25th season of the FIA World Rally Championship
The1997 World Rally Championship was the 25th season of theFIA World Rally Championship . Registered manufacturers were required to contest the expanded 14 event calendar for the first time.
The Drivers' championship was very tightly contested and in the endTommi Mäkinen won his second drivers' world championship in aMitsubishi Lancer Evo IV by a single point ahead ofSubaru Impreza WRC driverColin McRae after the final round in Great Britain.Carlos Sainz was third in the leadingFord Escort WRC . The Manufacturers' title was won bySubaru , with Ford second and Mitsubishi third.
For the 1997 season,Group A was partially replaced by theWorld Rally Car , with manufacturers given the option which regulations to construct to. One inherent benefit to manufacturers by adopting WRC regulations was removing the need to mass-produce road-going versions of the cars that they competed with, under the previous rules forhomologation . This meant that vehicles such as theEscort RS Cosworth andSubaru Impreza Turbo no longer had to be mass-produced for general sale in order to compete at World Championship level, and thus acting as a means of attracting increased competition and involvement by manufacturers.
In due course the World Rally Car rules would bring new manufacturs into the sport, but the start of 1997 featured the same three manufacturers as the previous season. Both Ford and Subaru switched to WRC in 1997, whereas Mitsubishi stayed with Group A to maintain the links to theirMitsubishi Lancer Evolution road cars. Subaru's transition was much more gradual for similar reasons, with the earlySubaru Impreza WRCs still largely Group A in nature. By mid seasonToyota Team Europe were back with the newCorolla World Rally Car .
In the few years that follow, the Championship saw the added presence of WRC cars from companies such asHyundai ,Seat ,Citroën , andPeugeot , who would all compete under WRC regulations without having to manufacture equivalent specialised road cars for public sale.
One major flaw in the new class system was exposed by the increasing speed of the naturally aspirated front-wheel-driveFIA 2-Litre World Rally Cup cars. The tarmac specification cars built by Peugeot and Renault that competed in the all-tarmac French and Spanish championships became major threats on WRC tarmac eventsRallye Catalunya and theTour de Corse withGilles Panizzi defeating all but two of the WRC four-wheel-drive turbos in hisPeugeot 306 Maxi , taking third place in both events.
The 1997 championship was contested over fourteen rounds in Europe, Africa, Asia, South America and Oceania. The event rotation system used in previous three seasons was dropped.
Events also became shorter and more compact, and
Rd. Start date Finish date Rally Rally headquarters Surface Stages Distance 1 18 January 22 January 65th Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo Monte Carlo Mixed 18 398.30 km 2 7 February 10 February 46th International Swedish Rally Karlstad ,Värmland County Snow 24 411.17 km 3 1 March 3 March 45th Safari Rally Kenya Nairobi Gravel 13 1318.0 km 4 23 March 26 March 31st TAP Rallye de Portugal Figueira da Foz, Coimbra Gravel 31 419.78 km 5 14 April 16 April 33rd Rallye Catalunya - Costa Brava - Rallye de España Lloret de Mar ,Catalonia Tarmac 18 387.70 km 6 5 May 7 May 41st Tour de Corse - Rallye de France Ajaccio, Corsica Tarmac 18 408.0 km 7 22 May 25 May 17th Rally Argentina Carlos Paz, Córdoba Gravel 23 413.4 km 8 8 June 10 June 44th Acropolis Rally Athens Gravel 20 402.86 km 9 2 August 5 August 28th Smokefree Rally New Zealand Manukau, Auckland Gravel 24 395.99 km 10 29 August 31 August 47th Neste Rally Finland Jyväskylä, Central Finland Gravel 22 381.55 km 11 19 September 21 September 22nd Rally of Indonesia Medan, North Sumatra Gravel 22 402.17 km 12 12 October 15 October 39th Rallye Sanremo - Rallye d'Italia Sanremo, Liguria Tarmac 25 396.21 km 13 30 October 2 November 10th API Rally Australia Perth, Western Australia Gravel 24 421.42 km 14 23 November 25 November 54th Network Q RAC Rally Cheltenham, Gloucestershire Gravel 26 381.11 km Sources:[ 1] [ 2]
Team Manufacturer Car Tyre No. Driver Co-Driver Rounds Mitsubishi Ralliart Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV M 1 Tommi Mäkinen Seppo Harjanne All Lancer Evo III 2 Uwe Nittel Tina Thörner 1–2, 5–6, 10, 12 Carisma GT Evo IV Richard Burns Robert Reid 3–4, 7–9, 11, 13–14 Lancer Evo III Y 11 Ed Ordynski 13 13 Kenjiro Shinozuka Fred Gocentas 13 555 Subaru WRT Subaru Impreza S5 WRC '97 P 3 Colin McRae Nicky Grist All 4 Piero Liatti Fabrizia Pons 1, 5–6, 12 Kenneth Eriksson Staffan Parmander 2–4, 7–11, 13–14 8 Piero Liatti Fabrizia Pons 14 Impreza 555 10 Peter 'Possum' Bourne Craig Vincent 9 Ford Motor Co. Ltd. Ford Ford Escort WRC M 5 Carlos Sainz Luis Moya All 6 Armin Schwarz Denis Giraudet 1–5 Phil Mills 6 Juha Kankkunen Juha Repo 7–14 16 Angelo Medeghini Barbara Medeghini 14 Toyota Castrol Team Toyota Corolla WRC M 7 Didier Auriol Denis Giraudet 10–14 8 Marcus Grönholm Timo Rautiainen 10 9 14 9 Neal Bates Coral Taylor 11 8 13 10 Freddy Loix Sven Smeets 12
Non Manufacturer Entries [ edit ] Major entries not registered as manufacturers Team Manufacturer Car Tyre Drivers Co-drivers Rounds R.A.S. Sport Ford Ford Escort RS Cosworth M Didier Auriol Jean-Marc Andrié 1 Jean-Pierre Richelmi Thierry Barjou 4, 8 Dieter Depping M Dieter Depping Dieter Hawranke 1 Bo-Be Plastindustri AB P Mats Jonsson Johnny Johansson 2 Mobil Ford Motorsport M Stig Blomqvist Benny Melander 2 Blue Rose Team M Jarmo Kytölehto Arto Kapanen 2 Escort WRC 10 Totta Peres Competição M Fernando Peres Ricardo Caldeira 4 Belgacom Turbo Team M Grégoire de Mevius Jean-Marc Fortin 4, 8, 12, 14 Leonídas Kirkos M Leonídas Kirkos Nikos Panou 8 Ford Team Finland M Sebastian Lindholm Timo Hantunen 10 Jolly Club P Gianfranco Cunico Pierangelo Scalvini 12 Motorsport Consultancy P Ari Vatanen Roger Freeman 14 Gazprom Rally Team M Bruno Thiry Stéphane Prévot 14 Ford Escort RS Cosworth M Alexander Zheludov Viktor Timkovskiy 14 Marlboro Toyota Castrol Belgium Toyota Celica GT-Four (ST205) M Freddy Loix Sven Smeets 1, 4, 8, 10, 13 Toyota Castrol Deutschland P Isolde Holderied Catherine François 1 Toyota Denmark Rally Team M Henrik Lundgaard Freddy Pedersen 1 Toyota Castrol Team Sweden M Thomas Rådström 2 Denis Giraudet 8 'Gullabo' Pecka Svensson 2 Marcus Grönholm Timo Rautiainen 2 Toyota Kenya M Ian Duncan David Williamson 3 Toyota Castrol Finland M Marcus Grönholm Timo Rautiainen 4 H.F. Grifone SRL Raúl Sufan Martin Christie 4–5, 7–13 Marcus Grönholm Timo Rautiainen 7 Didier Auriol Denis Giraudet 7 Andrea Aghini Loris Roggia 12 Pier Lorenzo Zanchi Dario D'Esposito 12 Toyota Team Australia D Neal Bates Coral Taylor 9 Shell Helix Motor Oils M Pasi Hagström Tero Gardemeister 10 Tein Sport M Arne Hertz 11, 13 Jonathan Toroitich Celica Turbo 4WD (ST185) F Jonathan Toroitich Ibrahim Choge 3 Olivier Burri Subaru Impreza 555 P Olivier Burri Christophe Hofmann 1 F.Dor Rally Team P Frédéric Dor Kevin Gormley 3, 9 Didier Breton 4, 8, 10 Impreza S5 WRC '97 12 Subaru Allstars Impreza 555 P Rui Madeira Nuno Rodrigues da Silva 4–5 Yukihiko Sakurai Ronan Morgan 4, 8, 14 Impreza Recaro Fujitsubo D Masao Kamioka Kevin Gormley 4, 8, 14 P Angelo Medeghini Barbara Medeghini 5, 10 Andrea Navarra Renzo Casazza 8 Alessandro Alessandrini 12, 14 Massimo Ercolani Antonio Borri 12 Armodios Vovos P Armodios Vovos Ioánnis Alvanos 8 Joe McAndrew P Joe McAndrew Bob Haldane 9 P Andrea Dallavilla Danilo Fappani 12 Diego Oldrati Paolo Lizzi 12 Renato Travaglia ? Renato Travaglia Flavio Zanella 12 Mobil 1 Stomil Olsztyn M Krzysztof Hołowczyc Maciej Wisławski 14 Subaru Rally Team Australia Impreza WRX STi RA P Greg Graham Glenn Macneall 9 Impreza 555 P Peter 'Possum' Bourne Craig Vincent 13 Mitsubishi Ralliart Germany Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III P Uwe Nittel Christina Thörner 8 Ralliart New Zealand Lancer Evo IV F Geoff Argyle Raymond Bennett 9
FIA 2-Litre World Rally Cup Major Entries [ edit ] Team Manufacturer Car Tyre Drivers Co-drivers Rounds Škoda Motorsport Škoda Felicia Kit Car M Emil Triner Julius Gál 1 Karel Jirátko 2, 4–5, 7–8 Miloš Hůlka 10 Octavia Kit Car 12–13 Felicia Kit Car Pavel Sibera Petr Gross 1–2, 4–5, 7–8, 13 Octavia Kit Car 10, 12 Felicia Kit Car Jindřich Štolfa Miroslav Fanta 10, 12 Fabio Danti Marcello Olivari 12 East Belgian Racing Team Bernard Munster Jean-François Elst 14 SEAT Sport SEAT Ibiza Kit Car M Harri Rovanperä Voitto Silander 1, 4–5, 7 Ibiza Kit Car Evo2 9–14 Ibiza Kit Car Oriol Gómez Marc Martí 1, 5, 7, 14 Ibiza Kit Car Evo2 8–13 Ibiza Kit Car Erwin Weber Manfred Hiemer 4 Ibiza Kit Car Evo2 8, 11 Ibiza Kit Car Bruno Thiry Stéphane Prévot 5 Renaud Verreydt Dominique Dricot 12 Ibiza Kit Car Evo2 Gwyndaf Evans Howard Davies 14 David Higgins Ibiza Kit Car David Higgins Rory Kennedy 14 Technocar Ibiza GTi 16V ? "Stratissino" Giorgos Petropoulos 8 Andorra Auto Club M Eduard Andueza 4, 8 Joan Sureda 11 Vítor Pascoal Ibiza GTi 16V ? Vítor Pascoal Duarte Costa 4 Volkswagen Motorsport Sweden Volkswagen Golf III GTi 16V ? Jörgen Jonasson Nicklas Jonasson 2 Harry Joki Ingemar Karlsson 2 Blue Rose Team Golf III Kit Car ? Tapio Laukkanen Risto Mannisenmäki 2, 10 S.B.G. Sport P Alister McRae David Senior 2, 4, 13–14 Opel Team Sweden Opel Astra GSi 16V M Per Svan 2, 10, 14 Hawk Racing Club Srl ? Sandro Sottile Piero Barbieri 12 Scuderia Dei Fiori Corsa B GSi ? Andrea Maselli Nicola Arena 12 Renault Team Sweden Renault Mégane Maxi P Jonas Kruse Anders Olsson 2 Håkan Ekholm 10 Renault Gest Galp M Miguel Borges 4 Pedro Azeredo Fernando Prata 4 Remus Racing P Raphael Sperrer 4–5, 10, 12 Renault Sport España M Miguel Martínez-Conde Felipe Alonso Fernández 5 Société Diac M Philippe Bugalski Jean-Paul Chiaroni 6 Serge Jordan Jack Boyère 6 "Leonidas" M "Leonidas" Maria Pavli-Korre 8 Italian Promotor Sport M Corrado Fontana Daniele Pelliccioni 12 Paolo Andreucci Simona Fedeli 12 Renault Dealer Rallying UK M Robbie Head Bryan Thomas 14 Martin Rowe Nicky Beech 14 Mikael Bonnevier Clio Williams ? Mikael Bonnevier Peter Johansson 2 "Dim" ? "Dim" Konstantinos Stefanis 8 Oscar Chiaramello 18 GTX ? Oscar Chiaramello Fernando Chiaramello 7 Ricardo Costanzo Ricardo Costanzo Jose Claudio Ocampo 7 Promoracing Finland Nissan Sunny GTi ? Toni Gardemeister Paavo Lukander 2, 10 Nissan Motorsports Europe Micra Kit Car Y Mark Higgins Phil Mills 10 Masahiro Takasaki Hiroaki Hamada 9–13 Geoff Jones Rhydian Welson 5–6 Almera Kit Car Mark Higgins Phil Mills 14 Silverstone Rally Tyre Team Proton Satria Kit Car S Russell Palmer Brian Harwood 3 Azar Anwar Daewoo Cielo ? Azar Anwar Arshad Khan 3 Rory Green Hyundai Elantra ? Rory Green Orson Taylor 3 Jimmy Wahome ? Jimmy Wahome Tom Muriuki 3 Hyundai Rally Sport Coupé ? Robert Nicoli 9, 13 9, 11, 13 Dean Herridge M Dean Herridge Lyndall Drake 13 Jimmy McRae Accent X3 M Jimmy McRae Rob Arthur 14 Peugeot Esso Competição Peugeot 306 Maxi M Adruzilo Lopes Luís Lisboa 4 Peugeot Sport M Gilles Panizzi Herve Panizzi 5–6 François Delecour Daniel Grataloup 5–6 Peugeot Sport España M Jaime Azcona Julius Billmaier 5 "Fabrou" 106 XSi ? "Fabrou" Marc Boyer 4 Ford España Ford Escort Maxi Kit Car M Daniel Alonso Villarón Salvador Belzunces 5 Citroën Hispania Citroën ZX Kit Car M Jesús Puras Marc Martí 5 Citroën Sport Saxo Kit Car Patrick Magaud Michel Périn 6 Kostas Argiriou Toyota Starlet EP91 ? Kostas Argiriou Tzannis Vlahos 8 Silverstone Suzuki Sport Suzuki Baleno Wagon Kit Car S Nobuhiro Tajima Ross Runnalls 9 Glenn Macneall 11 Claire Parker 13 Timor Motorsport Timor S 515i ? Andy Yachmoon Ichwan Habib Nasution 11 Faried Thalib Bambang Gunawan 11 Honda UK Rally Team Honda Civic D Neil Wearden Trevor Agnew 12, 14 Daihatsu Australia Daihatsu Charade GTi ? Tony Brandon 13 Rick Bates Jenny Brittan 13 Kia Motorsport Korea Kia Sephia ? Park Jeong-Ryong Damien Long 13
Group N Cup major entries [ edit ] Team Manufacturer Car Tyre Drivers Co-drivers Rounds Mitsubishi Ralliart Germany Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III P Gustavo Trelles Jorge Del Buono 1–2, 4–5, 7–10, 12 Manfred Stohl Dieter Schneppenheim 1 Peter Müller 2, 4–5, 7 Lancer Evo IV 10, 12 Lancer Evo III Luis Climent Álex Romaní 4–6, 8, 13–14 Lancer Evo IV 10 Paulaner Team Lancer Evo III P Armin Kremer Sven Behling 1 Mitsubishi Ralliart Sweden M Kenneth Bäcklund Tord Andersson 2 Stig-Olov Walfridsson Gunnar Barth 2 Mitsubishi Ralliart Finland M Juha Kangas Jani Laaksonen 2, 10 Lancer Carisma GT Evo IV Jouko Puhakka Keijo Eerola 10 Bilsport Magazine Lancer Evo II ? Gert Blomqvist Lena Lindberg 2 Helmia Motorsport Lancer Evo III ? Pernilla Solberg Sven-Olov Kvarnlöv 2 Linda Walfridsson 14 Sobiesław Zasada ? Sobiesław Zasada Ewa Zasada 3 Kurt Göttlicher ? Kurt Göttlicher Petra Heider 3–4, 7–10 Antonello Fidanza ? Antonello Fidanza Raffaele Farina 5, 12 Jacques Andreani M Jacques Andreani Claude Blanc-Raffini 6 Jorge Recalde ? Jorge Recalde José Garcia 7 Ralliart New Zealand Lancer Evo IV ? Reece Jones Leo Bult 9 Lancer Evo III Eurig Evans 13–14 Todd Bawden Lancer Evo IV ? Todd Bawden Jeff Grove 9 Hikaru Teshigawara ? Hikaru Teshigawara Tadayoshi Sato 9 Vatosua ? Olli Harkki Kari Mustalahti 10, 14 Team Pomi Finland ? Marko Ipatti Kari Kajula 10 Advan-Piaa Rally Team Lancer Evo III Y Yoshihiro Kataoka Satoshi Hayashi 11, 13 Mitsubishi Ralliart Indonesia Lancer Evo IV ? Arief Indiarto Firman Barototomo 11 Bambang Hartono Agung Baskoro 11 Masayuki Akaba Lancer Evo III ? Masayuki Akaba Takako Akaba 11, 13 Goro Rally Team Lancer Evo IV ? Tommy Suharto Jeffrey Jarang Pulang 11 Ricardo Gelael Hervian Soejono 11 Ralliart Italia Lancer Evo V ? Mario Stagni Enrico Brazzoli 12 Luca Baldini Lancer Evo III ? Luca Baldini Massimo Agostinelli 12 Boris Popovič ? Boris Popovič Roman Leljak 12 Fabrizio Gallio Lancer Evo IV ? Fabrizio Gallio Daniele De Luis 12 Jeremy Easson Lancer Evo III D Jeremy Easson Alun Cook 14 Julian Porter ? Julian Porter Claire Mole 14 Proton Kathrein Rallye Team Proton Wira Evo III P Hermann Gaßner sen. Siegfried Schrankl 1, 12 Petronas EON Racing Team Wira 4WD Y Karamjit Singh Allen Oh 9, 11, 13 Katsuhiko Taguchi Fred Gocentas 9 Roland Pickering 13 Saladin Mazlan Jagdev Singh 11 Johnny Hellier Subaru Impreza WRX ? Johnny Hellier Stefano Rocca 3 Escudería Sur ? Carlos Marques Álvaro Ferreira 4 Remus Racing ? Achim Mörtl Ilka Minor 6 Roberto Sanchez ? Roberto Sanchez Edgardo Galindo 7 Aurelino González ? Aurelino González Carlos Zarza 7 Hiroshi Nishiyama B Hiroshi Nishiyama Hisashi Yamaguchi 8, 14 'Stumpy' ? 'Stumpy' Daryll Judd 9 Subaru Rally Team Japan ? Hideaki Miyoshi Yoshimasa Nakahara 9, 11, 13 Yoshihiro Kataoka Satoshi Hayashi 9 Toshihiro Arai Toshio Omizo 13 Tein Sport Junior Team M Shigeyuki Konishi Tony Sircombe 9, 11, 13 Team 555 China ? Yong Zhou Xue Zhong Chen 11 ? Tong Chun Xian Jia Li 11 Les Walkden Racing ? Michael Guest David Green 13 Rob Herridge ? Rob Herridge Chris Randell 13 Vassilis Apostolou Legacy RS ? Vassilis Apostolou Emmanouel Kalogeropoulos 8 Azar Anwar Daewoo Cielo ? Azar Anwar Arshad Khan 3 Mark Tilbury Nissan Pulsar GTi-R ? Mark Tilbury Bill Kirk 3 Vassilis Halkias Sunny GTI-R ? Vassilis Halkias Mihalis Patrikoussis 8 Jim Kahumbura Toyota Celica GT-Four (ST205) ? Jim Kahumbura Dave Macharia 3 Chitranjan Patel Ford Escort RS Cosworth ? Chitranjan Patel Shailen Shah 3 Horácio Franco ? Horácio Franco Tiago Mourão 4 Jean-Marie Santoni ? Jean-Marie Santoni Jean-Marc Casamatta 6 JLM Team Peugeot 106 Rallye M David Nafría F. Gallego 5 Gamace MC Competición M Jordi Grinyó Samira Lanaya 5 Escudería La Coruña M Amador Vidal Cernadas Roberto Mosquera López 5 Philippe Fons Renault Clio Williams ? Philippe Fons Olivier Pieri 6 Jean-Michel Pietri ? Jean-Michel Pietri Jean-Charles Mondoloni 6 Erick Antona ? Erick Antona Jean-Charles Pianelli 6 Pavlos Moschoutis Mazda 323 GT-R M Pavlos Moschoutis Giórgos Kouris 8
Results and standings [ edit ] [ edit ] Key Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Did not finish (Ret) Black Excluded (EX) Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Cancelled (C) Blank Withdrew entry from
[ edit ] Key Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Did not finish (Ret) Black Excluded (EX) Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Cancelled (C) Blank Withdrew entry from
Key Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Did not finish (Ret) Black Excluded (EX) Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Cancelled (C) Blank Withdrew entry from
1997 World Rally Championship event map Black = Tarmac Brown = Gravel Blue = Ice/Snow Red = Mixed Surface
Mitsubishi Ralliart
Tommi Mäkinen
Uwe Nittel
Tina Thörner
Richard Burns
Ed Ordynski
Fred Gocentas
Piero Liatti
Peter 'Possum' Bourne
Ford Motor Co. Ltd.
Carlos Sainz
Denis Giraudet
Freddy Loix
Monte Carlo Rally
Safari Rally
Rally Portugal
Rally Argentina
Acropolis Rally
Rally Indonesia
