1991 Lancia Delta HF Integrale 16v #2
Pilots: J. Kankkunen / J. Piironen
Team: Martini Racing
Race: 1st overall (A8 class) at the 1000 Lakes Rally 1991
Spark - S9010 (resin)
Published 01/10/25
As strange as this may sound, the Rally Finland only exists because of the Monte Carlo Rally. Raced since 1909, the Monte is the most famous rally race of the world. That being so, every rally pilot in the world wants to participate. Since there wasn’t enough spots for everybody, each nation had a quota for their pilots. In the early 50s, for Swedes and Finns that quota was only 14 spots. So, in 1951, the Rally Finland began as a qualifier event for the Monte Carlo Rally. In 1954, after various course changes, it received its more famous name “1000 Lakes Rally”. Though through the years it changed names and routes, one characteristic was always the same: gravel. The race always consists of wide and smooth gravel roads, making it the fastest of all the WRC events. Because of that, some call it the “Grand Prix of Rallying”.
The 1000 Lakes Rally is absurdly popular, attracting hundreds of thousands of spectators every year. Moreover, it is also notoriously difficult – only seven non-Finn or Sweden drivers ever won the event. Fortunately for Lancia, their team in 1991 counted with the Finn talents of Juha Kankkunen and Juha Piironen. In fact, Kankkunen’s first rally event was the 1000 Lakes of 1979, when he finished in 14th. The Martini Lancia 1991 team not only had a good pilot and copilot, they also had a great car. Released in 1989, the Delta HF Integrale 16v was a rally monster, dominating the WRC. The car won the 1989 and 1990 WRC Manufacturers’ title and the 1989 Drivers’ title. Powering the Integrale 16v was a 1995 cm³ turbo-charged 16 valves inline-4 (officially) rated at 243 kW (330 hp). However, as fine a machine as the Integrale 16v was, its competition was not thin.
Though Lancia steam-rolled the competition from 1987 to 1989, by 1990 Toyota got serious with their rally effort. In the hands of Carlos Sainz, their Celica GT-4 started to win races. In fact, the Spaniard won the 1990 WRC Driver’s Championship. For the 1991 season both Lancia and Toyota were reputedly working with bottomless budgets. Rumors abounded about “creative interpretation of the rules”, especially at the Lancia camp. Moreover, it was common knowledge that the Group A’s 300 hp power limit was just on paper. The big names more than probably used cars with close to 400 hp (294 kW). With all that, by the time of the 1000 Lakes Rally, in August, things between Lancia and Toyota were even. However, Kankkunen and Piironen brought the Integrale 16v #2 in first place. And another Integrale 16v (Jolly Club team) came in second; Sainz only managed fourth place.
After the 1000 Lakes Rally the Integrale 16v won three of the remaining five WRC events. With that, the Delta won its fifth consecutive WRC Manufacturer’s title for Lancia. And, Kankkunen and Piironen won the Drivers’ and Co-drivers’ Championship (the third for each). So, to say the Delta Integrale is badass is an understatement. In capable hands it was a monster on the dirt, asphalt and snow. As I think it’s obvious, I’m a HUGE fan of the car. Therefore, this is not my first Delta, and not even my first Integrale 16v. Even so, I bought this Integrale 16v #2 as soon as my dealer offered it. Why? Awesome 143rd Spark model + rally monster = take my money. Or something like that 😂. Seriously though, in scale it’s close to perfect, and looks fantastic. So, for the rally and/or Delta fan, awesome.