1973 Austrian Alpine Rally

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1973 Austrian Rally
44. Austrian Alpine Rally
Round 9 of the 1973 World Rally Championship season
  Previous event Next event  
Host countryFlag of Austria.svg  Austria
Rally base Baden, Austria
Dates run12 September 1973 14 September 1973
Stages27 (310 km; 190 miles)
Stage surfaceGravel
Overall distance2,233 km (1,388 miles)
Results
Overall winner Flag of Germany.svg Achim Warmbold
Flag of France.svg Jean Todt
Flag of Germany.svg BMW
Crews74 at start, 25 at finish

The 1973 Austrian Rally (formally the 44. Austrian Alpine Rally) was the ninth round of the inaugural World Rally Championship season. Run in mid-September around Baden, Austria, the rally was entirely on gravel surface special stages. 1973 would be the only year to see the WRC hold an event in Austria, despite the strong presence of Austrian drivers in the series through the present.

World Rally Championship rallying championship series, highest level of rallying competition

The World Rally Championship (WRC) is a rallying series organised by the FIA, culminating with a champion driver, co-driver and manufacturer. The driver's world championship and manufacturer's world championship are separate championships, but based on the same point system. The series currently consists of 14 three-day events driven on surfaces ranging from gravel and tarmac to snow and ice. Each rally is split into 15–25 special stages which are run against the clock on closed roads.

Contents

Report

In 1973, and for several years afterward, only manufacturers were given points for finishes in WRC events. Austria hosted BMW's first ever win of the World Rally Championship, with front-runners Alpine-Renault, Saab, and Fiat also making strong bids for points.

BMW automotive brand, manufacturer, and conglomerate

BMW AG is a German multinational company which currently produces automobiles and motorcycles, and also produced aircraft engines until 1945.

Alpine (automobile) racing car manufacturer

The Société des Automobiles Alpine SAS, commonly known as Alpine, is a French manufacturer of racing and sports cars established in 1955. The Alpine car marque was created in 1954. Jean Rédélé, the founder of Alpine, was originally a Dieppe garage proprietor who began to achieve success in motorsport with one of the few French cars that were produced just after the Second World War, the Renault 4CV. The company has been closely related to Renault through its history, and was bought by it in 1973. Production of Alpine models ceased in 1995.

Saab Automobile automotive brand manufacturing subsidiary of NEVS

Saab Automobile AB was a manufacturer of automobiles that was founded in Sweden in 1945 when its parent company, SAAB AB, began a project to design a small automobile. The first production model, the Saab 92, was launched in 1949. In 1968 the parent company merged with Scania-Vabis, and ten years later the Saab 900 was launched, in time becoming Saab's best-selling model. In the mid-1980s the new Saab 9000 model also appeared.

Results

1973 Austrian Rally results
FinishTotal
time
GroupCar #Driver
Co-driver
CarMfr.
points
OverallIn
group
113 h : 58 m : 55.5 s28 Flag of Germany.svg Achim Warmbold
Flag of France.svg Jean Todt
Flag of Germany.svg BMW 2002 TII 20
214 h : 0 m : 10.1 s42 Flag of France.svg Bernard Darniche
Flag of France.svg Alain Mahé
Flag of France.svg Alpine-Renault A110 1800 15
324 h : 0 m : 11.2 s215 Flag of Sweden.svg Per Eklund
Flag of Sweden.svg Bo Reinicke
Flag of Sweden.svg Saab 96 V4 12
434 h : 1 m : 10.5 s216 Flag of Sweden.svg Björn Waldegård
Flag of Sweden.svg Hans Thorszelius
Flag of Germany.svg BMW 2002 TII 10
524 h : 1 m : 25.8 s411 Flag of France.svg Jean-Pierre Nicolas
Flag of France.svg Michel Vial
Flag of France.svg Alpine-Renault A110 1800
634 h : 6 m : 15.9 s43 Flag of Sweden.svg Håkan Lindberg
Flag of Italy.svg Helmut Eisendle
Flag of Italy.svg Fiat Abarth 124 Rallye 6
744 h : 6 m : 38.3 s45 Flag of Austria.svg Klaus Russling
Flag of Austria.svg Wolfgang Weiß
Flag of Germany.svg Porsche 911 4
844 h : 9 m : 5.8 s29 Flag of Sweden.svg Ove Andersson
Flag of Sweden.svg Gunnar Häggbom
Flag of Japan.svg Toyota Celica 3
954 h : 10 m : 2.2 s217 Flag of Austria.svg Herbert Grünsteidl
Flag of Austria.svg Georg Hopf
Flag of Germany.svg BMW 2002
1064 h : 11 m : 16.9 s212 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Tony Fall
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Mike Wood
Flag of Germany.svg Volkswagen 1303S 1
1174 h : 11 m : 48.5 s26 Flag of Sweden.svg Harry Källström
Flag of Sweden.svg Claes Billstam
Flag of Germany.svg Volkswagen 1303S
1284 h : 14 m : 35.8 s225 Flag of Austria.svg Franz Wittman
Flag of Austria.svg Hans Siebert
Flag of Germany.svg Volkswagen 1303S
1394 h : 20 m : 17.1 s224 Flag of Sweden.svg Gunnar Blomqvist
Flag of Austria.svg Gerhard Kalnay
Flag of Germany.svg Opel Ascona
1414 h : 35 m : 14.1 s127 Flag of Austria.svg Vic Dietmayer Flag of Germany.svg BMW 2002
15104 h : 48 m : 31.8 s247 Flag of Austria.svg H. Steinwender
Flag of Austria.svg F. Mick
Flag of Italy.svg Fiat 124
1624 h : 58 m : 23.7 s129 Flag of Austria.svg Walter Zöckl
Flag of Austria.svg Günther Böhs
Flag of Germany.svg BMW 2002
Retired (accident)21 Flag of Austria.svg Günther Janger
Flag of Austria.svg Harald Gottlieb
Flag of Germany.svg Volkswagen 1303S
Retired (mechanical)24 Flag of Germany.svg Walter Röhrl
Flag of Germany.svg Jochen Berger
Flag of Germany.svg Opel Ascona
Retired (mechanical)24 Flag of Sweden.svg Stig Blomqvist
Flag of Sweden.svg Arne Hertz
Flag of Sweden.svg Saab 96 V4
Retired (accident)410 Flag of Italy.svg Raffaele Pinto
Flag of Italy.svg Arnaldo Bernacchini
Flag of Italy.svg Fiat Abarth 124 Rallye
Retired (mechanical)414 Flag of Italy.svg Alcide Paganelli
Flag of Italy.svg Ninni Russo
Flag of Italy.svg Fiat Abarth 124 Rallye
Retired419 Flag of Austria.svg Walter Roser
Flag of Austria.svg Erich Bazalka
Flag of France.svg Alpine-Renault A110 1600
Retired (mechanical)221 Flag of Austria.svg Richard Bochnicek
Flag of Austria.svg Sepp-Dieter Kernmayer
Flag of France.svg Citroën DS 23

Source: Independent WRC archive [1]

Championship standings after the event

1973 World Rally Championship for Manufacturers points standings after round 8
After round 8TeamSeason end
PositionPointsPositionPoints
1107 Flag of France.svg Alpine Renault 1147
269 Flag of Italy.svg Fiat 284
342 Flag of Sweden.svg Saab 542
436 Flag of the United States.svg Ford 376
533 Flag of France.svg Citroën 733
624 Flag of Germany.svg BMW 828
724 Flag of Germany.svg Porsche 927
822 Flag of Japan.svg Datsun 634
919 Flag of Sweden.svg Volvo 444
1015 Flag of East Germany.svg Wartburg 1415
1115 Flag of Italy.svg Lancia 1515
1214 Flag of Germany.svg Volkswagen 1515
1313 Flag of France.svg Peugeot 1613
1413 Flag of Germany.svg Opel 1125
1512 Flag of Poland.svg Polski Fiat 1218
165 Flag of Japan.svg Toyota 1025
174 Flag of Japan.svg Mitsubishi 174
183 Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Škoda 183
191 Flag of Germany.svg Audi 202

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References

  1. "Austrian Rally". juwra.com. Independent WRC archive. Retrieved 2017-03-15.