Page "Henri Toivonen" Paragraph 21

The 1986 season started with a dominant win for Toivonen at the Monte Carlo Rally with new co-driver Sergio Cresto.

Fellow " Flying Finns " Timo Salonen and Hannu Mikkola finished second and third.

Toivonen's father, Pauli Toivonen, had won the event 20 years earlier after ten cars, including the first four to cross the finishing line, were disqualified due to having non-standard headlights.

The disqualification had caused an uproar and Prince Rainier of Monaco refused to attend the prize-giving ceremony.

Henri Toivonen's victory caused his father to comment " now the name of Toivonen has been cleared ".

The Monte Carlo win made Toivonen the favourite for the title.

However, at the Swedish Rally he retired from the lead due to an engine failure.

At the next rally in Portugal, Joaquim Santos lost control of his Ford RS200 on a special stage and plunged into the crowd.

The accident killed three spectators and injured more than 30.

Toivonen along with all the other factory team drivers decided to withdraw from the event, but Lancia disapproved of the retirement.

Toivonen stated that " the Lancia team will not accept anything but a win.

" During the Portuguese rally, Toivonen is often reported to have tested his Delta S4 at the Estoril circuit and to have set a fastest lap time that would have qualified him in sixth position at the 1986 Portuguese Grand Prix.

Despite the setbacks, Toivonen remained the title favourite with no driver seeming able to match his pace.