TWO legends of rallying have been reunited, thanks to one East Lancashire businessman.

Ari Vatanen enjoyed a stellar career in the sport, winning of the World Championship in 1981 and the Paris-Dakar four times.

And he was best known for his exploits behind the wheel of the Peugeot 205 T16, one of the icons of rallying’s Group B era.

Hapton-based Kevin Furber, who today owns the only UK-built T16 in the country, brought the two together for a high-speed trip down memory lane at last weekend’s Race Retro.

The car was originally built by Peugeot Sport UK for a wealthy private American rally driver John Woodner in 1985. He competed in the 205 T16 in the American rally championship in 1995/6 and ran alongside the factory team entry of Juha Kankkunen.

“It was a dream come true to get Ari and my car together,” said Furber, 49, who was a factory Peugeot driver himself in the 1980s.

“I first met him when he presented me with an award in 1989 and he’s always been my hero. I watched his progress over the years, and he was awesome in the T16, winning five WRC rounds in a row with it in 1984-5,” he said.

Vatanen was the special guest at Race Retro, Europe’s biggest historic motorsport show, to mark the 30th anniversary of Peugeot’s GTi marque, and Furber was invited to take the T16 for a demonstration run, as part of the Accrington-based Rallying With Group B organisation.

The two met up at Stoneleigh Park, near Warwick, where the Finn signed autographs - and Furber’s car - then watched as the T16 was put through its paces, in front of 10,000 spectators, on a specially-designed rally stage by Furber and current Peugeot works driver Chris Ingram.

“Ari was brilliant, he remembered the car and meeting me all those years ago, and we had a long talk about his years in the sport,” said Furber.

“It was very emotional meeting Ari again, so many things had to come together to make it all happen, but it felt like my whole rallying career had come full circle.”

For Vatanen, the T16 brought back mixed emotions as it not only brought him great success - he won five straight WRC rounds in 1984-5 - but it also nearly cost him his life.

A major accident on the 1985 Rally Argentina left him with broken ribs, ankles, knees and several vertebrae.

Furber, who now runs Creative Talent Management Ltd producing business and training videos, was East Lancashire’s leading rally driver in the 1980’s.

He was awarded a full factory drive with Peugeot in 1990.