The 1973 Rallye de Portugal (formally the 7th TAP Rally of Portugal) was the third round of the inaugural World Rally Championship season. Run in mid-March in southern Portugal on a mixture of asphalt and gravel, the rally began with a concentration run from a number of European cities, covering about 4,600 km and ending in Estoril, Portugal.

Report In 1973, and for several years afterward, only manufacturers were given points for finishes in WRC events. As in the earlier Monte Carlo Rally, the Alpine A110s led the event, taking first and second place well ahead of other competitors. Fiat had a disastrous rally, with all three of its cars failing to finish, limiting Fiat to points gained from local entrants. Despite a significant number of international entries, only four non-Portuguese teams finished in the top 15 at the end.

Results 1973 Rallye de Portugal results Finish Totaltime Group Car # DriverCo-driver Car Mfr.points Overall Ingroup 1 1 5 h : 42 m : 16 s 4 5 Jean-Luc Thérier Jacques Jaubert Alpine-Renault A110 1800 20 2 2 5 h : 48 m : 57 s 4 1 Jean-Pierre Nicolas Michel Vial Alpine-Renault A110 1800 3 1 6 h : 7 m : 48 s 2 20 Francisco Romaozinho José Bernardo Citroën DS 21 12 4 3 6 h : 10 m : 40 s 4 15 Luis Netto Manuel Coentro Fiat Abarth 124 Rallye 10 5 4 6 h : 17 m : 0 s 4 19 Américo Nunes António Morais Porsche 911 8 6 5 6 h : 41 m : 0 s 4 14 António Borges António Lemos Alpine-Renault A110 1800 7 1 6 h : 51 m : 40 s 1 25 Mêquêpê Jorge Amaral Opel Ascona 4 8 2 6 h : 56 m : 9 s 1 58 António Martorell Augusto Roxo Opel Ascona 9 2 7 h : 4 m : 47 s 2 52 Hans Britth Hans Reppling Ford Capri 2600 2 10 6 7 h : 5 m : 24 s 4 16 Giovanni Salvi Barbosa Gama Porsche 911 11 3 7 h : 10 m : 26 s 1 64 Xanato Manuel Ferreira Datsun 1200 12 3 7 h : 21 m : 51 s 2 12 Claude Laurent Christian Delferier DAF 55 13 4 7 h : 26 m : 27 s 2 80 Noel Coelho José Varela BMW 2002 14 4 7 h : 43 m : 15 s 1 69 António Ferreira da Cunha Carlos Resende Datsun 1200 15 5 7 h : 43 m : 43 s 1 67 Jorge Ortigao J. Cerqueria Datsun 1200 16 6 7 h : 47 m : 47 s 1 54 Colin Malkin Barry Hughes Chrysler Avenger 17 5 7 h : 53 m : 27 s 2 66 Rui Gonçalves João Batista Austin 1275 GT 18 7 7 h : 59 m : 39 s 1 85 Pedro Cortes Teixeira Gomes Toyota 19 8 8 h : 13 m : 12 s 1 39 Helmut Doppeireiter Ossi Schurek Volkswagen 1303S 20 6 8 h : 38 m : 40 s 2 68 Martins Teixeira A. Magalhaes Austin Maxi 21 9 8 h : 51 m : 56 s 1 97 Paul Chartier Jo Wery Citroën GS 22 10 8 h : 56 m : 19 s 1 38 Johann Fennes Unger Citroën GS 23 7 9 h : 13 m : 22 s 2 99 Eric Bessem Bob Dickhout DAF 55 Retired (mechanical) 4 2 Alcide Paganelli Ninni Russo Fiat Abarth 124 Rallye Retired (mechanical) 4 3 Bernard Darniche Alain Mahé Alpine Renault A110 1800 Retired (accident) 4 4 Björn Waldegård Hans Thorszelius Fiat Abarth 124 Rallye Retired (mechanical) 4 6 Raffaele Pinto Arnaldo Bernacchini Fiat Abarth 124 Rallye Retired (mechanical) 4 7 Chris Sclater Bob de Jong Datsun 240Z Retired (mechanical) 2 8 Achim Warmbold John Davenport BMW 2002 Retired (accident) 2 9 Ove Andersson Jean Todt Toyota Celica Retired (mechanical) 2 10 Harry Källström Claes Billstam Volkswagen 1302S Retired (mechanical) 2 11 Tony Fall Mike Wood Volkswagen 1303S Retired (accident) 4 17 Mário Figueiredo Carlos Barata Fiat Abarth 124 Rallye Retired (mechanical) 4 18 António Carlos Oliveira Barata Datsun 240Z Retired (mechanical) 4 21 José Carpinteiro Albino F. Albino Fiat Abarth 124 Rallye Retired (mechanical) 1 22 Gomes Pereira Costa Simoes Opel Ascona Retired (mechanical) 2 23 Francisco Santos Joao Anjos Ford Escort RS1600 Retired (mechanical) 1 26 Raposo de Magalhaes L. Pedreira Morris Mini Cooper Retired (mechanical) 2 27 Richard Bochnicek Sepp-Dieter Kernmayer Citroën DS 21 Retired (mechanical) 2 30 Tony Fowkes Peter O'Gorman Ford Escort RS1600 Retired 2 32 Douglas Harris John Jeson Ford Escort RS1600 Retired (mechanical) 2 34 Georg Fischer Hans Siebert Volkswagen 1302S Retired (mechanical) 1 35 Marie-Claude Beaumont Christine Giganot Opel Ascona Retired (accident) 2 36 Herbert Grünsteidl Georg Hopf Volkswagen 1302S Retired (mechanical) 1 42 Leif Asterhag Anders Gullberg BMW 2002 TII Retired (mechanical) 1 44 Lassa Jönsson Rolf Jägerstedt BMW 2002 TII Retired (mechanical) 1 45 Arne Allansson Bo Sundberg BMW 2002 TII Retired (mechanical) 1 51 Günther Janger Harald Gottlieb Opel Ascona Retired 1 55 Heitor Morais D. Mascarenhas Opel Ascona Retired (mechanical) 2 65 Joaquim Moutinho Edgar Fortes Austin Maxi Retired (accident) 2 83 Andy Michailidis N. Anstis Ford Escort RS1600

Source: Independent WRC archive

Championship standings after the event 1973 World Rally Championship for Manufacturers points standings after round 3 After round 3 Team Season end Position Points Position Points 1 52 Alpine Renault 1 147 2 22 Fiat 2 84 3 20 Saab 5 42 4 13 Lancia 13 17 5 12 Citroën 7 33 6 12 Ford 3 76 7 8 Porsche 9 27 8 6 Volkswagen 15 15 9 5 Opel 11 25 10 4 BMW 8 28 11 3 Škoda 18 3 12 2 Datsun 6 34 13 2 Volvo 4 44

References

External links Official website of the World Rally Championship 1973 Rallye de Portugal, WRC Round 3 at Rallye-info