1979 World Rally Championship season

1979 World Rally Championship season
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The 1979 World Rally Championship season was the seventh season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) World Rally Championship (WRC). The season consisted of 12 rallies, one more than the previous year. The addition marked the return to New Zealand, an event which would remain on the schedule through today.

1979 marked the first season for the new World Rally Championship for Drivers. This successor to the preceding FIA Cup for Rally Drivers was aligned with the World Rally Championship for Manufacturers. Both championships used the same schedule of events for accumulating points toward the titles, although the point awarding methods were different for each. Manufacturers continued to receive points under the system adopted in 1977, in which points were garnered for both placement overall and placement within the car's group. Only the top finishing car from each manufacturer would garner points, and regardless of group finish, an overall finish of 10th or better was required to obtain points. Drivers were awarded points on the former system, simply based on overall finish, from 20 points for 1st place to 1 point for 10th place.

After several years of competitive but ultimately unsuccessful attempts to seize the championship, Ford finally gathered its first WRC manufacturer's title. A strong season which included five rally wins gave it the edge over new challenger Datsun, whose Model 160J proved successful, and former champion Fiat. Ford's fortune would be short-lived however, and despite determined and competitive participation in WRC events, 1979 would be the company's sole WRC title until their return to victory in 2006.

The competition for the first WRC driver's title was extremely close, and ultimately was decided by the two contenders placing first and second in the final rally of the season. The final difference between the winner, Swede Björn Waldegård, and the runner-up, Finn Hannu Mikkola, was only a single point!

Contents

Events

1979 World Rally Championship event map
Black = Tarmac Brown = Gravel Blue = Snow/Ice Red = Mixed Surface
1979 World Rally Championship schedule and results
Round Rally name Stages Podium finishers
Rank Driver Co-driver Team Car Time
1
47ème Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo
(January 20–January 26)
30 stages
619 km
Tarmac
1 Bernard Darniche Alain Mahé Team Chardonnet Lancia Stratos HF 8:13.38
2 Björn Waldegård Hans Thorszelius Ford Motor Company Ford Escort RS1800 8:13.44
3 Markku Alén Ilkka Kivimäki Alitalia Fiat Fiat 131 Abarth 8:17.47
2
29th International Swedish Rally
(February 16–February 18)
38 stages
630 km
Snow/Ice
1 Stig Blomqvist Björn Cederberg Saab 99 Turbo 6:34.49
2 Björn Waldegård Hans Thorszelius Ford Motor Company Ford Escort RS1800 6:36.09
3 Pentti Airikkala Risto Virtanen Vauxhall Chevette 2300 HS 6:39.31
3
13º Rallye de Portugal Vinho do Porto
(March 6–March 11)
45 stages
735 km
Tarmac/Gravel
1 Hannu Mikkola Arne Hertz Ford Motor Company Ford Escort RS1800 9:13.52
2 Björn Waldegård Hans Thorszelius Ford Motor Company Ford Escort RS1800 9:16.36
3 Ove Andersson Henry Liddon Toyota Team Europe Toyota Celica 2000GT 9:35.00
4
27th Safari Rally
(April 12–16)
82 controls
5028 km
Gravel
1 Shekhar Mehta Mike Doughty DT Dobie Team Datsun Datsun 160J +6:27 pen
2 Hannu Mikkola Arne Hertz DT Dobie Daimler-Benz Mercedes 450 SLC 5.0 +7:15 pen
3 Markku Alén Ilkka Kivimäki Alitalia Fiat Fiat 131 Abarth +7:20 pen
5
26th Acropolis Rally
(May 28–31)
54 stages
1008 km
Gravel/Tarmac
1 Björn Waldegård Hans Thorszelius Rothmans Rally Team Ford Escort RS1800 13:35.06
2 Timo Salonen Seppo Harjanne N. I. Theocharakis Datsun 160J 14:07.04
3 Harry Källström Claes Billstam N. I. Theocharakis Datsun 160J 14:11.39
6
10th Motogard Rally of New Zealand
(July 14–July 18)
42 stages
672 km
Tarmac/Gravel
1 Hannu Mikkola Arne Hertz Masport Ford Escort RS1800 8:05.45,8
2 Blair Robson Chris Porter Masport Ford Escort RS1800 8:27.03,0
3 Ari Vatanen David Richards Ford Motor Company Ford Escort RS1800 8:29.40,8
7
29th 1000 Lakes Rally
(August 24–August 28)
45 stages
424 km
Gravel
1 Markku Alén Ilkka Kivimäki Alitalia Fiat Fiat 131 Abarth 4:01.11
2 Ari Vatanen David Richards Rothmans Rally Team Ford Escort RS1800 4:02.42
3 Björn Waldegård Hans Thorszelius Ford Motor Company Ford Escort RS1800 4:07.15
8
7ème Critérium Molson du Québec
(September 13–September 16)
25 stages
384 km
Tarmac/Gravel
1 Björn Waldegård Hans Thorszelius Ford Motor Company Ford Escort RS1800 3:35.32
2 Timo Salonen Seppo Harjanne Team Datsun Europe Datsun 160J 3:36.10
3 Ari Vatanen David Richards Rothmans Rally Team Ford Escort RS1800 3:41.50
9
21º Rallye Sanremo - Rallye d'Italia
(October 1–October 7)
66 stages
1078 km
Tarmac/Gravel
1 Antonio 'Tony' Fassina Mauro Mannini Jolly Club Lancia Stratos HF 12:37.17
2 Walter Röhrl Christian Geistdörfer Alitalia Fiat Fiat 131 Abarth 12:41.31
3 Attilio Bettega Maurizio Perissinot Fiat 131 Abarth 12:55.59
10
33ème Tour de Corse - Rallye de France
(November 2–November 4)
22 stages
1129 km
Tarmac
1 Bernard Darniche Alain Mahé Team Chardonnet Lancia Stratos HF 14:36.46
2 Jean Ragnotti Jean-Marc Andrié Renault 5 Alpine 15:12.52
3 Pierre-Louis Moreau Patrice Baron Porsche 911 SC 15:23.06
11
38th Lombard RAC Rally
(November 19–November 23)
56 stages
687 km
Gravel/Tarmac
1 Hannu Mikkola Arne Hertz Ford Motor Company Ford Escort RS1800 8:03.38
2 Russell Brookes Paul White Andrews Heat For Hire Ford Escort RS1800 8:14.07
3 Timo Salonen Stuart Pegg Team Datsun Europe Datsun 160J 8:16.22
12
11ème Rallye Côte d'Ivoire
(December 9–December 14)
50 controls
5668 km
Gravel
1 Hannu Mikkola Arne Hertz Mercedes 450 SLC 5.0 +3:23 pen
2 Björn Waldegård Hans Thorszelius Mercedes 450 SLC 5.0 +3:58 pen
3 Andrew Cowan Klaus Kaiser Mercedes 450 SLC 5.0 +4:10 pen

Championship for manufacturers

1979 World Rally Championship for Manufacturers
Rank Manufacturer Event Total
points

MON

SWE

POR

KEN

GRC

NZL

FIN

CAN

ITA

FRA

GBR

CIV
1 Ford 16 16 18 - 18 18 (16) 18 (12) - 18 - 122
2 Datsun - (8) 14 18 17 (6) 14 17 - - 16 12 108
3 Fiat 14 12 - 15 - - 18 - 16 12 5 - 92
4 Lancia 18 - - - - - - - 18 18 11 - 65
5 Toyota - - 16 - - - 10 12 - 10 - 10 58
6 Opel - 13 9 - - - - - 14 13 - - 49
7 Renault 11 - - - 13 - - - - 17 - - 41
8 Mercedes - - - 17 - - - - - - - 18 35
9 Porsche 8 - - - - - - - 9 15 - - 32
10 Vauxhall - 14 - - - 10 - - - - 7 - 31
11 Peugeot - - - - - - - 8 - 6 - 8 22
12 Saab - 18 - - - - - - - - - - 18
13 Mitsubishi - - - - - - - 13 - - - - 13
14 Talbot - - - - - - - - 12 - - - 12
15 Audi - - 11 - - - - - - - - - 11
16 Mazda - - - - - 10 - - - - - - 10
17 Triumph - - - - - - 7 - - - - - 7
18 Volvo - 6 - - - - - - - - - - 6
Škoda - - - - 6 - - - - - - - 6
20 Lada - - - - 4 - - - - - - - 4
1979 World Rally Championship point awards for manufacturers
Overall
finish
Group finish
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 18 - - - - - - - - -
2 17 16 - - - - - - - -
3 16 15 14 - - - - - - -
4 15 14 13 12 - - - - - -
5 14 13 12 11 10 - - - - -
6 13 12 11 10 9 8 - - - -
7 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 - - -
8 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 - -
9 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 -
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1

Championship for drivers

1979 World Rally Championship for Drivers
Rank Driver Event Total
points

MON

SWE

POR

KEN

GRC

NZL

FIN

CAN

ITA

FRA

GBR

CIV
1 Björn Waldegård 15 15 15 (6) 20 - 12 20 - - (2) 15 112
2 Hannu Mikkola 8 8 20 15 - 20 - - - - 20 20 111
3 Markku Alén 12 10 - 12 - - 20 - 6 - 8 - 68
4 Timo Salonen - - - - 15 - 8 15 - - 12 - 50
Ari Vatanen 1 - - - - 12 15 12 - - 10 - 50
6 Bernard Darniche 20 - - - - - - - - 20 - - 40
7 Jean Ragnotti - - - - 10 - - - - 15 - - 25
8 Andrew Cowan - - - 10 - - - - - - - 12 22
9 Walter Röhrl - - - 3 - - - - 15 - 3 - 21
10 Stig Blomqvist - 20 - - - - - - - - - - 20
Shekhar Mehta - - - 20 - - - - - - - - 20
Antonio 'Tony' Fassina - - - - - - - - 20 - - - 20
13 Ove Andersson - - 12 - - - - - - - - 8 20
14 Andy Dawson - - 10 - - - - 10 - - - - 20
15 Pentti Airikkala - 12 - - - - - - - - 4 - 16
16 Blair Robson - - - - - 15 - - - - - - 15
Russell Brookes - - - - - - - - - - 15 - 15
18 Harry Källström - - - 2 12 - - - - - - - 14
19 Attilio Bettega - - - - - - - - 12 - - - 12
Pierre-Louis Moreau - - - - - - - - - 12 - - 12
21 Michèle Mouton 4 - - - - - - - - 8 - - 12
22 Jean-Claude Andruet 10 - - - - - - - - - - - 10
Paul Adams - - - - - 10 - - - - - - 10
Ulf Grönholm - - - - - - 10 - - - - - 10
Tony Pond - - - - - - - - 10 - - - 10
Alain Coppier - - - - - - - - - 10 - - 10
Vic Preston, Jr. - - - - - - - - - - - 10 10
28 Carlos Torres - - 8 - - - - - - - - - 10
Rauno Aaltonen - - - 8 - - - - - - - - 8
Anastasios 'Iaveris' Markouizos - - - - 8 - - - - - - - 8
Shane Murland - - - - - 8 - - - - - - 8
Taisto Heinonen - - - - - - - 8 - - - - 8
Dario Cerrato - - - - - - - - 8 - - - 8
34 Jean-Pierre Nicolas 6 - - - - - - - - - - - 6
Björn Johansson - 6 - - - - - - - - - - 6
Harald Demuth - - 6 - - - - - - - - - 6
Iórgos Moschous - - - - 6 - - - - - - - 6
David Parkes - - - - - 6 - - - - - - 6
Lasse Lampi - - - - - - 6 - - - - - 6
Hendrik Blok - - - - - - - 6 - - - - 6
Bernard Picone - - - - - - - - - 6 - - 6
John Taylor - - - - - - - - - - 6 - 6
Alain Ambrosino - - - - - - - - - - - 6 6
44 Ola Strömberg - 4 - - - - - - - - - - 4
Freddy Kottulinsky - - 4 - - - - - - - - - 4
Mike Kirkland - - - 4 - - - - - - - - 4
Evangelos Gallo - - - - 4 - - - - - - - 4
Brian Green - - - - - 4 - - - - - - 4
Tapio Rainio - - - - - - 4 - - - - - 4
Jack Swayze - - - - - - - 4 - - - - 4
Angelo Presotto - - - - - - - - 4 - - - 4
Paul Rouby - - - - - - - - - 4 - - 4
Michel Mitri - - - - - - - - - - - 4 4
54 Guy Fréquelin 3 - - - - - - - - - - - 3
Lars Carlsson - 3 - - - - - - - - - - 3
Joaquim Santos - - 3 - - - - - - - - - 3
Václav Blahna - - - - 3 - - - - - - - 3
Roger Goss - - - - - 3 - - - - - - 3
Per Eklund - - - - - - 3 - - - - - 3
Claude Laurent - - - - - - - 3 - - - - 3
Antonio Tognana - - - - - - - - 3 - - - 3
Jean-Pierre Mari - - - - - - - - - 3 - - 3
Jean-Pierre Paure - - - - - - - - - - - 3 3
64 Jacques Alméras 2 - - - - - - - - - - - 2
John Haugland - 2 - - - - - - - - - - 2
Jorge Ortigão - - 2 - - - - - - - - - 2
Nikolay Elizarov - - - - 2 - - - - - - - 2
Malcolm Stewart - - - - - 2 - - - - - - 2
Erkki Pitkänen - - - - - - 2 - - - - - 2
Nicole Quimet - - - - - - - 2 - - - - 2
Domenico 'Nico' Grosoli - - - - - - - - 2 - - - 2
Jean Bondrille - - - - - - - - - 2 - - 2
73 Sven-Inge Neby - 1 - - - - - - - - - - 1
Marques Baptista - - 1 - - - - - - - - - 1
Sandro Munari - - - 1 - - - - - - - - 1
Sergey Vukovich - - - - 1 - - - - - - - 1
Bob Robb - - - - - 1 - - - - - - 1
Pekka Vilpponen - - - - - - 1 - - - - - 1
Paul Bourgeois - - - - - - - 1 - - - - 1
Paolo Pasutti - - - - - - - - 1 - - - 1
Jean-Charles Martinetti - - - - - - - - - 1 - - 1
Greg Carr - - - - - - - - - - 1 - 1
1979 World Rally Championship point awards for drivers
Points awarded by finish 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th
20 15 12 10 8 6 4 3 2 1
1979 driver points awarded by nationality
Rank Country Top ranked driver Event Total
points

MON

SWE

POR

KEN

GRC

NZL

FIN

CAN

ITA

FRA

GBR

CIV
1  Finland Hannu Mikkola 21 30 20 35 15 32 66 27 6 - 54 20 326
2  Sweden Björn Waldegård 15 49 31 2 32 - 12 23 - - - 23 187
3  France Bernard Darniche 45 - - - 10 - - 3 - 81 - 13 152
4  United Kingdom Andrew Cowan - - 10 10 - - - 10 10 - 21 12 73
5  Italy Tony - - - 1 - - - - 48 - - - 48
6  New Zealand Blair Robson - - - - - 43 - - - - - - 43
7  Kenya Shekhar Mehta - - - 24 - - - - - - - 10 34
8  West Germany Walter Röhrl - - 6 3 - - - - 15 - 3 - 27
9  Greece Iaveris - - - - 18 - - - - - - - 18
10  Canada Taisto Heinonen - - - - - - - 15 - - - - 15
11  Portugal Carlos Torres - - 14 - - - - - - - - - 14
12  United States Hendrik Blok - - - - - - - 6 - - - - 6
13  Czechoslovakia Václav Blahna - - - - 3 - - - - - - - 3
14  Soviet Union Nikolay Elizarov - - - - 3 - - - - - - - 3
15  Norway John Haugland - 2 - - - - - - - - - - 2
16  Australia Greg Carr - - - - - - - - - - 1 - 1

Teams

1979 team performance
Team Drivers Cars Performance Results Points
Entries Finishes Wins Maker Driver
Ford Motor Company Björn Waldegård
Hannu Mikkola
Ford Escort RS1800 11 11 3 86 147
Alitalia Fiat Markku Alén
Walter Röhrl
Sandro Munari
Fiat 131 Abarth 9 8 1 80 82
Team Datsun Europe Timo Salonen
Andy Dawson
Harry Källström
John Haugland
Erkki Pitkänen
Datsun 160J 10 6 - 61 59
Team Chardonnet Bernard Darniche Lancia Stratos HF 4 2 2 36 40
Rothmans Rally Team Björn Waldegård
Ari Vatanen
Ford Escort RS1800
Ford Fiesta
9 5 1 34 66
Toyota Team Europe Ove Andersson Toyota Celica 2000GT 9 2 - 26 20
Masport Hannu Mikkola
Blair Robson
Ford Escort RS1800 3 2 1 18 35
DT Dobie Team Datsun Shekhar Mehta
Harry Källström
Rauno Aaltonen
Mike Kirkland
Datsun 160J 4 4 1 18 34
Jolly Club Tony Lancia Stratos HF 1 1 1 18 20
N. I. Theocharakis Timo Salonen
Harry Källström
Iórgos Moschous
Evangelos Gallo
Datsun 160J 4 4 - 17 37
DT Dobie Daimler-Benz Hannu Mikkola
Andrew Cowan
Björn Waldegård
Mercedes 450 SLC 5.0
Mercedes 280 E
5 3 - 17 31
Conrero Dario Cerrato Opel Ascona B 1 1 - 14 8
Renault Elf Calberson Jean Ragnotti Renault 5 Alpine 1 1 - 13 10
Fiat France Michèle Mouton
Jean-Claude Andruet
Fiat 131 Abarth 2 2 - 12 14
Audi Motorsport Harald Demuth
Freddy Kottulinsky
Franz Wittmann
Audi 80 GLE 10 7 - 11 10
Lancia GB Markku Alén Lancia Stratos HF 1 1 - 11 8
Team Lopes Correia Joaquim Santos
Joaquim Moutinho
Opel Kadett GT/E 2 1 - 9 3
Dealer Team Vauxhall Pentti Airikkala Vauxhall Chevette 2300 HS 1 1 - 7 4
Biamar Václav Blahna Škoda 130RS 2 1 - 6 3
Autoexport Moskva Nikolay Elizarov
Sergey Vukovich
Lada 21011 3 2 - 4 3
Nylex Paul Adams Ford Escort RS1800 2 1 - - 10
Ford Australia Greg Carr Ford Escort RS1800 1 1 - - 1
British Leyland Cars Per Eklund
Graham Elsmore
Simo Lampinen
Triumph TR 7 V8 4 3 - - -
Marshalls Jean-Claude Lefèbvre Peugeot 504 V6 Coupé 4 1 - - -
FSO Andrzej Jaroszewicz FSO Polonez 2000 2 1 - - -
Aleuropa Vítor Oliveira Opel 1204 SL 1 1 - - -
Fiat Kenya Robin Ulyate Fiat 131 Abarth 1 1 - - -
Kassidopoulos Manolis Halivelakis Toyota Corolla 1 1 - - -
Toyota Team Great Britain Tapio Rainio Toyota Celica 2000GT 1 1 - - -
Opel Dealer Team Holland Anders Kulläng Opel Kadett GT/E 5 - - - -
GM Dealer Team New Zealand Pentti Airikkala Vauxhall Chevette 2300 HS 1 - - - -
GM Portugal Mêquêpê Vauxhall Chevette 2300 HS 1 - - - -
Opel France Jean-Louis Clarr Opel Kadett GT/E 1 - - - -
Saab Scania Stig Blomqvist
Ola Strömberg
Saab 99 Turbo 2 - - - -
Talbot France Jean-Pierre Nicolas Talbot Sunbeam Lotus 1 - - - -

See also