1998 British Rally Championship

Last updated

The 1998 Mobil 1 British Rally Championship was won by Manxman Martin Rowe in the Renault Megane Maxi Kit Car ahead of veteran Welsh driver Gwyndaf Evans in the SEAT Ibiza Kit Car and Alister McRae in The Volkswagen Golf Kit Car. Reigning champion Mark Higgins had a very disappointing season in the new Nissan Almera Kit Car. The ladies' cup was won by SEAT driver Barbara Armstrong ahead of Ford's Stephanie Simmonite. The manufacturers' championship was won by Renault.

Contents

Driver Changes

1996 Champion Gwyndaf Evans moved from Ford to SEAT

Robbie Head was replaced at Renault by Tapio Laukkanen who had moved from Volkswagen

Head in turn joined SEAT

Vauxhall returned to the series with the Astra Kit Car with Jarmo Kytolehto at the wheel

Harri Rovanpera did not compete in The British Championship this season to concentrate on his WRC Commitments with SEAT

Calendar

RoundEventDate
Round 1 Vauxhall Rally of Wales 19–21 March
Round 2/3 Pirelli International Rally 24–26 April
Round 4/5 RSAC Scottish Rally 4–6 June
Round 6 Stena Line Ulster Rally 30 July – 1 August
Round 7 Manx International Rally 10–12 September

Teams and Drivers

TeamManufacturerCarNoDriverRounds
Nissan Motorsports Europe Nissan Almera Kit Car 1 Mark Higgins 7
Renault Dealer Rallying Association Renault Megane Kit Car 2 Martin Rowe All
Renault Dealer Rallying AssociationRenaultMegane Kit Car6 Tapio Laukkanen All
SEAT Cupra Sport SEAT Ibiza Kit Car 4 Gwyndaf Evans All
SEAT Cupra SportSEATIbiza Kit Car5 Robbie Head 7
SEAT Cupra SportSEATIbiza Kit Car17 Barbara Armstrong All
Volkswagen Motorsport UK (SBG Sport) Volkswagen Golf GTI Kit Car 3 Alister McRae All
Volkswagen Motorsport UK (SBG Sport)VolkswagenGolf GTI Kit Car5 Raimund Baumschlager 6
Ford Motor Company FordEscort Maxi Kit Car11 Lars-Goran Andersson 4–5
Vauxhall Motorsport (RML) Vauxhall Astra Kit Car 10 Jarmo Kytolehto All
Polar Motorsport Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 4 24 Marko Ipatti All
Ford Motorsport (Boland Motorsport) Ford Escort RS2000 8 Stephanie Simmonite All
Ford Motorsport (Boland Motorsport)FordEscort RS200012 Liam O'Callaghan 6–7
Proton Motorsport (Harry Hockly Motorsport) Proton Satria 14 Mats Andersson All
Proton Motorsport (Harry Hockly Motorsport)ProtonSatria20Jenny DaviesAll
SW Motorsport Citroen Saxo Kit Car 19Julian Reynolds6
David Mann Proton Persona 21David MannAll
Peugeot Sport UK Peugeot 106 GTI 7 Justin Dale All
Asquith Motorsport Honda Civic v-tec 31 Neil Wearden All

'Drivers Championship'

PosDriverR1R2R3R4R5R6R7Pts
1Martin Rowe1st1st4th3rd1st2nd1st164
2Gwyndaf Evans3rd2nd1st1st4th1stDNF153
3Alister McRaeDNF6th2nd2nd3rd3rd5th133
4Tapio LaukkanenDNF4th3rd9th2nd6th2nd127
5Neil Wearden2nd8th5th5th6th8thDNF102
6Jarmo KytolehtoDNF3rdDNF4th5thDNF3rd96
7Barbara Armstrong5th11th8thDNF12th14th6th74
8Stephanie Simmonite4th14th7thDNF11thDNF7th73

Manufacturers Championship

PosEntrantR1R2R3R4R5R6R7R8Pts
1Renault26.532322525323236190.5
2SEAT322828323225360188.0
3Volkswagen26.50222828282926165.5
4Ford2225182220202629144.0
5Vauxhall1820252022222032141.0
6Peugeot20222001816230119.0
7Proton1600180180052.0

There was an earlier round before the Vauxhall Rally of Wales, the Silverstone RallySprint which only counted for manufacturers points

References