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1981 World Rally Championship

9th season of the World Rally Championship series

Ari Vatanen World Manufacturers' Champion: Talbot 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

Calendar

Rd.	Start date	Finish date	Rally	Rally headquarters	Surface	Stages	Distance
24 January	30 January	MON 49th Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo	Monte Carlo	Mixed	32	750 km	Drivers & Manufacturers
13 February	15 February	SWE 31st International Swedish Rally	Karlstad, Värmland County	Snow	25	369 km	Drivers only
4 March	7 March	POR 15th Rallye de Portugal - Vinho do Porto	Estoril, Lisbon	Mixed	46	678 km	Drivers & Manufacturers
16 April	20 April	KEN 29th Marlboro Safari Rally	Nairobi	Gravel	N/A	4750 km	Drivers & Manufacturers
30 April	2 May	FRA 25th Tour de Corse - Rallye de France	Ajaccio, Corsica	Tarmac	24	1144.6 km	Drivers & Manufacturers
1 June	4 June	GRC 28th Acropolis Rally	Athens	Gravel	57	995.59 km	Drivers & Manufacturers
18 July	23 July	ARG 3rd Rally Codasur	Tucumán	Gravel	17	1346.6 km	Drivers & Manufacturers
6 August	8 August	BRA 3rd Marlboro Rallye do Brasil	São Paulo	Gravel	21	714 km	Drivers only
28 August	30 August	FIN 31st Jyväskylän Suurajot - Rally of the 1000 Lakes	Jyväskylä, Central Finland	Gravel	48	453.09 km	Drivers & Manufacturers
5 October	10 October	ITA 23rd Rallye Sanremo	Sanremo, Liguria	Mixed	61	751.06 km	Drivers & Manufacturers
26 October	30 October	CIV 13th Rallye Cote d'Ivoire	Abidjan	Gravel	N/A	5087 km	Drivers & Manufacturers
22 November	24 November	GBR 37th Lombard RAC Rally	Chester, Cheshire	Gravel	65	746.74 km	Drivers & Manufacturers
Sources:

Teams and drivers

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

Championships

Rank	Manufacturers	Event	Total
points	MCO
MON	SWE
SWE	PRT
POR	KEN
KEN	FRA
FRA	GRC
GRC	ARG
ARG	BRA
BRA	FIN
FIN	ITA
ITA	Ivory Coast
CIV	GBR
GBR	1	117	2	106	3	80	4	69	5	63	6	63	7	61	8	54	9	37	10	28	11	19	12	8	13	6	14	4
GBR Talbot	17	-	17	-	17	15	18	-	-	17	-	16
JPN Datsun	-	-	13	18	15	13	17	-	12	-	18	-
USA Ford	-	-	9	-	12	18	-	-	18	7	-	16
FRG Opel	15	-	11	12	8	-	-	-	8	15	-	-
FRG Audi	-	-	13	-	-	-	-	-	14	18	-	18
ITA Fiat	8	-	18	-	-	16	-	-	16	5	-	-
FRA Renault	18	-	-	-	7	10	15	-	-	-	-	11
JPN Toyota	-	-	15	-	11	-	-	-	3	-	16	9
FRA Peugeot	-	-	-	10	-	4	12	-	-	-	11	-
ITA Lancia	10	-	-	-	18	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
FRG Porsche	4	-	-	-	15	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
CSK Škoda	-	-	-	-	-	8	-	-	-	-	-	-
USA Dodge	-	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
JPN Mitsubishi	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	3

Overall
finish	Group finish	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
1	18	-
2	17	16
3	16	15
4	15	14
5	14	13
6	13	12
7	12	11
8	11	10
9	10	9
10	9	8

Rank	Driver	Event	Total
points	MCO
MON	SWE
SWE	PRT
POR	KEN
KEN	FRA
FRA	GRC
GRC	ARG
ARG	BRA
BRA	FIN
FIN	ITA
ITA	Ivory Coast
CIV	GBR
GBR	1	96	2	89	3	62	4	56	5	55	6	40	7	38	8	30	9	30	10	29	11	28	12	26	13	23	14	22	15	22	16	20	20	18	17	19	15	20	12	12	12	12	24	12	25	11	26	10	10	10	29	10	8	8	32	8	33	6	6	6	6	6	6	39	5	5	41	4	4	4	4	4	4	47	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	56	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	63	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
FIN Ari Vatanen	0	15	0	-	-	20	0	20	20	4	2	15
FRA Guy Fréquelin	15	-	6	0	15	10	20	15	-	0	8	0
FIN Hannu Mikkola	0	20	0	-	0	0	-	-	12	10	-	20
FIN Markku Alén	4	-	20	-	-	15	-	-	15	2	-	0
KEN Shekhar Mehta	-	-	-	20	-	8	15	0	-	-	12	-
FIN Timo Salonen	-	-	0	10	0	0	0	-	10	0	20	0
FIN Henri Toivonen	8	-	15	-	0	0	-	-	0	15	-	0
FRA Michèle Mouton	0	-	10	-	0	0	-	-	0	20	-	0
FIN Pentti Airikkala	-	12	-	-	-	-	-	-	8	-	-	10
SWE Per Eklund	0	2	0	-	6	0	-	-	0	-	15	6
FRA Jean Ragnotti	20	-	-	-	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	8
FRA Bernard Darniche	6	-	-	-	20	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
SWE Stig Blomqvist	-	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	-	-	12
ARG Jorge Recalde	-	-	-	-	-	-	12	10	-	-	-	-
SWE Anders Kulläng	10	10	0	0	-	0	-	-	0	-	-	2
FRG Jochi Kleint	12	-	-	8	-	0	-	-	-	-	-	-
GBR Tony Pond	-	-	8	-	12	-	-	-	-	0	-	0
SWE Björn Waldegård	3	-	12	-	0	0	-	-	2	-	0	0
FIN Rauno Aaltonen	0	-	-	15	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
KEN Mike Kirkland	-	-	-	12	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
ITA Attilio Bettega	0	-	0	-	-	12	-	-	-	0	-	-
URY Domingo De Vitta	-	-	-	-	-	-	0	12	-	-	-	-
ITA Antonio Fassina	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	12	-	-
SWE Björn Johansson	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	-	-	0
GBR Terry Kaby	-	-	-	-	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	3
FRA Jean-Pierre Ballet	0	-	-	-	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
ARG Ernesto Soto	-	-	-	-	-	-	10	-	-	-	-	-
FRA Michel Mitri	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	10	-
ARG Ricardo Albertengo	-	-	-	-	-	-	8	-	-	-	-	-
PRT Carlos Torres	-	-	0	-	-	-	-	8	-	-	-	-
ITA Luigi Battistolli	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8	-	-
FIN Lasse Lampi	-	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	-	-	0
FRA Jean-Claude Lefèbvre	-	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
GRC Iórgos Moschous	-	-	-	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	-
URY Luis Etchegoyen	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	-
URY Gustavo Trelles	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	-	-	-	-
ITA Miki Biasion	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	-	-
FRA Alain Ambrosino	-	-	-	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	-
SWE Sören Nilsson	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	4	-	-	-	-
ARG Horacio Maglione	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4
ESP Rafael 'Cid'	-	-	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
JPN Yoshio Iwashita	-	-	-	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
ITA Jean-Michel Tichadou	-	-	-	-	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
GRC 'Carlo'	-	-	-	-	-	4	-	-	-	-	-	-
URY Federico West	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	-	-	-	-	-
LBN Samir Assef	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	-
SWE Ola Strömberg	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
PRT Manuel Queirós Pereira	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
KEN Jayant Shah	-	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
FRA Gérard Swaton	-	-	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
TCH Václav Blahna	-	-	-	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	-
ARG Luís Romero	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	-
URY Julio Berges	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	-	-	-	-
ITA Dario Cerrato	0	-	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	-	-
Cote d'Ivoire Jacques Durieu	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	-
FRA Jacques Alméras	2	-	-	-	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
PRT Joaquim Moutinho	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
USA Malcolm Smith	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
FRA Camille Bartoli	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
GRC Pavlos Moschoutis	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	-
ARG Miguel Tubal	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	-
BRA Maria Carmo Zacarias	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	-
FRA Alain Coppier	1	-	-	-	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
JPN Kenjiro Shinozuka	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
USA Rod Hall	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
FRA Jean-Felix Farrucci	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
FRA Claude Laurent	0	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	0	-	0	0
FIN Antero Laine	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	0	-	0
ITA Federico Ormezzano	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-
GBR Roger Clark	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1

Points awarded by finish	1st		2nd		3rd		4th		5th		6th		7th		8th		9th		10th
20	15

Events

Black = Tarmac	Brown = Gravel	Blue = Snow/Ice	Red = Mixed Surface

Round	Rally name	Stages	Podium finishers	Rank	Driver
1	MCO Rallye Monte Carlo
(24–30 January)	32 stages
757 km
Tarmac	1	FRA Jean Ragnotti	FRA Jean-Marc Andrié	Renault 5 Turbo	9:55:55
2	FRA Guy Fréquelin	FRA Jean Todt	Talbot Sunbeam Lotus	9:58:49
3	FRG Jochi Kleint	FRG Gunter Wanger	Opel Ascona 400	10:02:54
2	SWE Swedish Rally
(13–15 February)	25 stages
369 km
Snow/Ice	1	FIN Hannu Mikkola	SWE Arne Hertz	Audi Quattro	3:48:07
2	FIN Ari Vatanen	GBR David Richards	Ford Escort RS1800	3:50:00
3	FIN Pentti Airikkala	FIN Risto Virtanen	Ford Escort RS1800	3:51:47
3	PRT Rallye de Portugal
(4–7 March)	46 stages
681 km
Gravel/Tarmac	1	FIN Markku Alén	FIN Ilkka Kivimäki	Fiat 131 Abarth	8:27:26
2	FIN Henri Toivonen	GBR Fred Gallagher	Talbot Sunbeam Lotus	8:36:36
3	SWE Björn Waldegård	SWE Hans Thorszelius	Toyota Celica 2000GT	8:43:47
4	KEN Safari Rally
(16–20 April)	77 controls
5209 km
Gravel	1	KEN Shekhar Mehta	KEN Mike Doughty	Datsun Violet GT	+3:39 pen
2	FIN Rauno Aaltonen	KEN Lofty Drews	Datsun Violet GT	+3:44 pen
3	KEN Mike Kirkland	KEN Dave Haworth	Datsun 160J	+4:51 pen
5	FRA Tour de Corse
(30 April–2 May)	24 stages
1144 km
Tarmac	1	FRA Bernard Darniche	FRA Alain Mahé	Lancia Stratos HF	14:26.23
2	FRA Guy Fréquelin	FRA Jean Todt	Talbot Sunbeam Lotus	14:42:25
3	GBR Tony Pond	GBR Ian Grindrod	Datsun Violet GT	14:45.29
6	GRC Acropolis Rally
(1–4 June)	57 stages
960 km
Gravel	1	FIN Ari Vatanen	GBR David Richards	Ford Escort RS1800	13:17:25
2	FIN Markku Alén	FIN Ilkka Kivimäki	Fiat 131 Abarth	13:22:00
3	ITA Attilio Bettega	ITA Maurizio Perissinot	Fiat 131 Abarth	13:25:19
7	ARG Rally Codasur
(18–23 July)	18 stages
1341 km
Gravel	1	FRA Guy Fréquelin	FRA Jean Todt	Talbot Sunbeam Lotus	14:22:52
2	KEN Shekhar Mehta	KEN Mike Doughty	Datsun Violet GT	15:01:04
3	Argentina Jorge Recalde	Argentina Jorge del Bouno	Datsun 160J	16:01:19
8	BRA Rallye do Brasil
(6–8 August)	20 stages
714 km
Gravel	1	FIN Ari Vatanen	GBR David Richards	Ford Escort RS1800	9:39:40
2	FRA Guy Fréquelin	FRA Jean Todt	Talbot Sunbeam Lotus	9:48:11
3	URY Domingo De Vitta	URY Daniel Muzio	Ford Escort RS	10:19:46
9	FIN 1000 Lakes Rally
(28–30 August)	46 stages
440 km
Gravel	1	FIN Ari Vatanen	GBR David Richards	Ford Escort RS1800	4:07:27
2	FIN Markku Alén	FIN Ilkka Kivimäki	Fiat 131 Abarth	4:08:26
3	FIN Hannu Mikkola	SWE Arne Hertz	Audi Quattro	4:10:19
10	ITA Rallye Sanremo
(5–10 October)	59 stages
751 km
Gravel/Tarmac	1	FRA Michèle Mouton	ITA Fabrizia Pons	Audi Quattro	8:05:50
2	FIN Henri Toivonen	England Fred Gallagher	Talbot Sunbeam Lotus	8:09:15
3	ITA Antonio Fassina	ITA 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	FIN Timo Salonen	FIN Seppo Harjanne	Datsun Violet GT	+9:57 pen
2	SWE Per Eklund	SWE Ragnar Spjuth	Toyota Celica 2000GT	+11:09 pen
3	KEN Shekhar Mehta	KEN Mike Doughty	Datsun Violet GT	+11:22 pen
12	GBR RAC Rally
(22–25 November)	65 stages
722 km
Gravel/Tarmac	1	FIN Hannu Mikkola	SWE Arne Hertz	Audi Quattro	8:30:00
2	FIN Ari Vatanen	GBR David Richards	Ford Escort RS1800	8:41:05
3	SWE Stig Blomqvist	SWE Björn Cederberg	Talbot Sunbeam Lotus	8:43:36

References

"WRC 1981". [[eWRC-results.com]].
"1981 WRC calendar". Jonkka's World Rally Archive.
Event not included in the Manufacturers' Championship

Info: Wikipedia Source

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