On the second half of the 1980's, and at the beginning of the following decade, the name of Fabrizio Tabaton was synonymous with that of the Rally Vinho da Madeira. The driver won in his debuting year, in 1986, with a Lancia Delta S4, and would come to become number one in 1990 and 1991, then driving a Lancia Delta HF Integrale. He rose to the podium also in 1989 when we came second behind Yves Loubet. His driving skills weren't amazing, but the Italian driver always revealed to be extremely efficient on the roads of the island.

Fabrizio Tabaton was born in 1955, son to another driver, Luigi Tabaton, who was the owner of the racing car factory Grifone, which he always represented. He debuted in rallies with a Lancia Fulvia, in 1974, and then, in 1976, he went to drive a Lancia Stratos, a vehicle he kept up to 1982. In the middle he would drive an Autobianchi A112 Abarth, a model with which he won the respective trophy in 1978. He also drove, for a long time, vehicles from the group Fiat, with a Fiat Ritmo, a Fiat 131 Abarth or a Lancia 037. At the beginning of the millennium he was linked to Toyota. He was Italian champion in 1987 and European champion in both 1986 and 1988.