1981 World Rally Championship

9th season of the World Rally Championship series March 2024 1981 World Rally Championship World Drivers' Champion Ari Vatanen World Manufacturers' Champion Talbot 1980 1982 The 1981 World Rally Championship was the ninth season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) World Rally Championship (WRC). The season consisted of 12 rallies. While this number was the same as the previous year, one change was made to the schedule, replacing New Zealand with the Brazil. The 1981 World Rally Championship for Drivers was won by Ari Vatanen driving a Rothmans Rally Team Ford Escort RS1800, the only time a privateer team has won the Drivers' Championship until 2017. The Makes' Championship was won by Talbot with their Sunbeam Lotus. It also saw the beginning of a new era in the sport with the arrival of the Audi Quattro, the first four-wheel drive rally car. Initially regarded as too heavy and complex for rally stages, it proved its worth with three wins in its debut season, including a maiden victory for Michèle Mouton at the Rallye Sanremo, the only woman to win a WRC event. __TOC__ thumb|Eventual champion Ari Vatanen in a Ford Escort RS1800 at the 1981 San Remo Rally. Calendar Rd.Start dateFinish dateRallyRally headquartersSurfaceStagesDistancePoints124 January30 JanuaryMON 49th Rallye Automobile Monte-CarloMonte CarloMixed32750 kmDrivers & Manufacturers213 February15 FebruarySWE 31st International Swedish RallyKarlstad, Värmland CountySnow25369 kmDrivers only34 March7 MarchPOR 15th Rallye de Portugal - Vinho do PortoEstoril, LisbonMixed46678 kmDrivers & Manufacturers416 April20 AprilKEN 29th Marlboro Safari RallyNairobiGravelN/A4750 kmDrivers & Manufacturers530 April2 MayFRA 25th Tour de Corse - Rallye de FranceAjaccio, CorsicaTarmac241144.6 kmDrivers & Manufacturers61 June4 JuneGRC 28th Acropolis RallyAthensGravel57995.59 kmDrivers & Manufacturers718 July23 JulyARG 3rd Rally CodasurTucumánGravel171346.6 kmDrivers & Manufacturers86 August8 AugustBRA 3rd Marlboro Rallye do BrasilSão PauloGravel21714 kmDrivers only928 August30 AugustFIN 31st Jyväskylän Suurajot - Rally of the 1000 LakesJyväskylä, Central FinlandGravel48453.09 kmDrivers & Manufacturers105 October10 OctoberITA 23rd Rallye SanremoSanremo, LiguriaMixed61751.06 kmDrivers & Manufacturers1126 October30 OctoberCIV 13th Rallye Cote d'IvoireAbidjanGravelN/A5087 kmDrivers & Manufacturers1222 November24 NovemberGBR 37th Lombard RAC RallyChester, CheshireGravel65746.74 kmDrivers & ManufacturersSources:WRC 1981 https://www.ewrc-results.com/season/1981/ 13 September 2025 eWRC-results.com1981 WRC calendar https://www.juwra.com/calendar_1981.html 13 September 2025 Jonkka's World Rally Archive Teams and drivers Team Constructor Car Drivers Rounds GBR David Sutton Motorsport Ford Escort RS 1800 SWE Björn Waldegård 1 MON Raymond Rué 1, 3 FIN Lasse Lampi 2, 9, 12 SWE Bror Danielsson 2 FRA Yves Loubet 5 URY Domingo De Vitta 7–8 GBR Roger Clark 12 ITA Fiat Auto Torino Fiat 131 Abarth FIN Markku Alén 1, 3, 6, 9–10 ITA Attilio Bettega 1, 3, 6, 10 ITA Dario Cerrato 1, 3, 10 KEN Rob Collinge 4 FIN Kalevi Aho 9 GBR Rothmans Rally Team Ford Escort RS 1800 FIN Ari Vatanen 1–3, 6–12 FIN Pentti Airikkala 2, 9, 12 GBR Malcolm Wilson 3, 6, 12 GBR John Taylor 11 FRA Team Chardonnet Lancia Stratos HF FRA Bernard Darniche 1, 5 FIN Markku Alén 12 GER Audi Sport Audi Quattro FIN Hannu Mikkola 1–3, 5–6, 9–10, 12 FRA Michèle Mouton 1, 3, 5–6, 9–10, 12 AUT Franz Wittmann 6, 9 ITA Michele Cinotto 10 FRA Adolphe Choteau 11 GER Opel Euro Händler Team Opel Opel Ascona 400 GER Jochi Kleint 1, 4, 6 SWE Anders Kulläng 1–4 SWE Björn Johansson 2, 9, 12 GBR Jimmy McRae 12 GBR Malcolm Patrick 12 GBR Talbot Sport Talbot Sunbeam Lotus FIN Henri Toivonen 1, 3, 5–6, 9–10, 12 FRA Guy Fréquelin 1, 3, 5–8, 10, 12 SWE Gunnar Fagerlind 2, 12 SWE Stig Blomqvist 9, 12 GBR Russell Brookes 12 FRA Renault Elf Renault Renault 5 Turbo FRA Jean Ragnotti 1, 5, 12 FRA Bruno Saby 1, 5, 12 FRA Alain Coppier 1, 5 FRA Pierre-Louis Moreau 5 FRA Jean-Pierre Manzagol 5 FRA Porsche Alméras Porsche Porsche 911 SC FRA Jean-Luc Thérier 1, 3, 5, 10 FRA Jacques Alméras 1, 5 SWE Per Eklund 2, 9 FRA Francis Vincent 5 GER Walter Röhrl 10 JPN Team Datsun Europe Datsun 160JViolet GT FIN Rauno Aaltonen 1, 4 SWE Sören Nilsson 2, 12 FIN Timo Salonen 3–7, 9–12 GBR Tony Pond 3, 5, 10 POR Santinho Mendes 3 KEN Shekhar Mehta 4, 6–8, 11 KEN John Hellier 4 KEN Mike Kirkland 4 GBR Terry Kaby 5 GRE George Moschous 6 ARG Ricardo Zunino 7 ARG Jorge Recalde 7–8 FIN Erkki Pitkänen 9 FIN Peter Geitel 9 FRA Michel Mitri 11 FRA Pierre-Louis Moreau 11 GBR Andy Dawson 12 JPN Toyota Team Europe Toyota Celica 2000GT SWE Björn Waldegård 3, 5–6, 9, 11–12 SWE Per Eklund 3, 5–6, 11–12 GER Achim Warmbold 3 FIN Tapio Rainio 9 LBN Samir Assef 11 GBR Terry Kaby 12 FRA Peugeot Esso Peugeot 504 Coupé V6 FRA Alain Ambrosino 4, 11 FRA Guy Fréquelin 4, 11 FIN Timo Mäkinen 4 FRA Jean-Claude Lefèbvre 4 ARG Carlos Garro 7 ARG Francisco Alcuaz 7 CIV Jacques Durieu 11 FRA Charles Pozzi Ferrari 308 GTB FRA Jean-Claude Andruet 5 JPN Team Ralliart Mitsubishi Lancer 2000 Turbo SWE Anders Kulläng 6, 9, 12 GBR Andrew Cowan 6, 12 AUT Georg Fischer 6 FIN Kyösti Hämäläinen 9 FIN Antero Laine 9, 12 ITA Jolly Club Fiat 131 AbarthITA Adartico Vudafieri 11 GER Mercedes Kassel Mercedes 500 SL GER Holger Bohne 11 GBR Dealer Team Vauxhall Vauxhall Chevette 2300 HSR GBR Tony Pond 12 GBR George Hill 12 Championships 1981 World Rally Championship for Manufacturers Rank Manufacturers Event Totalpoints MCOMON SWESWE PRTPOR KENKEN FRAFRA GRCGRC ARGARG BRABRA FINFIN ITAITA Ivory CoastCIV GBRGBR 1 GBR Talbot 17 - 17 - 17 15 18 - - 17 - 16 117 2 JPN Datsun - - 13 18 15 13 17 - 12 - 18 - 106 3 USA Ford - - 9 - 12 18 - - 18 7 - 16 80 4 FRG Opel 15 - 11 12 8 - - - 8 15 - - 69 5 FRG Audi - - 13 - - - - - 14 18 - 18 63 6 ITA Fiat 8 - 18 - - 16 - - 16 5 - - 63 7 FRA Renault 18 - - - 7 10 15 - - - - 11 61 8 JPN Toyota - - 15 - 11 - - - 3 - 16 9 54 9 FRA Peugeot - - - 10 - 4 12 - - - 11 - 37 10 ITA Lancia 10 - - - 18 - - - - - - - 28 11 FRG Porsche 4 - - - 15 - - - - - - - 19 12 CSK Škoda - - - - - 8 - - - - - - 8 13 USA Dodge - - - 6 - - - - - - - - 6 14 JPN Mitsubishi - - - - - - - - 1 - - 3 4 1981 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 1981 World Rally Championship for Drivers Rank Driver Event Totalpoints MCOMON SWESWE PRTPOR KENKEN FRAFRA GRCGRC ARGARG BRABRA FINFIN ITAITA Ivory CoastCIV GBRGBR 1 FIN Ari Vatanen 0 15 0 - - 20 0 20 20 4 2 15 96 2 FRA Guy Fréquelin 15 - 6 0 15 10 20 15 - 0 8 0 89 3 FIN Hannu Mikkola 0 20 0 - 0 0 - - 12 10 - 20 62 4 FIN Markku Alén 4 - 20 - - 15 - - 15 2 - 0 56 5 KEN Shekhar Mehta - - - 20 - 8 15 0 - - 12 - 55 6 FIN Timo Salonen - - 0 10 0 0 0 - 10 0 20 0 40 7 FIN Henri Toivonen 8 - 15 - 0 0 - - 0 15 - 0 38 8 FRA Michèle Mouton 0 - 10 - 0 0 - - 0 20 - 0 30 9 FIN Pentti Airikkala - 12 - - - - - - 8 - - 10 30 10 SWE Per Eklund 0 2 0 - 6 0 - - 0 - 15 6 29 11 FRA Jean Ragnotti 20 - - - 0 - - - - - - 8 28 12 FRA Bernard Darniche 6 - - - 20 - - - - - - - 26 13 SWE Stig Blomqvist - 8 - - - - - - 3 - - 12 23 14 ARG Jorge Recalde - - - - - - 12 10 - - - - 22 15 SWE Anders Kulläng 10 10 0 0 - 0 - - 0 - - 2 22 16 FRG Jochi Kleint 12 - - 8 - 0 - - - - - - 20 GBR Tony Pond - - 8 - 12 - - - - 0 - 0 20 18 SWE Björn Waldegård 3 - 12 - 0 0 - - 2 - 0 0 17 19 FIN Rauno Aaltonen 0 - - 15 - - - - - - - - 15 20 KEN Mike Kirkland - - - 12 - - - - - - - - 12 ITA Attilio Bettega 0 - 0 - - 12 - - - 0 - - 12 URY Domingo De Vitta - - - - - - 0 12 - - - - 12 ITA Antonio Fassina - - - - - - - - - 12 - - 12 24 SWE Björn Johansson - 6 - - - - - - 6 - - 0 12 25 GBR Terry Kaby - - - - 8 - - - - - - 3 11 26 FRA Jean-Pierre Ballet 0 - - - 10 - - - - - - - 10 ARG Ernesto Soto - - - - - - 10 - - - - - 10 FRA Michel Mitri - - - - - - - - - - 10 - 10 29 ARG Ricardo Albertengo - - - - - - 8 - - - - - 10 PRT Carlos Torres - - 0 - - - - 8 - - - - 8 ITA Luigi Battistolli - - - - - - - - - 8 - - 8 32 FIN Lasse Lampi - 4 - - - - - - 4 - - 0 8 33 FRA Jean-Claude Lefèbvre - - - 6 - - - - - - - - 6 GRC Iórgos Moschous - - - - - 6 - - - - - - 6 URY Luis Etchegoyen - - - - - - 6 - - - - - 6 URY Gustavo Trelles - - - - - - - 6 - - - - 6 ITA Miki Biasion - - - - - - - - - 6 - - 6 FRA Alain Ambrosino - - - 0 - - - - - - 6 - 6 39 SWE Sören Nilsson - - - - - - 1 4 - - - - 5 ARG Horacio Maglione - 1 - - - - - - - - - 4 5 41 ESP 1977 Rafael 'Cid' - - 4 - - - - - - - - - 4 JPN Yoshio Iwashita - - - 4 - - - - - - - - 4 ITA Jean-Michel Tichadou - - - - 4 - - - - - - - 4 GRC 'Carlo' - - - - - 4 - - - - - - 4 URY Federico West - - - - - - 4 - - - - - 4 LBN Samir Assef - - - - - - - - - - 4 - 4 47 SWE Ola Strömberg - 3 - - - - - - - - - - 3 PRT Manuel Queirós Pereira - - 3 - - - - - - - - - 3 KEN Jayant Shah - - - 3 - - - - - - - - 3 FRA Gérard Swaton - - - - 3 - - - - - - - 3 TCH Václav Blahna - - - - - 3 - - - - - - 3 ARG Luís Romero - - - - - - 3 - - - - - 3 URY Julio Berges - - - - - - - 3 - - - - 3 ITA Dario Cerrato 0 - 0 - - - - - - 3 - - 3 Cote d'Ivoire Jacques Durieu - - - - - - - - - - 3 - 3 56 FRA Jacques Alméras 2 - - - 0 - - - - - - - 2 PRT Joaquim Moutinho - - 2 - - - - - - - - - 2 USA Malcolm Smith - - - 2 - - - - - - - - 2 FRA Camille Bartoli - - - - 2 - - - - - - - 2 GRC Pavlos Moschoutis - - - - - 2 - - - - - - 2 ARG Miguel Tubal - - - - - - 2 - - - - - 2 BRA Maria Carmo Zacarias - - - - - - - 2 - - - - 2 63 FRA Alain Coppier 1 - - - 0 - - - - - - - 1 JPN Kenjiro Shinozuka - - 1 - - - - - - - - - 1 USA Rod Hall - - - 1 - - - - - - - - 1 FRA Jean-Felix Farrucci - - - - 1 - - - - - - - 1 FRA Claude Laurent 0 - - - - 1 - - 0 - 0 0 1 FIN Antero Laine - - - - - - - - 1 0 - 0 1 ITA Federico Ormezzano - - - - - - - - - 1 - - 1 GBR Roger Clark - - - - - - - - - - - 1 1 1981 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 Events 1981 World Rally Championship event map 800px Black = Tarmac Brown = Gravel Blue = Snow/Ice Red = Mixed Surface 1981 World Rally Championship schedule and results Round Rally name Stages Podium finishers Rank Driver Co-driver Car Time 1 MCO Rallye Monte Carlo(24–30 January) 32 stages757 kmTarmac1FRA Jean RagnottiFRA Jean-Marc AndriéRenault 5 Turbo9:55:552FRA Guy FréquelinFRA Jean TodtTalbot Sunbeam Lotus9:58:493FRG Jochi KleintFRG Gunter WangerOpel Ascona 40010:02:54 2 SWE Swedish RallyEvent not included in the Manufacturers' Championship(13–15 February) 25 stages369 kmSnow/Ice1FIN Hannu MikkolaSWE Arne HertzAudi Quattro3:48:072FIN Ari VatanenGBR David RichardsFord Escort RS18003:50:003FIN Pentti AirikkalaFIN Risto VirtanenFord Escort RS18003:51:47 3 PRT Rallye de Portugal(4–7 March) 46 stages681 kmGravel/Tarmac1FIN Markku AlénFIN Ilkka KivimäkiFiat 131 Abarth8:27:262FIN Henri ToivonenGBR Fred GallagherTalbot Sunbeam Lotus8:36:363SWE Björn WaldegårdSWE Hans ThorszeliusToyota Celica 2000GT8:43:47 4 KEN Safari Rally(16–20 April) 77 controls5209 kmGravel1KEN Shekhar MehtaKEN Mike DoughtyDatsun Violet GT+3:39 pen2FIN Rauno AaltonenKEN Lofty DrewsDatsun Violet GT+3:44 pen3KEN Mike KirklandKEN Dave HaworthDatsun 160J+4:51 pen 5 FRA Tour de Corse(30 April–2 May) 24 stages1144 kmTarmac1FRA Bernard DarnicheFRA Alain MahéLancia Stratos HF14:26.232FRA Guy FréquelinFRA Jean TodtTalbot Sunbeam Lotus14:42:253GBR Tony PondGBR Ian GrindrodDatsun Violet GT14:45.29 6 GRC Acropolis Rally(1–4 June) 57 stages960 kmGravel1FIN Ari VatanenGBR David RichardsFord Escort RS180013:17:252FIN Markku AlénFIN Ilkka KivimäkiFiat 131 Abarth13:22:003ITA Attilio BettegaITA Maurizio PerissinotFiat 131 Abarth13:25:19 7 ARG Rally Codasur(18–23 July) 18 stages1341 kmGravel1FRA Guy FréquelinFRA Jean TodtTalbot Sunbeam Lotus14:22:522KEN Shekhar MehtaKEN Mike DoughtyDatsun Violet GT15:01:043Argentina alt Jorge RecaldeArgentina alt Jorge del BounoDatsun 160J16:01:19 8 BRA Rallye do Brasil(6–8 August) 20 stages714 kmGravel1FIN Ari VatanenGBR David RichardsFord Escort RS18009:39:402FRA Guy FréquelinFRA Jean TodtTalbot Sunbeam Lotus9:48:113URY Domingo De VittaURY Daniel MuzioFord Escort RS10:19:46 9 FIN 1000 Lakes Rally(28–30 August) 46 stages440 kmGravel1FIN Ari VatanenGBR David RichardsFord Escort RS18004:07:272FIN Markku AlénFIN Ilkka KivimäkiFiat 131 Abarth4:08:263FIN Hannu MikkolaSWE Arne HertzAudi Quattro4:10:19 10 ITA Rallye Sanremo(5–10 October) 59 stages751 kmGravel/Tarmac1FRA Michèle MoutonITA Fabrizia PonsAudi Quattro8:05:502FIN Henri ToivonenGBR Fred GallagherTalbot Sunbeam Lotus8:09:153ITA Antonio FassinaITA Rudy Roberto DalpozzoOpel Ascona 4008:12:08 11 Ivory Coast Rallye Côte d'Ivoire(26–31 October) 56 controls5087 kmGravel1FIN Timo SalonenFIN Seppo HarjanneDatsun Violet GT+9:57 pen2SWE Per EklundSWE Ragnar SpjuthToyota Celica 2000GT+11:09 pen3KEN Shekhar MehtaKEN Mike DoughtyDatsun Violet GT+11:22 pen 12 GBR RAC Rally(22–25 November) 65 stages722 kmGravel/Tarmac1FIN Hannu MikkolaSWE Arne HertzAudi Quattro8:30:002FIN Ari VatanenGBR David RichardsFord Escort RS18008:41:053SWE Stig BlomqvistSWE Björn CederbergTalbot Sunbeam Lotus8:43:36 References See also 1981 in sports External links FIA World Rally Championship 1981 at ewrc-results.com World Rally Championship Category:World Rally Championship seasons