History

Historical Overview

The Olympus Rally was part of the first US rally championship staged in 1973 and it later evolved to become part of the World Rally Championship from 1986 through 1988. The list of past winners reads like the who’s who of rally history.

  • John Buffum, America’s most successful rally driver, won the Olympus four times on his way to
    117 US rally wins and eight national championships.
  • Rod Millen, three time New Zealand rally champion and three time US champion also won the Olympus
    four times.
  • The most famous of the ‘Flying Finns’ Hannu Mikkola was the dominant driver in world rallying in
    the 1970s and 1980s. He won the Olympus in 1985, a prototype for the world championship events that
    followed.
  • Markku Alen claimed the FIA Driver’s Cup and won 20 world championship events including the 1986
    Olympus.
  • Four time world rally champion Juha Kankkunen won the Olympus in 1987 after finishing second in
    1986.
  • 1988 Olympus winner Miki Biasion was world champion twice, the only Italian driver to capture the
    title.

Olympus Rally Olympus Rally

Photos: Jim Culp

The 1986 Olympus is fondly remembered as the last rally for the ‘Group B’ cars. Group B regulations created flyweight, 600 horse power, all-wheel-drive rally cars, like the Delta S4 that could go from zero to 60 mph in 2.3 seconds.

Starting in the Tacoma Dome, rally chairman John Nagel and 1500 volunteers brought the battle for the 1986 World Championship into the northwest forests. After three days at speed, Markku Alen in that Lancia edged Juha Kankkunen’s Peugeot by a little more than a minute.

Toyota, Nissan and Lancia brought full factory teams to the 1987 Olympus, and unofficial works entries from Audi, Mazda and Suzuki filled out the entry. The rally started with stages in Seattle’s Golden Gardens Park and downtown Tacoma before heading into the forests. At the finish, Kankkunen edged Miki Biasion and Alen to give Lancia a one-two-three sweep.

The 1988 Olympus started indoors on the waterfront in Tacoma. Biasion dominated the event, finishing six minutes ahead of Alex Fiorio to capture the manufacturer’s title for Lancia.