teams.
0:48:53 > 0:48:57This was seen as a direct attack on the drivers
0:48:57 > 0:49:00who had gone on strike, an attempt by the FISA leader
0:49:00 > 0:49:02to show he was the boss.
0:49:04 > 0:49:07FISA took no action against the Portuguese organisers
0:49:07 > 0:49:09for failing to control the crowds.
0:49:12 > 0:49:15The writing was now on the wall for Group B machines.
0:49:15 > 0:49:19Rallying had blood on its hands.
0:49:22 > 0:49:25Audi decided not to rally again,
0:49:25 > 0:49:30but the rest of the teams moved on to the Safari Rally in Kenya.
0:49:31 > 0:49:36Problems continued, as Markku Alen, one of Lancia's drivers,
0:49:36 > 0:49:38accidentally ran over a child.
0:49:38 > 0:49:42While the team helicopter took the child to hospital,
0:49:42 > 0:49:46the mechanics sorted out the car, so Alen could continue.
0:49:47 > 0:49:50Nothing could now stop a World Championship rally.
0:49:52 > 0:49:53Toyota won.
0:50:00 > 0:50:03For Lancia, the Corsica Rally week began
0:50:03 > 0:50:06with them laying flowers at the memorial,
0:50:06 > 0:50:10marking the spot where Attilio Bettega died the previous year.
0:50:10 > 0:50:14Corsica was France's rally, so naturally, the FISA president,
0:50:14 > 0:50:18Balestre, a Frenchman, was there to celebrate.
0:50:18 > 0:50:21Except his party was being spoiled.
0:50:21 > 0:50:23The top Finnish drivers were rebelling,
0:50:23 > 0:50:26demanding shorter stages and fewer, rougher sections.
0:50:28 > 0:50:31At a press conference, Balestre became angry,
0:50:31 > 0:50:35attacking the manufacturers for creating such high-performance cars
0:50:35 > 0:50:37and failing to control their drivers.
0:50:39 > 0:50:43Despite the unresolved tension between the drivers and FISA,
0:50:43 > 0:50:45the rally went ahead unchanged.
0:50:45 > 0:50:48This was Henri Toivonen's chance to show
0:50:48 > 0:50:50that the handling of his new S4
0:50:50 > 0:50:54was more than a match for this all-tarmac event.
0:50:54 > 0:51:00ITALIAN COMMENTARY
0:51:04 > 0:51:07Toivonen, who had a reputation for crashing out,
0:51:07 > 0:51:10was pushing more than ever.
0:51:13 > 0:51:15At the end of day one, Toivonen and Cresto
0:51:15 > 0:51:18were leading Bruno Saby by almost two minutes.
0:51:21 > 0:51:24By stage five on the second day,
0:51:24 > 0:51:26he was a minute quicker than anyone else.
0:51:30 > 0:51:32But there was a problem.
0:51:32 > 0:51:36Toivonen had been complaining of flu-like symptoms.
0:51:36 > 0:51:38Toivonen was not well.
0:51:39 > 0:51:42The stage times Henri was putting in that day were incredible.
0:51:42 > 0:51:45He was in a completely different league,
0:51:45 > 0:51:46and, therefore, you do wonder
0:51:46 > 0:51:48whether he was thinking straight,
0:51:48 > 0:51:51you wonder whether Sergio Cresto was strong enough with him that day.
0:51:51 > 0:51:53Henri was crazy, I mean,
0:51:53 > 0:51:57he was really more a Latin mentality than a Finnish,
0:51:57 > 0:51:59a Nordic, mentality.
0:52:02 > 0:52:05He was the only driver,
0:52:05 > 0:52:08in my whole career, who was able to go as fast as me.
0:52:08 > 0:52:10But only on one stage.
0:52:10 > 0:52:12The next one, BING!
0:52:12 > 0:52:13Four minutes left.
0:52:13 > 0:52:16He was the only one. And I always said,
0:52:16 > 0:52:19"I'm not sure that he stays on life."
0:52:19 > 0:52:25On stage 17, he broke the record by an astonishing three minutes.
0:52:43 > 0:52:45Then, tragedy struck.
0:53:04 > 0:53:07We were all waiting for the end of the stage,
0:53:07 > 0:53:09and to see Henri coming and, of course, he didn't come,
0:53:09 > 0:53:15and we heard by radio there that an accident happened
0:53:15 > 0:53:19and we knew it was Henri, so we had been waiting and waiting
0:53:19 > 0:53:24to know, if, you know, if everything was out, the race was stopped.
0:53:24 > 0:53:28And, of course, then, we knew afterwards what happened.
0:53:33 > 0:53:36With their wrecked car engulfed in flames,
0:53:36 > 0:53:41Toivonen and Cresto were burnt alive.
0:53:41 > 0:53:45It's a long left corner, which was tightening at the end.
0:53:45 > 0:53:47And I think, at the end, maybe,
0:53:47 > 0:53:52he didn't tight enough and he went out.
0:53:52 > 0:53:57And he was between the tree and the cliff, and of course,
0:53:57 > 0:54:02they couldn't go out and the car got fire.
0:54:08 > 0:54:12I think, for me, it has been the biggest shock
0:54:12 > 0:54:18of the whole of my career, the loss of Henri.
0:54:25 > 0:54:30I always think that Henri has been the greatest rally driver
0:54:30 > 0:54:31I have ever met.
0:54:34 > 0:54:36Yeah.
0:54:52 > 0:54:55Amazingly, the rally continued, though there was little doubt
0:54:55 > 0:54:58the remaining teams were numbed by the bad news.
0:55:01 > 0:55:04Peugeot's Bruno Saby won the rally,
0:55:04 > 0:55:07but there was little enthusiasm for a Champagne celebration.
0:55:18 > 0:55:22Nobody was there for 20 or 30 minutes after he crashed.
0:55:22 > 0:55:26And I think he was ill, he had the flu, he had something,
0:55:26 > 0:55:28he was taking a treatment for it,
0:55:28 > 0:55:31and I think that, ultimately,
0:55:31 > 0:55:33he lost concentration on the road.
0:55:36 > 0:55:39The crew in the Delta S4 sat on the petrol tanks.
0:55:39 > 0:55:40They had a petrol tank each.
0:55:40 > 0:55:44Neither the roll cage nor the fire extinguisher saved Henri Toivonen.
0:55:45 > 0:55:49The car was already alight when it hit the trees.
0:55:52 > 0:55:56The Delta S4 was incredibly quick. It was the ultimate
0:55:56 > 0:55:57Group B rally car.
0:55:59 > 0:56:04But the... It wasn't as safe as it needed to be, obviously.
0:56:04 > 0:56:10I have always put the safety
0:56:10 > 0:56:13of the driver in one of the first,
0:56:13 > 0:56:17the first place of every project we did.
0:56:17 > 0:56:20Always knowing that motor racing is,
0:56:20 > 0:56:24will be, always, a dangerous sport.
0:56:29 > 0:56:30Of course, if it was a Grand Prix,
0:56:30 > 0:56:33the fire would have been extinguished in ten seconds.
0:56:33 > 0:56:40The same fire in the middle of a rally, you have, finito, eh?
0:56:47 > 0:56:51For me, it was a bit of a shock, really, when he disappeared.
0:56:53 > 0:56:57As conjecture on the causes of Toivonen's accident continued,
0:56:57 > 0:56:59Balestre did a complete U-turn -
0:56:59 > 0:57:02announcing a ban.
0:57:02 > 0:57:05Group B was dead.
0:57:05 > 0:57:08The deregulated competition that made Group B rallying
0:57:08 > 0:57:14so strangely addictive had caused its inevitable demise.
0:57:14 > 0:57:20It was probably the best part of my life. It was just so intense.
0:57:20 > 0:57:22Group B, it was the only time.
0:57:22 > 0:57:25It will never come back. I think.
0:57:25 > 0:57:31It was, it was a highlight in my career. It was fantastic. I like it.
0:57:31 > 0:57:37For me, it was, of course, fantastic period of where you had
0:57:37 > 0:57:41the big competition, but also a fantastic life.
0:57:41 > 0:57:44It was in your focus for so many years,
0:57:44 > 0:57:48and you were putting everything behind the sport to be successful
0:57:48 > 0:57:51and you will never forget what you have done.
0:57:51 > 0:57:54You enjoyed it so much.
0:57:54 > 0:57:56It was a great time. Absolutely gorgeous.
0:58:01 > 0:58:05It's like... It's like a pearl in my life.
0:58:47 > 0:58:49The 2016 Mercury Prize recognises
0:58:49 > 0:58:53the 12 most exceptional UK albums of the last year.
0:58:56 > 0:58:57and a man in a cardboard outfit babbling onstage.