1978 World Rally Championship Explained

The 1978 World Rally Championship was the sixth season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) World Rally Championship (WRC). The schedule remained largely similar to the previous year, with the exception of the removal of the Rally New Zealand from the schedule.

1978 was the last season with an official world championship only for manufacturers. Scoring was modified in 1977 to a more complex system including points both for overall and group placement. A car would still have to place in the overall top 10 to score points. In addition to the Championship for Manufacturers, the FIA awarded the FIA Cup for Rally Drivers. All rallies of the WRC, in addition to another ten events, were counted towards the drivers' totals. In 1979, the Cup for Drivers was incorporated into the WRC as the World Rally Championship for Drivers.

Events

Schedule and results

RallyDates runChampionshipsPodium Drivers (Finishing Time)Podium Cars

Monte Carlo Rally		21 - 28 JanuaryManufacturers
Drivers
  1. Jean-Pierre Nicolas (6h:57m:03s)
  2. Jean Ragnotti (6h:58m:55s)
  3. Guy Fréquelin (6h:59m:55s)
  1. Porsche 911
  2. Renault 5 Alpine
  3. Renault 5 Alpine

Arctic Rally		3 - 5 FebruaryDrivers
  1. Ari Vatanen (6h:25m:03s)
  2. Henri Toivonen (6h:28m:44s)
  3. Markku Alén (6h:36m:20s)
  1. Ford Escort RS1800
  2. Chrysler Avenger
  3. Fiat 131 Abarth

Swedish Rally		10 - 12 FebruaryManufacturers
Drivers
  1. Björn Waldegård (6h:42m:40s)
  2. Hannu Mikkola (6h:44m:08s)
  3. Markku Alén (6h:45m:26s)
  1. Ford Escort RS1800
  2. Ford Escort RS1800
  3. Fiat 131 Abarth

Safari Rally		23 - 27 MarchManufacturers
Drivers
  1. Jean-Pierre Nicolas (+8m:18s penalties)
  2. Vic Preston, Jr. (+8m:55s penalties)
  3. Rauno Aaltonen (+9m:10s penalties)
  1. Peugeot 504 V6 Coupé
  2. Porsche 911
  3. Datsun 160J

Rallye de Portugal		19 - 23 AprilManufacturers
Drivers
  1. Markku Alén (7h:45m:33s)
  2. Hannu Mikkola (7h:50m:01s)
  3. Jean-Pierre Nicolas (8h:01m:01s)
  1. Fiat 131 Abarth
  2. Ford Escort RS1800
  3. Ford Escort RS1800

Acropolis Rally Greece		29 May - 2 JuneManufacturers
Drivers
  1. Walter Röhrl (10h:00m:50s)
  2. Markku Alén (10h:10m:54s)
  3. Shekhar Mehta (10h:23m:36s)
  1. Fiat 131 Abarth
  2. Fiat 131 Abarth
  3. Datsun 160J

Scottish Rally		3 - 7 JuneDrivers
  1. Hannu Mikkola (4h:26m:38s)
  2. Pentti Airikkala (4h:34m:36s)
  3. Roger Clark (4h:35m:11s)
  1. Ford Escort RS1800
  2. Vauxhall Chevette 2300 HS
  3. Ford Escort RS1800

Rajd Polski		6 - 9 JulyDrivers
  1. Antonio Zanini (5h:51m:01.2s)
  2. Franz Wittmann (6h:04m:10.9s)
  3. Salvador Cañellas (6h:09m:04.8s)
  1. Fiat 131 Abarth
  2. Opel Kadett GT/E
  3. Fiat 131 Abarth

1000 Lakes Rally		25 - 27 AugustManufacturers
Drivers
  1. Markku Alén (3h:30m:10s)
  2. Timo Salonen (3h:32m:14s)
  3. Pentti Airikkala (3h:32m:50s)
  1. Fiat 131 Abarth
  2. Fiat 131 Abarth
  3. Vauxhall Chevette 2300 HS

Rally New Zealand		2 - 5 SeptemberDrivers
  1. Russell Brookes (9h:57m:12.0s)
  2. Jim Donald (10h:09m:29.4s)
  3. Paul Adams (10h:41m:55.8s)
  1. Ford Escort RS1800
  2. Ford Escort RS1800
  3. Ford Escort RS1800

Critérium du Québec		13 - 17 SeptemberManufacturers
Drivers
  1. Walter Röhrl (4h:54m:23s)
  2. Markku Alén (5h:02m:56s)
  3. Anders Kulläng (5h:12m:46s)
  1. Fiat 131 Abarth
  2. Fiat 131 Abarth
  3. Opel Kadett GT/E

Tour de France Automobile		16 - 21 SeptemberDrivers
  1. Michèle Mouton (11h:18m:15.7s)
  2. Jean-Louis Clarr (11h:34m:01.8s)
  3. Chris Sclater (11h:40m:04.0s)
  1. Fiat 131 Abarth
  2. Opel Kadett GT/E
  3. Vauxhall Chevette 2300 HS

Rallye Sanremo		3 - 7 OctoberManufacturers
Drivers
  1. Markku Alén (10h:53m:28s)
  2. Maurizio Verini (11h:04m:00s)
  3. Francis Vincent (11h:10m:31s)
  1. Lancia Stratos HF
  2. Fiat 131 Abarth
  3. Porsche 911

Southern Cross Rally		14 - 18 OctoberDrivers
  1. George Fury (1h:25m:17s)
  2. Colin Bond (1h:37m:12s)
  3. Wayne Bell (1h:58m:32s)
  1. Datsun Stanza
  2. Ford Escort RS1800
  3. Holden Gemini

Rallye de España		20 - 22 OctoberDrivers
  1. Tony Carello (4h:20m:03s)
  2. Beny Fernández (4h:29m:40)
  3. Jorge de Bagration (4h:33m:27s)
  1. Lancia Stratos HF
  2. Fiat 131 Abarth
  3. Lancia Stratos HF

Rallye Côte d'Ivoire		21 - 24 OctoberManufacturers
Drivers
  1. Jean-Pierre Nicolas (+2m:28s penalties)
  2. Timo Mäkinen (+2m:43s penalties)
  3. Jean Ragnotti (+3m:50s penalties)
  1. Peugeot 504 V6 Coupé
  2. Peugeot 504 V6 Coupé
  3. Renault 5 Alpine

Tour de Corse		4 - 5 NovemberManufacturers
Drivers
  1. Bernard Darniche (6h:47m:34s)
  2. Jean-Claude Andruet (6h:51m:59s)
  3. Sandro Munari (6h:52m:59s)
  1. Fiat 131 Abarth
  2. Fiat 131 Abarth
  3. Fiat 131 Abarth

RAC Rally		19 - 23 NovemberManufacturers
Drivers
  1. Hannu Mikkola (8:47m:23s)
  2. Björn Waldegård (8h:52m:41s)
  3. Russell Brookes (8h:58m:55s)
  1. Ford Escort RS1800
  2. Ford Escort RS1800
  3. Ford Escort RS1800

Standings

Manufacturers' championship

Manufacturer
MON
SWE
KEN
POR
GRC
FIN
CAN
ITA
CIV
FRA
GBR		Points
1align=left Fiat14 14 - 18 18 18 18 16 - 18 (9)134
2align=left Ford- 18 7 16 9 6 13 13 - - 18100
3align=left Opel(10) 12 - 13 12 11 16 10 - 12 14100
4align=left Porsche18 - 16 7 - 12 - 14 - 12 -79
5align=left Datsun- - 16 - 16 - - - 10 - 1052
6align=left Toyota- - - 15 8 13 14 - - - -50
7align=left Lancia8 12 - - 11 - - 18 - - -49
8align=left Peugeot- - 18 9 - - - - 18 - -45
9align=left Renault17 - - - - - - - 16 - -33
10align=left British Leyland Cars- - - - - - 12 - - - 1224
11align=left Saab- 8 - - - - 10 - - - -18
12align=left Volkswagen- 9 - - - - 8 - - - -17
13align=left Mitsubishi- - 5 - - - - - 11 - -16
14align=left Vauxhall- - - - - 14 - - - - -14
align=left Alfa Romeo- - - - - - - 14 - - -14
16align=left Mercedes- - 12 - - - - - - - -12
17align=left Volvo- 10 - - - - - - - - -10
18align=left Chrysler- - - - - - - - - - 88
19align=left Škoda- - - - 6 - - - - - -6
20align=left Alpine-Renault- - - - - - - - - 5 -5
21align=left Lada- - - - 4 - - - - - -4
Manufacturer
MON
SWE
KEN
POR
GRC
FIN
CAN
ITA
CIV
FRA
GBR		Points

FIA Cup for Drivers

Driver
MON
ARC
SWE
KEN
POR
GRC
SCO
POL
FIN
NZL
CAN
TDF
ITA
GIR
AUS
ESP
CIV
FRA
GBR		Points
1 Markku Alén- 4 (4) - 9 6 0 - 9 - 6 - 9 9 - - - - 052
2 Jean-Pierre Nicolas9 - - 9 4 0 - - - - - 0 - - - - 9 0 031
3 Hannu Mikkola- - 6 - 6 - 9 - 0 - - - - - - - - - 930
4 Michèle Mouton0 - - - - - - - - - - 9 - 3 - - - 2 -14
5 Russell Brookes- - - - - - 0 - - 9 - - - - - - - - 413
6 Walter Röhrl3 - - - 0 (9) - - - - 9 - 0 - - - - - 113
7 Bernard Darniche2 - - - 0 - - - - - - 0 - - - - - 9 -11
8 Ari Vatanen- 9 2 - 0 - - - 0 - - - - - - - - - 011
9 Jean Ragnotti6 - - - - - - - - - - 0 - - - - 4 - -10
10 Pentti Airikkala- - 0 - - - 6 - 4 - - - - - - - - - 010
Driver
MON
ARC
SWE
KEN
POR
GRC
SCO
POL
FIN
NZL
CAN
TDF
ITA
GIR
AUS
ESP
CIV
FRA
GBR		Points

Pointscoring systems

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

See also

External links

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