Throughout the history of the World Rally, it is normal to talk about tactics and strategies. Team managers have always been trying to find ways to mitigate the difficulties they already knew to face, whether it was dust, car wear, tires, etc. With the significant increase in the level of competition in the mid-1980s, and the huge fights between Audi and Lancia, which Peugeot later joined, led to ‘schemes’ on the part of the teams. Usually the most inventive was Lancia, but in the 1984 Rally de Portugal it was not like that
Pay attention to what we reported at the time: “The agitation among the Lancia men was huge at the Viseu dealership, while the cars did not arrive for assistance. There were moments of nervousness because it was not known for sure what was happening on the road. It was known that Mikkola, contrary to popular belief, wasted no time after nightfall.
The news had also arrived that the Finn from Audi was riding two minutes ahead of Biasion, thus being able to have the road clear of dust in front of him, which put him on an equal footing with Markku Alén, the first to pass. , and therefore without major problems in terms of visibility. The question was whether Rohrl had penalized him for advancing or if Mikkola had convinced the controller at the start of the Viseu section to give him a two-minute break “for safety reasons”.
Alén arrives, with his agitated air, showing that he is irritated by this situation. We explained that maybe it wasn’t the controller who had allowed it, as Alén thought, but a tactical move by Rohrl.
Alen looks thoughtful. In moments. Biasion asks us to get back to Alén.
The Finn still didn’t quite understand the ‘tactic’ and asks us to repeat it. This time there was no doubt: Alén had understood and he was furious.
But what could Lancia have done? Sports, nothing. Unsportingly, having had Biasion loosened, so that his dust would continue to bother Mikkola. But in either case, the men of the Italian brand were so surprised by the move and couldn’t even sketch the slightest response.
For the first time in many years, Cesare Fiorio and his peers had been surprised at what they used to be strongest at, strategy.
But at Audi there is now a gentleman called Christian Geistdorfer, who after many years at the Italian school has learned the tricks and also knows how to put them into practice. In our opinion, Mikkola’s driving and Geistdorfer’s strategy allowed Audi to achieve its third consecutive victory in Portugal. How did things go? Nothing easier.
At the entrance to Viseu, on the first pass, Mikkola pulled up his car-before the control zone with Rohrl’s Quattro right behind him.
Mikkola and Rohrl let Massimo Biasion go for the start of the stage and Rohrl passed his teammate to control a minute before his ideal time, which would allow him to leave for the stage when Mikkola normally should. The Finn then passed from two minutes after Biasion, with Rohrl in front of him.
It would leave, and as soon as it left the control zone it would pull over for a minute waiting for Mikkola to pass and only then get back on the road.
Mikkola thus had two minutes left for the competitor in front and was always the first Audi to arrive, so at first the Lancia men didn’t understand what was going on. Maurizio Perissinot, Bettega’s navigator, already told us in Tomar: “I remember that from a certain point onwards, Arne Hertz never came to control me and Siviero again, as he normally did. But that scheme never crossed my mind. Rohrl and Mikkola maintained their tactics in the second pass through Mões and Nogueira.
For the entry of the second Viseu, they opted for a new ‘variant’: Rohrl penalized a minute for delay, resuming his previous position, that is, behind Mikkola, but keeping the two minutes difference to Biasion. It was a ‘master stroke’ by Geistdorfer. In a policy that has to be accepted, since it did not involve direct damage to third parties, since everything was a team tactic.
It should also be noted that it was Geistdorfer himself who suggested this strategy to Mikkola, who later confessed that such a ‘play’ never crossed his mind. In terms of tactics, Lancia seems to be no longer alone”.
As you can see, tactical play is far from new in the WRC…
