The 1989 World Rally Championship was the 17th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) World Rally Championship (WRC). The season consisted of 13 rallies, with some adjustments to the schedule versus the previous season. The WRC ended its participation in North America by removing the Olympus Rally from the schedule, implementing in its place Rally Australia. An anomaly in the schedule was that 1989 was the only year in which the Swedish Rally and the Rallye de Monte Carlo were switched in place, with the Swedish event taking place to start the year. This made it the second and last time that Monte Carlo would not mark the first event of the WRC season until the 2009 season.
Martini Lancia continued their domination of the sport for a third year in 1989, winning the first six rallies in which manufacturer points were awarded, and ultimately winning the title with plenty of room to spare. Italian Miki Biasion, Finn Markku Alén and Frenchman Bruno Saby returned to the team, while other successful drivers employed by the team through the year included French native Didier Auriol, Swede Mikael Ericsson, and Argentine driver Jorge Recalde. The team drove the Lancia Delta Integrale through the year. The car also remained the one of choice for the Jolly Club team's main drivers, Italians Alex Fiorio and Dario Cerrato. Complementing the manufacturer's success in the standings, Lancia drivers placed well throughout the top ranks in the drivers championship as well. Biasion seized the championship handily, becoming the WRC's second repeat champion, while Fiorio settled for a distant second, a position fought for through the year against Toyota's driver, Kankkunen. Other successful Lancia pilots included Mikael Ericsson in fourth and Auriol behind him in fifth place.
Toyota Team Europe represented the only serious challenge to Martini and the Lancias with it Toyota Celica GT-Four and a stable of drivers that included former world champion Finn Juha Kankkunen and the only Group A winner, Swede Kenneth Eriksson, as well as a rising star from Spain, Carlos Sainz. All three had successes during the year, though the team was never able to overcome Lancia's early domination of the manufacturer title race. Kankkunen challenged for second overall, but ultimately had to settle for third place, while Kenneth Eriksson took sixth and Sainz finished in eighth.
After an initial win in Sweden by its main driver, Swede Ingvar Carlsson, Mazda Rally Team Europe was unable to repeat their success, yet still captured third overall amongst manufacturers while Carlsson took seventh in the driver championship standings. Mitsubishi's competitive team Ralliart made its entrance to the WRC scene, taking two rally wins with its Galant VR-4 car, one by Swede Mikael Ericsson in Finland and a second by Finn Pentti Airikkala in England. Ericsson's victory in Finland followed his win in the previous round in Argentina driving a Lancia, giving him the distinction of being the first winner of consecutive WRC events for different manufacturers. Mitsubishi was able to obtain fourth place overall in the standings. The Audi Quattro continued to be competitive in the hands of privateers during the early part of the season, garnering the maker with enough points for fifth, while Simon Racing's Renault 5 GT Turbo powered their driver, Frenchman Alain Oreille to victory in the Ivory Coast and 10th place in the driver standings while securing sixth for the manufacturer.
For 1989, the number of rallies for which manufacturer points would be awarded was reduced to ten of the thirteen events, with events in Sweden, the Ivory Coast, and New Zealand only counting towards the driver titles.
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Calendar
Rd.Start dateFinish dateRallyRally headquartersSurfaceStagesDistancePoints16 January8 January 39th International Swedish RallyKarlstad, Värmland CountySnow37504.41 kmDrivers only222 January26 January 57th Rallye Automobile Monte-CarloMonte CarloMixed24613.25 kmDrivers & Manufacturers328 February4 March 23rd Rallye de Portugal - Vinho do PortoEstoril, LisbonMixed38593.60 kmDrivers & Manufacturers423 March27 March 37th Marlboro Safari RallyNairobiGravelN/A4538 kmDrivers & Manufacturers523 April26 April 33rd Tour de Corse - Rallye de FranceAjaccio, CorsicaTarmac33628.71 kmDrivers & Manufacturers628 May31 May 36th Acropolis RallyAthensGravel42588.51 kmDrivers & Manufacturers715 July18 July 20th Rothmans Rally of New ZealandAucklandGravel42595.00 kmDrivers only82 August5 August 9th Rally ArgentinaCórdobaGravel30598.57 kmDrivers & Manufacturers925 August27 August 39th 1000 Lakes RallyJyväskylä, Central FinlandGravel43507.83 kmDrivers & Manufacturers1014 September17 September 2nd Commonwealth Bank Rally AustraliaPerth, Western AustraliaGravel32544.27 kmDrivers & Manufacturers118 October12 October 31st Rallye Sanremo - Rallye d'ItaliaSanremo, LiguriaMixed33544.20 kmDrivers & Manufacturers1229 October2 November 21st Rallye Cote d'IvoireAbidjanGravelN/A3528 kmDrivers only1319 November23 November 45th Lombard RAC RallyNottinghamGravel55603.57 kmDrivers & ManufacturersSources:
Teams and Drivers Team Manufacturer Car Tyre Drivers Rounds Mazda Rally Team Europe Mazda 323 4WD Timo Salonen 1–2, 9, 13 Ingvar Carlsson 1, 7, 10, 13 Hannu Mikkola 2, 9, 13 Mikael Sundström 1, 9, 13 Thorbjörn Edling 1, 9 Grégoire de Mévius 1–4, 6, 9, 11–13 Rod Millen 7, 10 Didier Monin 12 Martini Lancia Lancia Delta HF IntegraleDelta HF Integrale 16V Mikael Ericsson 1, 8 Bruno Saby 2, 5 Miki Biasion 2–4, 6, 9, 11 Didier Auriol 2–3, 5–6, 9, 11 Markku Alén 3, 9–10 Jorge Recalde 4, 8 Yves Loubet 5 Toyota Team Europe Toyota Celica GT-Four ST165Supra Turbo Kenneth Eriksson 1, 6, 9–10, 13 Leif Asterhag 1 Juha Kankkunen 2–3, 5–6, 9–11, 13 Björn Waldegård 2–4 Patrick Snijers 2, 5–6, 11 Carlos Sainz 2–3, 5–6, 9, 11, 13 Ian Duncan 4 John Rowell 13 Graham Middleton 13 GM Euro Sport VauxhallOpel Astra GTEKadett GSI 16V Malcolm Wilson 1, 7, 10, 13 Mats Jonsson 1, 7, 9, 13 Björn Johansson 1 Håkan Eriksson 1 Sepp Haider 9–10, 13 Louise Aitken-Walker 13 Brian Wiggins 13 James Sutherland 13 Top Run SRL Lancia Delta HF IntegraleDelta HF Integrale 16V Gustavo Trelles 1, 3, 6, 8–9, 11–13 Fredrik Skoghag 1–3, 6–7, 9–13 Pascal Gaban 2–3, 6, 9, 11–12 Giovanni Recordati 2–3, 6 Jorge Recalde 6, 10, 13 Massimo Ercolani 6, 11, 13 Ford Motor Co Ltd Ford Sierra XR 4x4Sierra RS Cosworth Colin McRae 1, 7, 13 Joaquim Santos 3 Pierre-César Baroni 5 Gianfranco Cunico 5, 13 Mark Lovell 5, 13 Jimmy McRae 7, 13 Saeed Al-Hajri 7, 10 Russell Brookes 13 Jolly Club Lancia Delta HF Integrale Alex Fiorio 2–4, 6, 8, 10–11 Dario Cerrato 2, 11 Patricia Bertapelle 2 Paolo Andreucci 3, 6 Massimo Maneo 3, 11 Mitsubshi Ralliart Europe Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 Ari Vatanen 2, 6, 9, 13 Kenjiro Shinozuka 3, 6–7, 10 Jimmy McRae 6 Ross Dunkerton 7, 10 Mikael Ericsson 9 Lasse Lampi 9 Pentti Airikkala 13 Audi Sport Audi 90 Quattro200 QuattroCoupé Quattro Paola de Martini 2–3, 5–6, 11–12 Georg Fischer 3, 8 Rudi Stohl 4, 6, 10, 12 Armin Schwarz 6, 9, 11, 13 Bruno Thiry 6 Malcolm Stewart 7 Bastos Motul BMW BMW M3 Marc Duez 2–3, 5, 9, 11 Bernard Béguin 5 François Chatriot 5 Simon Racing Renault 5 GT Turbo Alain Oreille 2, 5, 10–12 Claude Balesi 5 Richard Frau 5, 11 Nissan Motorsports International Nissan 200SX Per Eklund 4 Mike Kirkland 4 Vic Preston Jr 4 Jayant Shah 4 Státhis Iorgakis 6 Alain Ambrosino 12 Volkswagen Motorsport Volkswagen Golf GTI 16V Stig Blomqvist 4 Erwin Weber 4 Manjit Sandhu 4 Konstantinos Apostolou 6 Subaru Technica International Subaru RX Turbo Peter 'Possum' Bourne 4, 7–8, 10 Patrick Njiru 4 Jim Heather-Hayes 4 José Celsi 8
Events
1989 World Rally Championship event map Black = Tarmac Brown = Gravel Blue = Snow/Ice Red = Mixed Surface
1989 World Rally Championship schedule and results Round Rally name Stages Podium finishers Rank Driver Co-driver Team Car Time 1 Swedish RallyEvent not included in the Manufacturers' Championship(6–8 January) 37 stages504 kmSnow/Ice1 Ingvar Carlsson Per Carlsson Mazda Rally Team EuropeMazda 323 4WD4:58.152 Per Eklund Dave Whittock Clarion Team EuropeLancia Delta Integrale4:59.183 Kenneth Eriksson Staffan Parmander Toyota Team SwedenToyota Celica GT-Four ST1654:59.57 2 Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo(21–26 January) 24 stages613 kmTarmac1 Miki Biasion Tiziano Siviero Martini LanciaLancia Delta Integrale7:13.272 Didier Auriol Bernard Occelli Martini LanciaLancia Delta Integrale7:19.543 Bruno Saby Jean-François Fauchille Martini LanciaLancia Delta Integrale7:21.08 3 Rallye de Portugal(28 February–4 March) 37 stages577 kmTarmac/Gravel1 Miki Biasion Tiziano Siviero Martini LanciaLancia Delta Integrale6:47.012 Markku Alén Ilkka Kivimäki Martini LanciaLancia Delta Integrale6:57.193 Alex Fiorio Luigi Pirollo Jolly ClubLancia Delta Integrale7:10.19 4 Safari Rally(31 March–4 April) 85 controls4539 kmGravel1 Miki Biasion Tiziano Siviero Martini LanciaLancia Delta Integrale+6:55.27 pen2 Mike Kirkland Robin Nixon Nissan Motorsports InternationalNissan 200SX+8:16.11 pen3 Stig Blomqvist Björn Cederberg Volkswagen MotorsportVolkswagen Golf GTI 16V+9:17.39 pen 5 Tour de Corse(23–26 April) 33 stages627 kmTarmac1 Didier Auriol Bernard Occelli Martini LanciaLancia Delta Integrale7:12.392 François Chatriot Michel Périn Bastos Motul BMWBMW M37:14.363 Juha Kankkunen Juha Piironen Toyota Team EuropeToyota Celica GT-Four ST1657:16.29 6 Acropolis Rally(27 May–1 June) 42 stages590 kmGravel1 Miki Biasion Tiziano Siviero Martini LanciaLancia Delta Integrale7:31.432 Didier Auriol Bernard Occelli Martini LanciaLancia Delta Integrale7:33.413 Alex Fiorio Luigi Pirollo Jolly ClubLancia Delta Integrale7:35.14 7 Rally New Zealand(15–18 July) 42 stages595 kmGravel1 Ingvar Carlsson Per Carlsson Mazda Rally Team EuropeMazda 323 4WD6:59.552 Rod Millen Tony Sircombe Rod Millen MotorsportMazda 323 4WD7:02.373 Malcolm Wilson Ian Grindrod GM Euro SportVauxhall Astra GTE7:03.24 8 Rally Argentina(1–5 August) 30 stages564 kmGravel1 Mikael Ericsson Claes Billstam Martini LanciaLancia Delta Integrale7:06.002 Alex Fiorio Luigi Pirollo Jolly ClubLancia Delta Integrale7:08.263 Jorge Recalde Jorge del Bouno Martini LanciaLancia Delta Integrale7:19.42 9 1000 Lakes Rally(25–27 August) 43 stages507 kmGravel1 Mikael Ericsson Claes Billstam Mitsubishi Ralliart EuropeMitsubishi Galant VR-44:42.032 Timo Salonen Voitto Silander Mazda Rally Team EuropeMazda 323 4WD4:43.443 Carlos Sainz Luis Moya Toyota Team EuropeToyota Celica GT-Four ST1654:44.38 10 Rally Australia(14–17 September) 32 stages544 kmGravel1 Juha Kankkunen Juha Piironen Toyota Team EuropeToyota Celica GT-Four ST1655:32.092 Kenneth Eriksson Staffan Parmander Toyota Team EuropeToyota Celica GT-Four ST1655:33.163 Markku Alén Ilkka Kivimäki Martini LanciaLancia Delta Integrale5:34.22 11 Rallye Sanremo(8–12 October) 34 stages544 kmTarmac/Gravel1 Miki Biasion Tiziano Siviero Martini LanciaLancia Delta Integrale 16V6:48.302 Alex Fiorio Luigi Pirollo Jolly ClubLancia Delta Integrale6:48.353 Carlos Sainz Luis Moya Toyota Team EuropeToyota Celica GT-Four ST1656:48.55 12 Rallye Côte d'Ivoire(29 October–2 November) 87 controls3528 kmGravel1 Alain Oreille Gilles Thimonier Simon RacingRenault 5 GT Turbo+8:32.54 pen2 Patrick Tauziac Claude Papin Ralliart Mitsubishi Starion Turbo+11:36.50 pen3 Adolphe Choteau Jean-Pierre Claverie Thiébaut Racing Toyota Corolla GT+13:41.07 pen 13 RAC Rally(19–23 November) 55 stages603 kmGravel/Tarmac1 Pentti Airikkala Ronan McNamee Mitsubishi Ralliart EuropeMitsubishi Galant VR-46:19.222 Carlos Sainz Luis Moya Toyota Team EuropeToyota Celica GT-Four ST1656:20.503 Juha Kankkunen Juha Piironen Toyota Team EuropeToyota Celica GT-Four ST1656:23.11
Championship for manufacturers