The 1981 World Rally Championship is the ninth season of the FIA World Rally Championship. Like the previous one, it consisted of 12 stages, but there was one change in the calendar, the Rally of New Zealand was replaced by the Rally of Brazil .
| 9th World Rally Championship | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| World champion |  Ari Vatanen |
| Offset manufacturers |  Talbot |
Ford Escort RS Ari Watanen 1981
Finnish champion Ari Vatanen won the championship title for the only time in his career piloting a Ford Escort RS1800 . This was the first time that a private team pilot (in this case, the Rothmans Rally Team ) won the world championship. In the classification of brands, the French Talbot became the best, for which this victory was the only one in its history, the model brought luck.
The season marked the beginning of a new era in the rally. For the first time, Audi Quattro , the first all-wheel drive rally car, entered the tracks. On the eve of the starts, the German model was considered too difficult to participate in the WRC, but the team and its pilots were able to prove the viability of the all-wheel drive scheme for this type of motorsport with three victories already in the debut season (including the first victory Michelle Mouton won at the San Remo Rally , becoming the first woman who managed to win the stage of the World Cup).
The results of the Sweden Rally and the Brazil Rally were not taken into account in the standings of the manufacturers championship.
Content
1981 Rally World Championship
1981 World Cup Map
| Black = Asphalt | Brown = Gravel | Blue = Snow \ Ice | Red = Mixed coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
1981 World Cup Stages
| Stage | Rally | Special plots | Podium | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A place | Pilot | Navigator | Car | Time | |||
| one | Monte Carlo Rally (January 24-30) | 32 plots 757 km Asphalt | one | Jean Ragnotti | Jean-Marc Andre | Renault 5 Turbo | 9:55:55 |
| 2 | Guy Freklen | Jean Todt | Talbot Sunbeam Lotus | 9:58:49 | |||
| 3 | Yohi clint | Gunter Wagner | Opel Ascona 400 | 10:02:54 | |||
| 2 | Rally Sweden (February 13-15) | 25 sites 369 km Snow / ice | one | Hannu Mikkola | Arne Herz | Audi Quattro | 3:48:07 |
| 2 | Ari Vatanen | David richards | Ford Escort RS1800 | 3:50:00 | |||
| 3 | Pentti Ariccala | Risto Virtanen | Ford Escort RS1800 | 3:51:47 | |||
| 3 | Rally Portugal (March 4-7) | 46 sites 681 km Gravel / Asphalt | one | Markku Allen | Ilkka Kivimäki | Fiat 131 abarth | 8:27:26 |
| 2 | Henry Toivonen | Fred galacher | Talbot Sunbeam Lotus | 8:36:36 | |||
| 3 | Bjorn Waldegord | Hans Troselius | Toyota Celica 2000GT | 8:43:47 | |||
| four | Rally Safari (April 16-20) | 77 sectors 5209 km Gravel | one | Shekhar Mehta | Mike Doughty | Datsun violet gt | +3: 39 fine |
| 2 | Rauno Aaltonen | Lofty Drews | Datsun violet gt | +3: 44 fine | |||
| 3 | Mike Kirkland | Dave Haworth | Datsun 160J | +4: 51 fines | |||
| five | Rally Corsica (April 30-May 2) | 24 sites 1144 km Gravel | one | Bernard Darnish | Alan Mae | Lancia stratos hf | 14: 26.23 |
| 2 | Guy Freklen | Jean Todt | Talbot Sunbeam Lotus | 14:42:25 | |||
| 3 | Tony pond | Ian Grindrond | Datsun violet gt | 14: 45.29 | |||
| 6 | Rally Acropolis (June 1-4) | 57 plots 960 km Gravel | one | Ari Vatanen | David richards | Ford Escort RS1800 | 13:17:25 |
| 2 | Markku Allen | Ilkka Kivimäki | Fiat 131 abarth | 13:22:00 | |||
| 3 | Attilio Bettega | Maurizio Perezino | Fiat 131 abarth | 13:25:19 | |||
| 7 | Rally Argentina (July 18-23) | 18 sites 1341 km Gravel | one | Guy Freklen | Jean Todt | Talbot Sunbeam Lotus | 14:22:52 |
| 2 | Shekhar Mehta | Mike Doughty | Datsun violet gt | 15:01:04 | |||
| 3 | Jorge Recalde | Jorge Del Buno | Datsun 160J | 16:01:19 | |||
| eight | Rally Brazil (August 6-8) | 20 sites 714 km Gravel | one | Ari Vatanen | David richards | Ford Escort RS1800 | 9:39:40 |
| 2 | Guy Freklen | Jean Todt | Talbot Sunbeam Lotus | 9:48:11 | |||
| 3 | Domingo De Witt | Daniel Muzio | Ford Escort RS | 10:19:46 | |||
| 9 | Rally "Thousand Lakes" (August 28-30) | 46 sites 440 km Gravel | one | Ari Vatanen | David richards | Ford Escort RS1800 | 4:07:27 |
| 2 | Markku Allen | Ilkka Kivimäki | Fiat 131 abarth | 4:08:26 | |||
| 3 | Hannu Mikkola | Arne Herz | Audi Quattro | 4:10:19 | |||
| ten | Rally San Remo (October 5-10) | 59 sites 751 km Gravel / Asphalt | one | Michelle Mouton | Factory Pons | Audi Quattro | 8:05:50 |
| 2 | Henry Toivonen | Fred galacher | Talbot Sunbeam Lotus | 8:09:15 | |||
| 3 | Antonio Fassina | Rudy Roberto Dalposo | Opel Ascona 400 | 8:12:08 | |||
| eleven | Rally Cote D'Ivoire (October 26-31) | 56 plots 5087 km Gravel | one | Timo Salonen | Seppo Haryana | Datsun violet gt | +9: 57 penalty |
| 2 | Per Eklund | Ragnar Spute | Toyota Celica 2000GT | +11: 09 fine | |||
| 3 | Shekhar Mehta | Mike Doughty | Datsun violet gt | +11: 22 fines | |||
| 12 | Rally UK (November 22-25) | 65 sites 722 km Gravel / Asphalt | one | Hannu Mikkola | Arne Herz | Audi Quattro | 8:30:00 |
| 2 | Ari Vatanen | David richards | Ford Escort RS1800 | 8:41:05 | |||
| 3 | Stig Blomkvist | Björn Zederberg | Talbot Sunbeam Lotus | 8:43:36 | |||
Manufacturers Championship
Score table in the world championship among manufacturers
| Summary The finish | Group Finish | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| one | 2 | 3 | four | five | 6 | 7 | eight | 9 | ten | |
| one | 18 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2 | 17 | sixteen | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 3 | sixteen | 15 | 14 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| four | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| five | 14 | 13 | 12 | eleven | ten | - | - | - | - | - |
| 6 | 13 | 12 | eleven | ten | 9 | eight | - | - | - | - |
| 7 | 12 | eleven | ten | 9 | eight | 7 | 6 | - | - | - |
| eight | eleven | ten | 9 | eight | 7 | 6 | five | four | - | - |
| 9 | ten | 9 | eight | 7 | 6 | five | four | 3 | 2 | - |
| ten | 9 | eight | 7 | 6 | five | four | 3 | 2 | one | one |
Summary table of the 1981 World Rally Championship among manufacturers
| A place | Manufacturer | Stage | Glasses | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MK | SWE | POR | SAF | KOR | ACRE | ARG | BRA | FIN | SR | KI | FBG | |||
| one | Talbot | 17 | - | 17 | - | 17 | 15 | 18 | - | - | 17 | - | sixteen | 117 |
| 2 | Datsun | - | - | 13 | 18 | 15 | 13 | 17 | - | 12 | - | 18 | - | 106 |
| 3 | Ford | - | - | 9 | - | 12 | 18 | - | - | 18 | 7 | - | sixteen | 80 |
| four | Opel | 15 | - | eleven | 12 | eight | - | - | - | eight | 15 | - | - | 69 |
| five | Audi | - | - | 13 | - | - | - | - | - | 14 | 18 | - | 18 | 63 |
| 6 | Fiat | eight | - | 18 | - | - | sixteen | - | - | sixteen | five | - | - | 63 |
| 7 | Renault | 18 | - | - | - | 7 | ten | 15 | - | - | - | - | eleven | 61 |
| eight | Toyota | - | - | 15 | - | eleven | - | - | - | 3 | - | sixteen | 9 | 54 |
| 9 | Peugeot | - | - | - | ten | - | four | 12 | - | - | - | eleven | - | 37 |
| ten | Lancia | ten | - | - | - | 18 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 28 |
| eleven | Porsche | four | - | - | - | 15 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | nineteen |
| 12 | Škoda | - | - | - | - | - | eight | - | - | - | - | - | - | eight |
| 13 | Dodge | - | - | - | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 |
| 14 | Mitsubishi | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | one | - | - | 3 | four |
Pilot Championship
World Championship Pilot Scoring Chart
| A place | one | 2 | 3 | four | five | 6 | 7 | eight | 9 | ten |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glasses | 20 | 15 | 12 | ten | eight | 6 | four | 3 | 2 | one |
World Championship Pilot Summary Table
| A place | Pilot | Stage | Glasses | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MK | SWE | POR | SAF | KOR | ACRE | ARG | BRA | FIN | SR | KI | FBG | |||
| one | Ari Vatanen | 0 | 15 | 0 | - | - | 20 | 0 | 20 | 20 | four | 2 | 15 | 96 |
| 2 | Guy Freklen | 15 | - | 6 | 0 | 15 | ten | 20 | 15 | - | 0 | eight | 0 | 89 |
| 3 | Hannu Mikkola | 0 | 20 | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 12 | ten | - | 20 | 62 |
| four | Markku Allen | four | - | 20 | - | - | 15 | - | - | 15 | 2 | - | 0 | 56 |
| five | Shekhar Mehta | - | - | - | 20 | - | eight | 15 | 0 | - | - | 12 | - | 55 |
| 6 | Timo Salonen | - | - | 0 | ten | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | ten | 0 | 20 | 0 | 40 |
| 7 | Henry Toivonen | eight | - | 15 | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 15 | - | 0 | 38 |
| eight | Michelle Mouton | 0 | - | ten | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 20 | - | 0 | thirty |
| 9 | Pentti Ariccala | - | 12 | - | - | - | - | - | - | eight | - | - | ten | thirty |
| ten | Per Eklund | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | 6 | 0 | - | - | 0 | - | 15 | 6 | 29th |
| eleven | Jean ranotti | 20 | - | - | - | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | eight | 28 |
| 12 | Bernard Darnish | 6 | - | - | - | 20 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 26 |
| 13 | Stig Blomkvist | - | eight | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | - | - | 12 | 23 |
| 14 | Jorge Recalde | - | - | - | - | - | - | 12 | ten | - | - | - | - | 22 |
| 15 | Anders Kullang | ten | ten | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | - | - | 0 | - | - | 2 | 22 |
| sixteen | Yohi clint | 12 | - | - | eight | - | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 20 |
| Tony pond | - | - | eight | - | 12 | - | - | - | - | 0 | - | 0 | 20 | |
| 18 | Bjorn Waldegord | 3 | - | 12 | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 2 | - | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| nineteen | Rauno Aaltonen | 0 | - | - | 15 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 15 |
| 20 | Mike Kirkland | - | - | - | 12 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 12 |
| Attilio Bettega | 0 | - | 0 | - | - | 12 | - | - | - | 0 | - | - | 12 | |
| Domingo De Witt | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | 12 | - | - | - | - | 12 | |
| Antonio Fassina | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 12 | - | - | 12 | |
| 24 | Bjorn Johansson | - | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | - | - | 0 | 12 |
| 25 | Terry Caby | - | - | - | - | eight | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | eleven |
| 26 | Jean-Pierre Balle | 0 | - | - | - | ten | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | ten |
| Ernesto Soto | - | - | - | - | - | - | ten | - | - | - | - | - | ten | |
| Michelle Mitri | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | ten | - | ten | |
| 29th | Ricardo Albertengo | - | - | - | - | - | - | eight | - | - | - | - | - | ten |
| Carlos Torres | - | - | 0 | - | - | - | - | eight | - | - | - | - | eight | |
| Luigi Batistolli | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | eight | - | - | eight | |
| 32 | Lasse Lampi | - | four | - | - | - | - | - | - | four | - | - | 0 | eight |
| 33 | Jean-Claude Lefebvre | - | - | - | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 |
| Yorgos Moschus | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | |
| Louis Echegoyen | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | |
| Gustavo Trelles | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | - | - | - | - | 6 | |
| Massimo Biazion | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | - | - | 6 | |
| Alain Ambrosino | - | - | - | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | - | 6 | |
| 39 | Sjoren Nilson | - | - | - | - | - | - | one | four | - | - | - | - | five |
| Horaceio Malone | - | one | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | four | five | |
| 41 | Rafael Sid | - | - | four | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | four |
| Yoshio Iwashita | - | - | - | four | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | four | |
| Jean-Michel Tishadou | - | - | - | - | four | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | four | |
| Carlo | - | - | - | - | - | four | - | - | - | - | - | - | four | |
| Federico West | - | - | - | - | - | - | four | - | - | - | - | - | four | |
| Samir Assef | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | four | - | four | |
| 47 | Ola Stromberg | - | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| Manuel Quayros Pereira | - | - | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | |
| Jayan Shah | - | - | - | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | |
| Gerard Swaton | - | - | - | - | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | |
| Vaclav Blanc | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | |
| Louis romero | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | |
| Julio Berges | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | - | - | - | - | 3 | |
| Dario Zerrato | 0 | - | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | - | - | 3 | |
| Jacques Dourier | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | - | 3 | |
| 56 | Jacques Almera | 2 | - | - | - | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| Joaquim Moutinho | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | |
| Malcolm Smith | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | |
| Camille Bartoli | - | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | |
| Pavlos Mashutis | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | |
| Miguel Tubar | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | |
| Mario karma | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | 2 | |
| 63 | Alan Coppier | one | - | - | - | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | one |
| Kanjiro Shinozuka | - | - | one | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | one | |
| Rod hull | - | - | - | one | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | one | |
| Jean-Felix Farrucci | - | - | - | - | one | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | one | |
| Claude Luren | 0 | - | - | - | - | one | - | - | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | one | |
| Antero Line | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | one | 0 | - | 0 | one | |
| Federico Ormezzano | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | one | - | - | one | |
| Roger Clark | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | one | one | |