The 1997 World Rally Championship was the 25th season of the FIA 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 end Tommi Mäkinen won his second drivers' world championship in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV by a single point ahead of Subaru Impreza WRC driver Colin McRae after the final round in Great Britain. Carlos Sainz was third in the leading Ford Escort WRC. The Manufacturers' title was won by Subaru, with Ford second and Mitsubishi third.
Technical changes
For the 1997 season, Group A was partially replaced by the World 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 for homologation. This meant that vehicles such as the Escort RS Cosworth and Subaru 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 their Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution road cars. Subaru's transition was much more gradual for similar reasons, with the early Subaru Impreza WRCs still largely Group A in nature. By mid season Toyota Team Europe were back with the new Corolla World Rally Car.
In the few years that follow, the Championship saw the added presence of WRC cars from companies such as Hyundai, Seat, Citroën, and Peugeot, 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-drive FIA 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 events Rallye Catalunya and the Tour de Corse with Gilles Panizzi defeating all but two of the WRC four-wheel-drive turbos in his Peugeot 306 Maxi, taking third place in both events.
Calendar
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 dateFinish dateRallyRally headquartersSurfaceStagesDistance118 January22 January 65th Rallye Automobile Monte CarloMonte CarloMixed18398.30 km27 February10 February 46th International Swedish RallyKarlstad, Värmland CountySnow24411.17 km31 March3 March 45th Safari Rally KenyaNairobiGravel131318.0 km423 March26 March 31st TAP Rallye de PortugalFigueira da Foz, CoimbraGravel31419.78 km514 April16 April 33rd Rallye Catalunya - Costa Brava - Rallye de EspañaLloret de Mar, CataloniaTarmac18387.70 km65 May7 May 41st Tour de Corse - Rallye de FranceAjaccio, CorsicaTarmac18408.0 km722 May25 May 17th Rally ArgentinaCarlos Paz, CórdobaGravel23413.4 km88 June10 June 44th Acropolis RallyAthensGravel20402.86 km92 August5 August 28th Smokefree Rally New ZealandManukau, AucklandGravel24395.99 km1029 August31 August 47th Neste Rally FinlandJyväskylä, Central FinlandGravel22381.55 km1119 September21 September 22nd Rally of IndonesiaMedan, North SumatraGravel22402.17 km1212 October15 October 39th Rallye Sanremo - Rallye d'ItaliaSanremo, LiguriaTarmac25396.21 km1330 October2 November 10th API Rally AustraliaPerth, Western AustraliaGravel24421.42 km1423 November25 November 54th Network Q RAC RallyCheltenham, GloucestershireGravel26381.11 kmSources:
Teams and drivers Team Manufacturer Car Tyre No. Driver Co-Driver Rounds Mitsubishi Ralliart Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV 1 Tommi Mäkinen Seppo Harjanne AllLancer Evo III 2 Uwe Nittel Tina Thörner 1–2, 5–6, 10, 12Carisma GT Evo IV Richard Burns Robert Reid3–4, 7–9, 11, 13–14Lancer Evo III11 Ed Ordynski Mark Stacey1313 Kenjiro Shinozuka Fred Gocentas13 555 Subaru WRT Subaru Impreza S5 WRC '97 3 Colin McRae Nicky Grist All 4 Piero Liatti Fabrizia Pons 1, 5–6, 12 Kenneth Eriksson Staffan Parmander 2–4, 7–11, 13–148 Piero Liatti Fabrizia Pons 14Impreza 55510 Peter 'Possum' Bourne Craig Vincent 9 Ford Motor Co. Ltd.FordFord Escort WRC5 Carlos Sainz Luis MoyaAll6 Armin Schwarz Denis Giraudet1–5 Phil Mills6 Juha Kankkunen Juha Repo 7–14 16 Angelo Medeghini Barbara Medeghini 14 Toyota Castrol TeamToyotaCorolla WRC7 Didier Auriol Denis Giraudet 10–148 Marcus Grönholm Timo Rautiainen 109 149 Neal Bates Coral Taylor11813 10 Freddy Loix Sven Smeets 12
Non Manufacturer Entries Major entries not registered as manufacturers Team Manufacturer CarTyre DriversCo-drivers Rounds R.A.S. Sport Ford Ford Escort RS Cosworth Didier Auriol Jean-Marc Andrié 1 Jean-Pierre Richelmi Thierry Barjou 4, 8 Dieter Depping Dieter Depping Dieter Hawranke 1 Bo-Be Plastindustri AB Mats Jonsson Johnny Johansson 2 Mobil Ford Motorsport Stig Blomqvist Benny Melander 2 Blue Rose Team Jarmo Kytölehto Arto Kapanen 2Escort WRC 10 Totta Peres Competição Fernando Peres Ricardo Caldeira 4 Belgacom Turbo Team Grégoire de Mevius Jean-Marc Fortin 4, 8, 12, 14 Leonídas Kirkos Leonídas Kirkos Nikos Panou 8 Ford Team Finland Sebastian Lindholm Timo Hantunen 10 Jolly Club Gianfranco Cunico Pierangelo Scalvini 12 Motorsport Consultancy Ari Vatanen Roger Freeman 14 Gazprom Rally Team Bruno Thiry Stéphane Prévot 14Ford Escort RS Cosworth Alexander Zheludov Viktor Timkovskiy 14 Marlboro Toyota Castrol BelgiumToyotaCelica GT-Four (ST205) Freddy Loix Sven Smeets 1, 4, 8, 10, 13 Toyota Castrol Deutschland Isolde Holderied Catherine François 1 Toyota Denmark Rally Team Henrik Lundgaard Freddy Pedersen 1 Toyota Castrol Team Sweden Thomas Rådström Lars Bäckman 2 Denis Giraudet 8 'Gullabo' Pecka Svensson 2 Marcus Grönholm Timo Rautiainen 2 Toyota Kenya Ian Duncan David Williamson 3 Toyota Castrol Finland Marcus Grönholm Timo Rautiainen 4 H.F. Grifone SRL Raúl Sufan Martin Christie 4–5, 7–13 Marcus Grönholm Timo Rautiainen7 Didier Auriol Denis Giraudet 7 Andrea Aghini Loris Roggia 12 Pier Lorenzo Zanchi Dario D'Esposito 12 Toyota Team Australia Neal Bates Coral Taylor 9 Shell Helix Motor Oils Pasi Hagström Tero Gardemeister 10 Tein Sport Yoshio Fujimoto Arne Hertz 11, 13 Jonathan ToroitichCelica Turbo 4WD (ST185) Jonathan Toroitich Ibrahim Choge 3 Olivier BurriSubaruImpreza 555 Olivier Burri Christophe Hofmann 1 F.Dor Rally Team Frédéric Dor Kevin Gormley3, 9 Didier Breton4, 8, 10Impreza S5 WRC '9712 Subaru AllstarsImpreza 555 Rui Madeira Nuno Rodrigues da Silva4–5 Yukihiko Sakurai Ronan Morgan4, 8, 14 Impreza Recaro Fujitsubo Masao Kamioka Kevin Gormley4, 8, 14 A.R.T Engineering Angelo Medeghini Barbara Medeghini5, 10 Andrea Navarra Renzo Casazza8 Alessandro Alessandrini12, 14 Massimo Ercolani Antonio Borri12 Armodios Vovos Armodios Vovos Ioánnis Alvanos8 Joe McAndrew Joe McAndrew Bob Haldane9 Procar Rally Team Andrea Dallavilla Danilo Fappani12 Diego Oldrati Paolo Lizzi12 Renato Travaglia ? Renato Travaglia Flavio Zanella12 Mobil 1 Stomil Olsztyn Krzysztof Hołowczyc Maciej Wisławski14 Subaru Rally Team AustraliaImpreza WRX STi RA Greg Graham Glenn Macneall9Impreza 555 Peter 'Possum' Bourne Craig Vincent13 Mitsubishi Ralliart GermanyMitsubishiLancer Evo III Uwe Nittel Christina Thörner8 Ralliart New ZealandLancer Evo IV Geoff Argyle Raymond Bennett9
FIA 2-Litre World Rally Cup Major Entries Team Manufacturer CarTyre DriversCo-drivers Rounds Škoda MotorsportŠkodaFelicia Kit Car Emil Triner Julius Gál1 Karel Jirátko2, 4–5, 7–8 Miloš Hůlka10Octavia Kit Car12–13Felicia Kit Car Pavel Sibera Petr Gross1–2, 4–5, 7–8, 13Octavia Kit Car10, 12Felicia Kit Car Jindřich Štolfa Miroslav Fanta10, 12 Fabio Danti Marcello Olivari12 East Belgian Racing Team Bernard Munster Jean-François Elst14 SEAT SportSEATIbiza Kit Car Harri Rovanperä Voitto Silander1, 4–5, 7Ibiza Kit Car Evo29–14Ibiza Kit Car Oriol Gómez Marc Martí1, 5, 7, 14Ibiza Kit Car Evo28–13Ibiza Kit Car Erwin Weber Manfred Hiemer4Ibiza Kit Car Evo28, 11Ibiza Kit Car Bruno Thiry Stéphane Prévot5 Renaud Verreydt Dominique Dricot12Ibiza Kit Car Evo2 Gwyndaf Evans Howard Davies14 David HigginsIbiza Kit Car David Higgins Rory Kennedy14 TechnocarIbiza GTi 16V? "Stratissino" Giorgos Petropoulos8 Andorra Auto Club Ferran Font Eduard Andueza4, 8 Joan Sureda11 Vítor Pascoal Ibiza GTi 16V? Vítor Pascoal Duarte Costa 4 Volkswagen Motorsport SwedenVolkswagenGolf III GTi 16V? Jörgen Jonasson Nicklas Jonasson2 Harry Joki Ingemar Karlsson2 Blue Rose TeamGolf III Kit Car? Tapio Laukkanen Risto Mannisenmäki 2, 10 S.B.G. Sport Alister McRae David Senior 2, 4, 13–14 Opel Team SwedenOpelAstra GSi 16V Per Svan Johan Olsson 2, 10, 14 Hawk Racing Club Srl? Sandro Sottile Piero Barbieri 12 Scuderia Dei FioriCorsa B GSi? Andrea Maselli Nicola Arena 12 Renault Team SwedenRenaultMégane Maxi Jonas Kruse Anders Olsson 2 Håkan Ekholm10 Renault Gest Galp José Carlos Macedo Miguel Borges 4 Pedro Azeredo Fernando Prata 4 Remus Racing Raphael Sperrer Per Carlsson 4–5, 10, 12 Renault Sport España Miguel Martínez-Conde Felipe Alonso Fernández 5 Société Diac Philippe Bugalski Jean-Paul Chiaroni 6 Serge Jordan Jack Boyère 6 "Leonidas" "Leonidas" Maria Pavli-Korre8 Italian Promotor Sport Corrado Fontana Daniele Pelliccioni12 Paolo Andreucci Simona Fedeli 12 Renault Dealer Rallying UK Robbie Head Bryan Thomas 14 Martin Rowe Nicky Beech 14 Mikael BonnevierClio Williams? Mikael Bonnevier Peter Johansson 2 "Dim"? "Dim" Konstantinos Stefanis 8 Oscar Chiaramello18 GTX? Oscar Chiaramello Fernando Chiaramello7 Ricardo Costanzo Ricardo Costanzo Jose Claudio Ocampo 7 Promoracing FinlandNissanSunny GTi? Toni Gardemeister Paavo Lukander 2, 10 Nissan Motorsports EuropeMicra Kit Car Mark Higgins Phil Mills 10 Masahiro Takasaki Hiroaki Hamada 9–13 Geoff Jones Rhydian Welson5–6Almera Kit Car Mark Higgins Phil Mills14 Silverstone Rally Tyre TeamProtonSatria Kit CarS Russell Palmer Brian Harwood3 Azar AnwarDaewooCielo? Azar Anwar Arshad Khan3 Rory GreenHyundaiElantra? Rory Green Orson Taylor3 Jimmy Wahome? Jimmy Wahome Tom Muriuki3 Hyundai Rally SportCoupé? Robert Nicoli Jim Carlton9, 13 Wayne Bell Iain Stewart9, 11, 13 Dean Herridge Dean Herridge Lyndall Drake13 Jimmy McRaeAccent X3 Jimmy McRae Rob Arthur14 Peugeot Esso CompetiçãoPeugeot306 Maxi Adruzilo Lopes Luís Lisboa4 Peugeot Sport Gilles Panizzi Herve Panizzi5–6 François Delecour Daniel Grataloup5–6 Peugeot Sport España Jaime Azcona Julius Billmaier5 "Fabrou"106 XSi? "Fabrou" Marc Boyer4 Ford EspañaFordEscort Maxi Kit Car Daniel Alonso Villarón Salvador Belzunces5 Citroën HispaniaCitroënZX Kit Car Jesús Puras Marc Martí5 Citroën SportSaxo Kit Car Patrick Magaud Michel Périn6 Kostas ArgiriouToyotaStarlet EP91? Kostas Argiriou Tzannis Vlahos8 Silverstone Suzuki SportSuzukiBaleno Wagon Kit CarS Nobuhiro Tajima Ross Runnalls9 Glenn Macneall11 Claire Parker13 Timor MotorsportTimorS 515i? Andy Yachmoon Ichwan Habib Nasution11 Faried Thalib Bambang Gunawan11 Honda UK Rally TeamHondaCivic Neil Wearden Trevor Agnew12, 14 Daihatsu AustraliaDaihatsuCharade GTi? Ross Mackenzie Tony Brandon13 Rick Bates Jenny Brittan13 Kia Motorsport KoreaKiaSephia? Park Jeong-Ryong Damien Long13
Group N Cup major entries