1981 World Rally Championship Explained

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.__TOC__

Teams and drivers

TeamConstructorCarDriversRounds
David Sutton MotorsportFordEscort RS 1800 Björn Waldegård1
Raymond Rué1, 3
Lasse Lampi2, 9, 12
Bror Danielsson2
Yves Loubet5
Domingo De Vitta7–8
Roger Clark12
Fiat Auto TorinoFiat131 Abarth Markku Alén1, 3, 6, 9–10
Attilio Bettega1, 3, 6, 10
Dario Cerrato1, 3, 10
Rob Collinge4
Kalevi Aho9
Rothmans Rally TeamFordEscort RS 1800 Ari Vatanen1–3, 6–12
Pentti Airikkala2, 9, 12
Malcolm Wilson3, 6, 12
John Taylor11
Team ChardonnetLanciaStratos HF Bernard Darniche1, 5
Markku Alén12
Audi SportAudiQuattro Hannu Mikkola1–3, 5–6, 9–10, 12
Michèle Mouton1, 3, 5–6, 9–10, 12
Franz Wittmann6, 9
Michele Cinotto10
Adolphe Choteau11
Opel Euro Händler TeamOpelOpel Ascona 400 Jochi Kleint1, 4, 6
Anders Kulläng1–4
Björn Johansson2, 9, 12
Jimmy McRae12
Malcolm Patrick12
Talbot SportTalbotSunbeam Lotus Henri Toivonen1, 3, 5–6, 9–10, 12
Guy Fréquelin1, 3, 5–8, 10, 12
Gunnar Fagerlind2, 12
Stig Blomqvist9, 12
Russell Brookes12
Renault ElfRenaultRenault 5 Turbo Jean Ragnotti1, 5, 12
Bruno Saby1, 5, 12
Alain Coppier1, 5
Pierre-Louis Moreau5
Jean-Pierre Manzagol5
Porsche AlmérasPorschePorsche 911 SC Jean-Luc Thérier1, 3, 5, 10
Jacques Alméras1, 5
Per Eklund2, 9
Francis Vincent5
Walter Röhrl10
Team Datsun EuropeDatsun160J
Violet GT		 Rauno Aaltonen1, 4
Sören Nilsson2, 12
Timo Salonen3–7, 9–12
3, 5, 10
Santinho Mendes3
Shekhar Mehta4, 6–8, 11
John Hellier4
Mike Kirkland4
Terry Kaby5
George Moschous6
Ricardo Zunino7
Jorge Recalde7–8
Erkki Pitkänen9
Peter Geitel9
Michel Mitri11
Pierre-Louis Moreau11
Andy Dawson12
Saab SportSaab99 Turbo
99 EMS		 Stig Blomqvist2
Ola Stömberg2
Kalle Grundel2
Toyota Team EuropeToyotaCelica 2000GT Björn Waldegård3, 5–6, 9, 11–12
Per Eklund3, 5–6, 11–12
Achim Warmbold3
Tapio Rainio9
Samir Assef11
Terry Kaby12
Peugeot EssoPeugeot504 Coupé V6 Alain Ambrosino4, 11
Guy Fréquelin4, 11
Timo Mäkinen4
Jean-Claude Lefèbvre4
7
Francisco Alcuaz7
Jacques Durieu11
Charles PozziFerrari308 GTB Jean-Claude Andruet5
Team RalliartMitsubishiLancer 2000 Turbo Anders Kulläng6, 9, 12
Andrew Cowan6, 12
Georg Fischer6
Kyösti Hämäläinen9
Antero Laine9, 12
Jolly ClubFiat131 Abarth Adartico Vudafieri11
Mercedes KasselMercedes500 SL Holger Bohne11
Dealer Team VauxhallVauxhallChevette 2300 HSR Tony Pond12
George Hill12

Championships

+ align=center style="background:#BFD7FF"1981 World Rally Championship for ManufacturersRankManufacturersEventTotal
points

MON
SWE
POR
KEN
FRA
GRC
ARG
BRA
FIN
ITA
CIV
GBR
1 Talbot17 - 17 - 17 15 18 - - 17 - 16117
2 Datsun- - 13 18 15 13 17 - 12 - 18 -106
3 Ford- - 9 - 12 18 - - 18 7 - 1680
4 Opel15 - 11 12 8 - - - 8 15 - -69
5 Audi- - 13 - - - - - 14 18 - 1863
6 Fiat8 - 18 - - 16 - - 16 5 - -63
7 Renault18 - - - 7 10 15 - - - - 1161
8 Toyota- - 15 - 11 - - - 3 - 16 954
9 Peugeot- - - 10 - 4 12 - - - 11 -37
10 Lancia10 - - - 18 - - - - - - -28
11 Porsche4 - - - 15 - - - - - - -19
12 Škoda- - - - - 8 - - - - - -8
13 Dodge- - - 6 - - - - - - - -6
14 Mitsubishi- - - - - - - - 1 - - 34
+ align=center style="background:#BFD7FF"1981 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
+ align=center style="background:#BFD7FF"1981 World Rally Championship for DriversRankDriverEventTotal
points

MON
SWE
POR
KEN
FRA
GRC
ARG
BRA
FIN
ITA
CIV
GBR
1 Ari Vatanen0 15 0 - - 20 0 20 20 4 2 1596
2 Guy Fréquelin15 - 6 0 15 10 20 15 - 0 8 089
3 Hannu Mikkola0 20 0 - 0 0 - - 12 10 - 2062
4 Markku Alén4 - 20 - - 15 - - 15 2 - 056
5 Shekhar Mehta- - - 20 - 8 15 0 - - 12 -55
6 Timo Salonen- - 0 10 0 0 0 - 10 0 20 040
7 Henri Toivonen8 - 15 - 0 0 - - 0 15 - 038
8 Michèle Mouton0 - 10 - 0 0 - - 0 20 - 030
9 Pentti Airikkala- 12 - - - - - - 8 - - 1030
10 Per Eklund0 2 0 - 6 0 - - 0 - 15 629
11 Jean Ragnotti20 - - - 0 - - - - - - 828
12 Bernard Darniche6 - - - 20 - - - - - - -26
13 Stig Blomqvist- 8 - - - - - - 3 - - 1223
14 Jorge Recalde- - - - - - 12 10 - - - -22
15 Anders Kulläng10 10 0 0 - 0 - - 0 - - 222
16 Jochi Kleint12 - - 8 - 0 - - - - - -20
Tony Pond- - 8 - 12 - - - - 0 - 020
18 Björn Waldegård3 - 12 - 0 0 - - 2 - 0 017
19 Rauno Aaltonen0 - - 15 - - - - - - - -15
20 Mike Kirkland- - - 12 - - - - - - - -12
Attilio Bettega0 - 0 - - 12 - - - 0 - -12
Domingo De Vitta- - - - - - 0 12 - - - -12
Antonio Fassina- - - - - - - - - 12 - -12
24 Björn Johansson- 6 - - - - - - 6 - - 012
25 Terry Kaby- - - - 8 - - - - - - 311
26 Jean-Pierre Ballet0 - - - 10 - - - - - - -10
Ernesto Soto- - - - - - 10 - - - - -10
Michel Mitri- - - - - - - - - - 10 -10
29 Ricardo Albertengo- - - - - - 8 - - - - -10
Carlos Torres- - 0 - - - - 8 - - - -8
Luigi Battistolli- - - - - - - - - 8 - -8
32 Lasse Lampi- 4 - - - - - - 4 - - 08
33 Jean-Claude Lefèbvre- - - 6 - - - - - - - -6
Iórgos Moschous- - - - - 6 - - - - - -6
Luis Etchegoyen- - - - - - 6 - - - - -6
Gustavo Trelles- - - - - - - 6 - - - -6
Miki Biasion- - - - - - - - - 6 - -6
Alain Ambrosino- - - 0 - - - - - - 6 -6
39 Sören Nilsson- - - - - - 1 4 - - - -5
Horacio Maglione- 1 - - - - - - - - - 45
41 Rafael 'Cid'- - 4 - - - - - - - - -4
Yoshio Iwashita- - - 4 - - - - - - - -4
Jean-Michel Tichadou- - - - 4 - - - - - - -4
'Carlo'- - - - - 4 - - - - - -4
Federico West- - - - - - 4 - - - - -4
Samir Assef- - - - - - - - - - 4 -4
47 Ola Strömberg- 3 - - - - - - - - - -3
Manuel Queirós Pereira- - 3 - - - - - - - - -3
Jayant Shah- - - 3 - - - - - - - -3
Gérard Swaton- - - - 3 - - - - - - -3
Václav Blahna- - - - - 3 - - - - - -3
Luís Romero- - - - - - 3 - - - - -3
Julio Berges- - - - - - - 3 - - - -3
Dario Cerrato0 - 0 - - - - - - 3 - -3
Jacques Durieu- - - - - - - - - - 3 -3
56 Jacques Alméras2 - - - 0 - - - - - - -2
Joaquim Moutinho- - 2 - - - - - - - - -2
Malcolm Smith- - - 2 - - - - - - - -2
Camille Bartoli- - - - 2 - - - - - - -2
Pavlos Moschoutis- - - - - 2 - - - - - -2
Miguel Tubal- - - - - - 2 - - - - -2
Maria Carmo Zacarias- - - - - - - 2 - - - -2
63 Alain Coppier1 - - - 0 - - - - - - -1
Kenjiro Shinozuka- - 1 - - - - - - - - -1
Rod Hall- - - 1 - - - - - - - -1
Jean-Felix Farrucci- - - - 1 - - - - - - -1
Claude Laurent0 - - - - 1 - - 0 - 0 01
Antero Laine- - - - - - - - 1 0 - 01
Federico Ormezzano- - - - - - - - - 1 - -1
Roger Clark- - - - - - - - - - - 11
+ align=center style="background:#BFD7FF"1981 World Rally Championship point awards for drivers
Points awarded by finish1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th
20 15 12 10 8 6 4 3 2 1

Events

+ align=center style="background:#BFD7FF"1981 World Rally Championship event mapalign=center colspan=4
width=25% Black = Tarmacwidth=25% Brown = Gravelwidth=25% Blue = Snow/Icewidth=25% Red = Mixed Surface
+ align=center style="background:#BFD7FF"1981 World Rally Championship schedule and results
width=5% rowspan=2 Roundwidth=20% rowspan=2 Rally namewidth=20% rowspan=2 Stageswidth=75% colspan=5 Podium finishers
RankDriverCo-driverCarTime
1 Rallye Monte Carlo
(24–30 January)		32 stages
757 km
Tarmac		1 Jean Ragnotti Jean-Marc AndriéRenault 5 Turbo9:55:55
2 Guy Fréquelin Jean TodtTalbot Sunbeam Lotus9:58:49
3 Jochi Kleint Gunter WangerOpel Ascona 40010:02:54
2 Swedish Rally[1]
(13–15 February)		25 stages
369 km
Snow/Ice		1 Hannu Mikkola Arne HertzAudi Quattro3:48:07
2 Ari Vatanen David RichardsFord Escort RS18003:50:00
3 Pentti Airikkala Risto VirtanenFord Escort RS18003:51:47
3 Rallye de Portugal
(4–7 March)		46 stages
681 km
Gravel/Tarmac		1 Markku Alén Ilkka KivimäkiFiat 131 Abarth8:27:26
2 Henri Toivonen Fred GallagherTalbot Sunbeam Lotus8:36:36
3 Björn Waldegård Hans ThorszeliusToyota Celica 2000GT8:43:47
4 Safari Rally
(16–20 April)		77 controls
5209 km
Gravel		1 Shekhar Mehta Mike DoughtyDatsun Violet GT+3:39 pen
2 Rauno Aaltonen Lofty DrewsDatsun Violet GT+3:44 pen
3 Mike Kirkland Dave HaworthDatsun 160J+4:51 pen
5 Tour de Corse
(30 April–2 May)		24 stages
1144 km
Tarmac		1 Bernard Darniche Alain MahéLancia Stratos HF14:26.23
2 Guy Fréquelin Jean TodtTalbot Sunbeam Lotus14:42:25
3 Tony Pond Ian GrindrodDatsun Violet GT14:45.29
6 Acropolis Rally
(1–4 June)		57 stages
960 km
Gravel		1 Ari Vatanen David RichardsFord Escort RS180013:17:25
2 Markku Alén Ilkka KivimäkiFiat 131 Abarth13:22:00
3 Attilio Bettega Maurizio PerissinotFiat 131 Abarth13:25:19
7 Rally Codasur
(18–23 July)		18 stages
1341 km
Gravel		1 Guy Fréquelin Jean TodtTalbot Sunbeam Lotus14:22:52
2 Shekhar Mehta Mike DoughtyDatsun Violet GT15:01:04
3 Jorge Recalde Jorge del BounoDatsun 160J16:01:19
8 Rallye do Brasil
(6–8 August)		20 stages
714 km
Gravel		1 Ari Vatanen David RichardsFord Escort RS18009:39:40
2 Guy Fréquelin Jean TodtTalbot Sunbeam Lotus9:48:11
3 Domingo De Vitta Daniel MuzioFord Escort RS10:19:46
9 1000 Lakes Rally
(28–30 August)		46 stages
440 km
Gravel		1 Ari Vatanen David RichardsFord Escort RS18004:07:27
2 Markku Alén Ilkka KivimäkiFiat 131 Abarth4:08:26
3 Hannu Mikkola Arne HertzAudi Quattro4:10:19
10 Rallye Sanremo
(5–10 October)		59 stages
751 km
Gravel/Tarmac		1 Michèle Mouton Fabrizia PonsAudi Quattro8:05:50
2 Henri Toivonen Fred GallagherTalbot Sunbeam Lotus8:09:15
3 Antonio Fassina Rudy Roberto DalpozzoOpel Ascona 4008:12:08
11 Rallye Côte d'Ivoire
(26–31 October)		56 controls
5087 km
Gravel		1 Timo Salonen Seppo HarjanneDatsun Violet GT+9:57 pen
2 Per Eklund Ragnar SpjuthToyota Celica 2000GT+11:09 pen
3 Shekhar Mehta Mike DoughtyDatsun Violet GT+11:22 pen
12 RAC Rally
(22–25 November)		65 stages
722 km
Gravel/Tarmac		1 Hannu Mikkola Arne HertzAudi Quattro8:30:00
2 Ari Vatanen David RichardsFord Escort RS18008:41:05
3 Stig Blomqvist Björn CederbergTalbot Sunbeam Lotus8:43:36

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Event not included in the Manufacturers' Championship

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