1973 Press-on-Regardless Rally

Last updated

1973 Press-on-Regardless Rally
25th Press-on-Regardless Rally
Round 11 of the 1973 World Rally Championship season
  Previous event Next event  
Host countryFlag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Rally base Detroit, Michigan
Dates runNovember 1, 1973 November 4, 1973
Stages85 (549.15 km; 341.23 miles)
Stage surfaceGravel
Overall distance3,284.15 km (2,040.68 miles)
Statistics
Crews58 at start, 23 at finish
Overall results
Overall winner Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Walter Boyce
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Doug Woods
Flag of Japan.svg Toyota Motorsport
Toyota Corolla

The 1973 Press-On-Regardless Rally (formally the 25th Press-On-Regardless Rally) was the eleventh round of the inaugural World Rally Championship season. Run at the outset of November in Michigan in the United States. [1] The rally was run entirely on gravel.

Contents

Report

Due to a combination of scheduling and location, the event was not attended by most European competitors. Giving teams only two weeks following the preceding Sanremo Rally to travel across the Atlantic Ocean, and then giving even less time for a return to Europe for the following RAC Rally in England, proved unrealistic for most teams, and in the event, only a few teams from Poland made the trip with their domestic Polski Fiat 125p vehicles. As it turned out, the event was primarily a local affair, with a Canadian, Walter Boyce, taking the win ahead of a field of American drivers.

In 1973, and for several years afterward, only manufacturers were given points for finishes in WRC events. With the teams focused on the prestigious RAC Rally upcoming, and with the year's championship already sewn up by Alpine Renault, the works teams did not make an effort to compete in the American leg of the championship. Toyota became the beneficiary as it was a Corolla that carried Boyce to victory, while other makes popular on the North American market filled out the ranks. Datsuns were particularly prevalent—especially the locally popular Datsun 510—and Polski Fiat was rewarded for their effort in making the trip by a finish in the points, but overall, the results factored little into the factory efforts for the championship.

Results

1973 Press-on-Regardless Rally results [2] [3]
FinishTotal
time [4]
Car #Driver
Co-driver
CarMfr.
points
16 h : 58 m : 28.2 s110 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Walter Boyce
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Doug Woods
Flag of Japan.svg Toyota Corolla 20
27 h : 22 m : 43.2 s116 Flag of the United States.svg Jim Walker
Flag of the United States.svg Terry Palmer
Flag of Sweden.svg Volvo 142 S 15
37 h : 33 m : 36.0 s105 Flag of the United States.svg John Smiskol
Flag of the United States.svg Carol Smiskol
Flag of Japan.svg Datsun 240Z 12
47 h : 39 m : 1.8 s114 Flag of the United States.svg John Buffum
Flag of the United States.svg Wayne Zitkus
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Ford Escort RS1600 10
57 h : 45 m : 0.6 s127 Flag of the United States.svg John Rodgers
Flag of the United States.svg Erik Brooks
Flag of Japan.svg Datsun 1600 SSS
67 h : 57 m : 30.6 s108 Flag of Poland.svg Robert Mucha
Flag of Poland.svg Ryszard Żyszkowski
Flag of Poland.svg Polski Fiat 125p 6
78 h : 4 m : 54.6 s123 Flag of the United States.svg Bill Dodd
Flag of the United States.svg Rudy Kren
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Ford Capri 2600
88 h : 8 m : 12.0 s130 Flag of the United States.svg Jim Callon
Flag of the United States.svg Gary Hays
Flag of Japan.svg Datsun 510
98 h : 9 m : 28.2 s136 Flag of the United States.svg Steve Dorr
Flag of the United States.svg Rick Andersson
Flag of Japan.svg Datsun 510
108 h : 16 m : 12.6 s121 Flag of the United States.svg Chuck McLaren
Flag of the United States.svg Doug Leverton
Flag of Japan.svg Datsun 510
118 h : 20 m : 47.4 s [5] [note 1] 117 Flag of Poland.svg Andrzej Jaroszewicz
Flag of Poland.svg Zbigniew Dziadura
Flag of Poland.svg Polski Fiat 125p
128 h : 21 m : 40.8 s122 Flag of the United States.svg John Chalmers
Flag of the United States.svg William Potvin
Flag of Japan.svg Datsun 510
138 h : 35 m : 42.6 s113 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Gary Neil
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Don Ramsay
Flag of Japan.svg Datsun 1600 SSS
148 h : 35 m : 58.8 s160 Flag of Kenya.svg Edgar Herrmann
Flag of the United States.svg Joe LeBeau
Flag of Japan.svg Subaru GL
158 h : 39 m : 10.8 s120 Flag of Poland.svg Marek Varisella
Flag of Poland.svg Janina Jedynak
Flag of Poland.svg Polski Fiat 125p
Retired (accident)104 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Taisto Heinonen
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg John Bellefleur
Flag of Germany.svg Opel Manta
Retired (engine)106 Flag of the United States.svg Erhard Dahm
Flag of the United States.svg Tom Grishaw
Flag of the United States.svg Jeep Wagoneer
Retired (engine)107 Flag of the United States.svg Gene Henderson
Flag of the United States.svg Ken Pogue
Flag of the United States.svg Jeep Wagoneer
Retired (excluded)109 Flag of the United States.svg Scott Harvey
Flag of the United States.svg Ralph Beckman
Flag of Japan.svg Dodge Colt
Retired (accident)112 Flag of the United States.svg Bob Hourihan
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Geraint Phillips
Flag of Japan.svg Datsun 1800 SSS
Retired (time barred)147 Flag of the United States.svg Randy Graves
Flag of the United States.svg Ruth Heidel
Flag of France.svg Alpine-Renault A110

Championship standings after the event

1973 World Rally Championship for Manufacturers points standings after round 11
After round 11TeamSeason end
PositionPointsPositionPoints
1127 Flag of France.svg Alpine Renault 1147
284 Flag of Italy.svg Fiat 284
346 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Ford 376
442 Flag of Sweden.svg Saab 542
534 Flag of Japan.svg Datsun 634
634 Flag of Sweden.svg Volvo 444
733 Flag of France.svg Citroën 733
825 Flag of Japan.svg Toyota 1025
924 Flag of Germany.svg BMW 828
1024 Flag of Germany.svg Porsche 927
1118 Flag of Poland.svg Polski Fiat 1218
1217 Flag of Italy.svg Lancia 1317
1315 Flag of East Germany.svg Wartburg 1415
1415 Flag of Germany.svg Opel 1125
1514 Flag of Germany.svg Volkswagen 1515
1613 Flag of France.svg Peugeot 1613
174 Flag of Japan.svg Mitsubishi 174
183 Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Škoda 183
191 Flag of Germany.svg Audi 202

Notes

  1. The final results indicate a score of 50879 (8:28:47.4), however the stage results indicate a time of 50079 (8:20:47.4).

References

  1. "Program - Press On Regardless Int'l Rally, Rally Racing News". rallyracingnews.com. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  2. "Press On Regardless Int'l Rally, Rally Racing News". rallyracingnews.com. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  3. "juwra.com | Rallies - Press on Regardless 1973". www.juwra.com. Archived from the original on April 19, 2025. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  4. "Stages - Press On Regardless Int'l Rally, Rally Racing News". rallyracingnews.com. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  5. "Awards - Press On Regardless Int'l Rally, Rally Racing News". rallyracingnews.com. Retrieved June 20, 2025.