1983 World Rally Championship
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The 1983 World Rally Championship was the 11th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) World Rally Championship (WRC). The season consisted of 12 rallies. By this time, the schedule format had become generally stable, with only one or two changes to venues year to year. 1983 brought the return of Argentina to the schedule in place of Brazil. Audi's Hannu Mikkola beat the defending world champion Walter Röhrl and his Lancia teammate Markku Alén to the drivers' title. Lancia captured the manufacturers' title from Audi by just two points.
Summary[]
German Walter Röhrl, champion of the previous year despite his manufacturer's failed bid to capture the title, was tapped to drive for the Martini Racing team along with Finn Markku Alén in the new Lancia Rally 037 car. Audi Sport meanwhile carried forward from its successful title run in 1982 led by the same pair of drivers, Finn Hannu Mikkola and Frenchwoman Michèle Mouton, equipped with the Quattro A1 (later in the season upgrading to the A2 model). The team also future champion Swede Stig Blomqvist. tapped former champion Finn Ari Vatanen and fellow countryman Henri Toivonen to drive the Ascona 400 during the season.
Competition was fierce both for drivers and manufacturers. The works battle quickly centered on the Audi and Lancia, and over the course of the season the two cars won 10 of the 12 events and sit on 30 of the year's 36 podium positions. Lancia emerged on top, returning the manufacturer to glory for the first time since the company seized three consecutive titles in the mid-1970s, despite deciding not to participate in last two events. Audi's performance was impressive and the car was improved in the second half of the season, winning three of the final four events to nearly catch the Italian maker (who, of course, withdrew from two last events, leaving Audi with little competition).
Driver competition was no less intense, with both of the Martini team-mates scoring well through the season. They were outpaced by Mikkola, who was able to garner four wins and seven podiums to take the title by a healthy margin in the end. While Mikkola appeared in all events, Röhrl and Alén only appeared in six and seven events respectively, which gave Mikkola clear path to the title. Martini teammate Blomqvist was impressive, finally winning in the last event of the year to place fourth overall, but Mouton's season was a disappointment, her fifth-place finish well off the pace. The Rothmans team meanwhile suffered an unimpressive season, the lone highlight being Vatanen's win in Kenya. This was the team's only podium finish, and Ari himself finished a distant sixth place on the year.
As with previous seasons, while all 12 events were calculated for tallying the drivers' scores, only 10 of the events applied to the championship for manufacturers. The two events in 1983 that applied only to driver standings were Sweden and the Rallye Côte d'Ivoire.
Teams and drivers[]
Team | Constructor | Car | Tyre | Drivers | Rounds |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Martini Racing | Lancia | Rally 037 | P | Walter Röhrl | 1, 3, 5–7, 10 |
Markku Alén | 1, 3, 5–6, 8–10 | ||||
Jean-Claude Andruet | 1, 5 | ||||
3, 8 | |||||
Attilio Bettega | 5–7, 10 | ||||
Francisco Mayorga | 8 | ||||
Pentti Airikkala | 9 | ||||
Audi Sport | Audi | Quattro A1 Quattro A2 |
M P |
Hannu Mikkola | All |
Michèle Mouton | 1–10, 12 | ||||
Stig Blomqvist | 1–3, 6–10, 12 | ||||
2, 9, 11–12 | |||||
Franz Wittmann | 3, 6 | ||||
Vic Preston Jr | 4 | ||||
Shekhar Mehta | 8 | ||||
Rubén Luis di Palma | 8 | ||||
Per Eklund | 9 | ||||
Bernard Darniche | 10 | ||||
John Buffum | 12 | ||||
Rothmans Opel Rally Team | Opel | Ascona 400 Manta 400 |
M | Ari Vatanen | 1–2, 4, 6, 9–10, 12 |
Henri Toivonen | 1, 6, 9–10, 12 | ||||
Guy Frequelin | 1, 5 | ||||
Rauno Aaltonen | 4 | ||||
Jimmy McRae | 6, 12 | ||||
12 | |||||
12 | |||||
12 | |||||
12 | |||||
Renault Elf | Renault | 5 Turbo | M | Jean Ragnotti | 1, 5–6 |
Jean-Luc Thérier | 1, 3, 5 | ||||
Bruno Saby | 1, 5 | ||||
1 | |||||
1, 5 | |||||
1 | |||||
3 | |||||
5 | |||||
5 | |||||
Team Nissan Europe | Nissan | 240RS | D | Timo Salonen | 1, 3–4, 6–7, 9, 12 |
3 | |||||
Shekhar Mehta | 4, 6–7 | ||||
Mike Kirkland | 4 | ||||
4 | |||||
Tony Pond | 5 | ||||
6 | |||||
7 | |||||
9 | |||||
12 | |||||
Automobiles Talbot | Talbot | Sunbeam Lotus | M | 1 | |
3 | |||||
Jon Woodner | 12 | ||||
12 | |||||
12 | |||||
12 | |||||
Citroën Compétitions | Citroën | Visa | M | 1, 3, 6, 12 | |
1, 3, 5–6, 9–10, 12 | |||||
1–3, 5–6, 12 | |||||
Francisco Romãozinho | 3 | ||||
3, 6, 12 | |||||
3, 6, 12 | |||||
3, 5–6, 9 | |||||
3 | |||||
Mitsubishi Ralliart | Mitsubishi | Lancer 2000 Turbo | Y | 3, 9 | |
Harri Toivonen | 9, 12 | ||||
Peugeot Sport | Peugeot | 504 Pick-up V6 | M | 4 | |
4 | |||||
BMW Motul | BMW | M1 | P | Bernard Béguin | 5 |
Jolly Club | Lancia | Rally 037 | P | 5, 10 | |
Miki Biasion | 10 | ||||
10 | |||||
Toyota Team Europe | Toyota | Celica TCT | P | Björn Waldegård | 9, 11–12 |
Juha Kankkunen | 9, 11–12 | ||||
Per Eklund | 11–12 | ||||
Pro Motor Sport | Ferrari | 308 GTB | M | Björn Waldegård | 10 |
10 | |||||
10 | |||||
GM Dealer Sport | Vauxhall | Chevette 2300 HSR | M | Russell Brookes | 12 |
12 | |||||
12 |
Events[]
Map[]
Black = Tarmac | Brown = Gravel | Blue = Snow/Ice | Red = Mixed Surface |
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Schedule and results[]
Round | Rally name | Stages | Podium finishers | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Driver | Co-driver | Team | Car | Time | |||
1 | Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo (22–29 January 1983) |
30 stages 709 km (441 mi) Tarmac |
1 | Walter Röhrl | Christian Geistdörfer | Martini Racing | Lancia Rally 037 | 7:58:57 |
2 | Markku Alén | Martini Racing | Lancia Rally 037 | 8:05:59 | ||||
3 | Stig Blomqvist | Björn Cederberg | Audi Sport | Audi Quattro A1 | 8:10:15 | |||
2 | Swedish Rally[1] (11–13 February 1983) |
24 stages 466 km (290 mi) Snow/Ice |
1 | Hannu Mikkola | Arne Hertz | Audi Sport | Audi Quattro A1 | 4:28:47 |
2 | Stig Blomqvist | Björn Cederberg | Audi Sport | Audi 80 Quattro | 4:29:34 | |||
3 | Audi Sport | Audi Quattro A1 | 4:32:51 | |||||
3 | Rallye de Portugal (2–5 March 1983) |
40 stages 642 km (399 mi) Gravel/Tarmac |
1 | Hannu Mikkola | Arne Hertz | Audi Sport | Audi Quattro A1 | 7:17:24 |
2 | Michèle Mouton | Fabrizia Pons | Audi Sport | Audi Quattro A1 | 7:18:19 | |||
3 | Walter Röhrl | Christian Geistdörfer | Martini Racing | Lancia Rally 037 | 7:19:14 | |||
4 | Safari Rally (30 March – 4 April 1983) |
87 controls 5,035 km (3,129 mi) Gravel |
1 | Ari Vatanen | Rothmans Opel Rally Team | Opel Ascona 400 | +3:96 pen | |
2 | Hannu Mikkola | Arne Hertz | Audi Sport | Audi Quattro A1 | +4:02 pen | |||
3 | Michèle Mouton | Fabrizia Pons | Audi Sport | Audi Quattro A1 | +4:55 pen | |||
5 | Tour de Corse (5–7 May 1983) |
28 stages 1,008 km (626 mi) Tarmac |
1 | Markku Alén | Martini Racing | Lancia Rally 037 | 12:43:38 | |
2 | Walter Röhrl | Christian Geistdörfer | Martini Racing | Lancia Rally 037 | 12:45:27 | |||
3 | Jolly Club | Lancia Rally 037 | 12:50:08 | |||||
6 | Acropolis Rally Greece (30 May – 2 June 1983) |
45 stages 836 km (519 mi) Gravel |
1 | Walter Röhrl | Christian Geistdörfer | Martini Racing | Lancia Rally 037 | 11:12:22 |
2 | Markku Alén | Martini Racing | Lancia Rally 037 | 11:18:42 | ||||
3 | Stig Blomqvist | Björn Cederberg | Audi Sport | Audi Quattro A2 | 11:26:18 | |||
7 | Rally New Zealand (25–28 June 1983) |
33 stages 1,069 km (664 mi) Gravel |
1 | Walter Röhrl | Christian Geistdörfer | Martini Racing | Lancia Rally 037 | 12:10:13 |
2 | Timo Salonen | Seppo Harjanne | Team Nissan Europe | Nissan 240RS | 12:26:11 | |||
3 | Attilio Bettega | Maurizio Perissinot | Martini Racing | Lancia Rally 037 | 12:41:42 | |||
8 | Rally Argentina (2–6 August 1983) |
18 stages 1,274 km (792 mi) Gravel |
1 | Hannu Mikkola | Arne Hertz | Audi Sport | Audi Quattro A2 | 10:18:54 |
2 | Stig Blomqvist | Björn Cederberg | Audi Sport | Audi Quattro A2 | 10:21:28 | |||
3 | Michèle Mouton | Fabrizia Pons | Audi Sport | Audi Quattro A2 | 10:25:35 | |||
9 | Rally Finland (26–28 August 1983) |
50 stages 473 km (294 mi) Gravel |
1 | Hannu Mikkola | Arne Hertz | Audi Sport | Audi Quattro A2 | 4:23:44 |
2 | Stig Blomqvist | Björn Cederberg | Audi Sport | Audi Quattro A2 | 4:24:05 | |||
3 | Markku Alén | Martini Racing | Lancia Rally 037 | 4:24:33 | ||||
10 | Rallye Sanremo (2–8 October 1983) |
58 stages 775 km (482 mi) Gravel/Tarmac |
1 | Markku Alén | Martini Racing | Lancia Rally 037 | 8:50:17 | |
2 | Walter Röhrl | Christian Geistdörfer | Martini Racing | Lancia Rally 037 | 8:52:26 | |||
3 | Attilio Bettega | Maurizio Perissinot | Martini Racing | Lancia Rally 037 | 8:55:27 | |||
11 | Rallye Côte d'Ivoire[1] (25–30 October 1983) |
54 controls 4,600 km (2,900 mi) Gravel |
1 | Björn Waldegård | Toyota Team Europe | Toyota Celica TCT | +5:18 pen | |
2 | Hannu Mikkola | Arne Hertz | Audi Sport | Audi Quattro A2 | +5:29 pen | |||
3 | Per Eklund | Toyota Team Europe | Toyota Celica TCT | +6:58 pen | ||||
12 | RAC Rally (19–23 November 1983) |
57 stages 790 km (490 mi) Gravel/Tarmac |
1 | Stig Blomqvist | Björn Cederberg | Audi Sport UK | Audi Quattro A2 | 8:50:28 |
2 | Hannu Mikkola | Arne Hertz | Audi Sport | Audi Quattro A2 | 9:00:21 | |||
3 | Jimmy McRae | Rothmans Opel Rally Team | Opel Manta 400 | 9:12:19 |
Standings[]
Drivers' championship[]
Rank | Driver | Event | Total points | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MON |
SWE |
POR |
KEN |
FRA |
GRC |
NZL |
ARG |
FIN |
ITA |
CIV |
GBR | |||
1 | Hannu Mikkola | (10) | 20 | 20 | 15 | – | – | – | 20 | 20 | – | 15 | 15 | 125 |
2 | Walter Röhrl | 20 | – | 12 | – | 15 | 20 | 20 | – | – | 15 | – | – | 102 |
3 | Markku Alén | 15 | – | 10 | – | 20 | 15 | – | 8 | 12 | 20 | – | – | 100 |
4 | Stig Blomqvist | 12 | 15 | – | – | – | 12 | – | 15 | 15 | – | – | 20 | 89 |
5 | Michèle Mouton | – | 10 | 15 | 12 | – | – | – | 12 | – | 4 | – | – | 53 |
6 | Ari Vatanen | 8 | 6 | – | 20 | – | 10 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 44 |
7 | Attilio Bettega | – | – | – | – | 10 | 8 | 12 | – | – | 12 | – | – | 42 |
8 | – | 12 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | – | – | 10 | 26 | |
9 | Shekhar Mehta | – | – | – | – | – | 6 | 10 | 10 | – | – | – | – | 26 |
10 | Per Eklund | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 10 | – | 12 | – | 22 |
11 | Björn Waldegård | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 20 | – | 20 |
12 | – | – | 8 | – | 12 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 20 | |
13 | Timo Salonen | – | – | – | – | – | – | 15 | – | 3 | – | – | – | 18 |
14 | Henri Toivonen | 6 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 10 | – | – | 16 |
15 | Jimmy McRae | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | 12 | 15 |
16 | Kalle Grundel | – | 8 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | 11 |
17 | – | – | – | 10 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 10 | |
Alain Ambrosino | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 10 | – | 10 | |
19 | Juha Kankkunen | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 6 | – | – | 4 | 10 |
20 | Bruno Saby | 1 | – | – | – | 8 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 9 |
21 | – | – | – | 8 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 8 | |
– | – | – | – | – | – | 8 | – | – | – | – | – | 8 | ||
Pentti Airikkala | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 8 | – | – | – | 8 | |
Miki Biasion | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 8 | – | – | 8 | |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 8 | – | 8 | ||
Russell Brookes | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 8 | 8 | |
27 | Franz Wittmann | – | – | 4 | – | – | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 8 |
28 | – | – | 6 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 6 | |
– | – | – | 6 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 6 | ||
Tony Pond | – | – | – | – | 6 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 6 | |
Possum Bourne | – | – | – | – | – | – | 6 | – | – | – | – | – | 6 | |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | 6 | – | – | – | – | 6 | ||
Dario Cerrato | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 6 | – | – | 6 | |
John Buffum | – | – | – | – | – | – | �� | – | – | – | – | 6 | 6 | |
35 | Jean Ragnotti | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 |
– | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | ||
Manoj Shah | – | – | – | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | |
– | – | – | – | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | ||
– | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | ||
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | – | – | – | – | 4 | ||
41 | Jean-Claude Andruet | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 |
Mikael Ericsson | – | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | |
– | – | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | ||
– | – | – | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | ||
– | – | – | – | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | ||
– | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | ||
Jorge Recalde | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | – | – | – | – | 3 | |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | – | – | 3 | ||
49 | Mikael Sundström | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | 2 | 3 |
50 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | |
– | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | ||
– | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | ||
– | – | – | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | ||
– | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | ||
– | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | ||
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | 2 | ||
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | – | – | 2 | ||
Bernard Darniche | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | – | 2 | |
59 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | |
Marc Duez | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | |
– | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | ||
– | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | ||
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | 1 | ||
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | 1 | ||
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 |
Manufacturers' championship[]
Rank | Manufacturers | Event | Total points | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MON |
POR |
KEN |
FRA |
GRC |
NZL |
ARG |
FIN |
ITA |
GBR | |||
1 | Lancia | 18 | 14 | – | 18 | 18 | 18 | (10) | 14 | 18 | – | 118 |
2 | Audi | 14 | 18 | 16 | – | 14 | – | 18 | 18 | (6) | 18 | 116 |
3 | Opel | 10 | (9) | 18 | 12 | 12 | – | – | 9 | 12 | 14 | 87 |
4 | Nissan | – | 4 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 16 | – | 4 | – | – | 52 |
5 | Renault | 6 | – | – | 10 | – | – | 11 | – | – | – | 27 |
6 | Toyota | – | – | 10 | – | – | – | – | 8 | – | 6 | 24 |
7 | Subaru | – | – | – | – | – | 13 | – | – | – | – | 13 |
8 | British Leyland Cars | – | – | – | – | – | 11 | – | – | – | – | 11 |
Volkswagen | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 11 | 11 | |
10 | Peugeot | – | – | 10 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 10 |
Vauxhall | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 10 | 10 | |
12 | Mazda | – | – | – | – | – | 9 | – | – | – | – | 9 |
Alfa Romeo | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 9 | – | 9 | |
14 | Citroën | – | 2 | – | 5 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | 9 |
15 | Talbot | – | 8 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 8 |
16 | Mitsubishi | – | – | – | – | – | 7 | – | – | – | – | 7 |
Pointscoring systems[]
Drivers' championship[]
Points awarded by finish | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
20 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Manufacturers' championship[]
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 |
References[]
External links[]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1983 in World Rally Championship. |
- FIA World Rally Championship 1983 at ewrc-results.com
- 1983 in rallying
- World Rally Championship seasons
- 1983 World Rally Championship season