The 1983 World Rally Championship was the 11th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) World Rally Championship (WRC). The season consisted of 12 rallies. By this time, the schedule format had become generally stable, with only one or two changes to venues year to year. 1983 brought the return of Argentina to the schedule in place of Brazil. Audi's Hannu Mikkola beat the defending world champion Walter Röhrl and his Lancia teammate Markku Alén to the drivers' title. Lancia captured the manufacturers' title from Audi by just two points.
Summary
German Walter Röhrl, champion of the previous year despite his manufacturer's failed bid to capture the title, was tapped to drive for the Martini Racing team along with Finn Markku Alén in the new Lancia Rally 037 car. Audi Sport meanwhile carried forward from its successful title run in 1982 led by the same pair of drivers, Finn Hannu Mikkola and Frenchwoman Michèle Mouton, equipped with the Quattro A1 (later in the season upgrading to the A2 model). The team also included future champion Swede Stig Blomqvist. Rothmans Opel Rally Team tapped former champion Finn Ari Vatanen and fellow countryman Henri Toivonen to drive the Ascona 400 during the season.
Competition was fierce both for drivers and manufacturers. The works battle quickly centered on the Audi and Lancia, and over the course of the season the two cars won 10 of the 12 events and sit on 30 of the year's 36 podium positions. Lancia emerged on top, returning the manufacturer to glory for the first time since the company seized three consecutive titles in the mid-1970s, despite deciding not to participate in last two events. Audi's performance was impressive and the car was improved in the second half of the season, winning three of the final four events to nearly catch the Italian maker (who, of course, withdrew from two last events, leaving Audi with little competition).
Driver competition was no less intense, with both of the Martini team-mates scoring well through the season. They were outpaced by Mikkola, who was able to garner four wins and seven podiums to take the title by a healthy margin in the end. While Mikkola appeared in all events, Röhrl and Alén only appeared in six and seven events respectively, which gave Mikkola clear path to the title. Mikkola teammate Blomqvist was impressive, finally winning in the last event of the year to place fourth overall, but Mouton's season was a disappointment, her fifth-place finish well off the pace. The Rothmans team meanwhile suffered an unimpressive season, the lone highlight being Vatanen's win in Kenya. This was the team's only podium finish, and Ari himself finished a distant sixth place on the year.
As with previous seasons, while all 12 events were calculated for tallying the drivers' scores, only 10 of the events applied to the championship for manufacturers. The two events in 1983 that applied only to driver standings were Sweden and the Rallye Côte d'Ivoire.
Calendar
Rd.Start dateFinish dateRallyRally headquartersSurfaceStagesDistancePoints122 January28 January 51st Rallye Automobile Monte-CarloMonte CarloMixed31776.80 kmDrivers & Manufacturers211 February13 February 33rd International Swedish RallyKarlstad, Värmland CountySnow25476.10 kmDrivers only32 March5 March 17th Rallye de Portugal - Vinho do PortoEstoril, LisbonMixed43671.39 kmDrivers & Manufacturers430 March4 April 31st Marlboro Safari RallyNairobiGravelN/A5035 kmDrivers & Manufacturers55 May7 May 27th Tour de Corse - Rallye de FranceAjaccio, CorsicaTarmac321066.10 kmDrivers & Manufacturers630 May2 June 30th Rothmans Acropolis RallyAthensGravel46843.30 kmDrivers & Manufacturers725 June28 June 14th Sanyo Rally of New ZealandAucklandGravel331071.09 kmDrivers & Manufacturers82 August6 August 3rd Marlboro Rally ArgentinaBuenos AiresGravel181275.29 kmDrivers & Manufacturers926 August28 August 33rd Rally of the 1000 LakesJyväskylä, Central FinlandGravel50472.63 kmDrivers & Manufacturers102 October7 October 25th Rallye SanremoSanremo, LiguriaMixed58775.89 kmDrivers & Manufacturers1125 October30 October 15th Rallye Cote d'IvoireAbidjanGravelN/A4498 kmDrivers only1219 November22 November 39th Lombard RAC RallyBath, SomersetGravel59835.33 kmDrivers & ManufacturersSources:
Teams and drivers Team Constructor Car Tyre Drivers Rounds Martini Racing Lancia Rally 037 Walter Röhrl 1, 3, 5–7, 10 Markku Alén 1, 3, 5–6, 8–10 Jean-Claude Andruet 1, 5 Adartico Vudafieri 3, 8 Attilio Bettega 5–7, 10 Francisco Mayorga 8 Pentti Airikkala 9 Audi Sport Audi Quattro A1Quattro A2 Hannu Mikkola All Michèle Mouton 1–10, 12 Stig Blomqvist 1–3, 6–10, 12 Lasse Lampi 2, 9, 11–12 Franz Wittmann 3, 6 Vic Preston Jr 4 Shekhar Mehta 8 Rubén Luis di Palma 8 Per Eklund 9 Bernard Darniche 10 John Buffum 12 Rothmans Opel Rally Team Opel Ascona 400Manta 400 Ari Vatanen 1–2, 4, 6, 9–10, 12 Henri Toivonen 1, 6, 9–10, 12 Guy Frequelin 1, 5 Rauno Aaltonen 4 Jimmy McRae 6, 12 Phil Colins 12 Clinton Smith 12 Alastair Sutherland 12 Alex Jackson 12 Renault Elf Renault 5 Turbo Jean Ragnotti 1, 5–6 Jean-Luc Thérier 1, 3, 5 Bruno Saby 1, 5 Dany Snobeck 1 Philippe Touren 1, 5 Gilbert Sau 1 Manuel Pereira 3 François Chatriot 5 Jean-Pierre Manzagol 5 Team Nissan Europe Nissan 240RS Timo Salonen 1, 3–4, 6–7, 9, 12 Terry Kaby 3 Shekhar Mehta 4, 6–7 Mike Kirkland 4 Jayant Shah 4 Tony Pond 5 George Moschous 6 Reg Cook 7 Erkki Pitkänen 9 Peter Geitel 12 Automobiles Talbot Talbot Sunbeam Lotus Chris Lord 1 Antonio Zanini 3 Jon Woodner 12 David Keating 12 Alain Truchet 12 Colin Barrell 12 Citroën Compétitions Citroën Visa Maurice Chomat 1, 3, 6, 12 Alain Coppier 1, 3, 5–6, 9–10, 12 Christian Dorche 1–3, 5–6, 12 Francisco Romãozinho 3 Philippe Wambergue 3, 6, 12 Christian Rio 3, 6, 12 Olivier Tabatoni 3, 5–6, 9 Rufino Fontes 3 Mitsubishi Ralliart Mitsubishi Lancer 2000 Turbo Georg Fischer 3, 9 Harri Toivonen 9, 12 Peugeot Sport Peugeot 504 Pick-up V6 John Hellier 4 Basil Criticos 4 BMW Motul BMW M1 Bernard Béguin 5 Jolly Club Lancia Rally 037 Adartico Vudafieri 5, 10 Miki Biasion 10 Tonino Tognana 10 Toyota Team Europe Toyota Celica TCT Björn Waldegård 9, 11–12 Juha Kankkunen 9, 11–12 Per Eklund 11–12 Pro Motor Sport Ferrari 308 GTB Björn Waldegård 10 Federico Ormezzano 10 Maurizio Cavalli 10 GM Dealer Sport Vauxhall Chevette 2300 HSR Russell Brookes 12 Terry Kaby 12 George Hill 12
Events
Map Black = Tarmac Brown = Gravel Blue = Snow/Ice Red = Mixed Surface
Schedule and results Round Rally name Stages Podium finishers Rank Driver Co-driver Team Car Time 1 Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo(22–29 January 1983) 30 stagesTarmac1 Walter Röhrl Christian Geistdörfer Martini RacingLancia Rally 0377:58:572 Markku Alén Ilkka Kivimäki Martini RacingLancia Rally 0378:05:593 Stig Blomqvist Björn Cederberg Audi SportAudi Quattro A18:10:15 2 Swedish RallyEvent not included in the Manufacturers' Championship(11–13 February 1983) 24 stagesSnow/Ice1 Hannu Mikkola Arne Hertz Audi SportAudi Quattro A14:28:472 Stig Blomqvist Björn Cederberg Audi SportAudi 80 Quattro4:29:343 Lasse Lampi Pentti Kuukkala Audi SportAudi Quattro A14:32:51 3Rallye de Portugal(2–5 March 1983) 40 stagesGravel/Tarmac1 Hannu Mikkola Arne Hertz Audi SportAudi Quattro A17:17:242 Michèle Mouton Fabrizia Pons Audi SportAudi Quattro A17:18:193 Walter Röhrl Christian Geistdörfer Martini RacingLancia Rally 0377:19:14 4 Safari Rally(30 March – 4 April 1983) 87 controlsGravel1 Ari Vatanen Terry Harryman Rothmans Opel Rally TeamOpel Ascona 400+3:96 pen2 Hannu Mikkola Arne Hertz Audi SportAudi Quattro A1+4:02 pen3 Michèle Mouton Fabrizia Pons Audi SportAudi Quattro A1+4:55 pen 5 Tour de Corse(5–7 May 1983) 28 stagesTarmac1 Markku Alén Ilkka Kivimäki Martini RacingLancia Rally 03712:43:382 Walter Röhrl Christian Geistdörfer Martini RacingLancia Rally 03712:45:273 Adartico Vudafieri Luigi Pirollo Jolly ClubLancia Rally 03712:50:08 6 Acropolis Rally Greece(30 May – 2 June 1983) 45 stagesGravel1 Walter Röhrl Christian Geistdörfer Martini RacingLancia Rally 03711:12:222 Markku Alén Ilkka Kivimäki Martini RacingLancia Rally 03711:18:423 Stig Blomqvist Björn Cederberg Audi SportAudi Quattro A211:26:18 7 Rally New Zealand(25–28 June 1983) 33 stagesGravel1 Walter Röhrl Christian Geistdörfer Martini RacingLancia Rally 03712:10:132 Timo Salonen Seppo Harjanne Team Nissan EuropeNissan 240RS12:26:113 Attilio Bettega Maurizio Perissinot Martini RacingLancia Rally 03712:41:42 8 Rally Argentina(2–6 August 1983) 18 stagesGravel1 Hannu Mikkola Arne Hertz Audi SportAudi Quattro A210:18:542 Stig Blomqvist Björn Cederberg Audi SportAudi Quattro A210:21:283 Michèle Mouton Fabrizia Pons Audi SportAudi Quattro A210:25:35 9 Rally Finland(26–28 August 1983) 50 stagesGravel1 Hannu Mikkola Arne Hertz Audi SportAudi Quattro A24:23:442 Stig Blomqvist Björn Cederberg Audi SportAudi Quattro A24:24:053 Markku Alén Ilkka Kivimäki Martini RacingLancia Rally 0374:24:33 10 Rallye Sanremo(2–8 October 1983) 58 stagesGravel/Tarmac1 Markku Alén Ilkka Kivimäki Martini RacingLancia Rally 0378:50:172 Walter Röhrl Christian Geistdörfer Martini RacingLancia Rally 0378:52:263 Attilio Bettega Maurizio Perissinot Martini RacingLancia Rally 0378:55:27 11 Rallye Côte d'Ivoire(25–30 October 1983) 54 controlsGravel1 Björn Waldegård Hans Thorszelius Toyota Team EuropeToyota Celica TCT+5:18 pen2 Hannu Mikkola Arne Hertz Audi SportAudi Quattro A2+5:29 pen3 Per Eklund Dave Whittock Toyota Team EuropeToyota Celica TCT+6:58 pen 12 RAC Rally(19–23 November 1983) 57 stagesGravel/Tarmac1 Stig Blomqvist Björn Cederberg Audi Sport UKAudi Quattro A28:50:282 Hannu Mikkola Arne Hertz Audi SportAudi Quattro A29:00:213 Jimmy McRae Ian Grindrod Rothmans Opel Rally TeamOpel Manta 4009:12:19
Standings Drivers' championship