Andrea Aghini
Encyclopedia
Andrea Aghini Lombardi is an Italian rally
driver. He won the 1992 Rallye Sanremo
and took four other podium finishes in the World Rally Championship
from 1992 to 1995. In 1992, he also won the Race of Champions
, after beating Carlos Sainz
in the semi-final and Colin McRae
in the final.
driving a Renault 5 GT Turbo at his home event, the Rallye San Remo, in 1986
. He retired from the rally after a turbo problem, but two years later, he won the Group N
class of the event. For the 1991 season
, Aghini got a contract with the Lancia
-supported Jolly Club
team for two WRC events; the Sanremo and the Rally Catalunya
. He drove his Delta Integrale 16V to fifth place in both rallies, taking his first drivers' world championship points.
These results earned Aghini a drive with Martini Racing
, Lancia's factory team, for the following season. He finished sixth at the Tour de Corse
, and then edged out his team-mate Juha Kankkunen
to take his first and only world rally win in Sanremo. Aghini's second podium finish followed in Catalunya. After Lancia withdrew from the WRC, he moved back to Jolly Club to partner defending world champion Carlos Sainz
. His only podium finish of the season came at the Rally Portugal, where he took third place behind Ford's François Delecour
and Miki Biasion.
In 1994, Aghini partnered Kankkunen and Didier Auriol
at the Toyota factory team in a few events and finished third at the Tour de Corse with a Celica Turbo 4WD. He repeated this feat in the 1995 season, driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 3
for the Team Mitsubishi Ralliart. With consistent results, he also equalled his career-best seventh place in the drivers' championship from 1992. Aghini then became less active in the WRC. He won the Italian Rally Championship with a Toyota Corolla WRC in 1998 and 1999. In 1998, he also finished runner-up in the European Rally Championship
.
Rallying
Rallying, also known as rally racing, is a form of auto racing that takes place on public or private roads with modified production or specially built road-legal cars...
driver. He won the 1992 Rallye Sanremo
Rallye Sanremo
Rallye Sanremo is a rally competition held in Sanremo, Italy. Except for the 1995 event, the event was part of the FIA World Rally Championship schedule from the 1973 season to the 2003 season. Currently, it is a round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge and the Italian national rally...
and took four other podium finishes in the World Rally Championship
World Rally Championship
The World Rally Championship is a rallying series organised by the FIA, culminating with a champion driver and manufacturer. The driver's world championship and manufacturer's world championship are separate championships, but based on the same point system. The series currently consists of 13...
from 1992 to 1995. In 1992, he also won the Race of Champions
Race of Champions
The Race of Champions is an international motorsport event held at the end of each year, featuring some of the world's best racing and rally drivers...
, after beating Carlos Sainz
Carlos Sainz
Carlos Sainz Cenamor is a Spanish rally driver. He won the World Rally Championship drivers' title with Toyota in 1990 and 1992, and finished runner-up four times...
in the semi-final and Colin McRae
Colin McRae
Colin Steele McRae, MBE was a Scottish rally driver born in Lanark.The son of five-time British Rally Champion Jimmy McRae and brother of rally driver Alister McRae, Colin McRae was the 1991 and 1992 British Rally Champion and, in 1995, became the first British person and the youngest to win the...
in the final.
Career
Aghini began his rallying career on national events with a Peugeot 205 GTI in 1984. He debuted in the World Rally ChampionshipWorld Rally Championship
The World Rally Championship is a rallying series organised by the FIA, culminating with a champion driver and manufacturer. The driver's world championship and manufacturer's world championship are separate championships, but based on the same point system. The series currently consists of 13...
driving a Renault 5 GT Turbo at his home event, the Rallye San Remo, in 1986
1986 World Rally Championship season
The 1986 World Rally Championship season was the 14th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile World Rally Championship . The season consisted of 13 rallies, including all twelve venues of the previous season as well as the addition of the Olympus Rally...
. He retired from the rally after a turbo problem, but two years later, he won the Group N
Group N
In relation to motorsport governed by the FIA, Group N refers to a set of regulations providing 'standard' production vehicles for competition, often referred to as the "Showroom Class"....
class of the event. For the 1991 season
1991 World Rally Championship season
The 1991 World Rally Championship season was the 19th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile World Rally Championship . The season consisted of 14 rallies. The drivers' world championship was won by Juha Kankkunen in a Lancia Delta Integrale 16V, ahead of Carlos Sainz and Didier...
, Aghini got a contract with the Lancia
Lancia
Lancia Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian automobile manufacturer founded in 1906 by Vincenzo Lancia and which became part of the Fiat Group in 1969. The company has a long history of producing distinctive cars and also has a strong rally heritage. Some modern Lancias are seen as presenting a more...
-supported Jolly Club
Jolly Club
Jolly Club was a Italian racing team, which competed in the World Rally Championship and Formula 1, it was mainly connected to brands like Lancia and Alfa Romeo. It was created in 1957 in Milan by idea of Mario Angiolini, the team won several championships...
team for two WRC events; the Sanremo and the Rally Catalunya
Rally Catalunya
The Rally Catalunya is a rally competition on the World Rally Championship schedule. Now held on the wide, smooth and sweeping asphalt roads around the town of Salou, Catalonia, Spain, it was previously held around the region of Costa Brava...
. He drove his Delta Integrale 16V to fifth place in both rallies, taking his first drivers' world championship points.
These results earned Aghini a drive with Martini Racing
Martini Racing
Martini Racing is the name under which various motor racing teams raced when sponsored by the Martini & Rossi distillery that produces Martini vermouth. Martini's sponsorship program began in 1968...
, Lancia's factory team, for the following season. He finished sixth at the Tour de Corse
Tour de Corse
The Tour de Corse - Rallye de France is a rally first held in 1956 on the island of Corsica. It was part of the World Rally Championship from the inaugural 1973 season to 2008. The name "Tour de Corse" refers to the fact that in the early days it was run around the island; nowadays it only features...
, and then edged out his team-mate Juha Kankkunen
Juha Kankkunen
Juha Matti Pellervo Kankkunen is a Finnish former rally driver. His factory team career in the World Rally Championship lasted from 1983 to 2002. He won 23 world rallies and four drivers' world championship titles, which were both once records in the series...
to take his first and only world rally win in Sanremo. Aghini's second podium finish followed in Catalunya. After Lancia withdrew from the WRC, he moved back to Jolly Club to partner defending world champion Carlos Sainz
Carlos Sainz
Carlos Sainz Cenamor is a Spanish rally driver. He won the World Rally Championship drivers' title with Toyota in 1990 and 1992, and finished runner-up four times...
. His only podium finish of the season came at the Rally Portugal, where he took third place behind Ford's François Delecour
François Delecour
François Delecour is a rally driver.In the employ of Ford Motor Company as a driver of the factory-fettled Ford Escort RS Cosworth, he finished as runner-up in drivers' standings in the 1993 World Rally Championship season. He was still driving for Ford by January 1994, when he won the...
and Miki Biasion.
In 1994, Aghini partnered Kankkunen and Didier Auriol
Didier Auriol
Didier Auriol is a French rally driver.Born in Montpellier, and initially an ambulance driver, Auriol made his name as a French rally driver in the World Rally Championship throughout the 1990s. He became World Rally Champion in 1994, the first from his country to do so...
at the Toyota factory team in a few events and finished third at the Tour de Corse with a Celica Turbo 4WD. He repeated this feat in the 1995 season, driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 3
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, colloquially known as the Lancer Evo or Evo, is a high-performance sedan manufactured by Mitsubishi Motors. There have been ten official versions to date, and the designation of each model is most commonly a roman numeral...
for the Team Mitsubishi Ralliart. With consistent results, he also equalled his career-best seventh place in the drivers' championship from 1992. Aghini then became less active in the WRC. He won the Italian Rally Championship with a Toyota Corolla WRC in 1998 and 1999. In 1998, he also finished runner-up in the European Rally Championship
European Rally Championship
The European Rally Championship is the European continental championship series in rallying. It is organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile .-History:...
.
WRC results
| Year | Team/Entrant | Car | WRC Round | WDC | Points | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | |||||
| 1986 1986 World Rally Championship season The 1986 World Rally Championship season was the 14th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile World Rally Championship . The season consisted of 13 rallies, including all twelve venues of the previous season as well as the addition of the Olympus Rally... |
Privateer | Renault 5 GT Turbo | MON | SWE | POR | KEN | FRA | GRE | NZL | ARG | FIN | CIV | ITA RET |
GBR | USA | 0 | ||
| 1987 1987 World Rally Championship season The 1987 World Rally Championship season was the 15th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile World Rally Championship . The season consisted of 13 rallies in the same venues of the previous season... |
Privateer | Peugeot 205 GTI | MON | SWE | POR | KEN | FRA | GRE | USA | NZL | ARG | FIN | CIV | ITA RET |
GBR | 0 | ||
| 1988 1988 World Rally Championship season The 1988 World Rally Championship season was the 16th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile World Rally Championship... |
Peugeot Talbot Sport | Peugeot 309 GTI | MON | SWE | POR | KEN | FRA | GRE | USA | NZL | ARG | FIN | CIV | ITA 12 |
GBR | 0 | ||
| 1989 1989 World Rally Championship season The 1989 World Rally Championship season was the 17th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile World Rally Championship . The season consisted of 13 rallies, with some adjustments to the schedule versus the previous season... |
Peugeot Team Italia | Peugeot 405 Mi16 | SWE | MON | POR | KEN | FRA | GRE | NZL | ARG | FIN | AUS | CIV | ITA RET |
GBR | 0 | ||
| 1991 1991 World Rally Championship season The 1991 World Rally Championship season was the 19th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile World Rally Championship . The season consisted of 14 rallies. The drivers' world championship was won by Juha Kankkunen in a Lancia Delta Integrale 16V, ahead of Carlos Sainz and Didier... |
Jolly Club Jolly Club Jolly Club was a Italian racing team, which competed in the World Rally Championship and Formula 1, it was mainly connected to brands like Lancia and Alfa Romeo. It was created in 1957 in Milan by idea of Mario Angiolini, the team won several championships... |
Lancia Delta Integrale 16V | MON | SWE | POR | KEN | FRA | GRE | NZL | ARG | FIN | AUS | ITA 5 |
CIV | ESP 5 |
GBR | 14th | 16 |
| 1992 | Martini Lancia | Lancia Delta HF Integrale | MON | SWE | POR RET |
KEN | FRA 6 |
GRE | NZL | ARG | FIN | AUS | ITA 1 |
CIV | ESP 3 |
GBR 10 |
7th | 39 |
| 1993 | Jolly Club Jolly Club Jolly Club was a Italian racing team, which competed in the World Rally Championship and Formula 1, it was mainly connected to brands like Lancia and Alfa Romeo. It was created in 1957 in Milan by idea of Mario Angiolini, the team won several championships... |
Lancia Delta HF Integrale | MON RET |
SWE | POR 3 |
KEN | FRA RET |
GRE 4 |
ARG | NZL | FIN | AUS | ITA RET |
ESP | GBR | 14th | 22 | |
| 1994 | Toyota Castrol Team | Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD | MON | POR RET |
KEN | FRA 3 |
GRE | ARG | NZL | FIN | 14th | 12 | ||||||
| HF Grifone | ITA RET |
GBR | ||||||||||||||||
| 1995 | Mitsubishi Ralliart | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III | MON 6 |
SWE | POR | FRA 3 |
NZL | AUS | ESP 5 |
GBR | 7th | 26 | ||||||
| 1997 | HF Grifone | Toyota Celica GT-Four Toyota Celica GT-Four The Toyota Celica GT-Four is a high performance model of the Celica liftback, with a turbocharged 3S-GTE engine, and full-time AWD. It was created to compete in the World Rally Championship, whose regulations dictate that a manufacturer must build road-going versions of the vehicle in sufficient... |
MON | SWE | KEN | POR | ESP | FRA | ARG | GRE | NZL | FIN | INA | ITA 7 |
AUS | GBR | 0 | |
| 1998 | HF Grifone | Toyota Corolla WRC | MON | SWE | KEN | POR | ESP | FRA | ARG | GRE | NZL | FIN | ITA 9 |
AUS | GBR | 0 | ||
| 1999 | HF Grifone | Toyota Corolla WRC | MON | SWE | KEN | POR | ESP | FRA | ARG | GRE | NZL | FIN | CHN | ITA 5 |
AUS | GBR | 18th | 2 |
| 2000 | Ralliart Italia | Mitsubishi Carisma GT Mitsubishi Carisma The Mitsubishi Carisma is a large family car produced for the European market by Mitsubishi Motors from 1995 to 2004. The model name was derived from a combination of the English car and the Greek kharisma, meaning "divine gift"... |
MON | SWE | KEN | POR | ESP | ARG RET |
GRE | NZL | FIN | CYP | FRA | ITA 15 |
AUS | GBR | 0 | |