1981 World Rally Championship

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.

Teams and drivers

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Team Constructor Car Drivers Rounds
United Kingdom David Sutton Motorsport Ford Escort RS 1800 Sweden Björn Waldegård 1
Monaco Raymond Rué 1, 3
Finland Lasse Lampi 2, 9, 12
Sweden Bror Danielsson 2
France Yves Loubet 5
Uruguay Domingo De Vitta 7–8
United Kingdom Roger Clark 12
Italy Fiat Auto Torino Fiat 131 Abarth Finland Markku Alén 1, 3, 6, 9–10
Italy Attilio Bettega 1, 3, 6, 10
Italy Dario Cerrato 1, 3, 10
Kenya Rob Collinge 4
Finland Kalevi Aho 9
United Kingdom Rothmans Rally Team Ford Escort RS 1800 Finland Ari Vatanen 1–3, 6–12
Finland Pentti Airikkala 2, 9, 12
United Kingdom Malcolm Wilson 3, 6, 12
United Kingdom John Taylor 11
France Team Chardonnet Lancia Stratos HF France Bernard Darniche 1, 5
Finland Markku Alén 12
Germany Audi Sport Audi Quattro Finland Hannu Mikkola 1–3, 5–6, 9–10, 12
France Michèle Mouton 1, 3, 5–6, 9–10, 12
Austria Franz Wittmann 6, 9
Italy Michele Cinotto 10
France Adolphe Choteau 11
Germany Opel Euro Händler Team Opel Opel Ascona 400 Germany Jochi Kleint 1, 4, 6
Sweden Anders Kulläng 1–4
Sweden Björn Johansson 2, 9, 12
United Kingdom Jimmy McRae 12
United Kingdom Malcolm Patrick 12
United Kingdom Talbot Sport Talbot Sunbeam Lotus Finland Henri Toivonen 1, 3, 5–6, 9–10, 12
France Guy Fréquelin 1, 3, 5–8, 10, 12
Sweden Gunnar Fagerlind 2, 12
Sweden Stig Blomqvist 9, 12
United Kingdom Russell Brookes 12
France Renault Elf Renault Renault 5 Turbo France Jean Ragnotti 1, 5, 12
France Bruno Saby 1, 5, 12
France Alain Coppier 1, 5
France Pierre-Louis Moreau 5
France Jean-Pierre Manzagol 5
France Porsche Alméras Porsche Porsche 911 SC France Jean-Luc Thérier 1, 3, 5, 10
France Jacques Alméras 1, 5
Sweden Per Eklund 2, 9
France Francis Vincent 5
Germany Walter Röhrl 10
Japan Team Datsun Europe Datsun 160J
Violet GT
Finland Rauno Aaltonen 1, 4
Sweden Sören Nilsson 2, 12
Finland Timo Salonen 3–7, 9–12
United Kingdom Tony Pond 3, 5, 10
Portugal Santinho Mendes 3
Kenya Shekhar Mehta 4, 6–8, 11
Kenya John Hellier 4
Kenya Mike Kirkland 4
United Kingdom Terry Kaby 5
Greece George Moschous 6
Argentina Ricardo Zunino 7
Argentina Jorge Recalde 7–8
Finland Erkki Pitkänen 9
Finland Peter Geitel 9
France Michel Mitri 11
France Pierre-Louis Moreau 11
United Kingdom Andy Dawson 12
Sweden Saab Sport Saab 99 Turbo
99 EMS
Sweden Stig Blomqvist 2
Sweden Ola Stömberg 2
Sweden Kalle Grundel 2
Japan Toyota Team Europe Toyota Celica 2000GT Sweden Björn Waldegård 3, 5–6, 9, 11–12
Sweden Per Eklund 3, 5–6, 11–12
Germany Achim Warmbold 3
Finland Tapio Rainio 9
Lebanon Samir Assef 11
United Kingdom Terry Kaby 12
France Peugeot Esso Peugeot 504 Coupé V6 France Alain Ambrosino 4, 11
France Guy Fréquelin 4, 11
Finland Timo Mäkinen 4
France Jean-Claude Lefèbvre 4
Argentina Carlos Garro 7
Argentina Francisco Alcuaz 7
Ivory Coast Jacques Durieu 11
France Charles Pozzi Ferrari 308 GTB France Jean-Claude Andruet 5
Japan Team Ralliart Mitsubishi Lancer 2000 Turbo Sweden Anders Kulläng 6, 9, 12
United Kingdom Andrew Cowan 6, 12
Austria Georg Fischer 6
Finland Kyösti Hämäläinen 9
Finland Antero Laine 9, 12
Italy Jolly Club Fiat 131 Abarth Italy Adartico Vudafieri 11
Germany Mercedes Kassel Mercedes 500 SL Germany Holger Bohne 11
United Kingdom Dealer Team Vauxhall Vauxhall Chevette 2300 HSR United Kingdom Tony Pond 12
United Kingdom George Hill 12

Championships

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1981 World Rally Championship for Manufacturers
Rank Manufacturers Event Total
points
Monaco
MON
Sweden
SWE
Portugal
POR
Kenya
KEN
France
FRA
Greece
GRC
Argentina
ARG
Brazil
BRA
Finland
FIN
Italy
ITA
Ivory Coast
CIV
United Kingdom
GBR
1 United Kingdom Talbot 17 - 17 - 17 15 18 - - 17 - 16 117
2 Japan Datsun - - 13 18 15 13 17 - 12 - 18 - 106
3 United States Ford - - 9 - 12 18 - - 18 7 - 16 80
4 West Germany Opel 15 - 11 12 8 - - - 8 15 - - 69
5 West Germany Audi - - 13 - - - - - 14 18 - 18 63
6 Italy Fiat 8 - 18 - - 16 - - 16 5 - - 63
7 France Renault 18 - - - 7 10 15 - - - - 11 61
8 Japan Toyota - - 15 - 11 - - - 3 - 16 9 54
9 France Peugeot - - - 10 - 4 12 - - - 11 - 37
10 Italy Lancia 10 - - - 18 - - - - - - - 28
11 West Germany Porsche 4 - - - 15 - - - - - - - 19
12 Czechoslovakia Škoda - - - - - 8 - - - - - - 8
13 United States Dodge - - - 6 - - - - - - - - 6
14 Japan Mitsubishi - - - - - - - - 1 - - 3 4
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
1981 World Rally Championship for Drivers
Rank Driver Event Total
points
Monaco
MON
Sweden
SWE
Portugal
POR
Kenya
KEN
France
FRA
Greece
GRC
Argentina
ARG
Brazil
BRA
Finland
FIN
Italy
ITA
Ivory Coast
CIV
United Kingdom
GBR
1 Finland Ari Vatanen 0 15 0 - - 20 0 20 20 4 2 15 96
2 France Guy Fréquelin 15 - 6 0 15 10 20 15 - 0 8 0 89
3 Finland Hannu Mikkola 0 20 0 - 0 0 - - 12 10 - 20 62
4 Finland Markku Alén 4 - 20 - - 15 - - 15 2 - 0 56
5 Kenya Shekhar Mehta - - - 20 - 8 15 0 - - 12 - 55
6 Finland Timo Salonen - - 0 10 0 0 0 - 10 0 20 0 40
7 Finland Henri Toivonen 8 - 15 - 0 0 - - 0 15 - 0 38
8 France Michèle Mouton 0 - 10 - 0 0 - - 0 20 - 0 30
9 Finland Pentti Airikkala - 12 - - - - - - 8 - - 10 30
10 Sweden Per Eklund 0 2 0 - 6 0 - - 0 - 15 6 29
11 France Jean Ragnotti 20 - - - 0 - - - - - - 8 28
12 France Bernard Darniche 6 - - - 20 - - - - - - - 26
13 Sweden Stig Blomqvist - 8 - - - - - - 3 - - 12 23
14 Argentina Jorge Recalde - - - - - - 12 10 - - - - 22
15 Sweden Anders Kulläng 10 10 0 0 - 0 - - 0 - - 2 22
16 West Germany Jochi Kleint 12 - - 8 - 0 - - - - - - 20
United Kingdom Tony Pond - - 8 - 12 - - - - 0 - 0 20
18 Sweden Björn Waldegård 3 - 12 - 0 0 - - 2 - 0 0 17
19 Finland Rauno Aaltonen 0 - - 15 - - - - - - - - 15
20 Kenya Mike Kirkland - - - 12 - - - - - - - - 12
Italy Attilio Bettega 0 - 0 - - 12 - - - 0 - - 12
Uruguay Domingo De Vitta - - - - - - 0 12 - - - - 12
Italy Antonio Fassina - - - - - - - - - 12 - - 12
24 Sweden Björn Johansson - 6 - - - - - - 6 - - 0 12
25 United Kingdom Terry Kaby - - - - 8 - - - - - - 3 11
26 France Jean-Pierre Ballet 0 - - - 10 - - - - - - - 10
Argentina Ernesto Soto - - - - - - 10 - - - - - 10
France Michel Mitri - - - - - - - - - - 10 - 10
29 Argentina Ricardo Albertengo - - - - - - 8 - - - - - 10
Portugal Carlos Torres - - 0 - - - - 8 - - - - 8
Italy Luigi Battistolli - - - - - - - - - 8 - - 8
32 Finland Lasse Lampi - 4 - - - - - - 4 - - 0 8
33 France Jean-Claude Lefèbvre - - - 6 - - - - - - - - 6
Greece Iórgos Moschous - - - - - 6 - - - - - - 6
Uruguay Luis Etchegoyen - - - - - - 6 - - - - - 6
Uruguay Gustavo Trelles - - - - - - - 6 - - - - 6
Italy Miki Biasion - - - - - - - - - 6 - - 6
France Alain Ambrosino - - - 0 - - - - - - 6 - 6
39 Sweden Sören Nilsson - - - - - - 1 4 - - - - 5
Argentina Horacio Maglione - 1 - - - - - - - - - 4 5
41 Spain Rafael 'Cid' - - 4 - - - - - - - - - 4
Japan Yoshio Iwashita - - - 4 - - - - - - - - 4
Italy Jean-Michel Tichadou - - - - 4 - - - - - - - 4
Greece 'Carlo' - - - - - 4 - - - - - - 4
Uruguay Federico West - - - - - - 4 - - - - - 4
Lebanon Samir Assef - - - - - - - - - - 4 - 4
47 Sweden Ola Strömberg - 3 - - - - - - - - - - 3
Portugal Manuel Queirós Pereira - - 3 - - - - - - - - - 3
Kenya Jayant Shah - - - 3 - - - - - - - - 3
France Gérard Swaton - - - - 3 - - - - - - - 3
Czechoslovakia Václav Blahna - - - - - 3 - - - - - - 3
Argentina Luís Romero - - - - - - 3 - - - - - 3
Uruguay Julio Berges - - - - - - - 3 - - - - 3
Italy Dario Cerrato 0 - 0 - - - - - - 3 - - 3
Ivory Coast Jacques Durieu - - - - - - - - - - 3 - 3
56 France Jacques Alméras 2 - - - 0 - - - - - - - 2
Portugal Joaquim Moutinho - - 2 - - - - - - - - - 2
United States Malcolm Smith - - - 2 - - - - - - - - 2
France Camille Bartoli - - - - 2 - - - - - - - 2
Greece Pavlos Moschoutis - - - - - 2 - - - - - - 2
Argentina Miguel Tubal - - - - - - 2 - - - - - 2
Brazil Maria Carmo Zacarias - - - - - - - 2 - - - - 2
63 France Alain Coppier 1 - - - 0 - - - - - - - 1
Japan Kenjiro Shinozuka - - 1 - - - - - - - - - 1
United States Rod Hall - - - 1 - - - - - - - - 1
France Jean-Felix Farrucci - - - - 1 - - - - - - - 1
France Claude Laurent 0 - - - - 1 - - 0 - 0 0 1
Finland Antero Laine - - - - - - - - 1 0 - 0 1
Italy Federico Ormezzano - - - - - - - - - 1 - - 1
United Kingdom Roger Clark - - - - - - - - - - - 1 1
1981 World Rally Championship point awards for drivers
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

[edit]
1981 World Rally Championship event map
Black = Tarmac Brown = Gravel Blue = Snow/Ice Red = Mixed Surface
1981 World Rally Championship schedule and results
Round Rally name Stages Podium finishers
Rank Driver Co-driver Car Time
1 Monaco Rallye Monte Carlo
(24–30 January)
32 stages
757 km
Tarmac
1 France Jean Ragnotti France Jean-Marc Andrié Renault 5 Turbo 9:55:55
2 France Guy Fréquelin France Jean Todt Talbot Sunbeam Lotus 9:58:49
3 West Germany Jochi Kleint West Germany Gunter Wanger Opel Ascona 400 10:02:54
2 Sweden Swedish Rally[1]
(13–15 February)
25 stages
369 km
Snow/Ice
1 Finland Hannu Mikkola Sweden Arne Hertz Audi Quattro 3:48:07
2 Finland Ari Vatanen United Kingdom David Richards Ford Escort RS1800 3:50:00
3 Finland Pentti Airikkala Finland Risto Virtanen Ford Escort RS1800 3:51:47
3 Portugal Rallye de Portugal
(4–7 March)
46 stages
681 km
Gravel/Tarmac
1 Finland Markku Alén Finland Ilkka Kivimäki Fiat 131 Abarth 8:27:26
2 Finland Henri Toivonen United Kingdom Fred Gallagher Talbot Sunbeam Lotus 8:36:36
3 Sweden Björn Waldegård Sweden Hans Thorszelius Toyota Celica 2000GT 8:43:47
4 Kenya Safari Rally
(16–20 April)
77 controls
5209 km
Gravel
1 Kenya Shekhar Mehta Kenya Mike Doughty Datsun Violet GT +3:39 pen
2 Finland Rauno Aaltonen Kenya Lofty Drews Datsun Violet GT +3:44 pen
3 Kenya Mike Kirkland Kenya Dave Haworth Datsun 160J +4:51 pen
5 France Tour de Corse
(30 April–2 May)
24 stages
1144 km
Tarmac
1 France Bernard Darniche France Alain Mahé Lancia Stratos HF 14:26.23
2 France Guy Fréquelin France Jean Todt Talbot Sunbeam Lotus 14:42:25
3 United Kingdom Tony Pond United Kingdom Ian Grindrod Datsun Violet GT 14:45.29
6 Greece Acropolis Rally
(1–4 June)
57 stages
960 km
Gravel
1 Finland Ari Vatanen United Kingdom David Richards Ford Escort RS1800 13:17:25
2 Finland Markku Alén Finland Ilkka Kivimäki Fiat 131 Abarth 13:22:00
3 Italy Attilio Bettega Italy Maurizio Perissinot Fiat 131 Abarth 13:25:19
7 Argentina Rally Codasur
(18–23 July)
18 stages
1341 km
Gravel
1 France Guy Fréquelin France Jean Todt Talbot Sunbeam Lotus 14:22:52
2 Kenya Shekhar Mehta Kenya Mike Doughty Datsun Violet GT 15:01:04
3 Argentina Jorge Recalde Argentina Jorge del Bouno Datsun 160J 16:01:19
8 Brazil Rallye do Brasil
(6–8 August)
20 stages
714 km
Gravel
1 Finland Ari Vatanen United Kingdom David Richards Ford Escort RS1800 9:39:40
2 France Guy Fréquelin France Jean Todt Talbot Sunbeam Lotus 9:48:11
3 Uruguay Domingo De Vitta Uruguay Daniel Muzio Ford Escort RS 10:19:46
9 Finland 1000 Lakes Rally
(28–30 August)
46 stages
440 km
Gravel
1 Finland Ari Vatanen United Kingdom David Richards Ford Escort RS1800 4:07:27
2 Finland Markku Alén Finland Ilkka Kivimäki Fiat 131 Abarth 4:08:26
3 Finland Hannu Mikkola Sweden Arne Hertz Audi Quattro 4:10:19
10 Italy Rallye Sanremo
(5–10 October)
59 stages
751 km
Gravel/Tarmac
1 France Michèle Mouton Italy Fabrizia Pons Audi Quattro 8:05:50
2 Finland Henri Toivonen England Fred Gallagher Talbot Sunbeam Lotus 8:09:15
3 Italy Antonio Fassina Italy Rudy Roberto Dalpozzo Opel Ascona 400 8:12:08
11 Ivory Coast Rallye Côte d'Ivoire
(26–31 October)
56 controls
5087 km
Gravel
1 Finland Timo Salonen Finland Seppo Harjanne Datsun Violet GT +9:57 pen
2 Sweden Per Eklund Sweden Ragnar Spjuth Toyota Celica 2000GT +11:09 pen
3 Kenya Shekhar Mehta Kenya Mike Doughty Datsun Violet GT +11:22 pen
12 United Kingdom RAC Rally
(22–25 November)
65 stages
722 km
Gravel/Tarmac
1 Finland Hannu Mikkola Sweden Arne Hertz Audi Quattro 8:30:00
2 Finland Ari Vatanen United Kingdom David Richards Ford Escort RS1800 8:41:05
3 Sweden Stig Blomqvist Sweden Björn Cederberg Talbot Sunbeam Lotus 8:43:36
  1. ^ Event not included in the Manufacturers' Championship

See also

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