Former World Rally Champions Hannu Mikkola and Stig Blomqvist reacquainted themselves with the awesome Audi quattro rallycar thrilling crowds at Knockhill in Scotland last weekend (16-17 May).

“Flying Finn” Mikkola, and his long standing co-driver Arne Hertz, plus “Super Swede” Blomqvist, drove a rare 30-year-old Audi Sport quattro S1 E2 at the McRae Rally Challenge, a special two-day rally event celebrating the 20th anniversary of Colin McRae’s World Rally Championship win and attended by 8,000 spectators.

Coincidentally Blomqvist was the first driver to compete in this actual car on the 1,000 Lakes Rally in Finland (23-25 August 1985) finishing second. Walter Röhrl then drove the quattro, now owned by Audi UK, on the RAC Rally that year (23-28 Nov) which included special stages in Scotland.

Mikkola and Blomqvist both won world championship titles with Audi. Mikkola in 1983 after achieving four wins and three second places in the revolutionary Audi quattro with Hertz. Meanwhile Blomqvist took the world title the following year after five WRC victories.

Audi won 23 WRC events with a variety of derivatives including the quattro, quattro A1, quattro A2, Sport quattro, Sport quattro S1.