1980 World Rally Championship

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1980 WRC season
Walter Roehrl 2012.jpg
World Champion
Driver: GermanyGermany Walter Röhrl
Manufacturer: ItalyItaly Fiat
Season dates
Number of rallies: 12
<1979 season

1981 season>

The 1980 World Rally Championship was the eighth World Rally Championship organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It was held in twelve world championship races from January 19 to December 14. Fiat won the manufacturers' championship. For the second time an official driver world champion was determined. The German Walter Röhrl won this for the first time with a Fiat 131 Abarth.

Course of the season

Rally Monte Carlo

The 48th Monte Carlo Rally took place for the drivers in extremely difficult weather conditions. From sun, frost, rain, snowfall to fog, everything was there. Walter Röhrl took the lead in the second special stage. With a Fiat 131 Abarth , Röhrl took the lead in front of 237 starters. Initially, Markku Alén (Fiat 131 Abarth ) was in the lead. In an accident, he damaged his car so badly that it could not be repaired within a reasonable period of time. Bernard Darniche in the Lancia Stratos HF was unable to follow Walter Röhrl and lost over 10 minutes in second to the finish. Anders Kulläng came fourth with an Opel Ascona 400 behind Björn Waldegård (Fiat 131 Abarth). At the end of the rally, a total of 88 vehicles were classified for the manufacturers' championship.

Rally Sweden

At the 29th Rally Sweden there was a triple victory for the locals. The 146 starters had to deal with even more problematic weather conditions than at the Monte Carlo Rally. After precipitation in the freezing cold, a thaw set in. Anders Kulläng (Opel Ascona 400) won the home rally ahead of last year's winner Stig Blomqvist ( Saab 99 Turbo) and Björn Waldegård (Fiat 131 Abarth). After the Rally Sweden, Kulläng was in the lead with 30 points in the world championship, followed by Waldegård with 24 and Röhrl with 20 points. Behind them, Bernard Darniche and Blomqvist shared fourth place with 15 points.

Rally Portugal

The Rally Portugal was counted as the second run in the manufacturers 'championship and the third run in the drivers' world championship. The gravel roads made high demands on the drivers and the material. Out of 130 participants, only 16 saw the finish line. Bernard Darniche (Lancia Stratos HF) was in the lead at the beginning of the rally, but he had to give up early after an engine failure. The two Ford Escort RS drivers Hannu Mikkola and Ari Vatanen had no luck either , they said goodbye to the competition in exactly the same corner. After a dangerous night stage, driven in thick fog, Walter Röhrl (Fiat 131 Abarth) was in the lead with a five-minute lead over the competition. Röhrl had reached the goal with a lead of over 14 minutes on the second Markku Alén (Fiat 131 Abarth). Röhrl took the lead in the world championship ahead of Waldegård with 40 to 34 points, followed by Kulläng with 30 points.

Rally safari

The rally safari in Kenya was driven in hot and dusty conditions. In addition, the route was not divided into special stages, but rather 95 time controls spread over 5333 kilometers. So the pilots had to work their way bit by bit from time control to time control. The Kenyan Shekhar Mehta took the lead with a Datsun 160J . He was overtaken by Björn Waldegård, who is now driving a Mercedes 450 SLC . After a rear axle damage, Waldegård had to let Mehta win. At the finish in Nairobi, 24 cars from 58 who had started arrived. Rauno Aaltonen complemented Datsun's double victory in Africa.

Rally Greece

The Rally Greece (also called Acropolis Rally) was tackled by 154 starters, of which 37 cars crossed the finish line. When the weather is nice, the field of drivers cleared quickly on the stony gravel roads of Greece. Ari Vatanen (Ford Escort RS 1800) was also unable to take victory with four punctures. Despite the tire problems, Timo Salonen (Datsun 160J) was unable to overtake Vatanen, at the finish line he was 2.43 minutes behind. Vatanen won 27 of the 56 special stages. Walter Röhrl (Fiat 131 Abarth) took fifth place behind Anders Kulläng (Opel Ascona 400).

Rally Argentina

At the Argentina Rally , Formula 1 driver Carlos Reutemann also entered the 89 drivers' long entry list. The local Reutemann drove a Fiat 131 Abarth to third place. Reutemann only had to admit defeat by Hannu Mikkola (Mercedes 500 SLC) and the winner Walter Röhrl. In the drivers' world championship, Röhrl led with 68 points ahead of Kulläng with 40 points.

Rally Finland

The Rally Finland (then also known as the 1000 Lakes Rally) was driven in mostly rainy weather on gravel roads in the dense forests near Jyväskylä . The Scandinavian pilots had the first three ranks firmly under control. The Finns Markku Alén (Fiat 131 Abarth) and Ari Vatanen (Ford Escort RS1800) took first and second place ahead of the Swede Per Eklund in a Triumph TR7 V8.

Rally New Zealand

The 41 special stages of the New Zealand Rally were mostly driven in damp weather on forest paths. After several changes in leadership, Walter Röhrl took the lead. After some problems with the technology on the Fiat 131 Abarth, at the end of the rally Timo Salonen was in front in the Datsun 160J with a margin of 2.41 minutes over Röhrl. In the drivers' world championship, Röhrl continued to lead ahead of Markku Alén with 83 to 47 points.

Rally San Remo

It rained heavily at times at the San Remo Rally . These weather conditions only allowed 20 of the 77 cars to cross the finish line. Although the Fiat factory went on strike, team boss Cesare Fiorio managed to provide a Fiat 131 Abarth for Walter Röhrl. Röhrl thanked Fiorio with a victory ahead of Ari Vatanen in the Ford Escort RS 1800. Röhrl and co-driver Christian Geistdörfer were able to celebrate the world championship title three rallies before the end of the season. He led the drivers' world championship with 103 points ahead of Ari Vatanen with 50 points after the rally in Italy. At that time, Fiat was leading the manufacturers' standings with 104 points, ahead of Ford with 75 and Datsun with 67 points.

Rally France

The Rallye France (also called Tour de Corse) was the only pure asphalt rally in the 1980 calendar. An upcoming storm on the second day with rain and in some cases also hail made the task particularly difficult for the drivers. The starting field shrank from 122 to 16 vehicles at the finish. Jean-Luc Thérier , driving a Porsche 911 SC, was the quickest to complete the 18 special stages ahead of Walter Röhrl. Michèle Mouton (Fiat 131 Abarth) was involved in the front for a long time, struggled with aquaplaning during the rainy phase and fell back to fifth place. Alain Coppier , also with a Porsche 911 SC, took third place in front of Bruno Saby in the Renault 5 Turbo , who only did not make it to the top because of a few punctures.

Rally Great Britain

At the Rally Great Britain (also known as the RAC rally) 142 drivers took part in 67 special stages. The first leading Anders Kulläng (Opel Ascona 400) had three punctures. Björn Waldegård ( Toyota Celica 2000 GT) took the lead, but only for a short time. An engine failure brought his rally to an abrupt end. Henri Toivonen ( Talbot Sunbeam Lotus ) took the lead and didn't give it up until the finish. Hannu Mikkola (Ford Escort RS 1800) lost more than 4 minutes to the winner, but held his own with over 9 minutes ahead of Guy Fréquelin (Talbot Sunbeam Lotus).

Rally Ivory Coast

The Ivory Coast rally rounded off the rally year. It was no longer driven by most of the top teams such as Fiat or Ford because the world championship titles had already been awarded. So just 52 starters came together at the second world championship run on African soil. After around 5000 kilometers, only 11 pilots reached the destination. First in line was Björn Waldegård, this time driving a Mercedes 500 SLC, ahead of teammate Jorge Recalde . Alain Ambrosino finished third in a Peugeot 504 V6. Fiat (120 points) won the manufacturers' championship ahead of Ford (92) and Datsun (80).

vehicles

Competitions

The kilometers entered correspond to the distance of the special stages. The distance of the connecting routes between the individual special stages is not included (except for the rally safari and Ivory Coast).

colour Underground
gold gravel
silver asphalt
blue Ice / snow
bronze Mixed
rally rank driver vehicle Total time
h: min: sec
Number of WP length Started in the target
MonacoMonaco Rally Monte Carlo
January 19-25, 1980
1. GermanyGermany Walter Röhrl Fiat 131 Abarth 8:42:20 30th 695.30 km 237 88
2. FranceFrance Bernard Darniche Lancia Stratos HF + 10:38
3. SwedenSweden Björn Waldegård Fiat 131 Abarth + 11:28
SwedenSweden Rally Sweden
15th to 17th February 1980
1. SwedenSweden Anders Kulläng Opel Ascona 400 4:17:52 29
1 canceled
413.50 km 146 79
2. SwedenSweden Stig Blomqvist Saab 99 Turbo + 01:30
3. SwedenSweden Björn Waldegård Fiat 131 Abarth + 03:47
PortugalPortugal Rally Portugal
4th to 9th March 1980
1. GermanyGermany Walter Röhrl Fiat 131 Abarth 8:45:35 47 673.50 km 101 16
2. FinlandFinland Markku Alén Fiat 131 Abarth + 14:19
3. FranceFrance Guy Fréquelin Talbot Sunbeam Lotus + 30:29
KenyaKenya Safari Rally
3rd to 7th April 1980
1. KenyaKenya Shekhar Mehta Datsun 160J 207 penalty points 95
time controls
5333 km 58 24
2. FinlandFinland Rauno Aaltonen Datsun 160J 242 penalty points
3. KenyaKenya Vic Preston Jr. Mercedes 450 SLC 307 penalty points
GreeceGreece Rally Greece
May 26-29, 1980
1. FinlandFinland Ari Vatanen Ford Escort RS1800 12:55:44 56
1 canceled
956.16 km 154 37
2. FinlandFinland Timo Salonen Datsun 160J + 02:42
3. FinlandFinland Markku Alén Fiat 131 Abarth + 07:04
ArgentinaArgentina Rally Argentina
19 to 24 July 1980
1. GermanyGermany Walter Röhrl Fiat 131 12:48:36 14th 1223.70 km 89 24
2. FinlandFinland Hannu Mikkola Mercedes 500 SLC + 15:59
3. ArgentinaArgentina Carlos Reutemann Fiat 131 Abarth + 46:50
FinlandFinland Rally Finland
29th to 31st August 1980
1. FinlandFinland Markku Alén Fiat 131 Abarth 4:24:11 48
1 canceled
472.20 km 124 68
2. FinlandFinland Ari Vatanen Ford Escort RS1800 + 00:56
3. SwedenSweden Per Eklund Triumph TR 7 V8 + 11:14
New ZealandNew Zealand Rally New Zealand
September 13-17, 1980
1. FinlandFinland Timo Salonen Datsun 160J 12:06:57 40 1034 km 85 43
2. GermanyGermany Walter Röhrl Fiat 131 Abarth + 02:41
3. FinlandFinland Hannu Mikkola Mercedes 500 SLC + 22:25
ItalyItaly Rally Sanremo
October 6-11, 1980
1. GermanyGermany Walter Röhrl Fiat 131 Abarth 10:22:42 50
2 canceled
800.60 km 77 20th
2. FinlandFinland Ari Vatanen Ford Escort RS1800 + 06:35
3. FinlandFinland Hannu Mikkola Ford Escort RS1800 + 13:47
FranceFrance Rally France
October 24-25, 1980
1. FranceFrance Jean-Luc Thérier Porsche 911 SC 14:51:43 18th 1128.10 km 122 16
2. GermanyGermany Walter Röhrl Fiat 131 Abarth + 11:23
3. FranceFrance Alain Coppier Porsche 911 SC + 25:38
United KingdomUnited Kingdom Rally Great Britain
16th to 19th November 1980
1. FinlandFinland Henri Toivonen Talbot Sunbeam Lotus 8:17:33 70
3 canceled
708.09 km 142 47
2. FinlandFinland Hannu Mikkola Ford Escort RS1800 + 04:36
3. FranceFrance Guy Fréquelin Talbot Sunbeam Lotus + 13:51
Ivory CoastIvory Coast Rally Ivory Coast
9-14. December 1980
1. SwedenSweden Björn Waldegård Mercedes 500 SLC 2:36 penalty time 62
Time controls
5336 km 52 11
2. ArgentinaArgentina Jorge Recalde Mercedes 500 SLC 3:47 penalty time
3. FranceFrance Alain Ambrosino Peugeot 504 5:17 penalty time

Overall rating

WRC drivers' championship

rank  1   2   3   4th   5   6th   7th   8th   9   10 
Points 20th 15th 12 10 8th 6th 4th 3 2 1
rank driver MonacoMonaco
MON
SwedenSweden
SWE
PortugalPortugal
POR
KenyaKenya
KEN
GreeceGreece
GRE
ArgentinaArgentina
ARG
FinlandFinland
FIN
New ZealandNew Zealand
NZL
ItalyItaly
ITA
FranceFrance
FRA
United KingdomUnited Kingdom
GBR
Ivory CoastIvory Coast
CIV
Points
01 GermanyGermany Walter Röhrl 20th - 20th - 8th 20th - 15th 20th 15th - - 118
02 FinlandFinland Hannu Mikkola - 10 - - - 15th - 12 12 - 15th - 64
03 SwedenSweden Björn Waldegård 12 12 10 1 - - - 8th - - - 20th 63
04th FinlandFinland Ari Vatanen - - - - 20th - 15th - 15th - - - 50
05 SwedenSweden Anders Kulläng 10 20th - - 10 - - - - - 8th - 48
06th FinlandFinland Markku Alén - - 15th - 12 - 20th - - - - - 47
07th FinlandFinland Timo Salonen - 4th - - 15th - 6th 20th - - - - 45
08th FranceFrance Guy Fréquelin - - 12 - - - - - 10 - 12 - 34
09 KenyaKenya Shekhar Mehta - - - 20th - 10 - - - - - - 30th
10 FinlandFinland Henri Toivonen - - - - - - - - 8th - 20th - 28
11 SwedenSweden Per Eklund 8th 3 - - - - 12 - - - - 4th 27
12 FranceFrance Jean-Luc Thérier - - - - - - - - - 20th - - 20th
13 KenyaKenya Vic Preston, Jr - - - 12 - - - - - - - 8th 20th
14th ArgentinaArgentina Jorge Recalde - - 3 - - - - - - - - 15th 18th
15th SwedenSweden Bjorn Johansson - 8th - - - - 10 - - - - - 18th
16 FranceFrance Bernard Darniche 15th - - - - - - - - - - - 15th
SwedenSweden Stig Blomqvist - 15th - - - - - - - - - - 15th
FinlandFinland Rauno Aaltonen - - - 15th - - - - - - - - 15th
19th ItalyItaly Attilio Bettega 6th - - - 3 - - - 6th - - - 15th
20th FranceFrance Alain Coppier 2 - - - - - - - - 12 - - 14th
21st ArgentinaArgentina Carlos Reutemann - - - - - 12 - - - - - - 12
FranceFrance Alain Ambrosino - - - - - - - - - - - 12 12
23 FranceFrance Michèle Mouton 4th - - - - - - - - 8th - - 12
24 SwedenSweden Ove Andersson - - 6th - 6th - - - - - - - 12
25th FranceFrance Jean-Claude Lefebvre - - - - - 8th - - - - - 3 11
26th KenyaKenya Mike Kirkland - - - 10 - - - - - - - - 10
AustraliaAustralia George Fury - - - - - - - 10 - - - - 10
FranceFrance Bruno Saby - - - - - - - - - 10 - - 10
United KingdomUnited Kingdom Russell Brookes - - - - - - - - - - 10 - 10
LebanonLebanon Samir Assef - - - - - - - - - - - 10 10
31 SwedenSweden Ingvar Carlsson - 1 8th - - - - - - - - - 9
32 United KingdomUnited Kingdom Andy Dawson - - - - - - - - - 6th 3 - 9
33 FranceFrance Jean-Pierre Nicolas - - - 8th - - - - - - - - 8th
FinlandFinland Leave Lampi - - - - - - 8th - - - - - 8th
35 FinlandFinland Timo Mäkinen - - - - 1 - - - - - 6th - 7th
36 FinlandFinland Pentti Airikkala - 6th - - - - - - - - - - 6th
United KingdomUnited Kingdom Andrew Cowan - - - 6th - - - - - - - - 6th
UruguayUruguay Domingo De Vitta - - - - - 6th - - - - - - 6th
New ZealandNew Zealand Paul Adams - - - - - - - 6th - - - - 6th
ItalyItaly Sandro Munari - - - - - - - - - - - 6th 6th
41 GermanyGermany Jochi Kleint 3 - - 2 - - - - - - - - 5
42 PortugalPortugal Carlos Torres - - 4th - - - - - - - - - 4th
JapanJapan Yoshio Iwashita - - - 4th - - - - - - - - 4th
SwedenSweden Harry Källström - - - - 4th - - - - - - - 4th
ArgentinaArgentina Francisco Alcuaz - - - - - 4th - - - - - - 4th
FinlandFinland Tapio Rainio - - - - - - 4th - - - - - 4th
New ZealandNew Zealand Paddy Davidson - - - - - - - 4th - - - - 4th
ItalyItaly Angelo Presotto - - - - - - - - 4th - - - 4th
FranceFrance Christian Gardavot - - - - - - - - - 4th - - 4th
United KingdomUnited Kingdom Tony Pond - - - - - - - - - - 4th - 4th
51 KenyaKenya Johnny Hellier - - - 3 - - - - - - - - 3
ArgentinaArgentina Nestor García Veiga - - - - - 3 - - - - - - 3
FinlandFinland Erkki Pitkänen - - - - - - 3 - - - - - 3
New ZealandNew Zealand David Parkes - - - - - - - 3 - - - - 3
ItalyItaly Antonillo Zordan - - - - - - - - 3 - - - 3
FranceFrance Paul Rouby - - - - - - - - - 3 - - 3
57 Spain 1977Spain Salvador Servià 2 - - - - - - - - - - - 2
SwedenSweden Bengt Nilsson - 2 - - - - - - - - - - 2
MonacoMonaco Raymond 'Ray' Rué - - 2 - - - - - - - - - 2
GreeceGreece Tasos 'Siroco' Livieratos - - - - 2 - - - - - - - 2
UruguayUruguay Federico West - - - - - 2 - - - - - - 2
FinlandFinland Heikki Enomaa - - - - - - 2 - - - - - 2
New ZealandNew Zealand Glenn McIntyre - - - - - - - 2 - - - - 2
ItalyItaly Giorgio Bernocchi - - - - - - - - 2 - - - 2
FranceFrance Jean-Felix Farrucci - - - - - - - - - 2 - - 2
SwedenSweden Bror Danielsson - - - - - - - - - - 2 - 2
FranceFrance Jean-François Vincens - - - - - - - - - - - 2 2
68 PolandPoland Maciej Stawowiak - - 1 - - - - - - - - - 1
ArgentinaArgentina Jorge Maggi - - - - - 1 - - - - - - 1
FinlandFinland Peter Geitel - - - - - - 1 - - - - - 1
New ZealandNew Zealand Morrie Chandler - - - - - - - 1 - - - - 1
ItalyItaly Massimo Paolieri - - - - - - - - 1 - - - 1
FranceFrance Jean Bagarry - - - - - - - - - 1 - - 1
United KingdomUnited Kingdom George Hill - - - - - - - - - - 1 - 1
Ivory CoastIvory Coast Naguib Saad - - - - - - - - - - - 1 1
rank driver MonacoMonaco
MON
SwedenSweden
SWE
PortugalPortugal
POR
KenyaKenya
KEN
GreeceGreece
GRE
ArgentinaArgentina
ARG
FinlandFinland
FIN
New ZealandNew Zealand
NZL
ItalyItaly
ITA
FranceFrance
FRA
United KingdomUnited Kingdom
GBR
Ivory CoastIvory Coast
CIV
Points

Manufacturers' championship WRC

rank Manufacturer
MonacoMonaco
MON
PortugalPortugal
POR
KenyaKenya
KEN
GreeceGreece
GRE
ArgentinaArgentina
ARG
New ZealandNew Zealand
NZL
ItalyItaly
ITA
FranceFrance
FRA
United KingdomUnited Kingdom
GBR
Ivory CoastIvory Coast
CIV
Points
01 ItalyItaly Fiat 18th 18th - 15th 18th 17th 18th 16 - (11) 120
02 JapanJapan Datsun - - 18th 17th 14th 18th - 13 8th 5 93
03 United StatesUnited States ford 8th 12 - 18th 11 8th 16 - 17th - 90
04th JapanJapan Mercedes - 13 16 - 17th 15th - - - 18th 79
05 GermanyGermany Opel 12 - 13 13 - - 10 10 13 - 71
06th FranceFrance Talbot - 16 - - - - 15th - 18th - 49
07th JapanJapan Toyota - 9 - 9 - - - - - 14th 32
08th FranceFrance Peugeot - - - 2 12 - - - - 16 30th
09 GermanyGermany Porsche 10 - - - - - - 18th - - 28
10 ItalyItaly Lancia 16 - - 4th - - - - - - 20th
11 United KingdomUnited Kingdom Vauxhall - - - - - 12 - - 4th - 16
12 GermanyGermany Volkswagen 14th - - - - - - - - - 14th
13 FranceFrance Renault - - - - - - - 12 - - 12
14th United KingdomUnited Kingdom triumph - - - - - - - - 9 - 9
15th JapanJapan Mitsubishi - - - - - 2 - - - 7th 9
16 PolandPoland FSO - 2 - - - - - - - - 2
rank Manufacturer
MonacoMonaco
MON
PortugalPortugal
POR
KenyaKenya
KEN
GreeceGreece
GRE
ArgentinaArgentina
ARG
New ZealandNew Zealand
NZL
ItalyItaly
ITA
FranceFrance
FRA
United KingdomUnited Kingdom
GBR
Ivory CoastIvory Coast
CIV
Points

Individual evidence

  1. ewrc-results.com: Season 1980 , February 12, 2015
  2. ewrc-results.com: Season 1980 , February 8, 2015

Web links

literature

  • Axel Morenno: autodrom 13 - Motorsport Documentation Edition 1981 . Published by A. Eugen von Keller Verlag Bonn 1980, ISBN 3-87396-413-9