Tudor Webasto Manx Rally 1985: Russell Brookes wins to seal the Shell Oils RAC Open Rally Championship

Mouton (pictured above) headed the Audi brigade to the Isle of Man in 85

As a phalanx of Audi quattro's descended on the Isle of Man in 1985, Opel's GM Dealersport team were a little nervous at the start of the rally. Sure enough though, the quattro's, of various evolutions, began to fall by the wayside.

This opened the way for the Opel Manta 400's to score a historic 1-2-3 result which ended in a famous rendition by Bertie Fisher at the prize giving of "Where have all the Audi's gone".

Malcolm Wilson actually suffered his most frigthening accident on the rally as he barrell rolled his Sport quattro on a series of flat out yumps flat in 6th through Baldwin on the Abbeylands stage. He put a touch of lock on after taking off on a jump with the car then bouncing and smashing into a stone wall then slithering down the road for 200 yards where it began to burn. Wilson, though, also described that quattro as his favourite car he ever competed in despite the accident.

Brookes' victory speech at the prize giving:

We are the champions!

We took on world class opposition in world class cars and blew them into the weeds."

Videos of the 1985 event

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