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.
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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
| Team | Constructor | Car | Drivers | Rounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 David Sutton Motorsport |
Ford | Escort RS 1800 |  Björn Waldegård |
1 |
 Raymond Rué |
1, 3 | |||
 Lasse Lampi |
2, 9, 12 | |||
| Bror Danielsson |
2 | |||
 Yves Loubet |
5 | |||
 Domingo De Vitta |
7–8 | |||
| Roger Clark |
12 | |||
 Fiat Auto Torino |
Fiat | 131 Abarth | Markku Alén |
1, 3, 6, 9–10 |
| Attilio Bettega |
1, 3, 6, 10 | |||
| Dario Cerrato |
1, 3, 10 | |||
 Rob Collinge |
4 | |||
| Kalevi Aho |
9 | |||
| Rothmans Rally Team |
Ford | Escort RS 1800 | Ari Vatanen |
1–3, 6–12 |
| Pentti Airikkala |
2, 9, 12 | |||
| Malcolm Wilson |
3, 6, 12 | |||
| John Taylor |
11 | |||
| Team Chardonnet |
Lancia | Stratos HF | Bernard Darniche |
1, 5 |
| Markku Alén |
12 | |||
 Audi Sport |
Audi | Quattro | Hannu Mikkola |
1–3, 5–6, 9–10, 12 |
| Michèle Mouton |
1, 3, 5–6, 9–10, 12 | |||
 Franz Wittmann |
6, 9 | |||
| Michele Cinotto |
10 | |||
| Adolphe Choteau |
11 | |||
| Opel Euro Händler Team |
Opel | Opel Ascona 400 | Jochi Kleint |
1, 4, 6 |
| Anders Kulläng |
1–4 | |||
| Björn Johansson |
2, 9, 12 | |||
| Jimmy McRae |
12 | |||
| Malcolm Patrick |
12 | |||
| Talbot Sport |
Talbot | Sunbeam Lotus | Henri Toivonen |
1, 3, 5–6, 9–10, 12 |
| Guy Fréquelin |
1, 3, 5–8, 10, 12 | |||
| Gunnar Fagerlind |
2, 12 | |||
| Stig Blomqvist |
9, 12 | |||
| Russell Brookes |
12 | |||
| Renault Elf |
Renault | Renault 5 Turbo | Jean Ragnotti |
1, 5, 12 |
| Bruno Saby |
1, 5, 12 | |||
| Alain Coppier |
1, 5 | |||
| Pierre-Louis Moreau |
5 | |||
| Jean-Pierre Manzagol |
5 | |||
| Porsche Alméras |
Porsche | Porsche 911 SC | Jean-Luc Thérier |
1, 3, 5, 10 |
| Jacques Alméras |
1, 5 | |||
| Per Eklund |
2, 9 | |||
| Francis Vincent |
5 | |||
| Walter Röhrl |
10 | |||
 Team Datsun Europe |
Datsun | 160J Violet GT |
Rauno Aaltonen |
1, 4 |
| Sören Nilsson |
2, 12 | |||
| Timo Salonen |
3–7, 9–12 | |||
| Tony Pond |
3, 5, 10 | |||
 Santinho Mendes |
3 | |||
| Shekhar Mehta |
4, 6–8, 11 | |||
| John Hellier |
4 | |||
| Mike Kirkland |
4 | |||
| Terry Kaby |
5 | |||
 George Moschous |
6 | |||
 Ricardo Zunino |
7 | |||
| Jorge Recalde |
7–8 | |||
| Erkki Pitkänen |
9 | |||
| Peter Geitel |
9 | |||
| Michel Mitri |
11 | |||
| Pierre-Louis Moreau |
11 | |||
| Andy Dawson |
12 | |||
| Saab Sport |
Saab | 99 Turbo 99 EMS |
Stig Blomqvist |
2 |
| Ola Stömberg |
2 | |||
| Kalle Grundel |
2 | |||
| Toyota Team Europe |
Toyota | Celica 2000GT | Björn Waldegård |
3, 5–6, 9, 11–12 |
| Per Eklund |
3, 5–6, 11–12 | |||
| Achim Warmbold |
3 | |||
| Tapio Rainio |
9 | |||
 Samir Assef |
11 | |||
| Terry Kaby |
12 | |||
| Peugeot Esso |
Peugeot | 504 Coupé V6 | Alain Ambrosino |
4, 11 |
| Guy Fréquelin |
4, 11 | |||
| Timo Mäkinen |
4 | |||
| Jean-Claude Lefèbvre |
4 | |||
| Carlos Garro |
7 | |||
| Francisco Alcuaz |
7 | |||
 Jacques Durieu |
11 | |||
| Charles Pozzi |
Ferrari | 308 GTB | Jean-Claude Andruet |
5 |
| Team Ralliart |
Mitsubishi | Lancer 2000 Turbo | Anders Kulläng |
6, 9, 12 |
| Andrew Cowan |
6, 12 | |||
| Georg Fischer |
6 | |||
| Kyösti Hämäläinen |
9 | |||
| Antero Laine |
9, 12 | |||
| Jolly Club |
Fiat | 131 Abarth | Adartico Vudafieri |
11 |
| Mercedes Kassel |
Mercedes | 500 SL | Holger Bohne |
11 |
| Dealer Team Vauxhall |
Vauxhall | Chevette 2300 HSR | Tony Pond |
12 |
| George Hill |
12 | |||
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 | Jochi Kleint |
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 | |
| Domingo De Vitta |
- | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | 12 | - | - | - | - | 12 | |
| Antonio Fassina |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 12 | - | - | 12 | |
| 24 | Björn Johansson |
- | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | - | - | 0 | 12 |
| 25 | Terry Kaby |
- | - | - | - | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | 11 |
| 26 | Jean-Pierre Ballet |
0 | - | - | - | 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 | - | - | 0 | 8 |
| 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 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | 5 | |
| 41 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} 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 Cerrato |
0 | - | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | - | - | 3 | |
| Jacques Durieu |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | - | 3 | |
| 56 | Jacques Alméras |
2 | - | - | - | 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 Coppier |
1 | - | - | - | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| Kenjiro Shinozuka |
- | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | |
| Rod Hall |
- | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | |
| Jean-Felix Farrucci |
- | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | |
| Claude Laurent |
0 | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Antero Laine |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 0 | - | 0 | 1 | |
| Federico Ormezzano |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 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 |
Jean-Marc Andrié |
Renault 5 Turbo | 9:55:55 |
| 2 | Guy Fréquelin |
Jean Todt |
Talbot Sunbeam Lotus | 9:58:49 | |||
| 3 | Jochi Kleint |
Gunter Wanger |
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 |
Risto Virtanen |
Ford Escort RS1800 | 3:51:47 | |||
| 3 | Rallye de Portugal (4–7 March) |
46 stages 681 km Gravel/Tarmac |
1 | Markku Alén |
Ilkka Kivimäki |
Fiat 131 Abarth | 8:27:26 |
| 2 | Henri Toivonen |
Fred Gallagher |
Talbot Sunbeam Lotus | 8:36:36 | |||
| 3 | Björn Waldegård |
Hans Thorszelius |
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 |
Dave Haworth |
Datsun 160J | +4:51 pen | |||
| 5 | Tour de Corse (30 April–2 May) |
24 stages 1144 km Tarmac |
1 | Bernard Darniche |
Alain Mahé |
Lancia Stratos HF | 14:26.23 |
| 2 | Guy Fréquelin |
Jean Todt |
Talbot Sunbeam Lotus | 14:42:25 | |||
| 3 | Tony Pond |
Ian Grindrod |
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 |
Ilkka Kivimäki |
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 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Jorge Recalde |
Jorge del Bouno |
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 | Domingo De Vitta |
Daniel Muzio |
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 |
Ilkka Kivimäki |
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 |
Rudy Roberto Dalpozzo |
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 |
Ragnar Spjuth |
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
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1981 in World Rally Championship.
- FIA World Rally Championship 1981 at ewrc-results.com
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