1989 World Rally Championship

The 1989 World Rally Championship was the 17th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) World Rally Championship (WRC). The season consisted of 13 rallies, with some adjustments to the schedule versus the previous season. The WRC ended its participation in North America by removing the Olympus Rally from the schedule, implementing in its place Rally Australia. An anomaly in the schedule was that 1989 was the only year in which the Swedish Rally and the Rallye de Monte Carlo were switched in place, with the Swedish event taking place to start the year. This made it the second and last time that Monte Carlo would not mark the first event of the WRC season until the 2009 season.

Martini Lancia continued their domination of the sport for a third year in 1989, winning the first six rallies in which manufacturer points were awarded, and ultimately winning the title with plenty of room to spare. Italian Miki Biasion, Finn Markku Alén and Frenchman Bruno Saby returned to the team, while other successful drivers employed by the team through the year included French native Didier Auriol, Swede Mikael Ericsson, and Argentine driver Jorge Recalde. The team drove the Lancia Delta Integrale through the year. The car also remained the one of choice for the Jolly Club team's main drivers, Italians Alex Fiorio and Dario Cerrato. Complementing the manufacturer's success in the standings, Lancia drivers placed well throughout the top ranks in the drivers championship as well. Biasion seized the championship handily, becoming the WRC's second repeat champion, while Fiorio settled for a distant second, a position fought for through the year against Toyota's driver, Kankkunen. Other successful Lancia pilots included Mikael Ericsson in fourth and Auriol behind him in fifth place.

Toyota Team Europe represented the only serious challenge to Martini and the Lancias with it Toyota Celica GT-Four and a stable of drivers that included former world champion Finn Juha Kankkunen and the only Group A winner, Swede Kenneth Eriksson, as well as a rising star from Spain, Carlos Sainz. All three had successes during the year, though the team was never able to overcome Lancia's early domination of the manufacturer title race. Kankkunen challenged for second overall, but ultimately had to settle for third place, while Kenneth Eriksson took sixth and Sainz finished in eighth.

After an initial win in Sweden by its main driver, Swede Ingvar Carlsson, Mazda Rally Team Europe was unable to repeat their success, yet still captured third overall amongst manufacturers while Carlsson took seventh in the driver championship standings. Mitsubishi's competitive team Ralliart made its entrance to the WRC scene, taking two rally wins with its Galant VR-4 car, one by Swede Mikael Ericsson in Finland and a second by Finn Pentti Airikkala in England. Ericsson's victory in Finland followed his win in the previous round in Argentina driving a Lancia, giving him the distinction of being the first winner of consecutive WRC events for different manufacturers. Mitsubishi was able to obtain fourth place overall in the standings. The Audi Quattro continued to be competitive in the hands of privateers during the early part of the season, garnering the maker with enough points for fifth, while Simon Racing's Renault 5 GT Turbo powered their driver, Frenchman Alain Oreille to victory in the Ivory Coast and 10th place in the driver standings while securing sixth for the manufacturer.

For 1989, the number of rallies for which manufacturer points would be awarded was reduced to ten of the thirteen events, with events in Sweden, the Ivory Coast, and New Zealand only counting towards the driver titles.

Teams and Drivers

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Team Manufacturer Car Tyre Drivers Rounds
  Mazda Rally Team Europe Mazda 323 4WD M   Timo Salonen 1–2, 9, 13
  Ingvar Carlsson 1, 7, 10, 13
  Hannu Mikkola 2, 9, 13
  Mikael Sundström 1, 9, 13
  Thorbjörn Edling 1, 9
  Grégoire de Mévius 1–4, 6, 9, 11–13
  Rod Millen 7, 10
  Didier Monin 12
  Martini Lancia Lancia Delta HF Integrale
Delta HF Integrale 16V
M   Mikael Ericsson 1, 8
  Erik Johansson 1
  Bruno Saby 2, 5
  Miki Biasion 2–4, 6, 9, 11
  Didier Auriol 2–3, 5–6, 9, 11
  Markku Alén 3, 9–10
  Jorge Recalde 4, 8
  Yves Loubet 5
  Toyota Team Europe Toyota Celica GT-Four ST165
Supra Turbo
P   Kenneth Eriksson 1, 6, 9–10, 13
  Leif Asterhag 1
  Juha Kankkunen 2–3, 5–6, 9–11, 13
  Björn Waldegård 2–4
  Patrick Snijers 2, 5–6, 11
  Carlos Sainz 2–3, 5–6, 9, 11, 13
  Ian Duncan 4
  John Rowell 13
  Graham Middleton 13
  GM Euro Sport Vauxhall
Opel
Astra GTE
Kadett GSI 16V
M   Malcolm Wilson 1, 7, 10, 13
  Mats Jonsson 1, 7, 9, 13
  Björn Johansson 1
  Håkan Eriksson 1
  Sepp Haider 9–10, 13
  Louise Aitken-Walker 13
  Brian Wiggins 13
  James Sutherland 13
  Top Run SRL Lancia Delta HF Integrale
Delta HF Integrale 16V
M   Gustavo Trelles 1, 3, 6, 8–9, 11–13
  Fredrik Skoghag 1–3, 6–7, 9–13
  Pascal Gaban 2–3, 6, 9, 11–12
  Giovanni Recordati 2–3, 6
  Jorge Recalde 6, 10, 13
  Massimo Ercolani 6, 11, 13
  Ford Motor Co Ltd Ford Sierra XR 4x4
Sierra RS Cosworth
M
P
  Colin McRae 1, 7, 13
  Joaquim Santos 3
  Pierre-César Baroni 5
  Gianfranco Cunico 5, 13
  Mark Lovell 5, 13
  Jimmy McRae 7, 13
  Saeed Al-Hajri 7, 10
  Russell Brookes 13
  Jolly Club Lancia Delta HF Integrale M   Alex Fiorio 2–4, 6, 8, 10–11
  Dario Cerrato 2, 11
  Patricia Bertapelle 2
  Paolo Andreucci 3, 6
  Massimo Maneo 3, 11
  Mitsubshi Ralliart Europe Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 M   Ari Vatanen 2, 6, 9, 13
  Kenjiro Shinozuka 3, 6–7, 10
  Jimmy McRae 6
  Ross Dunkerton 7, 10
  Mikael Ericsson 9
  Lasse Lampi 9
  Pentti Airikkala 13
  Audi Sport Audi 90 Quattro
200 Quattro
Coupé Quattro
M   Paola de Martini 2–3, 5–6, 11–12
  Georg Fischer 3, 8
  Rudi Stohl 4, 6, 10, 12
  Armin Schwarz 6, 9, 11, 13
  Bruno Thiry 6
  Malcolm Stewart 7
  Bastos Motul BMW BMW M3 P   Marc Duez 2–3, 5, 9, 11
  Bernard Béguin 5
  François Chatriot 5
  Simon Racing Renault 5 GT Turbo M   Alain Oreille 2, 5, 10–12
  Claude Balesi 5
  Richard Frau 5, 11
  Nissan Motorsports International Nissan 200SX D   Per Eklund 4
  Mike Kirkland 4
  Vic Preston Jr 4
  Jayant Shah 4
  Státhis Iorgakis 6
  Alain Ambrosino 12
  Volkswagen Motorsport Volkswagen Golf GTI 16V P   Stig Blomqvist 4
  Erwin Weber 4
  Manjit Sandhu 4
  Konstantinos Apostolou 6
  Subaru Technica International Subaru RX Turbo D   Peter 'Possum' Bourne 4, 7–8, 10
  Patrick Njiru 4
  Jim Heather-Hayes 4
  José Celsi 8

Events

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1989 World Rally Championship event map
 
Black = Tarmac Brown = Gravel Blue = Snow/Ice Red = Mixed Surface
1989 World Rally Championship schedule and results
Round Rally name Stages Podium finishers
Rank Driver Co-driver Team Car Time
1   Swedish Rally[1]
(6–8 January)
37 stages
504 km
Snow/Ice
1   Ingvar Carlsson   Per Carlsson   Mazda Rally Team Europe Mazda 323 4WD 4:58.15
2   Per Eklund   Dave Whittock   Clarion Team Europe Lancia Delta Integrale 4:59.18
3   Kenneth Eriksson   Staffan Parmander   Toyota Team Sweden Toyota Celica GT-Four ST165 4:59.57
2   Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo
(21–26 January)
24 stages
613 km
Tarmac
1   Miki Biasion   Tiziano Siviero   Martini Lancia Lancia Delta Integrale 7:13.27
2   Didier Auriol   Bernard Occelli   Martini Lancia Lancia Delta Integrale 7:19.54
3   Bruno Saby   Jean-François Fauchille   Martini Lancia Lancia Delta Integrale 7:21.08
3   Rallye de Portugal
(28 February–4 March)
37 stages
577 km
Tarmac/Gravel
1   Miki Biasion   Tiziano Siviero   Martini Lancia Lancia Delta Integrale 6:47.01
2   Markku Alén   Ilkka Kivimäki   Martini Lancia Lancia Delta Integrale 6:57.19
3   Alex Fiorio   Luigi Pirollo   Jolly Club Lancia Delta Integrale 7:10.19
4   Safari Rally
(31 March–4 April)
85 controls
4539 km
Gravel
1   Miki Biasion   Tiziano Siviero   Martini Lancia Lancia Delta Integrale +6:55.27 pen
2   Mike Kirkland   Robin Nixon   Nissan Motorsports International Nissan 200SX +8:16.11 pen
3   Stig Blomqvist   Björn Cederberg   Volkswagen Motorsport Volkswagen Golf GTI 16V +9:17.39 pen
5   Tour de Corse
(23–26 April)
33 stages
627 km
Tarmac
1   Didier Auriol   Bernard Occelli   Martini Lancia Lancia Delta Integrale 7:12.39
2   François Chatriot   Michel Périn   Bastos Motul BMW BMW M3 7:14.36
3   Juha Kankkunen   Juha Piironen   Toyota Team Europe Toyota Celica GT-Four ST165 7:16.29
6   Acropolis Rally
(27 May–1 June)
42 stages
590 km
Gravel
1   Miki Biasion   Tiziano Siviero   Martini Lancia Lancia Delta Integrale 7:31.43
2   Didier Auriol   Bernard Occelli   Martini Lancia Lancia Delta Integrale 7:33.41
3   Alex Fiorio   Luigi Pirollo   Jolly Club Lancia Delta Integrale 7:35.14
7   Rally New Zealand[1]
(15–18 July)
42 stages
595 km
Gravel
1   Ingvar Carlsson   Per Carlsson   Mazda Rally Team Europe Mazda 323 4WD 6:59.55
2   Rod Millen   Tony Sircombe   Rod Millen Motorsport Mazda 323 4WD 7:02.37
3   Malcolm Wilson   Ian Grindrod   GM Euro Sport Vauxhall Astra GTE 7:03.24
8   Rally Argentina
(1–5 August)
30 stages
564 km
Gravel
1   Mikael Ericsson   Claes Billstam   Martini Lancia Lancia Delta Integrale 7:06.00
2   Alex Fiorio   Luigi Pirollo   Jolly Club Lancia Delta Integrale 7:08.26
3   Jorge Recalde   Jorge del Bouno   Martini Lancia Lancia Delta Integrale 7:19.42
9   1000 Lakes Rally
(25–27 August)
43 stages
507 km
Gravel
1   Mikael Ericsson   Claes Billstam   Mitsubishi Ralliart Europe Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 4:42.03
2   Timo Salonen   Voitto Silander   Mazda Rally Team Europe Mazda 323 4WD 4:43.44
3   Carlos Sainz   Luis Moya   Toyota Team Europe Toyota Celica GT-Four ST165 4:44.38
10   Rally Australia
(14–17 September)
32 stages
544 km
Gravel
1   Juha Kankkunen   Juha Piironen   Toyota Team Europe Toyota Celica GT-Four ST165 5:32.09
2   Kenneth Eriksson   Staffan Parmander   Toyota Team Europe Toyota Celica GT-Four ST165 5:33.16
3   Markku Alén   Ilkka Kivimäki   Martini Lancia Lancia Delta Integrale 5:34.22
11   Rallye Sanremo
(8–12 October)
34 stages
544 km
Tarmac/Gravel
1   Miki Biasion   Tiziano Siviero   Martini Lancia Lancia Delta Integrale 16V 6:48.30
2   Alex Fiorio   Luigi Pirollo   Jolly Club Lancia Delta Integrale 6:48.35
3   Carlos Sainz   Luis Moya   Toyota Team Europe Toyota Celica GT-Four ST165 6:48.55
12   Rallye Côte d'Ivoire[1]
(29 October–2 November)
87 controls
3528 km
Gravel
1   Alain Oreille   Gilles Thimonier   Simon Racing Renault 5 GT Turbo +8:32.54 pen
2   Patrick Tauziac   Claude Papin   Ralliart Mitsubishi Starion Turbo +11:36.50 pen
3   Adolphe Choteau   Jean-Pierre Claverie   Thiébaut Racing Toyota Corolla GT +13:41.07 pen
13   RAC Rally
(19–23 November)
55 stages
603 km
Gravel/Tarmac
1   Pentti Airikkala   Ronan McNamee   Mitsubishi Ralliart Europe Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 6:19.22
2   Carlos Sainz   Luis Moya   Toyota Team Europe Toyota Celica GT-Four ST165 6:20.50
3   Juha Kankkunen   Juha Piironen   Toyota Team Europe Toyota Celica GT-Four ST165 6:23.11
  1. ^ a b c Event not included in the Manufacturers' Championship

Championship for manufacturers

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Pos. Manufacturer  
MON
 
POR
 
KEN
 
FRA
 
GRC
 
ARG
 
FIN
 
AUS
 
ITA
 
GBR
Points
1   Lancia 20 20 20 20 20 20 (8) (14) 20 - 140
2   Toyota 10 - 12 14 - - 14 20 14 17 101
3   Mazda 12 12 - - - - 17 10 8 8 67
4   Mitsubishi - - - - 12 - 20 6 - 20 58
5   Audi 2 12 - 3 8 12 6 - - - 43
6   BMW 4 10 - 17 - - - - 6 - 37
7   Renault 9 - - 11 - - - - 10 - 30
8   Nissan - - 17 - 1 - - - - - 18
9   Volkswagen - - 14 - - - - - - - 14
10   Renault Argentina - - - - - 10 - - - - 15
11   Vauxhall - - - - - - - 8 - 1 9
12   Subaru - - 6 - - - - 1 - - 7
13   Ford - - - 6 - - - - - - 6
14   Fiat Argentina - - - - - 3 - - - - 3
15   Volkswagen Argentina - - - - - 1 - - - - 1
Pos. Manufacturer  
MON
 
POR
 
KEN
 
FRA
 
GRC
 
ARG
 
FIN
 
AUS
 
ITA
 
GBR
Points

Schedule of points by place:

Place 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th
Points 20 15 12 10 8 6 4 3 2 1

Championship for drivers

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Pos. Driver  
SWE
 
MON
 
POR
 
KEN
 
FRA
 
GRC
 
NZL
 
ARG
 
FIN
 
AUS
 
ITA
 
CIV
 
GBR
Points
1   Miki Biasion - 1 1 1 - 1 - - 6 - 1 - - 106
2   Alex Fiorio - Ret 3 10 - 3 - 2 - 4 2 - - 65
3   Juha Kankkunen - 5 Ret - 3 - - - - 1 5 - 3 60
4   Mikael Ericsson 4 - - - - - - 1 1 - - - - 50
5   Didier Auriol - 2 Ret - 1 2 - - - - - - - 50
6   Kenneth Eriksson 3 - - - - - - - 4 2 - - 4 47
7   Ingvar Carlsson 1 - - - - - 1 - - - - - 8 43
8   Carlos Sainz - Ret Ret - Ret - - - 3 - 3 - 2 39
9   Markku Alén - - 2 - - - - - - 3 - - - 27
10   Alain Oreille - 10 - - 8 - - - - - 9 1 - 26
11   Rod Millen - - - - - - 2 - - 5 - - - 23
12   Timo Salonen 22 Ret - - - - - - 2 - - - 6 21
13   Marc Duez - 8 5 - 6 - - - - - 7 - - 21
14   Pentti Airikkala - - - - - - - - - - - - 1 20
15   Stig Blomqvist 5 - - 3 - - - - - - - - - 20
  Jorge Recalde - - - Ret - 8 - 3 - - - - - 20
17   Georg Fischer - - 4 - - - - 4 - - - - - 20
18   Malcolm Wilson 13 - - - - - 3 - - 6 - - 10 19
19   Per Eklund 2 Ret - Ret - 10 - - - - - - - 16
20   Mike Kirkland - - - 2 - - - - - - - - - 15
  François Chatriot - - - - 2 - - - - - - - - 15
  Patrick Tauziac - - - - - - - - - - - 2 - 15
23   Dario Cerrato - 7 - - - - - - - - 4 - - 14
24   Kenjiro Shinozuka - - 18 - - 7 6 - - 7 - - - 14
25   Bruno Saby - 3 - - Ret - - - - - - - - 12
  Adolphe Choteau - - - - - - - - - - - 3 - 12
27   Hannu Mikkola - 4 - - - - - - - - - - 9 12
28   Patrick Snijers - 6 - - Ret - - - - - 6 - - 12
29   Björn Waldegård - Ret Ret 4 - - - - - - - - - 10
  Yves Loubet - - - - 4 - - - - - - - - 10
  Jimmy McRae - - - - - 4 - - - - - - - 10
  Mats Jonsson 12 - - - - - 4 - - - - - - 10
  André Segolen - - - - - - - - - - - 4 - 10
34   Ian Duncan - - - 5 - - - - - - - - - 8
  Bernard Béguin - - - - 5 - - - - - - - - 8
  Colin McRae 15 - - - - - 5 - - - - - - 8
  Ernesto Soto - - - - - - - 5 - - - - - 8
  Thorbjörn Edling Ret - - - - - - - 5 - - - - 8
  Patrice Servant - - - - - - - - - - - 5 - 8
  Ari Vatanen - Ret - - - - - - - - - - 5 8
41   Armin Schwarz - - - - - 8 - - 7 - - - - 7
42   Sebastian Lindholm 6 - - - - - - - - - - - - 6
  Carlos Bica - - 6 - - - - - - - - - - 6
  Vic Preston Jr - - - 6 - - - - - - - - - 6
  Rudi Stohl - - - Ret - 6 - - - - - - - 6
  Fernando Stella - - - - - - - 6 - - - - - 6
  José Graziani - - - - - - - - - - - 6 - 6
48   Stig-Olov Walfridsson 8 - - - - - - - 8 - - - - 6
49   Grégoire de Mévius - 12 7 Ret - - - - - - 10 - - 5
  Gustavo Trelles - - 10 - - - - 7 - - - - - 5
  Possum Bourne - - - 7 - - - - - 10 - - - 5
52   Leif Asterhag 7 - - - - - - - - - - - - 4
  Gianfranco Cunico - - - - 7 - - - - - - - - 4
  Ray Wilson - - - - - - 7 - - - - - - 4
  Benoît Antoine - - - - - - - - - - - 7 - 4
  Mikael Sundström Ret - - - - - - - - - - - 7 4
57   Paola De Martini - 9 Ret - 9 - - - - - - - - 4
58   Paolo Andreucci - - 8 - - - - - - - - - - 3
  Erwin Weber - - - 8 - - - - - - - - - 3
  Saeed Al-Hajri - - - - - - 8 - - - - - - 3
  Juan Maria Traverso - - - - - - - 8 - - - - - 3
  Wayne Bell - - - - - - - - - 8 - - - 3
  Paolo Alessandrini - - - - - - - - - - 8 - - 3
64   Björn Johansson 9 - - - - - - - - - - - - 2
  Fredrik Skoghag - Ret 9 - - - - - - - - - - 2
  Jim Heather-Hayes - - - 9 - - - - - - - - - 2
  Jigger - - - - - 9 - - - - - - - 2
  Ross Dunkerton - - - - - - 9 - - - - - - 2
  Jorge Bescham - - - - - - - 9 - - - - - 2
  Risto Buri - - - - - - - - 9 - - - - 2
  Ed Ordynski - - - - - - - - - 9 - - - 2
72   Hakån Eriksson 10 - - - - - - - - - - - - 1
  Claude Balesi - - - - 10 - - - - - - - - 1
  Ken Adamson - - - - - - 10 - - - - - - 1
  Edio Fuchter - - - - - - - 10 - - - - - 1
  Esa Saarenpää - - - - - - - - 10 - - - - 1
Pos. Driver  
SWE
 
MON
 
POR
 
KEN
 
FRA
 
GRC
 
NZL
 
ARG
 
FIN
 
AUS
 
ITA
 
CIV
 
GBR
Points

Schedule of points by place:

Place 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th
Points 20 15 12 10 8 6 4 3 2 1

Cup for production car drivers

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Pos. Driver  
SWE
 
MON
 
POR
 
KEN
 
FRA
 
GRC
 
NZL
 
ARG
 
FIN
 
AUS
 
ITA
 
CIV
 
GBR
Points
1   Alain Oreille - 13 - - 13 - - - - 7 13 13 - 59
2   Grégoire de Mévius 4 10 13 - - - - - - - 11 - 13 51
3   Gustavo Trelles 7 - 5 - - 1 - 13 13 - - - - 39
4   Fredrik Skoghag - - 7 - - 2 - - 2 10 - - - 21
5   Kiyoshi Inoue - - 3 - - 13 - - - 2 - - - 18
6   Sören Nilsson 13 - - - - - - - - - - - - 13
  Ken Adamson - - - - - - 13 - - - - - - 13
  Ed Ordynski - - - - - - - - - 13 - - - 13
9   Marc Hopf - - - - - - - - - - 5 - 7 12
10   Patrice Servant - - - - - - - - - - - 11 - 11
Pos. Driver  
SWE
 
MON
 
POR
 
KEN
 
FRA
 
GRC
 
NZL
 
ARG
 
FIN
 
AUS
 
ITA
 
CIV
 
GBR
Points

See also

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