Costa Yiannopoulos

Costa Dimitrios Yiannopoulos is a Greek rally and former Formula One driver. He won the World Rally Drivers' title in 1986 and is a three-time winner of the Acropolis rally.
== Career ==
Yiannopoulos entered his first rally in 1974, aged 17, in a 1964 Mini he inherited from his grandfather. By 1978 he had upgraded to a Fiat 131 Abarth and took his first victory at the national level, winning the ELPA Rally by just under 20 seconds. He won the European Rally Championship the following year. 
In 1980, Yiannopoulis entered his Fiat into the 2nd division of the Acropolis Rally. An event famed for attrition, Yiannopoulos was one of few drivers to suffer no mechanical faults, and won his division easily. 
Later success caught the attention of Jean Boillot, Peugeot's Head of Automobiles, who signed him to drive their second car, alongside experienced co-driver Guy Lefèbvre for their upcoming 1984 Group B machine.
The pair enjoyed some success, winning the Acropolis in 1984. Lefèbvre retired at the end of the season and Yiannopoulos was joined once again by a french co-driver in Jean-Pierre Charbonneau. After a tough 1985 season, Yiannopoulos and Charbonneau stormed through 1986, taking a third victory in Greece on his way to the title- both seasons giving Peugeot the Manufacters' title owing to the star-studded lineup of Yiannopoulos, Sauvageon and Erola. 
With the end of Group B regulations, Peugeot left the World Rally Championship at the end of the 1986 season. Yiannopoulos was quickly hired by Ford to drive their new Sierra Cosworth. However, still under contract for Peugeot, Costa missed the 1987 season opener at Monte Carlo to compete in the Paris-Dakar rally. Unsatisfied with the new Group A cars, Yiannopoulos announced his retirement at the end of 1987.
=== Formula One ===
As part of a publicity stunt with engine supplier Ford, March Formula One team invited Yiannopoulos to test their car ahead of the 1988 season. While this wasn't an officially timed session, March was impressed with his initial pace, and Yiannopoulos was invited back to test the new car. Seeing an opportunity for even greater publicity and sponsorship deals, March signed Yiannopoulos for the 1988 season.
Category:Drivers
Category:Greek
Category:F1
Category:Rally