The 1998 World Rally Championship was the 26th season of the FIA World Rally Championship. The season consisted of 13 rallies. Tommi Mäkinen won his third consecutive drivers' world championship driving for Mitsubishi, ahead of Carlos Sainz and Colin McRae. The manufacturers' title was won by Mitsubishi (who still operated under Group A regulations), ahead of Toyota and Subaru. This year also marked the Ford Escort's last full-season works outing before being replaced by the Ford Focus WRC in 1999. The season ended in dramatic fashion when Carlos Sainz's Corolla WRC stopped approximately 300 metres from the finishing line in the final stage at Margam due to mechanical failure, thus surrendering his fourth place on the rally and handing the title to Mäkinen.
Calendar
The 1998 championship was contested over fourteen rounds in Europe, Africa, South America and Oceania.
Rd.Start dateFinish dateRallyRally headquartersSurfaceStagesDistance118 January21 January 66th Rallye Automobile Monte CarloMonte CarloMixed18359.19 km26 February8 February 47th International Swedish RallyKarlstad, Värmland CountySnow19381.34 km328 February2 March 46th Safari Rally KenyaNairobiGravel161063.49 km422 March25 March 32nd TAP Rallye de PortugalMatosinhos, PortoGravel28380.18 km520 April22 April 34th Rallye Catalunya - Costa Brava - Rallye de EspañaLloret de Mar, CataloniaTarmac19400.71 km64 May6 May 42nd Tour de Corse - Rallye de FranceAjaccio, CorsicaTarmac18399.18 km720 May23 May 18th Rally ArgentinaCarlos Paz, CórdobaGravel23400.62 km87 June9 June 45th Acropolis RallyDelphi, PhocisGravel17388.76 km924 July27 July 29th Rally New ZealandManukau, AucklandGravel25388.39 km1021 August23 August 48th Neste Rally FinlandJyväskylä, Central FinlandGravel24384.10 kmCSeptemberSeptember Rally of IndonesiaMedan, North SumatraGravel?????1112 October14 October 40th Rallye Sanremo - Rallye d'ItaliaSanremo, LiguriaTarmac24400.30 km125 November8 November 11th API Rally AustraliaPerth, Western AustraliaGravel24404.69 km1322 November24 November 54th Network Q Rally of Great BritainCheltenham, GloucestershireGravel28383.85 kmSources:
Teams and drivers Team Manufacturer Car Tyre No. Driver Co-Driver Rounds Mitsubishi Ralliart Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IVLancer Evo V 1 Tommi Mäkinen Risto Mannisenmäki All 2 Richard Burns Robert Reid AllLancer Evo IV* Uwe Nittel Christina Thörner1–2, 4–5 555 Subaru WRT Subaru Impreza S5 WRC '98 3 Colin McRae Nicky Grist All 4 Piero Liatti Fabrizia Pons 1, 3–9, 11–12 Kenneth Eriksson Staffan Parmander 2 Jarmo Kytölehto Arto Kapanen 10 Alister McRae David Senior 1310 Piero Liatti Fabrizia Pons212 Ari Vatanen1315 Juha Kangas Pentti Kuukkala9 Toyota Castrol Team Toyota Corolla WRC 5 Carlos Sainz Luis Moya All 6 Didier Auriol Denis Giraudet 1, 3–4, 6–13 Thomas Rådström Lars Bäckman 2 Freddy Loix Sven Smeets 59 Didier Auriol Denis Giraudet 2, 511 Marcus Grönholm Timo Rautiainen13 Ford Motor Co. Ltd.FordFord Escort WRC7 Juha Kankkunen Juha RepoAll 8 Bruno Thiry Stéphane Prévot 1–2, 5–13 Ari Vatanen Fred Gallagher 3–411 10 SEAT SportSEATCórdoba WRC9 Harri Rovanperä Risto Pietiläinen 10–13 10 Oriol Gómez Marc Martí 10 Marc Duez Luc Manset 11–12 Gwyndaf Evans Howard Davies13
Non Manufacturer Entries Major entries not registered as manufacturers Team Manufacturer CarTyre DriversCo-drivers Rounds Toyota Castrol Team Denmark Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205 Henrik Lundgaard Freddy Pedersen 1Corolla WRC Henrik Vestergaard 13 Shell Helix Motor OilsCelica GT-Four ST205 Pasi Hagström Tero Gardemeister 2, 10 Shell Norge Henning Solberg Runar Pedersen 2 Petter Solberg Egil Solstad 2 Cato Menkerud 13 E.O.S. Team Toyota Markko Märtin Toomas Kitsing 4, 11, 13 Marlboro Toyota Castrol BelgiumCorolla WRC Freddy Loix Toomas Kitsing 4–5, 8, 12 Telecel Castrol Team Pedro Chaves Sérgio Paiva 4 Toyota Castrol Team Germany Isolde Holderied Anne-Chantal Pauwels 12 Toyota Hellas Angelos Zivas Stelios Fakalis 8 Tein Sport Yoshio Fujimoto Tony Sircombe 9, 12 Toyota Castrol Finland Marcus Grönholm Timo Rautiainen 10 Subaru Rallye Team DeutschlandSubaruImpreza WRC Armin Kremer Klaus Wicha 1 Procar Rally TeamImpreza 555 Jean-Pierre Richelmi Thierry Barjou 4 Freddy Delorme 8 Andrea Navarra Renzo Casazza 5, 11 Diego Oldrati Paolo Lizzi 11 A.R.T EngineeringImpreza WRC Andrea Dallavilla Danilo Fappani 4–5, 11 Belgacom Turbo Team Grégoire de Mevius Jean-Marc Fortin 4, 11, 13 Ecurie Le Perron Renaud Verreydt Jean-François Elst 5, 11 Subaru Allstars Endless Sport Yukihiko Sakurai Ronan Morgan 8, 13 Subaru Rally Team AustraliaImpreza 555 Peter 'Possum' Bourne Craig Vincent 9, 12 Bo-Be Plastindustri ABFordFord Escort RS Cosworth Mats Jonsson Johnny Johansson 2 Bastos Ford Rally TeamEscort WRC Patrick Snijers Danny De Canck 10, 14 Leonídas Kirkos Leonídas Kirkos Ioánnis Stavropoulos8 Ioannis Papadimitriou? Ioannis Papadimitriou Nikolaos Petropoulos 8 Ford Team Finland Sebastian Lindholm Timo Hantunen 10 Jolly Club Gianfranco Cunico Luigi Pirollo 11 Angelo Medeghini Barbara Capoferri 11 R.E.D World Rally Team? Armin Schwarz Manfred Hiemer 13 Mitsubishi Ralliart GermanyMitsubishiLancer Evo V Uwe Nittel Christina Thörner 8, 10 Advan-Piaa Rally TeamLancer Evo III Yoshihiro Kataoka Satoshi Hayashi 9, 12 Ralliart Australia Ed Ordynski Mark Stacey 9, 12 Mitsubishi Ralliart New ZealandLancer Evo IV? Geoff Argyle Raymond Bennett9 Lewis Scott Jane Black9
FIA Teams Cup Team Manufacturer CarTyre DriversCo-drivers Rounds Uruguay en CarreraMitsubishiLancer Evo IV (Grp. N) Gustavo Trelles Jorge Del Buono 1–2Lancer Evo V (Grp. N) Martin Christie 4–12Lancer Evo IV (Grp. N) Gabriel Méndez Daniel Muzio5Lancer Evo III (Grp. N) Carlos Villete9, 12 Team Mitsubishi OmanLancer Evo IV (Grp. N) Hamed Al-Wahaibi Terry Harryman4, 7–9, 12–13 H.F. Grifone SRLToyotaCorolla WRC Marcus Grönholm Timo Rautiainen2, 4–5, 9 Rui Madeira Nuno Rodrigues da Silva5, 8, 10–11 Isolde Holderied Anne-Chantal Pauwels6, 8 Thomas Rådström Lars Bäckman9 Andrea Aghini Loris Roggia11 János jun. Tóth Ferenc Gergely11Celica GT-Four ST205 Rui Madeira Nuno Rodrigues da Silva4 Markko Märtin Toomas Kitsing10 Toyota Castrol Team SwedenCorolla WRC Thomas Rådström Lars Bäckman2, 4 Gunnar Barth5, 7, 10 Neal Bates Coral Taylor12 Toyota Team Saudi ArabiaCelica GT-Four ST205 Abdullah Bakhashab Arne Hertz4–5 Bobby Willis6, 8, 10–13 Toyota Mobil Team Turkey Volkan Isik Ilham Dökümcü4–6, 8, 10–13 Gazprom Rally TeamFordFord Escort WRC Aleksandr Nikonenko Viktor Timkovskiy2, 4–5, 8 Aleksandr Potapov Yevgeniy Zhivoglazov9 Viktor Timkovskiy10 Sebastian Lindholm Jukka Aho12–13 Alexander Zheludov Aleksandr Alibekov13 F.Dor Rally TeamSubaruImpreza WRC Frédéric Dor Kevin Gormley3, 7, 9 Didier Breton 4, 8, 10, 13 Mobil 1 Stomil Olsztyn Krzysztof Hołowczyc Jean-Marc Fortin 4–5, 7, 11, 13
FIA 2-Litre World Rally Cup major Manufacturer Entries Team Manufacturer CarTyre DriversCo-drivers Rounds Peugeot SportPeugeot306 Maxi Gilles Panizzi Herve Panizzi1, 5–6, 12 François Delecour Daniel Grataloup1, 5–6, 12 Peugeot Esso Silver Team SG Adruzilo Lopes Luís Lisboa1, 4–5 Scuderia Chicco d'Oro Cyril Henny Aurore Maëder-Brand1 F.P.F. Sport Renato Travaglia Flavio Zanella12 Federico Villagra405 Mi16? Federico Villagra Javier Villagra7 SEAT SportSEATIbiza Kit Car Evo2 Harri Rovanperä Voitto Silander1–3 Risto Pietiläinen4–5, 7–9 Oriol Gómez Marc Martí1–5, 7–8 Marc Duez Luc Manset4 Salvador Cañellas Xavier Lorza5, 10, 12–13 Toni Gardemeister Paavo Lukander9–13 Gwyndaf Evans Howard Davies10, 12 Seat Dealer Team Sweden Jörgen Jonasson Pecka Svensson2 Andorra Auto Club Ferran Font Joan Sureda3, 10 Paul Saly Renault Clio Williams? Paul Saly Guy Pujol 1 "Dim"? "Dim" Konstantinos Stefanis 8 Renault Team SwedenMégane Maxi? Jonas Kruse Bruno Berglund 2, 4, 10 Renault Gest Galp José Carlos Macedo Miguel Borges 4 Pedro Azeredo Carlos Magalhães 4 Renault Sport España Luis Climent José Antonio Muñoz 5 Renault Elf Dealer Rallying Martin Rowe Derek Ringer 6, 11, 13 Tapio Laukkanen Tapio Järvi 6, 10 Kaj Lindström 11, 13 Renault Türkiye Nejat Avci Erkan Bodur 9, 12 Luca Pedersoli Luca Pedersoli Giovanni Bernacchini 11 Treviso Rally Team Paolo Andreucci Simona Fedeli 11 Ricardo Bissio18 GTX? Ricardo Bissio Alberto Descotte 7 Hector Guillermo Silva Hector Guillermo Silva Jorge Minoli 7 Volkswagen Motorsport SwedenVolkswagenGolf III Kit Car? Harry Joki Ingemar Karlsson2 S.B.G. Sport Alister McRae David Senior2, 7, 10–12 Sawfish Racing Raimund Baumschlager Klaus Wicha 3–4, 13 Kris Rosenberger Per Carlsson 3–4, 7, 9, 12 Janne Tuohino Ilkka Riipinen 10 Jorma Laakso? Jorma Laakso Jari Jyrkiäinen 10 Jimmy WahomeHyundaiCoupé? Jimmy Wahome Tom Muriuki 3 Gregory Kibiti? Gregory Kibiti George Mwangi3 Hyundai MotorsportCoupé Kenneth Eriksson Staffan Parmander 4–5, 7–8Coupé Evo 2 9–13Coupé Wayne Bell Iain Stewart 4, 8Coupé Evo 2 9–13Coupé Alister McRae David Senior5–6 Dean HerridgeCoupé Dean Herridge Jim Carlton12
FIA 2-Litre World Rally Cup Non Manufacturer Entries Team Manufacturer CarTyre DriversCo-drivers Rounds Wolf-Dieter Ihle Opel Astra GSi 16V? Wolf-Dieter Ihle Reinhard Kessemeier 1, 5 Opel Team Sweden? Patric Carlsson Peter Johansson 2 Per Svan Johan Olsson 2 Promoracing FinlandNissanSunny GTi? Toni Gardemeister Paavo Lukander 2 Nissan Motorsports EuropeAlmera Kit Car Mark Higgins Phil Mills 4, 8, 10–11, 13 José Araújo Octávio Araújo 4 Nissan Motorsports Turkey Ercan Kazaz Cengiz Yıldız 13 Team Åkes Bageri ABFordEscort RS2000 Anders Nilsson Markku Kangas 2 Ford EspañaEscort Maxi Kit Car Daniel Alonso Villarón Salvador Belzunces 5 Olli Harkki? Olli Harkki Kari Mustalahti 10 Stuart Egglestone? Stuart Egglestone Steve Egglestone 13 Ford Motor Co? Will Hoy Sean Kelly 13 Marko Ipatti? Marko Ipatti Kari Kajula 13 Citroën SportCitroënXsara F2 Philippe Bugalski Jean-Paul Chiaroni 5–6, 11 Jesús Puras Marc Martí 5, 11 Patrick Magaud Michel Périn 6, 11 Fabien Doenlen Jean-Marc Andrié 6 Škoda MotorsportŠkodaOctavia Kit Car Pavel Sibera Petr Gross 5–6, 8, 10–11, 13 Fabio Danti Marcello Olivari 11 Norberto PeneloDaewooCielo? Norberto Penelo Gustavo Topalian 7 Silverstone Suzuki SportSuzukiBaleno Wagon Kit CarS Nobuhiro Tajima Glenn Macneall 9, 12 Yutaka Kuritsuhara? Yutaka Kuritsuhara Akihiko Takahashi 12 Avto VAZ Rally TeamLada110? Viktor Shkolnyy Sergey Talantsev 10 Daihatsu AustraliaDaihatsuCharade GTi? Ross Mackenzie Paul van der Mey 12 Rick Bates Jenny Brittan 12 Vauxhall MotorsportVauxhallAstra Kit Car Jarmo Kytölehto Arto Kapanen13 Neil Wearden Trevor Agnew 13 Proton MotorsportProtonSatria Kit Car Mats Andersson Lisa Addy 13 Jenny Davies Claire Mole 13
Group N Cup major entries