1981 World Rally Championship
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The 1981 World Rally Championship was the ninth season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) World Rally Championship (WRC). The season consisted of 12 rallies. While this number was the same as the previous year, one change was made to the schedule, replacing New Zealand with the Brazil.
The 1981 World Rally Championship for Drivers was won by Ari Vatanen driving a Rothmans Rally Team Ford Escort RS1800, the only time a privateer team has won the Drivers' Championship until 2017. The Makes' Championship was won by Talbot with their Sunbeam Lotus. It also saw the beginning of a new era in the sport with the arrival of the Audi Quattro, the first four-wheel drive rally car. Initially regarded as too heavy and complex for rally stages, it proved its worth with three wins in its debut season, including a maiden victory for Michèle Mouton at the Rallye Sanremo, the only woman to win a WRC event.
Championships[]
Rank | Manufacturers | Event | Total points | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MON |
SWE |
POR |
KEN |
FRA |
GRC |
ARG |
BRA |
FIN |
ITA |
CIV |
GBR | |||
1 | Talbot | 17 | - | 17 | - | 17 | 15 | 18 | - | - | 17 | - | 16 | 117 |
2 | Datsun | - | - | 13 | 18 | 15 | 13 | 17 | - | 12 | - | 18 | - | 106 |
3 | Ford | - | - | 9 | - | 12 | 18 | - | - | 18 | 7 | - | 16 | 80 |
4 | Opel | 15 | - | 11 | 12 | 8 | - | - | - | 8 | 15 | - | - | 69 |
5 | Audi | - | - | 13 | - | - | - | - | - | 14 | 18 | - | 18 | 63 |
6 | Fiat | 8 | - | 18 | - | - | 16 | - | - | 16 | 5 | - | - | 63 |
7 | Renault | 18 | - | - | - | 7 | 10 | 15 | - | - | - | - | 11 | 61 |
8 | Toyota | - | - | 15 | - | 11 | - | - | - | 3 | - | 16 | 9 | 54 |
9 | Peugeot | - | - | - | 10 | - | 4 | 12 | - | - | - | 11 | - | 37 |
10 | Lancia | 10 | - | - | - | 18 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 28 |
11 | Porsche | 4 | - | - | - | 15 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 19 |
12 | Škoda | - | - | - | - | - | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8 |
13 | Dodge | - | - | - | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 |
14 | Mitsubishi | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | 3 | 4 |
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 |
Rank | Driver | Event | Total points | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MON |
SWE |
POR |
KEN |
FRA |
GRC |
ARG |
BRA |
FIN |
ITA |
CIV |
GBR | |||
1 | Ari Vatanen | 0 | 15 | 0 | - | - | 20 | 0 | 20 | 20 | 4 | 2 | 15 | 96 |
2 | Guy Fréquelin | 15 | - | 6 | 0 | 15 | 10 | 20 | 15 | - | 0 | 8 | 0 | 89 |
3 | Hannu Mikkola | 0 | 20 | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 12 | 10 | - | 20 | 62 |
4 | Markku Alén | 4 | - | 20 | - | - | 15 | - | - | 15 | 2 | - | 0 | 56 |
5 | Shekhar Mehta | - | - | - | 20 | - | 8 | 15 | 0 | - | - | 12 | - | 55 |
6 | Timo Salonen | - | - | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 10 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 40 |
7 | Henri Toivonen | 8 | - | 15 | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 15 | - | 0 | 38 |
8 | Michèle Mouton | 0 | - | 10 | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 20 | - | 0 | 30 |
9 | Pentti Airikkala | - | 12 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8 | - | - | 10 | 30 |
10 | Per Eklund | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | 6 | 0 | - | - | 0 | - | 15 | 6 | 29 |
11 | Jean Ragnotti | 20 | - | - | - | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8 | 28 |
12 | Bernard Darniche | 6 | - | - | - | 20 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 26 |
13 | Stig Blomqvist | - | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | - | - | 12 | 23 |
14 | Jorge Recalde | - | - | - | - | - | - | 12 | 10 | - | - | - | - | 22 |
15 | Anders Kulläng | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | - | - | 0 | - | - | 2 | 22 |
16 | 12 | - | - | 8 | - | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 20 | |
Tony Pond | - | - | 8 | - | 12 | - | - | - | - | 0 | - | 0 | 20 | |
18 | Björn Waldegård | 3 | - | 12 | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 2 | - | 0 | 0 | 17 |
19 | Rauno Aaltonen | 0 | - | - | 15 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 15 |
20 | Mike Kirkland | - | - | - | 12 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 12 |
Attilio Bettega | 0 | - | 0 | - | - | 12 | - | - | - | 0 | - | - | 12 | |
- | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | 12 | - | - | - | - | 12 | ||
Antonio Fassina | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 12 | - | - | 12 | |
24 | - | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | - | - | 0 | 12 | |
25 | - | - | - | - | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | 11 | |
26 | 0 | - | - | - | 10 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 10 | |
- | - | - | - | - | - | 10 | - | - | - | - | - | 10 | ||
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 10 | - | 10 | ||
29 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | 10 | |
- | - | 0 | - | - | - | - | 8 | - | - | - | - | 8 | ||
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8 | - | - | 8 | ||
32 | - | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | - | - | 0 | 8 | |
33 | - | - | - | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | |
- | - | - | - | - | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | ||
- | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | ||
Gustavo Trelles | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | - | - | - | - | 6 | |
Miki Biasion | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | - | - | 6 | |
Alain Ambrosino | - | - | - | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | - | 6 | |
39 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 4 | - | - | - | - | 5 | |
- | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | 5 | ||
41 | - | - | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | |
- | - | - | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | ||
- | - | - | - | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | ||
'Carlo' | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | |
- | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | ||
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | - | 4 | ||
47 | - | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | |
Manuel Queirós Pereira | - | - | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | |
- | - | - | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | ||
- | - | - | - | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | ||
- | - | - | - | - | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | ||
- | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | ||
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | - | - | - | - | 3 | ||
Dario Cerrato | 0 | - | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | - | - | 3 | |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | - | 3 | ||
56 | Jacques Alméras | 2 | - | - | - | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
Joaquim Moutinho | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | |
Malcolm Smith | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | |
- | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | ||
- | - | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | ||
- | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | ||
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | 2 | ||
63 | 1 | - | - | - | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | |
Kenjiro Shinozuka | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | |
Rod Hall | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | |
- | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | ||
0 | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 0 | - | 0 | 1 | ||
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | 1 | ||
Roger Clark | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 |
Points awarded by finish | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
20 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Events[]
Black = Tarmac | Brown = Gravel | Blue = Snow/Ice | Red = Mixed Surface |
---|
Round | Rally name | Stages | Podium finishers | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Driver | Co-driver | Car | Time | |||
1 | Rallye Monte Carlo (24–30 January) |
32 stages 757 km Tarmac |
1 | Jean Ragnotti | Renault 5 Turbo | 9:55:55 | |
2 | Guy Fréquelin | Jean Todt | Talbot Sunbeam Lotus | 9:58:49 | |||
3 | Opel Ascona 400 | 10:02:54 | |||||
2 | Swedish Rally[1] (13–15 February) |
25 stages 369 km Snow/Ice |
1 | Hannu Mikkola | Arne Hertz | Audi Quattro | 3:48:07 |
2 | Ari Vatanen | David Richards | Ford Escort RS1800 | 3:50:00 | |||
3 | Pentti Airikkala | Ford Escort RS1800 | 3:51:47 | ||||
3 | Rallye de Portugal (4–7 March) |
46 stages 681 km Gravel/Tarmac |
1 | Markku Alén | Fiat 131 Abarth | 8:27:26 | |
2 | Henri Toivonen | Fred Gallagher | Talbot Sunbeam Lotus | 8:36:36 | |||
3 | Björn Waldegård | Toyota Celica 2000GT | 8:43:47 | ||||
4 | Safari Rally (16–20 April) |
77 controls 5209 km Gravel |
1 | Shekhar Mehta | Mike Doughty | Datsun Violet GT | +3:39 pen |
2 | Rauno Aaltonen | Lofty Drews | Datsun Violet GT | +3:44 pen | |||
3 | Mike Kirkland | Datsun 160J | +4:51 pen | ||||
5 | Tour de Corse (30 April–2 May) |
24 stages 1144 km Tarmac |
1 | Bernard Darniche | Lancia Stratos HF | 14:26.23 | |
2 | Guy Fréquelin | Jean Todt | Talbot Sunbeam Lotus | 14:42:25 | |||
3 | Tony Pond | Datsun Violet GT | 14:45.29 | ||||
6 | Acropolis Rally (1–4 June) |
57 stages 960 km Gravel |
1 | Ari Vatanen | David Richards | Ford Escort RS1800 | 13:17:25 |
2 | Markku Alén | Fiat 131 Abarth | 13:22:00 | ||||
3 | Attilio Bettega | Maurizio Perissinot | Fiat 131 Abarth | 13:25:19 | |||
7 | Rally Codasur (18–23 July) |
18 stages 1341 km Gravel |
1 | Guy Fréquelin | Jean Todt | Talbot Sunbeam Lotus | 14:22:52 |
2 | Shekhar Mehta | Mike Doughty | Datsun Violet GT | 15:01:04 | |||
3 | Jorge Recalde | Datsun 160J | 16:01:19 | ||||
8 | Rallye do Brasil (6–8 August) |
20 stages 714 km Gravel |
1 | Ari Vatanen | David Richards | Ford Escort RS1800 | 9:39:40 |
2 | Guy Fréquelin | Jean Todt | Talbot Sunbeam Lotus | 9:48:11 | |||
3 | Ford Escort RS | 10:19:46 | |||||
9 | 1000 Lakes Rally (28–30 August) |
46 stages 440 km Gravel |
1 | Ari Vatanen | David Richards | Ford Escort RS1800 | 4:07:27 |
2 | Markku Alén | Fiat 131 Abarth | 4:08:26 | ||||
3 | Hannu Mikkola | Arne Hertz | Audi Quattro | 4:10:19 | |||
10 | Rallye Sanremo (5–10 October) |
59 stages 751 km Gravel/Tarmac |
1 | Michèle Mouton | Fabrizia Pons | Audi Quattro | 8:05:50 |
2 | Henri Toivonen | Fred Gallagher | Talbot Sunbeam Lotus | 8:09:15 | |||
3 | Antonio Fassina | Opel Ascona 400 | 8:12:08 | ||||
11 | Rallye Côte d'Ivoire (26–31 October) |
56 controls 5087 km Gravel |
1 | Timo Salonen | Seppo Harjanne | Datsun Violet GT | +9:57 pen |
2 | Per Eklund | Toyota Celica 2000GT | +11:09 pen | ||||
3 | Shekhar Mehta | Mike Doughty | Datsun Violet GT | +11:22 pen | |||
12 | RAC Rally (22–25 November) |
65 stages 722 km Gravel/Tarmac |
1 | Hannu Mikkola | Arne Hertz | Audi Quattro | 8:30:00 |
2 | Ari Vatanen | David Richards | Ford Escort RS1800 | 8:41:05 | |||
3 | Stig Blomqvist | Björn Cederberg | Talbot Sunbeam Lotus | 8:43:36 |
- ^ Event not included in the Manufacturers' Championship
See also[]
- 1981 in sports
External links[]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1981 in World Rally Championship. |
- FIA World Rally Championship 1981 at ewrc-results.com
- 1981 in rallying
- World Rally Championship seasons
- 1981 World Rally Championship season