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
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Host country Poland
Rally baseKraków, Poland
Dates run12 July 1973 – 15 July 1973
Stages55 (734 km; 456 miles)
Stage surfaceAsphalt and gravel
Overall distance3,912 km (2,431 miles)
Results
Overall winner Achim Warmbold
Jean Todt
Fiat
Fiat Abarth 124 Rallye
Crews62 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
1973 Polish Rally results
Finish Total
time		 Group Car # Driver
Co-driver		 Car Mfr.
points
Overall In
group
1 18 h : 28 m : 14 s44 Achim Warmbold
Jean Todt		 Fiat Abarth 124 Rallye 20
2 111 h : 15 m : 16 s291 Egon Culmbacher
Werner Ernst		 Wartburg 353 15
3 112 h : 8 m : 31 s155 Maciej Stawowiak
Jan Czyżyk		 Polski Fiat 125p 12
Retired (excluded) 42 Jean-Luc Thérier
Alain Mahé		 Alpine Renault A110 1800
Retired (mechanical) 43 Alcide Paganelli
Ninni Russo		 Fiat Abarth 124 Rallye
Retired (accident) 47 Adam Smorawiński
Zbigniew Kołaczkowski		 Porsche 911
Retired (time) 212 Hans Britth
Magnus Olsson		 Ford Capri 2600
Retired 221 Marian Bień
Wiesław Nicieja		 Polski Fiat 125p
Retired (time) 223 Jerzy Dobrzański
Antoni Ryniak		 Polski Fiat 125p
Retired (accident) 224 Stasys Brundza
Anatoli Brum		 Moskvich 412
Retired (mechanical) 226 Ryszard Żyszkowski
Jerzy Żyszkowski		 Polski Fiat 125p
Retired 227 Horst Rausch
Jerzy Sypniewski		 BMW 2002
Retired 231 Kastytis Girdauskas
Arvydas Girdauskas		 Moskvich 412
Retired 234 Krzysztof Komornicki
Błażej Krupa		 Polski Fiat 125p
Retired 235 Jerzy Landsberg
Marian Wangrat		 Polski Fiat 125p
Retired (time) 236 Lev Morozov
Andris Kalnais		 Moskvich 412
Retired (accident) 149 Heino Sepp
Toomas Bernstein		 Moskvich 412
Retired (time) 157 Evert Wesström
Bo Carlsson		 Toyota Corolla
Retired (mechanical) 163 Marek Varisella
Janina Jedynak		 Polski Fiat 125p

Source: Independent WRC archive[1]

Championship standings after the event
1973 World Rally Championship for Manufacturers points standings after round 7
After round 6 Team Season end
Position Points Position Points
1 92 Alpine Renault 1147
2 63 Fiat 284
3 33 Citroën 733
4 22 Datsun 634
5 20 Saab 542
6 16 Ford 376
7 15 Wartburg 1415
8 14 Volkswagen 1515
9 13 Lancia 1317
10 13 Peugeot 1613
11 12 Polski Fiat 1218
12 8 Porsche 927
13 5 Opel 1125
14 4 BMW 828
4 Mitsubishi 174
4 Volvo 444
17 3 Škoda 183
18 2 Toyota 1025
19 1 Audi 202
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References
  1. "Polish Rally". juwra.com. Independent WRC archive. Retrieved 2017-03-16.
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