Over three decades after it was disbanded, the Group B rally legend remains as strong as ever: We’re still captivated by the idea of virtually unlimited cars tamed (if only barely) by ubermensch drivers skilled enough to wield them on unforgiving road courses. It was a brutal, violent series, but -- like some sort of automotive incarnation of bullfighting -- the ever-present danger only seemed to make it more exciting.

Often lost in the conversation (or, more accurately, mythologization) is exactly how freaking dangerous the series was. On May 2, 1986, during the second leg of the Tour de Corse, Henri Toivonen and Sergio Cresto’s Lancia Delta S4 careened off the course and into a ravine. Even if the pair had survived the initial crash, it wouldn't have mattered: The Lancia burst into flames almost immediately and rapidly burned to the ground. The rally was ultimately won by Bruno Saby in a Peugeot 205 turbo -- a bittersweet victory if there ever was one.

The deaths of Toivonen and Cresto were hardly the only fatalities attributed to Group B; an incident earlier in the 1986 season killed three spectators. But it if the series was already on probation, the Tour de Corse crash was the final straw. Shortly after the crash, FISA president Jean Marie Balestre announced a series of rules changes that effectively ended the series. Ford and Audi dropped out immediately, greatly limiting competition. There would be no 1987 Group B season.

Further, the proposed Group S, which would have limited car horsepower but dropped the homologation requirement from Group B’s 200 cars to just 10 in order to spur wild innovation, was canceled outright. As we put it back then, “Long-range effects of the FISA decision may take a while to be realized fully, but for the moment, this much is clear: The age of the limited-edition wonderers is nearing an end.”

The exact cause of Toivonen’s crash remains a mystery decades after it happened. As we wrote in the May 12, 1986, issue,

“Toivonen had himself begun to really find his feet in the 4wd car, stating just before the event that ‘Even when I won the RAC and then the Monte Carlo Rally, I had node how the Delta should be driven. Now things are going much better.’ His major problem seemed to be his unfamiliar with the rally circuit; his training had been cut short by illness, and he had committed here only once before. That may have contributed to the accident.”

The lingering effects of other serious accidents Toivonen sustained during his career may have played a role as well. In all likelihood, we’ll never know.

Why does Group B remain such a source of fascination? We suspect it offered a sort of magical cocktail of incredible cars, raw human talent, bare-knuckled competition and, yes, danger. Even at the time, everyone seemed to realize that, while there was good reason for its cancellation, a very special era was ending.

Read about Balestre’s announcement, which sealed the fate of Group B, in the May 19, 1986 issue of Autoweek below.

Autoweek May 19, 1986 -- FISA president Jean Marie Balestre on the end of Group B

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