1979 World Rally Championship

The 1979 World Rally Championship 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 160J (Violet) 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.

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	Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo (20 January–26 January)	30 stages 619 km Tarmac	1	Bernard Darniche			Lancia Stratos HF	8:13.38
			2	Björn Waldegård		Ford Motor Company	Ford Escort RS1800	8:13.44
			3	Markku Alén			Fiat 131 Abarth	8:17.47
2	Swedish Rally (16 February–18 February)	38 stages 630 km Snow/Ice	1	Stig Blomqvist	Björn Cederberg		Saab 99 Turbo	6:34.49
			2	Björn Waldegård		Ford Motor Company	Ford Escort RS1800	6:36.09
			3	Pentti Airikkala			Vauxhall Chevette 2300 HS	6:39.31
3	Rallye de Portugal (6 March–11 March)	45 stages 735 km Tarmac/Gravel	1	Hannu Mikkola	Arne Hertz	Ford Motor Company	Ford Escort RS1800	9:13.52
			2	Björn Waldegård		Ford Motor Company	Ford Escort RS1800	9:16.36
			3	Ove Andersson		Toyota Team Europe	Toyota Celica 2000GT	9:35.00
4	Safari Rally (April 12–16)	82 controls 5028 km Gravel	1	Shekhar Mehta	Mike Doughty		Datsun 160J	+6:27 pen
			2	Hannu Mikkola	Arne Hertz		Mercedes 450 SLC 5.0	+7:15 pen
			3	Markku Alén			Fiat 131 Abarth	+7:20 pen
5	Acropolis Rally (May 28–31)	54 stages 1008 km Gravel/Tarmac	1	Björn Waldegård		Rothmans Rally Team	Ford Escort RS1800	13:35.06
			2	Timo Salonen	Seppo Harjanne		Datsun 160J	14:07.04
			3	Harry Källström			Datsun 160J	14:11.39
6	Rally New Zealand (14 July–18 July)	42 stages 672 km Tarmac/Gravel	1	Hannu Mikkola	Arne Hertz		Ford Escort RS1800	8:05.45,8
			2	Blair Robson			Ford Escort RS1800	8:27.03,0
			3	Ari Vatanen	David Richards	Ford Motor Company	Ford Escort RS1800	8:29.40,8
7	1000 Lakes Rally (24 August–28 August)	45 stages 424 km Gravel	1	Markku Alén			Fiat 131 Abarth	4:01.11
			2	Ari Vatanen	David Richards	Rothmans Rally Team	Ford Escort RS1800	4:02.42
			3	Björn Waldegård		Ford Motor Company	Ford Escort RS1800	4:07.15
8	Critérium du Québec (13 September–16 September)	25 stages 384 km Tarmac/Gravel	1	Björn Waldegård		Ford Motor Company	Ford Escort RS1800	3:35.32
			2	Timo Salonen	Seppo Harjanne		Datsun 160J	3:36.10
			3	Ari Vatanen	David Richards	Rothmans Rally Team	Ford Escort RS1800	3:41.50
9	Rallye Sanremo (1 October–7 October)	66 stages 1078 km Tarmac/Gravel	1	Antonio 'Tony' Fassina		Jolly Club	Lancia Stratos HF	12:37.17
			2	Walter Röhrl	Christian Geistdörfer		Fiat 131 Abarth	12:41.31
			3	Attilio Bettega	Maurizio Perissinot		Fiat 131 Abarth	12:55.59
10	Tour de Corse (2 November–4 November)	22 stages 1129 km Tarmac	1	Bernard Darniche			Lancia Stratos HF	14:36.46
			2	Jean Ragnotti			Renault 5 Alpine	15:12.52
			3				Porsche 911 SC	15:23.06
11	RAC Rally (19 November–23 November)	56 stages 687 km Gravel/Tarmac	1	Hannu Mikkola	Arne Hertz	Ford Motor Company	Ford Escort RS1800	8:03.38
			2	Russell Brookes			Ford Escort RS1800	8:14.07
			3	Timo Salonen			Datsun 160J	8:16.22
12	Rallye Côte d'Ivoire (9 December–14 December)	50 controls 5668 km Gravel	1	Hannu Mikkola	Arne Hertz		Mercedes 450 SLC 5.0	+3:23 pen
			2	Björn Waldegård			Mercedes 450 SLC 5.0	+3:58 pen
			3	Andrew Cowan			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

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		-	-	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
		-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	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
		-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	10	-	-	10
		-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	10	10
28		-	-	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	10
	Rauno Aaltonen	-	-	-	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8
		-	-	-	-	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8
		-	-	-	-	-	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	8
		-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8	-	-	-	-	8
	Dario Cerrato	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8	-	-	-	8
34	Jean-Pierre Nicolas	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6
		-	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6
		-	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6
		-	-	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6
		-	-	-	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	6
		-	-	-	-	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	6
		-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	6
		-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	-	-	6
		-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	-	6
	Alain Ambrosino	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	6
44		-	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4
	Freddy Kottulinsky	-	-	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4
	Mike Kirkland	-	-	-	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4
		-	-	-	-	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4
		-	-	-	-	-	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	4
		-	-	-	-	-	-	4	-	-	-	-	-	4
		-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	-	-	-	-	4
		-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	-	-	-	4
		-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	-	-	4
		-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	4
54	Guy Fréquelin	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3
		-	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3
		-	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3
		-	-	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3
		-	-	-	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	3
	Per Eklund	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	3
		-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	3
		-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	-	-	-	3
		-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	-	-	3
		-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	3
64	Jacques Alméras	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2
	John Haugland	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2
		-	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2
		-	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2
		-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	2
		-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	2
		-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	2
		-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	2
		-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	2
73		-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
		-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
	Sandro Munari	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
		-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
		-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
		-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	1
	Paul Bourgeois	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	1
		-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	1
		-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	1
	Greg Carr	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	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		-	-	-	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		-	-	-	-	18	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	18
10	Canada		-	-	-	-	-	-	-	15	-	-	-	-	15
11	Portugal		-	-	14	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	14
12	United States		-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	6
13	Czechoslovakia		-	-	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3
14	Soviet Union		-	-	-	-	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
	Markku Alén Walter Röhrl Sandro Munari	Fiat 131 Abarth	9	8	1	80	82
	Timo Salonen Andy Dawson Harry Källström John Haugland	Datsun 160J	10	6	-	61	59
	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
	Hannu Mikkola Blair Robson	Ford Escort RS1800	3	2	1	18	35
	Shekhar Mehta Harry Källström Rauno Aaltonen Mike Kirkland	Datsun 160J	4	4	1	18	34
Jolly Club		Lancia Stratos HF	1	1	1	18	20
	Timo Salonen Harry Källström	Datsun 160J	4	4	-	17	37
	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
	Jean Ragnotti	Renault 5 Alpine	1	1	-	13	10
Fiat France	Michèle Mouton Jean-Claude Andruet	Fiat 131 Abarth	2	2	-	12	14
	Freddy Kottulinsky Franz Wittmann	Audi 80 GLE	10	7	-	11	10
	Markku Alén	Lancia Stratos HF	1	1	-	11	8
	Joaquim Moutinho	Opel Kadett GT/E	2	1	-	9	3
Dealer Team Vauxhall	Pentti Airikkala	Vauxhall Chevette 2300 HS	1	1	-	7	4
		Škoda 130RS	2	1	-	6	3
		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
	Per Eklund Simo Lampinen	Triumph TR 7 V8	4	3	-	-	-
Marshalls		Peugeot 504 V6 Coupé	4	1	-	-	-
FSO		FSO Polonez 2000	2	1	-	-	-
	Vítor Oliveira	Opel 1204 SL	1	1	-	-	-
		Fiat 131 Abarth	1	1	-	-	-
		Toyota Corolla	1	1	-	-	-
		Toyota Celica 2000GT	1	1	-	-	-
	Anders Kulläng	Opel Kadett GT/E	5	-	-	-	-
	Pentti Airikkala	Vauxhall Chevette 2300 HS	1	-	-	-	-
		Vauxhall Chevette 2300 HS	1	-	-	-	-
		Opel Kadett GT/E	1	-	-	-	-
Saab Scania	Stig Blomqvist	Saab 99 Turbo	2	-	-	-	-
	Jean-Pierre Nicolas	Talbot Sunbeam Lotus	1	-	-	-	-

See also[]

• 1979 in sports

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1979 in World Rally Championship.

• FIA World Rally Championship 1979 at ewrc-results.com