VIN: the Grifone Lancia Delta S4 Evoluzione chassis 203
History of chassis 203
In addition to the official Martini Racing squad, Lancia supplied Delta S4 Evoluziones to the Jolly Club and Grifone teams during 1986, both of whom were given quasi works status.
Chassis 203 was one of the examples destined for the Grifone outfit. It appeared throughout 1986 in the black and gold colours of title sponsor, Esso Super Oil, and was allocated exclusively to Fabrizio Tabaton / Luciano Tedeschini who were considered favourites to win that year’s European Rally Championship.
Chassis 203 made its competition debut at the Rallye dell’Isola d’Elba which took place over a mix of tarmac and gravel surfaces between May 15th and 17th. Torrential conditions ahead of the rally meant many of the roads had been impassable until shortly before the event began and a landslide robbed the contest of its longest 40km tarmac stage.
Although Tabaton took an early lead which he extended during the first day, during the second night’s gravel stages Jolly Club driver Dario Cerrato assumed an advantage he would retain until the end. Nevertheless, Tabaton’s second place finish was enough for him to head the championship standings.
On the all-tarmac Targa Florio Rally (June 12th to 14th), Tabaton was generally outclassed by Cerrato’s Jolly Club S4 and was in a battle with the Peugeot 205 T16 of Antonio Zanussi when chassis 203 retired on the penultimate stage with brake problems.
Having surrendered his championship lead to Cerrato in Sicily (and then suffered a retirement on the Ypres 24 Hour Rally driving chassis 207), Tabaton subsequently bounced back with a hat-trick of mid-season victories.
First up was a dominant performance on the all-tarmac Rali Vinho da Madeira in chassis 203 (August 1st to 3rd) where, following a late retirement for the works Renault 5 Turbo Maxi of Carlos Sainz, Lancias filled the top six positions.
Tabaton then took victory in the Halkidiki Rally driving chassis 207, after which he was back in chassis 203 for the Rallye Internacional Principe de Asturias where the Renault of Sainz and Antonio Zanini’s Ford RS200 could do nothing to stop the Grifone S4 which took command from the start.
Tabaton ultimately went on to secure the 1986 European Rally Championship title with one event left to run.
Chassis 203 made its final outing at round eleven of the 1986 World Rally Championship, the Rallye Sanremo, which took place between October 13th and 17th. However, Tabaton and Tedeschini attended purely to carry out some film work and they ran just a few stages of the mixed tarmac / gravel event before the car was withdrawn.
As for the rest of the field, the works Martini Lancia squad went on to take a controversial 1-2-3 finish in Sanremo after Peugeot were scandalously excluded mid-way through the event for apparently running ground effect devices. However, this decision was later thrown out in court and the result was scrubbed from the record books.
Notable History
Grifone Esso
Registered TO 77891E
15/05/1986 ERC Rallye dell'Isola d'Elba (F. Tabaton / L. Tedeschini) 2nd oa, 2nd B12 class (#3)
12/06/1986 ERC Targa Florio Rally (F. Tabaton / L. Tedeschini) DNF (#2)
01/08/1986 ERC Rali Vinho da Madeira (F. Tabaton / L. Tedeschini) 1st oa, 1st B11 class (#1)
19/09/1986 ERC Rallye Internacional Principe de Asturias (F. Tabaton / L. Tedeschini) 1st oa, 1st B10 class (#1)
13/10/1986 WRC Rallye Sanremo (F. Tabaton / L. Tedeschini) WDN (#7)
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: unattributed
