1977 Rally New Zealand

1977 Rally New Zealand 3821 100 Fiat 131 Abarth ITA Fiat-Alitalia ITA Fulvio Bacchelli ITA Francesco Rossetti 1977 World Rally Championship season Gravel/tarmac 8th South Pacific Rally 2137 69 7 May 1977 1 24:29:55 Auckland, New Zealand 1977 Safari Rally 1977 Acropolis Rally 5 New Zealand 35 The 1977 Rally New Zealand (also known as the 8th South Pacific Rally) was the fifth round of the fifth World Rally Championship season, and the 6th event in the first Cup for Rally Drivers. It took place on from 1 May until 7 May in the North Island of New Zealand, and the rally was run mainly on gravel. It was the first time the New Zealand event was part of the Word Rally Championship.André Oliveira Tomáš Wanka https://ewrc-results.com/event/11509-south-pacific-rally-new-zealand-1977/final-results Final Results 8. South Pacific Rally - New Zealand 1977 eWRC-results.com 2019-01-24 Background Before the race Fiat and Ford had the same number of championship points, while Ford were likely to score big points in New Zealand as about two thirds of the starters would be in Ford Escorts. Autosport https://archive.org/details/autosport-1977/Autosport%20Magazine%2C%201977.05.12/page/n9/mode/2up MH77 Hare & the tortoises Martin Holmes 14 12 May 1977 67 6 Haymarket Fiat thus spent considerable effort on Rally New Zealand, airlifting 11 tonnes of supplies at a cost of over 300 million lira to support the three cars entered. Car Graphic CG877E 傷だらけのヒーロー、ヴァターネン Vatanen, the wounded hero ja 197, issue 8/77 25 July 1977 Nigensha Publishing Co., Ltd. 176 To meet the local rally rules, Fiat had to register their cars locally and the 131 Abarths ran on New Zealand number plates. Ford, meanwhile, entered Ari Vatanen in a single Escort RS1800 run by the local Masport team - a car which had already been used by Timo Mäkinen in the 1976 Southern Cross Rally. These three were the only factory entries, but nonetheless the rally proved well contested. Ford did invest in pairing local co-driver Jim Scott (two-time winner of the Rally New Zealand, in 1972 and 1976) but he resisted due to Vatanen's reputation for fearsome crashes. Scott did accept the position in the end, but his family insisted on having him call home at the end of each special stage to confirm that he was still alive. https://rallysportmag.com/feature-kiwi-co-drivers-death-defying-ride-with-ari-vatanen/ https://web.archive.org/web/20191214120836/https://rallysportmag.com/feature-kiwi-co-drivers-death-defying-ride-with-ari-vatanen/ 14 December 2019 Jeff Whitten RallySport Magazine Feature: Kiwi co-driver’s death-defying ride with Ari Vatanen 3 January 2019 As with the Southern Cross Rally in Australia, WRC organizers permitted certain local cars without FIA homologation to enter the rally under the "Group Pacific" category. This allowed some older Escorts, a Holden Torana, and other cars which used non FIA-sanctioned components to take part.Holmes 1977, p. 17. Race report The rally ran for a planned 75 special stages in five legs across the North Island, starting at Wellington in the south and finishing in Auckland, at the northern tip. In the end, four stages were cancelled and two more stages were discounted from the final result, leaving 69 stages having been completed. The route was mainly gravel and sand (along with some stretches of volcanic ash), but the rally also included some tarmac. A few stages were cancelled, especially after heavy rains on the first day. Once the race started, the Fiats took the lead, but they soon started experiencing mechanical troubles, with all three cars overheating and Alén being sidelined on a transport stage with a severed waterhose. Trying to make up for lost time, Alén was caught speeding after having fixed his car, being clocked at 132 km/h mph 0 when the national speed limit was 80 km/h mph 0 - and then speeding up, rather than stopping for the police. Alén was fined NZ$100, but was also going to be excluded from the race. He continued under appeal, while Fiat's Team Manager Daniele Audetto cajoled, argued, and threatened to have the import of frozen meats from New Zealand to Italy blocked. https://www.rallylife.cz/rally-new-zealand-1977/ https://web.archive.org/web/20251205152842/https://www.rallylife.cz/rally-new-zealand-1977/ 5 December 2025 Rallylife INUA s.r.o. Rally Nový Zéland 77: krok do jiného světa Rally New Zealand 77: a step into another world Tomáš Plachý 26 July 2012 cs After hearing numerous legal arguments, including the unusual colour of police car lights in New Zealand (red and yellow, the same as the rally service cars had), the organizers eventually relented when Audetto argued the technicality that disqualifying Alén was not by order of the stewards, but of the Clerk of the course. Vatanen lived up to his reputation as fast but crash-prone, finishing with barely a straight panel but having won 47 of the 69 stages.Holmes 1977, p. 16. He held the lead after the first five stages but then lost 23 minutes after having gone off the road and down a bank, requiring winching back onto the road. He crashed again on the first stage of the second leg, on tarmac at night time, losing another five minutes. A shamefaced Vatanen turned up the pace and at the end of the second leg he was back up in fifth place, behind the three Fiats and Millen's RX-3. Vatanen crashed again early on the third leg, going off the road backwards on a night stage. At the end of the day, he had climbed to fourth place after winning nearly every stage. Francis Reste World Rally Championship: When the cat's away... Armstrong Douglas 25 (1977/1978) Automobile Year 1977 164-165 Edita SA Lausanne, Switzerland 2-88001-049-7 He kept closing in, and on the rally's longest stage, around 100 km mi 0, Vatanen performed the feat of passing all three factory Fiats on the course. A puncture set him back again, but Bacchelli also had his fair share of incidents towards the end of the long race: he went off the road on the fourth leg, and for the final day he did two full stages without oil pressure. Bacchelli then took a wrong turn, losing a precious minute. With only a two-minute lead over Vatanen (who had slowed down, lest he run out of luck) he was now nursing his car along at minimum revs, finishing the rally on three cylinders only a minute and a half ahead of Vatanen for his first major rally victory. At the end of the rally, with their cars eking out a victory and also a third and fourth, Fiat's Team Manager Audetto stated "we won, but it destroyed us." Results 1977 Rally New Zealand results Finish Totaltime Group Car # DriverCo-driver Car Mfr.points Overall Ingroup 1 1 24 h : 29 m : 55 s 4 1 ITA Fulvio Bacchelli ITA Francesco Rossetti ITA Fiat 131 Abarth 18 (10+8) 2 2 24 h : 31 m : 29 s 4 2 FIN Ari Vatanen NZ Jim Scott GBR Ford Escort RS1800 MkII 16 (9+7) 3 3 24 h : 51 m : 54 s 4 3 FIN Markku Alén FIN Ilkka Kivimäki fi ITA Fiat 131 Abarth 4 4 24 h : 55 m : 47 s 4 5 FIN Simo Lampinen SWE Sölve Andreasson fi ITA Fiat 131 Abarth 5 5 25 h : 47 m : 59 s 4 6 NZ Rod Millen NZ Mike Franchi JPN Mazda RX-3 10 (6+4) 6 6 26 h : 09 m : 39 s 4 14 NZ John Woolf NZ Grant Whittaker JPN Mazda RX-3 7 7 28 h : 12 m : 48 s 4 34 NZ John Sergel NZ Mike Fletcher GBR Ford Escort RS1800 MkII 8 1 28 h : 21 m : 45 s 2 39 NZ Richard Tippett NZ Adrian Hercock GBR Ford Escort RS2000 9 8 28 h : 26 m : 41 s 4 46 NZ Morrie Chandler NZ Don Campbell JPN Mitsubishi Colt Lancer 3 (2+1) 10 2 28 h : 45 m : 13 s 2 22 NZ Alan Brough NZ Mike Galvin JPN Toyota Sprinter Trueno 8 (1+7) 11 3 28 h : 54 m : 03 s 2 66NZ Bruce McKenzie NZ Daniel RaketeGBR Ford Escort RS1600 12 1 28 h : 55 m : 20 s 1 36NZ Robert Brown NZ Mike GibbsJPN Mazda RX-3 13 4 29 h : 00 m : 51 s 2 37NZ Dave Morris NZ Maurice HiestandGBR Vauxhall Firenza 14 29 h : 09 m : 36 s ? 21NZ Tony Baker NZ Marlene BakerJPN Datsun 120Y 15 29 h : 14 m : 07 s 2 19NZ George Kuttel NZ Jenny KuttelGBR Ford Escort RS1800 MkII 16 29 h : 28 m : 10 s ? 42NZ David Parkes NZ Robin ParkesGBR Ford Escort 1600 MkII 17 29 h : 40 m : 40 s 2 30NZ Brent Rawstron NZ Mark NichollsJPN Toyota 18 29 h : 41 m : 53 s 2 91NZ Steve Russ NZ Paul RussJPN Mazda RX-3 19 29 h : 59 m : 05 s 4 31NZ Neil Johns NZ Hammond de ThierryJPN Mazda RX-3 20 30 h : 04 m : 21 s ? 49NZ Bryan Andrews NZ Graeme MilneGBR Ford Escort RS2000 21 30 h : 06 m : 36 s 4 44NZ Alfred Goldsbury NZ Darcy MeierJPN Mazda RX-3 22 30 h : 12 m : 56 s ? 82NZ Stewart McKenzie NZ Patrick GrantJPN Datsun 1200 23 30 h : 23 m : 08 s ? 86NZ Terry Bell NZ Jeff MathewsGBR Ford Escort 24 30 h : 37 m : 16 s 2 64NZ Steve Donohue NZ Tony HanniffinJPN Mazda RX-3 25 30 h : 37 m : 30 s 69NZ Bill Scott Sr. NZ Bruce McGheeGBR Ford Escort 26 30 h : 40 m : 07 s 4 76NZ Bruce Powell NZ Rita PatrickJPN Mazda RX-3 27 30 h : 43 m : 22 s ? 72NZ Max Broad NZ Sydney BroadGBR Hillman Avenger 28 30 h : 51 m : 13 s 2 38NZ Roger Goss NZ David MonteithJPN Mazda 29 30 h : 52 m : 14 s ? 45NZ Ross Gordon GBR Les EdwardsGBR Ford Escort RS1600 30 31 h : 01 m : 41 s ? 94NZ Trevor Barker NZ Alvin FergusonGBR Ford Escort 31 31 h : 28 m : 07 s ? 80NZ Don Elliot NZ Peter BarnieJPN Mazda 808 32 31 h : 37 m : 17 s 1 78NZ Bevan Wilson NZ Richard McNairJPN Mazda RX-3 33 32 h : 47 m : 14 s 4 83NZ John Short NZ Martin OlsenGBR Ford Escort 34 32 h : 55 m : 41 s ? 102NZ Richard Prouse NZ Silvana ProuseGBR Hillman Avenger 35 33 h : 45 m : 42 s ? 87NZ Dick Watson NZ Lew RichardsonJPN Toyota Corolla Retired {| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="font-size:90%;" |- |+ align=center style="background:#BFD7FF"| Retirements |- style="background:#efefef;" !width=8% | Car # !width=8% | Group !width=30% | DriverCo-driver !width=30% | Car !width=10% | Notes |- align=center ! 4 || 4 |align=left| NZ Mike Marshall NZ Arthur McWatt |align=left| GBR Ford Escort RS1800 MkII | Retired (engine) |- align=center ! 7 || 2 |align=left| PHI Dante SilverioPHI Sigfriedo Fuentes |align=left| JPN Toyota Corolla (E30) | Retired |- align=center ! 8 || 4 |align=left| NZ Blair Robson NZ Chris Porter |align=left| GBR Ford Escort RS1800 MkII | Retired (engine) |- align=center ! 9 || 4 |align=left| NZ Colin Taylor NZ Kingsley Foulkes |align=left| GBR Ford Escort RS1800 MkII | Retired |- align=center ! 10 || 2 |align=left| NZ Paul Adams NZ Peter Davidson |align=left| GBR Ford Escort RS1800 MkII | Retired |- align=center ! 11 || 4 |align=left| NZ Clive Smith NZ David Cooke |align=left| GBR Ford Escort RS1800 MkII | Retired |- align=center ! 12 || 4 |align=left| NZ Alan Carter NZ Rodger Freeth |align=left| GBR Ford Escort RS1800 MkII | Retired |- align=center ! 13 || 4 |align=left| NZ Alan Mitchell NZ Thomas Matthew |align=left| GBR Ford Escort RS1800 MkII | Retired |- align=center ! 15 || 4 |align=left| NZ Paddy Davidson NZ Eugene Redgate |align=left| JPN Datsun 160J | Retired |- align=center ! 16 || ? |align=left| NZ Brian Green NZ Robert Orr |align=left| GBR Ford Escort | Retired |- align=center ! 17 || 4 |align=left| NZ David Cooney NZ Russel McKnight |align=left| GBR Ford Escort RS1800 MkII | Retired |- align=center ! 18 || 4 |align=left| NZ Tim Gibbes NZ Rod Brayshaw |align=left| GBR Ford Escort RS | Retired |- align=center ! 20 || 4 |align=left| NZ Bob Couch NZ John Couch |align=left| GBR Ford Escort RS1800 MkII | Retired |- align=center ! 23 || 2 |align=left| NZ C. Kirk-Burnnand NZ Struan Robertson |align=left| JPN Datsun 510 | Retired |- align=center ! 24 || 2 |align=left| NZ Gavin Young NZ Reece Callingham |align=left| JPN Toyota Corolla | Retired |- align=center ! 25 || P |align=left| NZ Hugh Armstrong NZ David Murie |align=left| AUS Holden Torana | Retired |- align=center ! 26 || 2 |align=left| NZ David Civil NZ Cliff Boyt |align=left| GBR Ford Escort RS1800 MkII | Retired |- align=center ! 27 || 2 |align=left| NZ Bob Robb NZ Malcolm Gavin |align=left| JPN Datsun 710 | Retired |- align=center ! 28 || 2 |align=left| NZ Tony Street NZ Tom Adams |align=left| GBR Ford Escort RS2000 | Retired |- align=center ! 29 || |align=left| NZ John Gladhill NZ Gordon Tucker |align=left| GBR Ford Escort RS2000 | Retired |- align=center ! 32 || 4 |align=left| NZ Ian Begg NZ David Leitch |align=left| JPN Mazda RX-3 | Retired |- align=center ! 33 || 4 |align=left| NZ Dave Daily NZ Walter Hart |align=left| GBR Ford Escort RS1600 | Retired |- align=center ! 35 || 4 |align=left| NZ Rocky Cribb NZ Peter Rattenbury |align=left| GBR Ford Escort | Retired |} Championship standings Position Team MonacoMON SwedenSWE PortugalPOR KenyaKEN New ZealandNZL Greece oldGRC FinlandFIN ItalyITA CanadaCAN FranceFRA United KingdomGBR  Points  1 ITA Fiat 16 14 18 1866 2 UK Ford 14 16 18 1664 3 GER Opel 9 17 1339 4 ITA Lancia 18 1432 = JPN Toyota 10 14 832 6 SWE Saab 1818 = GER Porsche 14 418 8 JPN Datsun 1616 9 JPN Mitsubishi 12 315 10 ESP SEAT 1414 11 FRA Alpine-Renault 1010 = JPN Mazda 1010 13 SWE Volvo 88 14 FRA Peugeot 66 15 USSR Lada 44 References External links Official website New Zealand Category:1977 in New Zealand motorsport 1977