Rally History (part II)

[Kaps]

Oh, I'm terribly sorry Janusz, but after a whole day of trying I couldn't find anything about those guys.
I even asked mother of a friend (she used to be involved in some club-level rallying ages ago), but she never heard of them either.


Personally, I don't have anything even remotely close to this era.
I'm really very sorry I couldn't return the favour!

However, I still have a few 1978 questions to finish that season off.
1. The entrants of Opel Kadett GT/Es of Kullang-Berglund & Danielsson-Edqvist on Swedish and of Kullang-Berglund & Danielsson-de Jong on Criterium de Quebec.
2. Crew Temmes-Eriksson on Swedish, a works Saab or not?

That would be all for 1978.

[FAL]

As I may not be able to help next week, I'll try and cover RAC 79 works entries for Kaps!

Ford - effectively 7 mechanically-identical Escorts run under co-ordinated "works" service arrangements. This was the last official Ford works rally with Mk2 Escorts and all publicity photos etc show 7 Escorts as the "works" team.
3 entries from "FoMoCo" - Mikkola (Eaton Yale), Waldegard (Eaton Yale) and No.73 Guenda Eadie/Flip Kerr, Fiesta (prize drive for winning the UK Faberge Fiesta ladies championship).
Rothmans Rally Team-Vatanen, Equipe Esso-Clark, Andrews-Brookes, Haynes-Taylor, Ford Australia-Carr.
Haynes car actually built by Haynes, Brookes car originally works built but run during 79 by own mechanics. Others works built.

Lancia GB - Alen, Stratos. This car allegedly removed from museum and prepared by independent Italian Stratos specialist as works team no longer had any parts.
Lancia England - multiple entries of Autobiancis from European championship all running at back of field.
Alitalia Fiat - Rohrl, 131. Was to have been the (originally works built) car run in the UK during 1979 but found to have a twisted body during preparation and older (originally works built) UK 1978 car used.

Chrysler Competition Centre - Sunbeam Lotus
Team Toyota GB - Works Celicas
Saab Scania AB
BL Cars
Team Datsun Europe
DTV Castrol - Chevettes
DOT (UK) - Opel
Dealer Team Skoda (a UK driver at No 132)
Audi Motorsport - Works team of 4 Audi 80s
VEB Automobilwerk Eisenach - Wartburgs

[Kaps]

Thanks a lot FAL!

But before that there's still some 1978 stuff that I don't know for sure.

-the entrants of Kullang & Danielsson at Swedish and Quebec,

-works Saab cars at Swedish, where there any besides Eklund's

-entrant for Ford of J. P. Nicolas at Portugal, as I believe that wasn't a works car, also at RAC, that PCA/Total Oil wasn't a works entry?

-entrant for Porsche of J. P. Nicolas at Monte and of F. Vincent at San Remo and Corse

[januszsz]

J-P. Nicolas for sure was a private entry for Monte Carlo. His car was run by Almeras brothers. Safari entry was probably the sole "works" entry of Porsche for WRC in 1978.
Regards
Janusz

[Kaps]

-the entrants of Kullang & Danielsson at Swedish and Quebec,

-works Saab cars at Swedish, where there any besides Eklund's

-entrant for Ford of J. P. Nicolas at Portugal, as I believe that wasn't a works car, also at RAC, that PCA/Total Oil wasn't a works entry?

-entrant for Porsche of J. P. Nicolas at Monte and of F. Vincent at San Remo and Corse

Thank you Janusz.

jorge, do you maybe have some of the answers on the above?

[Juha]

-the entrants of Kullang & Danielsson at Swedish and Quebec

The trip to Quebec was arranged by Dealer Team Holland for Kullang, Bergsteyn and Danielsson but I don't know under wich team name they ran (it was a mix of swedish and dutch mechanics).

Francis Vincent's Porsche was a private entry.

Eklund was the only works Saab in Sweden, Blomqvist's Saab turbo was not ready so he switched to Lancia.

World Rallying says Nicholas' Escort in Portugal was entered by Ford of Britain, together with Waldegard, Vatanen and Mikkola.

[Kaps]

Thanks very much Juha!

[FAL]

Graham Robson has J-P Nicholas in a full works car (MTW200P) in Portugal 78
This particular car was sold to David Sutton in 79, so tends to be thought of as one of his hire cars, but in 78 it was a works car.
Nicholas on RAC 78 was entered by Peter Clarke Autos (Peter Clarke ran the Total UK programmes with various drivers in ex-works Escorts). As said earlier, there were no official works Fords on the 78 RAC but if, but for the strike, the main team cars had been works-entered, I think you would still have seen the Nicholas (ex-works) car as non-works (PCA) entered.

As also said once before, "following the money" is one way of deciding what was really works and what wasn't. I'm not sure of J-P Nicholas' status at Ford. They lacked a true tarmac specialist ever since Vic Elford left during the Cortina days. J-F Piot was funded by Ford France in a works-loaned car in earlier Escort years and J-P Nicholas may have been indirectly paid by Ford France or just Total but did on occasion drive a full works Escort, so may have been on a factory retainer....

[Kaps]

Hmm, I guess I'll have to re-do my 1978 table.
I've been convinced now that I should regard Nicolas' Portugal entry as a works one, and that at RAC as a privateer.

Also, I wonder what were Lancia's plans for Sweden?
As we know, they entered only one car, and it was driven by Stig Blomqvist.
But, as Juha here revealed, it was only possible due to a fact that Saab could get only 1 new car ready in time for the rally, and they gave it to Eklund. (Strange decision if you ask me!)
So Blomqvist went with Lancia, and finished 4th.
But what interests me is, who was originally intended to drive that Stratos, or did Lancia only decided to enter the car for Blomqvist once it became clear that his Saab drive will not materialise?

[kabouter]

Anybody knows consecutive numbers of following WRC 2007 events:
Rally Norway
Rally de Portugal
Rally Ireland
as well as the Rally Russia (IRC 2007 event).
Regards
Janusz

When Janusz asked this some time back we settled on Ireland and Portugal, but we didn't continue the discussion if Rally Norway should be considered a continuation of Rally Finnskog Norway (which would mean last weekend the 26th Rally Norway was held) or if last year's event was a new start, making this the 2nd Rally Norway. At the moment I tend to include the Finnskog rallies as the organisers of that event also play a role in Rally Norway and Rally Norway took the spot of Rally Finnskog on the calendar. Does anyone have reasons to change this view?

Also, we didn't reach a conclusion if Rally Russia can be considered a continuation of Rally Vyborg.