Four decades ago, the world watched in wonder as Group B came to a spellbinding – not to mention fittingly controversial – conclusion on the Olympus Rally.
In April, those stories and those stages will be back for a sell-out anniversary edition of what was arguably America’s greatest ever rally. The 2026 Olympus Rally presented by DirtFish has been 40 years in the making.
Steve McQuaid has been at the heart of the event for those 40 years. He was quick to deliver his verdict on plans for this year’s celebration.
“It’s just taken off,” he told DirtFish of the April 17-19 rally. “We opened entries and we were full in no time. I was thinking we’d do well to get around 80, but we blew right past there and then past 100. We’re up to 106. We’re beyond capacity, but we’ll have to see what we can do. I don’t remember an entry like this one before. It’s incredible, it seems people are keen to come along and celebrate what happened in 1986.”
That 1986 Olympus was the culmination of a fascinating title fight between Finns Juha Kankkunen and Markku Alén. Lancia man Alén won in Washington and took the title, only to lose the drivers’ crown 11 days later when the results from Italy’s WRC round were annulled following yet more controversy.
Juha Kankkunen didn't win the 1986 Olympus, nor did he lift the title at the event. But he was world champion 11 days afterwards
McQuaid watched it all unfold.
“It was a heartbreaker for Markku,” he said. “To lose the title after having it for just over a week was tough, but having them here was something very special. This year’s event is a great way to remember that time.
“We’ve got more than 200 stage miles – which is the same distance as a current round of the World Rally Championship, it’s nice to show them we can put this length of event on. We’re mixing some of the stages up, we certainly have some of the roads in there which were used in 1986. We have a ceremonial start from the Toyota dealership in Olympia on Friday (April 17) afternoon and the crews are straight out into the woods – and driving in the dark on the second loop. It’s going to be just like the old days.
“Saturday morning, we’re going to have another ceremonial start in downtown Shelton. They’ll run all day Saturday and most of the day Sunday and finish up at the airport (Sanderson Airfield) – which will be the hub for the event.”
Steve McQuaid has been at the heart of Olympus Rally for over 40 years
Subaru driver Travis Pastrana will take on Toyota’s latest American rally star Seth Quintero, with former Oregon Trail Rally winner Ricardo Corderdo joining the party in his Citroën C3 Rally2. There’s more Rally2 metal coming from Hyundai pair Pat Gruszka and Alastair Scully along with Javier Olivares’ Ford Fiesta Rally2. Lia Block’s participation is also confirmed in an as-yet-unnamed car.
“It’s incredible to have been involved with this event for so long,” continued McQuaid, who now works as committee chairman. “There’s just two of us who are still working on the event from the 1986 team – Ron Barker (rally master) is the other one. The younger generation are starting to take things over now and, with our guidance, they’re doing one heck of a job. Matt [Flaisig] our clerk of the course has just picked the thing up and he’s running with it and just doing fantastic.
“I have so many memories from back in 1986. The event was based out of the Tacoma Dome back then. We did try to go back to there, but there’s an event on and it’s really expensive to hire the place now. And anyway… we did cause some trouble back in the day!
“Just when we had all of the cars in the Dome for scrutineering, Pirelli decided to send its hot air ballon up inside the dome. The fire marshal had a fit – the place is made of wood.
“To get ready for the Olympus in ’86, a few of us were sent over to Britain for the RAC Rally, to see how things were done over the Atlantic. What an opportunity and what an event that was. I got to do scrutineering there and then get out on some stages. It reminded me so much of here in Washington: the roads and everything.
“The people were just fantastic showing us, you know, different things. We were in a rental van packed full of people and we got stopped by the police because they thought we were striking coal workers – but they let us go when they saw a bunch of Americans out on the rally!”
As you’d expect, this year’s Olympus will include a significant DirtFish contingent – follow our channels to follow their preparations ahead of what’s certain to be a three-day, 200-mile spectacle up here in the Pacific Northwest.
