With Lancia staying at home in Turin after already claiming the manufacturers crown, Toyota were the red hot favourites to take victory on the 1989 RAC Rally.
No one before the start had predicted Pentti Airikkala and Ronan McNamee in the Mitsubishi Galant to win the rally though. Airikkala had scored a fine 4th in a private Lancia Delta Integrale the year before, but he had only been campaigning a Group N Galant on the Shell Oils British championship in 1989 and he was expected to be in that machine for the RAC until he received a late call to drive for the works Mitsubishi squad after Mikael Ericsson turned the seat down.
Carlos Sainz was the pre-event favourite in the TTE Toyota Celica GT-4 and he nearly got his dream debut victory until the propshaft broke in Dalby just three stages from the finish, after an intense battle with Airikkala, leaving him in tears. Dai Llewellin in a Toyota GB Celica GT-4 had raised British expectations by leading on the first day only for it to come to nothing with turbo problems in Wales on day 2. Ari Vatanen was expected to be a better bet than his team-mate Airikkala to challenge for victory but he never really did and ended up 5th after rolling the Galant.
So it was Pentti Airikkala who triggered the Christmas tree lights in Nottingham at the finish control. After contesting 13 RAC Rally's, and coming so close in 1976 driving the Avon Tyres Mk2 Escort, it was a very popular win indeed and secured Airikkala the services of the Ford Motor Company for a WRC campaign in 1990.
1989 Lombard RAC Rally video highlights
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Tags: 1989, carlos sainz, dai llewellin, lombard, lombard rac, pentti airikkala, rac rally, toyota gb, tte
