The 1979 World Rally Championship was the seventh season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) World Rally Championship (WRC). The season consisted of 12 rallies, one more than the previous year.
1979 marked the first season for the new World Rally Championship for Drivers. This successor to the preceding FIA Cup for Rally Drivers was aligned with the World Rally Championship for Manufacturers. Both championships used the same schedule of events for accumulating points toward the titles, although the point awarding methods were different for each. Manufacturers continued to receive points under the system adopted in 1977, in which points were garnered for both placement overall and placement within the car's group. Only the top finishing car from each manufacturer would garner points, and regardless of group finish, an overall finish of 10th or better was required to obtain points. Drivers were awarded points on the former system, simply based on overall finish, from 20 points for 1st place to 1 point for 10th place.
After several years of competitive but ultimately unsuccessful attempts to seize the championship, Ford finally gathered its first WRC manufacturer's title. A strong season which included five rally wins gave it the edge over new challenger Datsun, whose 160J (Violet) proved successful, and former champion Fiat. Ford's fortune would be short-lived however, and despite determined and competitive participation in WRC events, 1979 would be the company's sole WRC title until their return to victory in 2006.
The competition for the first WRC driver's title was extremely close, and ultimately was decided by the two contenders placing first and second in the final rally of the season. The final difference between the winner, Swede Björn Waldegård, and the runner-up, Finn Hannu Mikkola, was only a single point.
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Calendar
Rd.Start dateFinish dateRallyRally headquartersSurfaceStagesDistance120 January26 January 47th Rallye Automobile Monte-CarloMonte CarloMixed30619 km216 February18 February 29th International Swedish RallyKarlstad, Värmland CountySnow38630 km36 March11 March 13th Rallye de Portugal - Vinho do PortoEstoril, LisbonMixed45737.5 km412 April16 April 27th Safari RallyNairobiGravelN/A5027 km528 May31 May 26th Acropolis RallyAthensGravel581006.5 km614 July18 July 10th Motogard Rally of New ZealandAucklandGravel42658 km724 August28 August 29th Jyväskylän Suurajot - Rally of the 1000 LakesJyväskylä, Central FinlandGravel47423.5 km813 September16 September 7th Critérium Molson du QuébecMontrealMixed32503.7 km91 October7 October 21st Rallye SanremoSanremo, LiguriaMixed74962 km102 November4 November 23rd Tour de Corse - Rallye de FranceAjaccio, CorsicaTarmac221128.9 km1118 November21 November 35th Lombard RAC RallyChesterGravel59661.48 km129 December14 December 11th Rallye Bandama Côte d'IvoireAbidjanGravelN/A5622 kmSources:
This was the only season that all rounds counted towards the Manufacturers championship until 1993.
Events
1979 World Rally Championship event map Black = Tarmac Brown = Gravel Blue = Snow/Ice Red = Mixed Surface
1979 World Rally Championship schedule and results Round Rally name Stages Podium finishers Rank Driver Co-driver Team Car Time 1 Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo(20 January–26 January) 30 stages619 kmTarmac1 Bernard Darniche Alain Mahé Team ChardonnetLancia Stratos HF8:13.382 Björn Waldegård Hans Thorszelius Ford Motor CompanyFord Escort RS18008:13.443 Markku Alén Ilkka Kivimäki Alitalia FiatFiat 131 Abarth8:17.47 2 Swedish Rally(16 February–18 February) 38 stages630 kmSnow/Ice1 Stig Blomqvist Björn CederbergSaab 99 Turbo6:34.492 Björn Waldegård Hans Thorszelius Ford Motor CompanyFord Escort RS18006:36.093 Pentti Airikkala Risto VirtanenVauxhall Chevette 2300 HS6:39.31 3 Rallye de Portugal(6 March–11 March) 45 stages735 kmTarmac/Gravel1 Hannu Mikkola Arne Hertz Ford Motor CompanyFord Escort RS18009:13.522 Björn Waldegård Hans Thorszelius Ford Motor CompanyFord Escort RS18009:16.363 Ove Andersson Henry Liddon Toyota Team EuropeToyota Celica 2000GT9:35.00 4 Safari Rally(April 12–16) 82 controls5028 kmGravel1 Shekhar Mehta Mike Doughty DT Dobie Team DatsunDatsun 160J+6:27 pen2 Hannu Mikkola Arne Hertz DT Dobie Daimler-BenzMercedes 450 SLC 5.0+7:15 pen3 Markku Alén Ilkka Kivimäki Alitalia FiatFiat 131 Abarth+7:20 pen 5 Acropolis Rally(May 28–31) 54 stages1008 kmGravel/Tarmac1 Björn Waldegård Hans Thorszelius Rothmans Rally TeamFord Escort RS180013:35.062 Timo Salonen Seppo Harjanne N. I. TheocharakisDatsun 160J14:07.043 Harry Källström Claes Billstam N. I. TheocharakisDatsun 160J14:11.39 6 Rally New Zealand(14 July–18 July) 42 stages672 kmTarmac/Gravel1 Hannu Mikkola Arne Hertz MasportFord Escort RS18008:05.45,82 Blair Robson Chris Porter MasportFord Escort RS18008:27.03,03 Ari Vatanen David Richards Ford Motor CompanyFord Escort RS18008:29.40,8 7 1000 Lakes Rally(24 August–28 August) 45 stages424 kmGravel1 Markku Alén Ilkka Kivimäki Alitalia FiatFiat 131 Abarth4:01.112 Ari Vatanen David Richards Rothmans Rally TeamFord Escort RS18004:02.423 Björn Waldegård Hans Thorszelius Ford Motor CompanyFord Escort RS18004:07.15 8 Critérium du Québec(13 September–16 September) 25 stages384 kmTarmac/Gravel1 Björn Waldegård Hans Thorszelius Ford Motor CompanyFord Escort RS18003:35.322 Timo Salonen Seppo Harjanne Team Datsun EuropeDatsun 160J3:36.103 Ari Vatanen David Richards Rothmans Rally TeamFord Escort RS18003:41.50 9 Rallye Sanremo(1 October–7 October) 66 stages1078 kmTarmac/Gravel1 Antonio 'Tony' Fassina Mauro Mannini Jolly ClubLancia Stratos HF12:37.172 Walter Röhrl Christian Geistdörfer Alitalia FiatFiat 131 Abarth12:41.313 Attilio Bettega Maurizio PerissinotFiat 131 Abarth12:55.59 10 Tour de Corse(2 November–4 November) 22 stages1129 kmTarmac1 Bernard Darniche Alain Mahé Team ChardonnetLancia Stratos HF14:36.462 Jean Ragnotti Jean-Marc AndriéRenault 5 Alpine15:12.523 Pierre-Louis Moreau Patrice BaronPorsche 911 SC15:23.06 11 RAC Rally(19 November–23 November) 56 stages687 kmGravel/Tarmac1 Hannu Mikkola Arne Hertz Ford Motor CompanyFord Escort RS18008:03.382 Russell Brookes Paul White Andrews Heat For HireFord Escort RS18008:14.073 Timo Salonen Stuart Pegg Team Datsun EuropeDatsun 160J8:16.22 12 Rallye Côte d'Ivoire(9 December–14 December) 50 controls5668 kmGravel1 Hannu Mikkola Arne HertzMercedes 450 SLC 5.0+3:23 pen2 Björn Waldegård Hans ThorszeliusMercedes 450 SLC 5.0+3:58 pen3 Andrew Cowan Klaus KaiserMercedes 450 SLC 5.0+4:10 pen
Championship for manufacturers 1979 World Rally Championship for Manufacturers Rank Manufacturer Event Totalpoints MON SWE POR KEN GRC NZL FIN CAN ITA FRA GBR CIV 1 Ford 16 16 18 - 18 18 (16) 18 (12) - 18 - 122 2 Datsun - (8) 14 18 17 (6) 14 17 - - 16 12 108 3 Fiat 14 12 - 15 - - 18 - 16 12 5 - 92 4 Lancia 18 - - - - - - - 18 18 11 - 65 5 Toyota - - 16 - - - 10 12 - 10 - 10 58 6 Opel - 13 9 - - - - - 14 13 - - 49 7 Renault 11 - - - 13 - - - - 17 - - 41 8 Mercedes - - - 17 - - - - - - - 18 35 9 Porsche 8 - - - - - - - 9 15 - - 32 10 Vauxhall - 14 - - - 10 - - - - 7 - 31 11 Peugeot - - - - - - - 8 - 6 - 8 22 12 Saab - 18 - - - - - - - - - - 18 13 Mitsubishi - - - - - - - 13 - - - - 13 14 Talbot - - - - - - - - 12 - - - 12 15 Audi - - 11 - - - - - - - - - 11 16 Mazda - - - - - 10 - - - - - - 10 17 Triumph - - - - - - 7 - - - - - 7 18 Volvo - 6 - - - - - - - - - - 6 Škoda - - - - 6 - - - - - - - 6 20 Lada - - - - 4 - - - - - - - 4
1979 World Rally Championship point awards for manufacturers Overallfinish 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
Championship for drivers 1979 World Rally Championship for Drivers Rank Driver Event Totalpoints MON SWE POR KEN GRC NZL FIN CAN ITA FRA GBR CIV 1 Björn Waldegård 15 15 15 (6) 20 - 12 20 - - (2) 15 112 2 Hannu Mikkola 8 8 20 15 - 20 - - - - 20 20 111 3 Markku Alén 12 10 - 12 - - 20 - 6 - 8 - 68 4 Timo Salonen - - - - 15 - 8 15 - - 12 - 50 Ari Vatanen 1 - - - - 12 15 12 - - 10 - 50 6 Bernard Darniche 20 - - - - - - - - 20 - - 40 7 Jean Ragnotti - - - - 10 - - - - 15 - - 25 8 Andrew Cowan - - - 10 - - - - - - - 12 22 9 Walter Röhrl - - - 3 - - - - 15 - 3 - 21 10 Stig Blomqvist - 20 - - - - - - - - - - 20 Shekhar Mehta - - - 20 - - - - - - - - 20 Antonio 'Tony' Fassina - - - - - - - - 20 - - - 20 13 Ove Andersson - - 12 - - - - - - - - 8 20 14 Andy Dawson - - 10 - - - - 10 - - - - 20 15 Pentti Airikkala - 12 - - - - - - - - 4 - 16 16 Blair Robson - - - - - 15 - - - - - - 15 Russell Brookes - - - - - - - - - - 15 - 15 18 Harry Källström - - - 2 12 - - - - - - - 14 19 Attilio Bettega - - - - - - - - 12 - - - 12 Pierre-Louis Moreau - - - - - - - - - 12 - - 12 21 Michèle Mouton 4 - - - - - - - - 8 - - 12 22 Jean-Claude Andruet 10 - - - - - - - - - - - 10 Paul Adams - - - - - 10 - - - - - - 10 Ulf Grönholm - - - - - - 10 - - - - - 10 Tony Pond - - - - - - - - 10 - - - 10 Alain Coppier - - - - - - - - - 10 - - 10 Vic Preston, Jr. - - - - - - - - - - - 10 10 28 Carlos Torres - - 8 - - - - - - - - - 10 Rauno Aaltonen - - - 8 - - - - - - - - 8 Anastasios 'Iaveris' Markouizos - - - - 8 - - - - - - - 8 Shane Murland - - - - - 8 - - - - - - 8 Taisto Heinonen - - - - - - - 8 - - - - 8 Dario Cerrato - - - - - - - - 8 - - - 8 34 Jean-Pierre Nicolas 6 - - - - - - - - - - - 6 Björn Johansson - 6 - - - - - - - - - - 6 Harald Demuth - - 6 - - - - - - - - - 6 Iórgos Moschous - - - - 6 - - - - - - - 6 David Parkes - - - - - 6 - - - - - - 6 Lasse Lampi - - - - - - 6 - - - - - 6 Hendrik Blok - - - - - - - 6 - - - - 6 Bernard Picone - - - - - - - - - 6 - - 6 John Taylor - - - - - - - - - - 6 - 6 Alain Ambrosino - - - - - - - - - - - 6 6 44 Ola Strömberg - 4 - - - - - - - - - - 4 Freddy Kottulinsky - - 4 - - - - - - - - - 4 Mike Kirkland - - - 4 - - - - - - - - 4 Evangelos Gallo - - - - 4 - - - - - - - 4 Brian Green - - - - - 4 - - - - - - 4 Tapio Rainio - - - - - - 4 - - - - - 4 Jack Swayze - - - - - - - 4 - - - - 4 Angelo Presotto - - - - - - - - 4 - - - 4 Paul Rouby - - - - - - - - - 4 - - 4 Michel Mitri - - - - - - - - - - - 4 4 54 Guy Fréquelin 3 - - - - - - - - - - - 3 Lars Carlsson - 3 - - - - - - - - - - 3 Joaquim Santos - - 3 - - - - - - - - - 3 Václav Blahna - - - - 3 - - - - - - - 3 Roger Goss - - - - - 3 - - - - - - 3 Per Eklund - - - - - - 3 - - - - - 3 Claude Laurent - - - - - - - 3 - - - - 3 Antonio Tognana - - - - - - - - 3 - - - 3 Jean-Pierre Mari - - - - - - - - - 3 - - 3 Jean-Pierre Paure - - - - - - - - - - - 3 3 64 Jacques Alméras 2 - - - - - - - - - - - 2 John Haugland - 2 - - - - - - - - - - 2 Jorge Ortigão - - 2 - - - - - - - - - 2 Nikolay Elizarov - - - - 2 - - - - - - - 2 Malcolm Stewart - - - - - 2 - - - - - - 2 Erkki Pitkänen - - - - - - 2 - - - - - 2 Nicole Quimet - - - - - - - 2 - - - - 2 Domenico 'Nico' Grosoli - - - - - - - - 2 - - - 2 Jean Bondrille - - - - - - - - - 2 - - 2 73 Sven-Inge Neby - 1 - - - - - - - - - - 1 Marques Baptista - - 1 - - - - - - - - - 1 Sandro Munari - - - 1 - - - - - - - - 1 Sergey Vukovich - - - - 1 - - - - - - - 1 Bob Robb - - - - - 1 - - - - - - 1 Pekka Vilpponen - - - - - - 1 - - - - - 1 Paul Bourgeois - - - - - - - 1 - - - - 1 Paolo Pasutti - - - - - - - - 1 - - - 1 Jean-Charles Martinetti - - - - - - - - - 1 - - 1 Greg Carr - - - - - - - - - - 1 - 1
1979 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