The 1984 Ypres Rally was set to be a classic with it's impressive entry. The Lancia's of Andruet and Capone were expected to dominate closely followed by the Porsche's of Snijers and of course Toivonen. Jimmy McRae was over again, this time in a Manta 400 and was seeded no. 1, courtesy of his FISA "A" seeding.
Starters from top twenty on the Ypres Rally 1984
No 1: J.McRae-R.Arthur (GB) (Opel Manta 400 B-12)
No 2: C.Capone (I) -S.Cresto (USA) (Lancia 037 B-12)
No 3: B.Beguin-JJ.Lenne (F) (BMW M1 B-12)
No 4: JC.Andruet-M.Rick (F) (Lancia 037 B-12)
No 5: G.Colsoul-A.Lopes (B) (Opel Manta 400 B-12)
No 6: H.Toivonen (SF)-I.Grindrod (GB) (Porsche 911 SC RS B-12)
No 7:
No 8:
No 9: R.Guliker-A.Van Den Brink (NL) (Porsche 911 SC B-12)
No 10: P.Touren (F)-L.Hennebel (B) (R5 Turbo TDC B-12)
No 11: P.Snijers-D.Colebunders (B) (Porsche 911 SC RS B-12)
No 12: S.Andervang (S)-G.Van Oosten (Ford Escort RS 1800 B-11)
No 14: R.Droogmans-R.Joosten (B) (Porsche 911 SC RS B-12)
No 15: LE.Walfridson-S.Kvarnlof (S) (R5 Turbo TDC B-12)
No 16:
No 17: B.Mathon-B.Hanocq (F) (R5 Turbo TDC B-12)
No 18: E.Barras-R.Deruyter (B) (Ford Escort RS 1800 B-11)
No 19: D.Perrard-G.Turlur (F) (Talbot Lotus)
No 20: P.Lietaer-A.Martens (B) (Talbot Lotus B-12)
No.1 seed Jimmy McRae suffered overheating problems with the Manta to finish 4th
There was a doubt though about the Porsche's reliability with Toivonen having constant gearbox problems on the recent Circuit of Ireland, resulting in Toivonen's eventual retirement from the lead. The Porsche gearbox was always an achille's heel requiring 90mins to change.
Andruet was one of the pre-event favourites but ended up being excluded:
Capone lead early on
When the rally commenced on the 29th June the Lancia's took off into the lead. Andruet led from Capone from Toivonen and Snijers. Andruet had built up a lead of 53s, but Capone fought back and after SS19 led by 2s. Then Capone suffered clutch problems forcing him down to fourth handing the lead back to Andruet.
Snijers second after he lodged a protest
Andruet then had gearbox trouble which allowed Toivonen to hit the front, Henri had been biding his time and conscious of his own gearbox. Feeling a little more confident, after he took the lead, Toivonen put any reliability issues to the back of his mind and pushed on for a historic victory with a dominant Porsche 1-2 at the finish, after the Lancia's failed. Andruet, in fact, would end up disqualified for a servicing infringement, (he borrowed a jack to change a wheel outside a control) after a protest was lodged by Patrick Snijers.
Toivonen wins in the Rothmans 911
Top Ten Results
1. Toivonen / Grindrod SF/GB Porsche 911 SCRS
2. Snyers / Colebunders B Porsche 911 SCRS
3. Capone / Cresto I Lancia 037
4. McRae / Arthur GB Opel Manta 400
5. Colsoul / Lopes B Opel Manta 400
6. Mathon / Hanoca Renault 5 Turbo
7. P.Dumoulin / J.Dumoulin B Porsche 911 SC
8. Lareppe / Lambert B Opel Ascona
9. Goudezeune / Messine B Alfa Romeo GTV6
10. Guliker / van den Brink Porsche 911
Images forum-auto
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