1973 Polish Rally
The 1973 Polish Rally (formally the 33rd Polish Rally) was the seventh round of the inaugural World Rally Championship season. Run in mid-July in southern Poland, this marked to only year in which Poland (or any member of the Warsaw Pact) was part of the WRC calendar until 36 years later in 2009. This edition was also notable for the fact that of the 62 teams which began the rally, only three completed it, a record that stands today.
| 1973 Polish Rally 33rd Polish Rally | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Round 7 of the 1973 World Rally Championship season
| |||
| Host country |  Poland | ||
| Rally base | Kraków, Poland | ||
| Dates run | 12 July 1973 – 15 July 1973 | ||
| Stages | 55 (734 km; 456 miles) | ||
| Stage surface | Asphalt and gravel | ||
| Overall distance | 3,912 km (2,431 miles) | ||
| Results | |||
| Overall winner |  Achim Warmbold Jean Todt FiatFiat Abarth 124 Rallye | ||
| Crews | 62 at start, 3 at finish | ||
Report
In 1973, and for several years afterward, only manufacturers were given points for finishes in WRC events. Despite the misfortune of most of the teams, Fiat was able to finally gain a win for their Fiat Abarth 124 Rallye. As no other major competitors were able to complete the rally, the win was by a substantial margin, the German driver outpacing the next finisher by nearly three hours.
Results
| Finish | Total time |
Group | Car # | Driver Co-driver |
Car | Mfr. points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | In group | ||||||
| 1 | 1 | 8 h : 28 m : 14 s | 4 | 4 | Achim Warmbold Jean Todt |
Fiat Abarth 124 Rallye |
20 |
| 2 | 1 | 11 h : 15 m : 16 s | 2 | 91 |  Egon Culmbacher Werner Ernst |
Wartburg 353 |
15 |
| 3 | 1 | 12 h : 8 m : 31 s | 1 | 55 | Maciej Stawowiak Jan Czyżyk |
Polski Fiat 125p |
12 |
| Retired (excluded) | 4 | 2 | Jean-Luc Thérier Alain Mahé |
Alpine Renault A110 1800 |
|||
| Retired (mechanical) | 4 | 3 | Alcide Paganelli Ninni Russo |
Fiat Abarth 124 Rallye |
|||
| Retired (accident) | 4 | 7 | Adam Smorawiński Zbigniew Kołaczkowski |
Porsche 911 |
|||
| Retired (time) | 2 | 12 |  Hans Britth Magnus Olsson |
 Ford Capri 2600 |
|||
| Retired | 2 | 21 | Marian Bień Wiesław Nicieja |
Polski Fiat 125p |
|||
| Retired (time) | 2 | 23 | Jerzy Dobrzański Antoni Ryniak |
Polski Fiat 125p |
|||
| Retired (accident) | 2 | 24 |  Stasys Brundza Anatoli Brum |
Moskvich 412 |
|||
| Retired (mechanical) | 2 | 26 | Ryszard Żyszkowski Jerzy Żyszkowski |
Polski Fiat 125p |
|||
| Retired | 2 | 27 | Horst Rausch Jerzy Sypniewski |
BMW 2002 |
|||
| Retired | 2 | 31 | Kastytis Girdauskas Arvydas Girdauskas |
Moskvich 412 |
|||
| Retired | 2 | 34 | Krzysztof Komornicki Błażej Krupa |
Polski Fiat 125p |
|||
| Retired | 2 | 35 | Jerzy Landsberg Marian Wangrat |
Polski Fiat 125p |
|||
| Retired (time) | 2 | 36 | Lev Morozov Andris Kalnais |
Moskvich 412 |
|||
| Retired (accident) | 1 | 49 | Heino Sepp Toomas Bernstein |
Moskvich 412 |
|||
| Retired (time) | 1 | 57 | Evert Wesström Bo Carlsson |
 Toyota Corolla |
|||
| Retired (mechanical) | 1 | 63 | Marek Varisella Janina Jedynak |
Polski Fiat 125p |
|||
Source: Independent WRC archive[1]
Championship standings after the event
| After round 6 | Team | Season end | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Points | Position | Points | |
| 1 | 92 | Alpine Renault |
1 | 147 |
| 2 | 63 | Fiat |
2 | 84 |
| 3 | 33 | Citroën |
7 | 33 |
| 4 | 22 | Datsun |
6 | 34 |
| 5 | 20 | Saab |
5 | 42 |
| 6 | 16 |  Ford |
3 | 76 |
| 7 | 15 | Wartburg |
14 | 15 |
| 8 | 14 | Volkswagen |
15 | 15 |
| 9 | 13 | Lancia |
13 | 17 |
| 10 | 13 | Peugeot |
16 | 13 |
| 11 | 12 | Polski Fiat |
12 | 18 |
| 12 | 8 | Porsche |
9 | 27 |
| 13 | 5 | Opel |
11 | 25 |
| 14 | 4 | BMW |
8 | 28 |
| 4 | Mitsubishi |
17 | 4 | |
| 4 | Volvo |
4 | 44 | |
| 17 | 3 |  Škoda |
18 | 3 |
| 18 | 2 | Toyota |
10 | 25 |
| 19 | 1 | Audi |
20 | 2 |
References
- "Polish Rally". juwra.com. Independent WRC archive. Retrieved 2017-03-16.