Chargers, Part 2 – World Rallying 1965–1980s

The CSI struck again in 1965, this time putting out a much more comprehensive 17 pages of regulations called Appendix J to better govern the sport. And that was the year a works Lancia team, later to become a mighty force in the sport, first competed.

The team was put together by a young Italian political science graduate named Cesare Fiorio, son of Lancia’s former PR boss, before the company went broke and was bought by Fiat for a token million lire or £600 at the time. After some success in local rallies, the team became a semi-works outfit in 1965 and a year later began a winning spree that would eventually see Lancia become one of the most successful rally squads of all time. Leo Cella was the first to win a major event for Lancia – the 1966 San Remo – driving the pretty little 1.2-litre Fulvia. A year later, the slightly beefed up 1.3 won the Spanish Rally with tall Swede Ove Andersson at the wheel, then the Tour de Corse, driven by future world champion Sandro Munari.