Stig Lennart Blomqvist (born 29 July 1946) is a retired Swedish rally driver. He made his international breakthrough in 1971. Driving an Audi Quattro for the Audi factory team, Blomqvist won the World Rally Championship drivers' title in 1984 and finished runner-up in 1985. He won his home event, the Swedish Rally, seven times.

Stig Blomqvist
Blomqvist in January 2012
Personal information
NationalitySweden Swedish
Born (1946-07-29) 29 July 1946 (age 78)
Örebro, Sweden
World Rally Championship record
Active years19732006
Co-driverSweden Arne Hertz
Sweden Hans Sylvan
United States "Vicki"
Sweden Björn Cederberg
Sweden Bruno Berglund
Sweden Benny Melander
Venezuela Ana Goñi
New Zealand Rob Scott
Sweden Ragnar Spjuth
TeamsSaab, Talbot, Audi, Ford, Peugeot, Volkswagen, Nissan, Škoda
Rallies122
Championships1 (1984)
Rally wins11
Podiums33
Stage wins486
Total points573
First rally1973 Swedish Rally
First win1973 Swedish Rally
Last win1984 Rallye Côte d'Ivoire
Last rally2006 Swedish Rally

Outside the WRC, he won the British Rally Championship in 1983 and the Swedish Rally Championship several times.[quantify] At the Race of Champions, Blomqvist took the title "Champion of Champions" in 1989 and 1990.

Career

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Stig Blomqvist acquired his driving licence at the age of 18, and immediately took second place in a 1964 local rally event near the Swedish town of Karlstad, behind the wheel of a Saab 96. After his education as a driving instructor, together with later teammate Per Eklund at the Kvinnersta Folkhögskola outside of Örebro, he proceeded to drive with the Saab team, and achieved his first international victories in 1971; first winning the Swedish Rally, then the 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland and the RAC Rally in Great Britain. These performances helped Saab gain second place behind Alpine-Renault in the International Championship for Manufacturers, the predecessor to the World Rally Championship.

 
Blomqvist in the Saab 99 Turbo (Hunsrück-Rallye 1980)

Blomqvist went on to win the Swedish Rally again in 1972 (Saab 96 V4), 1973 (Saab 96 V4), which marked his first WRC event and win, 1977 (Saab 99 EMS) and 1979 (Saab 99 Turbo).[1] Outside the WRC, he won the 1973 Cyprus Rally, the 1976 Boucles de Spa and the Swedish Rally Championship several times. His long-time association with Saab ended when the Saab Sport department hung up their spurs in 1981. Driving a Talbot Sunbeam Lotus in 1981, Blomqvist finished eighth in the 1000 Lakes and third at the RAC.[1]

For the 1982 season, Audi Sport, Audi's factory team, signed Blomqvist to drive the Quattro in a few events alongside Hannu Mikkola and Michèle Mouton. He won the Swedish Rally, finished second in the 1000 Lakes and then took his first WRC victory outside his home country by winning the Rallye Sanremo.[1] Audi then signed Blomqvist as their third regular driver for the following season. Blomqvist scored seven podiums, including a win in the season-ending RAC Rally, and finished fourth in the drivers' world championship.[1] In the British Rally Championship, he captured the title by winning four of the six events.

 
Blomqvist driving the Škoda Octavia WRC at the 2001 Rally Finland
 
An ex-Blomqvist Ford RS200

In the 1984 season, Blomqvist drove the Quattro A2 and the Sport Quattro evolutions to five victories, and finished second at the Monte Carlo Rally.[1] Beating Mikkola to the title, he became the second Swedish world rally champion after Björn Waldegård. His first place in the Rallye Côte d'Ivoire would remain his career-last victory in the WRC. The 1985 season saw him finish runner-up to Timo Salonen of the new Peugeot Talbot Sport team headed by Jean Todt. His best result was second; at the Swedish Rally, the 1000 Lakes and the Acropolis Rally.[1] In the last Group B season in 1986, Blomqvist competed for Ford in an RS200 and for Peugeot in a 205 Turbo 16 E2, recording his only podium at the Rally Argentina.[1]

During the first two Group A years, Blomqvist continued with Ford and drove a Ford Sierra RS Cosworth, finishing on the podium three times.[1] He also drove for Volkswagen Motorsport and finished third in a Golf Mk 2 16V on the 1989 Safari Rally.The 1990 WRC season was the series' first without Blomqvist in action. In 1991 and 1992, he drove a Nissan Sunny GTI-R for Nissan Motorsports Europe, Nissan's factory team. At the 1992 Swedish Rally, Blomqvist took third place, which would remain his last podium spot in the WRC.[1]

Later in the 1990s, he used his experience of two-wheel drive cars and helped Škoda Motorsport to develop the Škoda Felicia Kit Car. During a guest appearance at the 1996 RAC Rally, when the event was not on the WRC schedule, the 50-year-old veteran finished third overall with the car.[1] That same year, he finished seventh in the Safari Rally in a Ford Escort RS Cosworth. This would remain his last points-finish in the World Rally Championship.[1]

After only three events in four years, Blomqvist returned to the role of a regular WRC competitor. Together with co-driver Ana Goñi, he drove a Group N category David Sutton Cars Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6 in twelve events in 2001, finishing fifth overall in the Production World Rally Championship (PWRC).[1] In 2003, he finished third in the PWRC championship in a Subaru Impreza WRX STI.[1] In his last world rally, the 2006 Swedish Rally, Blomqvist drove the Impreza to 24th place overall and was fourth fastest in Group N.[2]

In September 2008, Blomqvist was due to take part in the Colin McRae Forest Stages Rally, a round of the Scottish Rally Championship centred in Perth in Scotland, in a Ford Escort Mk2 with Goñi as his co-driver. The rally was held in memory of McRae, who died in 2007.[3]

 
Blomqvist driving a Quattro at the 2007 Race of Champions

He has lived in the UK for many years, based in Saffron Walden, Essex. His son, Tom Blomqvist, has followed in his motorsports footsteps, becoming the youngest ever Formula Renault UK champion in 2010, at the age of 16.[4]

WRC victories

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 #  Event Season Co-driver Car
1   Swedish Rally 1973 Arne Hertz Saab 96 V4
2   Swedish Rally 1977 Hans Sylvan Saab 99 EMS
3   Swedish Rally 1979 Björn Cederberg Saab 99 Turbo
4   Swedish Rally 1982 Björn Cederberg Audi Quattro
5   Rallye Sanremo 1982 Björn Cederberg Audi Quattro
6   RAC Rally 1983 Björn Cederberg Audi Quattro A2
7   Swedish Rally 1984 Björn Cederberg Audi Quattro A2
8   Acropolis Rally 1984 Björn Cederberg Audi Quattro A2
9   Rally of New Zealand 1984 Björn Cederberg Audi Quattro A2
10   Rally Argentina 1984 Björn Cederberg Audi Quattro A2
11   Rallye Côte d'Ivoire 1984 Björn Cederberg Audi Sport Quattro

Racing record

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Complete IMC results

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Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1970 Saab Scania Saab 96 V4 MON SWE
2
ITA KEN AUT GRE GBR
Ret
1971 Saab Scania Saab 96 V4 MON SWE
1
ITA KEN
13
MAR AUT GRE GBR
1
1972 Saab Scania Saab 96 V4 MON SWE
1
KEN MAR GRE
Ret
AUT
Ret
ITA USA GBR
2

Complete WRC results

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Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 WDC Pts
1973 Saab Saab 96 V4 MON SWE
1
POR KEN MOR GRE POL FIN
Ret
AUT
Ret
ITA USA GBR
Ret
FRA N/A N/A
1974 Saab Scania Saab 96 V4 MON
C
SWE
C
POR KEN GRE
C
FIN
4
ITA CAN USA GBR
2
FRA N/A N/A
1975 Saab Scania Saab 96 V4 MON SWE
2
KEN GRE MOR POR FIN
EX
ITA FRA GBR
Ret
N/A N/A
1976 Saab Scania Saab 96 V4 MON SWE
2
POR KEN GRE MOR N/A N/A
Saab 99 EMS FIN
Ret
ITA FRA GBR
2
1977 Saab Scania Saab 99 EMS MON SWE
1
POR KEN NZL GRE FIN
Ret
CAN ITA FRA GBR
Ret
N/A N/A
1978 Lancia Pirelli Lancia Stratos HF MON SWE
4
KEN POR GRE FIN N/A N/A
Saab Scania Saab 99 EMS CAN
Ret
ITA CIV FRA
Saab 99 Turbo GBR
Ret
1979 Saab Scania Saab 99 Turbo MON SWE
1
POR KEN GRE NZL FIN CAN ITA FRA GBR
Ret
CIV 10th 20
1980 Saab Scania Saab 99 Turbo MON SWE
2
POR KEN GRC ARG FIN NZL ITA FRA GBR
Ret
CIV 17th 15
1981 Saab Sport & Rally Saab 99 Turbo MON SWE
5
POR KEN FRA GRC ARG BRA 13th 23
Team Talbot Sweden Talbot Sunbeam Lotus FIN
8
ITA CIV
Talbot Sport GBR
3
1982 Audi Sport Sweden Audi Quattro MON SWE
1
POR KEN FRA GRC NZL BRA FIN
2
ITA
1
CIV 4th 58
Peugeot Talbot Sport Talbot Sunbeam Lotus GBR
8
1983 Audi Sport Audi Quattro A1 MON
3
POR
Ret
KEN FRA 4th 89
Audi 80 Quattro SWE
2
Audi Quattro A2 GRC
3
NZL
EX
ARG
2
FIN
2
ITA
Ret
CIV GBR
1
1984 Audi Sport Audi Quattro A2 MON
2
SWE
1
POR
Ret
KEN
Ret
FRA
5
GRE
1
NZL
1
ARG
1
FIN
4
1st 125
Audi Quattro Sport ITA
Ret
CIV
1
GBR
1985 Audi Sport Audi Quattro Sport MON
4
SWE
2
POR
4
KEN
Ret
FRA GRC
2
NZL
4
2nd 75
Audi Quattro Sport E2 ARG
Ret
FIN
2
ITA CIV GBR
1986 Ford Motor Co Ltd. Ford RS200 MON SWE
Ret
POR
Ret
KEN FRA GRE
Ret
NZL GBR
Ret
USA 11th 22
Peugeot Talbot Sport Peugeot 205 T16 E2 ARG
3
FIN
4
CIV ITA
1987 Ford Motor Co Ltd. Ford Sierra XR 4x4 MON
EX
SWE
6
POR NZL
Ret
ARG 7th 33
Ford Sierra RS Cosworth KEN
Ret
FRA
Ret
GRE USA FIN
3
CIV ITA GBR
2
1988 Rally Sport Sweden Ford Sierra XR 4x4 MON SWE
2
4th 41
Stig Blomqvist Ford Sierra RS Cosworth POR
5
KEN FRA GRC USA NZL ARG
Ford Motor Co Ltd. FIN
5
CIV ITA
7
GBR
6
1989 Team VAG Sweden Audi 200 Sport Quattro SWE
5
MON POR 16th 20
Volkswagen Motorsport Volkswagen Golf GTi 16V KEN
3
FRA GRC NZL ARG FIN AUS ITA CIV GBR
1991 Nissan Motorsports Europe Nissan Sunny GTI-R MON SWE POR KEN
5
FRA GRE
Ret
NZL ARG FIN
8
AUS ITA CIV ESP GBR
Ret
24th 11
1992 Nissan Motorsports Europe Nissan Sunny GTI-R MON SWE
3
POR KEN FRA GRC NZL ARG FIN
Ret
AUS ITA CIV ESP GBR
Ret
21st 12
1993 Opel Team Sweden Opel Calibra Turbo 4x4 MON SWE
Ret
POR KEN FRA GRC ARG NZL FIN AUS ITA ESP NC 0
1994 Ford Motor Co Ltd. Ford Escort RS Cosworth MON POR KEN FRA GRC ARG NZL FIN ITA GBR
4
17th 10
1995 R.A.S. Ford Ford Escort RS Cosworth MON SWE
7
POR FRA NZL AUS ESP 15st 4
Trigard Team Škoda Škoda Felicia Kit Car GBR
21
1996 Ford Motor Co Ltd. Ford Escort RS Cosworth SWE
8
KEN
7
IDN GRC ARG FIN 18th 7
Trigard Team Škoda Škoda Felicia Kit Car AUS
Ret
ITA ESP
1997 Ford Motor Co Ford Escort WRC MON SWE
10
KEN POR ESP FRA ARG GRC NZL FIN IDN ITA AUS GBR NC 0
1999 Ford Motor Co Ltd. Ford Puma Kit Car MON SWE
Ret
KEN POR ESP FRA ARG GRC NZL FIN CHN ITA AUS GBR NC 0
2000 Stig Blomqvist Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI MON SWE KEN POR ESP ARG GRC NZL FIN CYP FRA ITA AUS GBR
Ret
NC 0
2001 David Sutton Cars Ltd Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI MON SWE
18
POR
Ret
ESP
21
ARG
Ret
CYP
Ret
GRC
Ret
KEN
Ret
NZL
21
ITA
30
FRA AUS
23
GBR
16
NC 0
Škoda Motorsport Škoda Octavia WRC Evo2 FIN
22
2002 Škoda Motorsport Škoda Octavia WRC Evo2 MON SWE
15
FRA ESP
Ret
CYP ARG GRC
17
KEN FIN GER ITA NC 0
Stig Blomqvist Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII NZL
19
AUS
22
GBR
Ret
2003 David Sutton Cars Ltd Subaru Impreza STi N8 MON SWE
26
TUR NC 0
Subaru Impreza WRX STi NZL
24
ARG GRC CYP
11
GER
29
FIN AUS
19
ITA FRA
20
ESP GBR
2004 David Sutton Cars Ltd Subaru Impreza WRX STi MON SWE
21
MEX NZL CYP GRC
14
TUR ARG FIN GER JPN GBR ITA FRA ESP AUS NC 0
2005 Stig Blomqvist Subaru Impreza WRX STi MON SWE
20
MEX NZL ITA CYP TUR GRC ARG FIN GER GBR JPN FRA ESP AUS NC 0
2006 Stig Blomqvist Subaru Impreza WRX STi MON SWE
24
MEX ESP FRA ARG ITA GRE GER FIN JPN CYP TUR AUS NZL GBR NC 0

Complete FIA European Rallycross Cup results

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Overall

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Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ERC Points
1976 Saab Saab 96 V4 Turbo AUT1
GER1
FIN
SWE
10
BEL
AUT2
NED
GBR1
GER2
GBR2
37th 1
1978 Saab Saab 99 Turbo AUT
ITA
SWE
4
FIN
BEL
NED
FRA
GBR
GER
36th 10

Complete FIA European Rallycross Championship results

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Touringcar Division

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Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ERX Points
1979 Saab Saab 99 Turbo AUT
ITA
FIN
SWE
FRA
BEL
NED
6
GBR
GER
18th 6
1981 Saab Saab 99 Turbo AUT
SWE
9
FIN
DEN
BEL
NED
FRA
NOR
GBR
GER
32nd 2

Division 2

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Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 ERX Points
1989 Stig Blomqvist Ford RS200 E2 SPA
AUT
SWE
7
FIN
3
IRE
FRA
BEL
3
NED
3
NOR
GBR
GER
11th 55
1994 Stig Blomqvist Ford Escort RS Cosworth AUT
POR
FRA
IRE
GBR
SWE
FIN
BEL
NED
NOR
5
GER
21st 12

Complete World Touring Car Championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 DC Pts
1987   Söderqvist Racing Sport Volvo 240T MNZ JAR DIJ NÜR SPA BNO SIL BAT CLD WEL
ovr:13
cls:8†
FJI NC 0

† Not eligible for points.

Complete British Touring Car Championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position in class) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap in class)

Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Overall
Pos
Pts Class
Pos
1990 Trakstar Motorsport Ford Sierra RS500 A OUL DON
2‡
THR SIL OUL SIL BRH SNE BRH BIR DON THR SIL NC‡ 0 NC‡
Source:[5]

‡ Endurance driver – not eligible for points

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Stig Blomqvist". RallyBase. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
  2. ^ "55th Uddeholm Swedish Rally". RallyBase. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
  3. ^ "Grist set for co-driving return". WRC.com. 24 September 2008. Archived from the original on 30 June 2013. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  4. ^ Åhman, Michael (2009-01-20). "Han är "The Stig"!". Auto, Motor & Sport. Archived from the original on 2010-09-04. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  5. ^ de Jong, Frank. "British Saloon Car Championship". History of Touring Car Racing 1952-1993. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
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Awards and achievements
Preceded by Autosport
International Rally Driver Award

1983
Succeeded by
Sporting positions
Preceded by World Rally Champion
1984
Succeeded by
Preceded by Race of Champions
Champion of Champions

1989–1990
Succeeded by
Preceded by Race of Champions
Rally Master

1993
Succeeded by
Records
Preceded by Youngest rally
winner

26 years, 203 days
(1973 Swedish Rally)
Succeeded by