Auriol and Bonato in Lancia Delta Integrale

Didier Auriol and Yoann Bonato will take part in the next Tour de Corse Historique, from 3 to 11 October 2026, each at the wheel of a Lancia Delta Integrale Evoluzione.

Didier Auriol and Yoann Bonato are teaming up for a one-shot entry in the 26th Tour de Corse Historique (3–11 October 2026). Each will compete in a Lancia Delta Integrale Evoluzione (1992 version), alongside their respective co-drivers Fabrice Gordon and Benjamin Boulloud. Friends in life, these two great champions—separated by 25 years—share the distinction of having raced officially for the Italian manufacturer. Both will be entered in the competition category, with the ambition of fighting for the overall victory.

­Didier Auriol

Catapulted into the spotlight by his extraordinary victory at the 1988 Tour de Corse—his first in the World Championship—driving a private Ford Sierra, Didier Auriol secured his first factory drive with Lancia in 1989. Over four seasons at the wheel of the Italian cars, he claimed eleven world championship victories, including three Tour de Corse wins (1989, 1990, 1992), playing a major role in Lancia’s three manufacturers’ titles in 1989, 1990 and 1992. He remains the most successful driver on the Island of Beauty, with six wins for three different marques (Ford, Lancia, Toyota).

For the 2026 Tour de Corse Historique, Didier Auriol will return to a Lancia Delta Integrale Evoluzione perfectly identical to the one he drove in 1992, a season in which he recorded six victories—an all-time record at the time, surpassed in 2004 by Sébastien Loeb. It will be the first time he has driven a Lancia Delta in competition since then. In 2018, the French driver had already taken part in the Tour de Corse Historique, finishing second overall in a Ford Sierra RS Cosworth.

🎙 Didier Auriol: “Some opportunities simply can’t be turned down, and coming back to the start of the Tour de Corse Historique in a Lancia Delta Integrale Evoluzione inevitably has a very special flavour for me. I know this car inside out, having taken part in the development of its final evolution. The car entered will be a true historic version, virtually identical to the 1992 model: demanding, physical, but incredibly effective. Beyond the sporting challenge, this comeback is a wonderful human adventure. Even though Denis Giraudet will ultimately not be available, I’m delighted to be able to count on Fabrice Gordon alongside me.I can also rely on the support of major partners: Milano Racing with Patrick Canavese, one of the initiators of this project; Michelin via Yoann Bonato; Stand 21 with the Morizot family; as well as my friend Hugues Ripert, founder of ‘Spark’, who will produce a scale model of this 2026 Delta. Despite the years, the desire is still there: to give everything and fight for victory. So yes… this return really will have a ‘Back to the Future’ feel!”

­Yoann Bonato

Born in 1983, Yoann Bonato grew up watching Didier Auriol’s exploits on television. In 2002, having contested only a handful of rallies in a Peugeot 205 GTI and 106 Rallye, the 21-year-old prospect joined his idol’s team and finished third in the Saxo Challenge. Since then, the driver from Isère has claimed six French Rally Championship titles (2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2025), becoming the most successful driver in France. Long loyal to Citroën, he is defending his crown this year in a Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale, already with a victory at the Rallye du Touquet-Pas-de-Calais.

While this will be his first appearance in the Tour de Corse Historique, Bonato is no stranger to the roads, having competed six times in the modern Tour de Corse, including a second place in WRC2 (10th overall) at the penultimate edition in 2018. This time, the roles are reversed, as it was Bonato who convinced Auriol to embark on the adventure, as a nod to his own beginnings.

🎙️ Yoann Bonato: “The adventure hasn’t even started yet, but the story is already beautiful! Taking part for the first time in an event as legendary as the Tour de Corse Historique means a lot to me. And when you add Lancia, which has marked the history of our sport and which I hope will mark my coming months and years in rallying; Michelin, with whom we’ve travelled across Europe for so many years; Benjamin (Boulloud), my long-time partner; IGOL, who supports me in all my projects, even the craziest ones; and finally Didier Auriol, who will be our teammate with Fabrice (Gordon)—you’re getting very close to a dream. Didier, along with his sister Nadine and her husband, was an essential person at the start of my career, helping me take my first steps toward professionalism. I owe him so much. Today, it’s a source of pride for me to bring him along on this project, put together with Team Milano Racing and Michelin, and to share it all together. I can’t wait to experience it and to get behind the wheel of the Lancia Delta Integrale that made me dream as a kid!”

­The Lancia Delta Integrale in rallying

A true icon of the World Rally Championship (WRC), the Lancia Delta profoundly shaped the late 1980s and early 1990s. Heir to the prestigious “Martini” lineage, already crowned with success in Group B with the 037 and the Delta S4, it established itself as the absolute benchmark of Group A thanks to its four-wheel drive and formidable reliability on all surfaces. Between 1987 and 1992, across its various evolutions—Integrale, 16V, Evo 1 and Evo 2—the Delta claimed 46 world championship victories and six consecutive titles, bringing Lancia’s total to ten world crowns, a record in rallying history. Great champions helped forge its legend, including Juha Kankkunen, Miki Biasion, Didier Auriol and Carlos Sainz.

Now rare in competition, Lancia Deltas are nevertheless represented every year at the Tour de Corse Historique, thanks to the enthusiasm of a handful of owners and teams, including Milano Racing, responsible for entering the cars entrusted to Didier Auriol and Yoann Bonato.