INTRODUCTION
Massimo Biasion (nicknamed “Miki”) is an Italian rally driver. His racing career began in 1979 driving a Opel Kadett GTE. In October of 1980, he made his debut in the World Rally Championship (WRC) driving the Opel Ascona. In 1983, he won the European Rally Championship (ERC) in a Group B Lancia Rallye 037. After the cancellation of the category, Biasion would go on to dominate WRC Group A rallying – winning two consecutive drivers championships (1988-89).
QUICK BROWSE CONTENT
- PERSONAL SUMMARY (WRC)
- RALLY BIOGRAPHY
- GROUP B RESULTS (WRC)
- WRC / ERC VICTORIES
- AWARDS / ACHIEVEMENTS
- GALLERY
- VIDEOS
- REFERENCES
PERSONAL SUMMARY
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality |  Italian |
| Born | January 7th, 1958 Bassano del Grappa |
| World Rally Championship record | |
| Active years | 1980~1994 |
| Teams | Lancia, Ford |
| Rallies | 78 |
| Championships | 2 (1988, 1989) |
| Rally wins | 17 |
| Podiums | 40 |
| Stage wins | 373 |
| Total points | 768 |
| First rally | 1980 Rallye Sanremo |
| First win | 1986 Rally Argentina |
| Last win | 1993 Acropolis Rally |
| Last rally | 1994 RAC Rally |
RALLY BIOGRAPHY
EARLY CAREER
Massimo Biasion’s motorsports career began in 1974 with motocross competitions. In 1979, at age 21, he began to compete in rallying with an Opel Kadett GTE, accompanied by his friend Tizian Siviero. He made his debut in the Rally of Modena in Italy where he finished 38th.
In 1980, Biasion drove an Opel Ascona SR in the Italian Rally Championship, winning its category. He also participated in three races of the European Rally Championship (ERC); the Rally Targa Florio (5th place), Rally Elba (4th place) and the Rally San Marino (9th place). In October, he made his debut in the World Rally Championship (WRC) in the Sanremo Rally, but he withdrew from the 8th special stage due to differential failure.
In 1981, at the wheel of the Opel Ascona 400, Biasion participated in both the Italian and European Rally Championships. Among other venues, Miki took fourth place in the Rally 4 Regioni and Rally San Marino. In October, for the second time in his WRC career, he went in the Rally of Sanremo where he took 6th place and thus scoring his first points in the WRC.
In 1982, Massimo won the Italian Rally Championship in Group 4. He also competed in four ERC events; third in the Rally Targa Florio 4 Regioni, first in the Rally Internazionale della Lana, and the second in the Rally of San Marino. In October, he went back to the WRC Sanremo Rally where he took 8th place.
1983-1985: JOLLY CLUB
In 1983, Biasion became a member of the Jolly Club privateer team, driving a Group B Lancia Rallye 037. The season began with multiple victories in the ERC; Rally Costa Brava, Rally Sol, Costa Smeralda, and the Rally 4 Regioni. However, in the Rally Internazionale della Lana he finished 2nd. He won subsequent rallies such as the Ypres Rally and Rally Madeira San Marino. A third place in the Rally of Aosta sealed his claim to the ERC driver’s championship and the Italy Rally Championship. In October of 1983, he took part in the WRC at the Sanremo Rally where he took 5th place.
In 1984, Biasion competed exclusively at the top echelon of the WRC. In January’s Monte Carlo Rally he took 6th place. In March, he was in the fourth in Portugal. In May, at the Tour de Corse, Biasion got his first WRC podium with a 2nd place finish. In his fifth and final start of the season at the Sanremo Rally, Biasion achieved third place behind Ari Vatanen and Attilio Bettega. Miki finished the season with a decent 6th place in the WRC driver’s championship – quite a feat as part of a privateer team.
Biasion’s 1985 season began with the Rally Monte Carlo with 9th place. In February, he returned to the ERC and took part in the Rally Costa Brava. In March, he took part in the Rally of Portugal and clinched 2nd position. In the second half of March, he won the second rally of the ERC, the Rally Costa Blanca. In May, Biasion took 2nd position in the Rally of Elba. In August, he won his third ERC victory at the Rally of Chalkidiki. He started again in the Rally of Sanremo with a respectable 6th place. At the end of the season, Miki finished 12th in the WRC and 6th in the ERC.
1986: LANCIA
In 1986, Biasion became a member of the Lancia Martini works team, driving their new Delta S4. His debut with the team was in the Monte Carlo Rally, resulting in an accident but managing to limp the car to a 68th place. He retired from his next rallies; the Rally of Portugal, and the Safari Rally. In May, at the Tour de Corse event, Biasion’s Lancia teammate Henri Toivonen had a fatal accident along with co-pilot Sergio Cresto. The Lancia team management decided to withdraw its remaining drivers from the rally; Miki Biasion and Markku Alén.
Massimo’s first points of the 1986 season came in at the Acropolis Rally where he took 2nd place. In July, he stood on the podium again by finishing 3rd in the Rally of New Zealand. In August, Biasion got his first WRC victory in Argentina. In October, he took third place in the Rally Sanremo. However, that there was a dispute between the Peugeot team and the rally’s stewards whom disqualified them because of irregular side skirts. However, 11 days after the end of the Olympus Rally, the last of the season, the FISA decided to annul the results of the Sanremo Rally. For the last year of Group B, Biasion scored 47 points and took 5th place overall.
Miki Biasion would subsequently have a very successful rally career under the Group A replacement formula – winning two successive WRC driver championships in 1988 and 1989 with the Lancia team. He would switch to Ford in 1992 which would eventually leave him in a souring disposition, ultimately quitting the WRC after the 1994 season.
Miki has since appeared in many historic rally events across Europe but mainly in his home country of Italy, also driving course opening cars at local events.
SOURCES: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miki_Biasion + http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massimo_Biasion
(possibly spell-checked, translated, and/or edited; abridged, corrected, and/or expanded)
GROUP B RESULTS (WRC)
(# = finish position / R = retired or DNF / – = did not compete)
| Y | TEAM | EVENT | PTS | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 MC |
 SE |
 PT |
 KE |
 FR |
 GR |
 NZ |
 BR |
 FI |
 IT |
 CI |
 GB |
|||
| 82 | CSC | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 8 | – | – | 3 |
| Y | Team | Event | pts | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 MC |
 SE |
 PT |
 KE |
 FR |
 GR |
 NZ |
 AR |
 FI |
IT |
 CI |
 GB |
|||
| 83 | JollyC | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 5 | – | – | 8 |
| 84 | JollyC | 6 | – | 4 | – | 2 | R | – | – | – | 3 | – | – | 43 |
| 85 | JollyC | 9 | – | 2 | – | R | – | – | – | – | 6 | – | – | 23 |
| 86 | Lancia | 68 | – | R | R | R | 2 | 3 | 1 | – | 3 | – | – |  US- |
| 86 | pts | 47 | ||||||||||||
WRC VICTORIES
| # | Event | Season | Co-driver | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Rally Argentina |
1986 | Tiziano Siviero | Lancia Delta S4 |
| 2 | Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo |
1987 | Tiziano Siviero | Lancia Delta HF 4WD |
| 3 | Rally Argentina |
1987 | Tiziano Siviero | Lancia Delta HF 4WD |
| 4 | Rallye Sanremo |
1987 | Tiziano Siviero | Lancia Delta HF 4WD |
| 5 | Rallye de Portugal Vinho do Porto |
1988 | Carlo Cassina | Lancia Delta Integrale |
| 6 | Safari Rally |
1988 | Tiziano Siviero | Lancia Delta Integrale |
| 7 | Acropolis Rally |
1988 | Tiziano Siviero | Lancia Delta Integrale |
| 8 |  Olympus Rally |
1988 | Tiziano Siviero | Lancia Delta Integrale |
| 9 | Rallye Sanremo – Rallye d’Italia |
1988 | Tiziano Siviero | Lancia Delta Integrale |
| 10 | Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo |
1989 | Tiziano Siviero | Lancia Delta Integrale |
| 11 | Rallye de Portugal Vinho do Porto |
1989 | Tiziano Siviero | Lancia Delta Integrale |
| 12 | Safari Rally |
1989 | Tiziano Siviero | Lancia Delta Integrale |
| 13 | Acropolis Rally |
1989 | Tiziano Siviero | Lancia Delta Integrale |
| 14 | Rallye Sanremo – Rallye d’Italia |
1989 | Tiziano Siviero | Lancia Delta Integrale 16V |
| 15 | Rally de Portugal Vinho do Porto |
1990 | Tiziano Siviero | Lancia Delta Integrale 16V |
| 16 | Rally Argentina |
1990 | Tiziano Siviero | Lancia Delta Integrale 16V |
| 17 | Acropolis Rally |
1993 | Tiziano Siviero | Ford Escort RS Cosworth |
ERC VICTORIES
| No. | Rally | Season | CO-DRIVER | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Rally Internazionale della Lana |
1982 | Roberto Dalpozzo | Opel Ascona 400 |
| 2 |  Costa Brava rally |
1983 | Tiziano Siviero | Lancia 037 |
| 3 | Rally Sol |
1983 | Tiziano Siviero | Lancia 037 |
| 4 | Costa Smeralda Rally |
1983 | Tiziano Siviero | Lancia 037 |
| 5 | Rally 4 Regioni |
1983 | Tiziano Siviero | Lancia 037 |
| 6 |  Rally Ypres |
1983 | Tiziano Siviero | Lancia 037 |
| 7 |  Rally Madeira |
1983 | Tiziano Siviero | Lancia 037 |
| 8 |  Rally San Marino |
1983 | Tiziano Siviero | Lancia 037 |
| 9 | Costa Brava rally |
1985 | Tiziano Siviero | Lancia 037 |
| 10 | Costa Blanca rally |
1985 | Tiziano Siviero | Lancia 037 |
| 11 |  Rally of Chalkidiki |
1985 | Tiziano Siviero | Lancia 037 |
AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS
| Awards and Achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Markku Alén |
Autosport International Rally Driver Award 1989 |
Succeeded by Carlos Sainz |
| Sporting positions | ||
| Preceded by Antonio Fassina |
European Rally Champion 1983 |
Succeeded by Carlo Capone |
| Preceded by Juha Kankkunen |
World Rally Champion 1988–1989 |
Succeeded by Carlos Sainz |
| Preceded by Walter Röhrl |
Race of Champions Classic Master 1998 |
Succeeded by Not held |
GALLERY
VIDEOS
REFERENCES
(C) Page by Jay Auger – website owner & author
- PARTIAL SOURCE: Wikipedia (1) – (2)
- More stats on Miki Biasion can be found on eWRC-results.com
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