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The 1981 World Rally Championship was the ninth season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) World Rally Championship (WRC). The season consisted of 12 rallies. While this number was the same as the previous year, one change was made to the schedule, replacing New Zealand with the Brazil.

The 1981 World Rally Championship for Drivers was won by Ari Vatanen driving a Rothmans Rally Team Ford Escort RS1800, the only time a privateer team has won the Drivers' Championship until 2017. The Makes' Championship was won by Talbot with their Sunbeam Lotus. It also saw the beginning of a new era in the sport with the arrival of the Audi Quattro, the first four-wheel drive rally car. Initially regarded as too heavy and complex for rally stages, it proved its worth with three wins in its debut season, including a maiden victory for Michèle Mouton at the Rallye Sanremo, the only woman to win a WRC event.

Team	Constructor	Car	Drivers	Rounds
David Sutton Motorsport	Ford	Escort RS 1800	Björn Waldegård	1
			Raymond Rué	1, 3
			Lasse Lampi	2, 9, 12
			Bror Danielsson	2
			Yves Loubet	5
			Domingo De Vitta	7–8
			Roger Clark	12
Fiat Auto Torino	Fiat	131 Abarth	Markku Alén	1, 3, 6, 9–10
			Attilio Bettega	1, 3, 6, 10
			Dario Cerrato	1, 3, 10
			Rob Collinge	4
			Kalevi Aho	9
Rothmans Rally Team	Ford	Escort RS 1800	Ari Vatanen	1–3, 6–12
			Pentti Airikkala	2, 9, 12
			Malcolm Wilson	3, 6, 12
			John Taylor	11
Team Chardonnet	Lancia	Stratos HF	Bernard Darniche	1, 5
			Markku Alén	12
Audi Sport	Audi	Quattro	Hannu Mikkola	1–3, 5–6, 9–10, 12
			Michèle Mouton	1, 3, 5–6, 9–10, 12
			Franz Wittmann	6, 9
			Michele Cinotto	10
			Adolphe Choteau	11
Opel Euro Händler Team	Opel	Opel Ascona 400	Jochi Kleint	1, 4, 6
			Anders Kulläng	1–4
			Björn Johansson	2, 9, 12
			Jimmy McRae	12
			Malcolm Patrick	12
Talbot Sport	Talbot	Sunbeam Lotus	Henri Toivonen	1, 3, 5–6, 9–10, 12
			Guy Fréquelin	1, 3, 5–8, 10, 12
			Gunnar Fagerlind	2, 12
			Stig Blomqvist	9, 12
			Russell Brookes	12
Renault Elf	Renault	Renault 5 Turbo	Jean Ragnotti	1, 5, 12
			Bruno Saby	1, 5, 12
			Alain Coppier	1, 5
			Pierre-Louis Moreau	5
			Jean-Pierre Manzagol	5
Porsche Alméras	Porsche	Porsche 911 SC	Jean-Luc Thérier	1, 3, 5, 10
			Jacques Alméras	1, 5
			Per Eklund	2, 9
			Francis Vincent	5
			Walter Röhrl	10
Team Datsun Europe	Datsun	160J Violet GT	Rauno Aaltonen	1, 4
			Sören Nilsson	2, 12
			Timo Salonen	3–7, 9–12
			Tony Pond	3, 5, 10
			Santinho Mendes	3
			Shekhar Mehta	4, 6–8, 11
			John Hellier	4
			Mike Kirkland	4
			Terry Kaby	5
			George Moschous	6
			Ricardo Zunino	7
			Jorge Recalde	7–8
			Erkki Pitkänen	9
			Peter Geitel	9
			Michel Mitri	11
			Pierre-Louis Moreau	11
			Andy Dawson	12
Saab Sport	Saab	99 Turbo 99 EMS	Stig Blomqvist	2
			Ola Stömberg	2
			Kalle Grundel	2
Toyota Team Europe	Toyota	Celica 2000GT	Björn Waldegård	3, 5–6, 9, 11–12
			Per Eklund	3, 5–6, 11–12
			Achim Warmbold	3
			Tapio Rainio	9
			Samir Assef	11
			Terry Kaby	12
Peugeot Esso	Peugeot	504 Coupé V6	Alain Ambrosino	4, 11
			Guy Fréquelin	4, 11
			Timo Mäkinen	4
			Jean-Claude Lefèbvre	4
			Carlos Garro	7
			Francisco Alcuaz	7
			Jacques Durieu	11
Charles Pozzi	Ferrari	308 GTB	Jean-Claude Andruet	5
Team Ralliart	Mitsubishi	Lancer 2000 Turbo	Anders Kulläng	6, 9, 12
			Andrew Cowan	6, 12
			Georg Fischer	6
			Kyösti Hämäläinen	9
			Antero Laine	9, 12
Jolly Club	Fiat	131 Abarth	Adartico Vudafieri	11
Mercedes Kassel	Mercedes	500 SL	Holger Bohne	11
Dealer Team Vauxhall	Vauxhall	Chevette 2300 HSR	Tony Pond	12
			George Hill	12

1981 World Rally Championship for Manufacturers

Rank	Manufacturers	Event												Total points
		MON	SWE	POR	KEN	FRA	GRC	ARG	BRA	FIN	ITA	CIV	GBR
1	Talbot	17	-	17	-	17	15	18	-	-	17	-	16	117
2	Datsun	-	-	13	18	15	13	17	-	12	-	18	-	106
3	Ford	-	-	9	-	12	18	-	-	18	7	-	16	80
4	Opel	15	-	11	12	8	-	-	-	8	15	-	-	69
5	Audi	-	-	13	-	-	-	-	-	14	18	-	18	63
6	Fiat	8	-	18	-	-	16	-	-	16	5	-	-	63
7	Renault	18	-	-	-	7	10	15	-	-	-	-	11	61
8	Toyota	-	-	15	-	11	-	-	-	3	-	16	9	54
9	Peugeot	-	-	-	10	-	4	12	-	-	-	11	-	37
10	Lancia	10	-	-	-	18	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	28
11	Porsche	4	-	-	-	15	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	19
12	Škoda	-	-	-	-	-	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	8
13	Dodge	-	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6
14	Mitsubishi	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	3	4

1981 World Rally Championship for Drivers

Rank	Driver	Event												Total points
		MON	SWE	POR	KEN	FRA	GRC	ARG	BRA	FIN	ITA	CIV	GBR
1	Ari Vatanen	0	15	0	-	-	20	0	20	20	4	2	15	96
2	Guy Fréquelin	15	-	6	0	15	10	20	15	-	0	8	0	89
3	Hannu Mikkola	0	20	0	-	0	0	-	-	12	10	-	20	62
4	Markku Alén	4	-	20	-	-	15	-	-	15	2	-	0	56
5	Shekhar Mehta	-	-	-	20	-	8	15	0	-	-	12	-	55
6	Timo Salonen	-	-	0	10	0	0	0	-	10	0	20	0	40
7	Henri Toivonen	8	-	15	-	0	0	-	-	0	15	-	0	38
8	Michèle Mouton	0	-	10	-	0	0	-	-	0	20	-	0	30
9	Pentti Airikkala	-	12	-	-	-	-	-	-	8	-	-	10	30
10	Per Eklund	0	2	0	-	6	0	-	-	0	-	15	6	29
11	Jean Ragnotti	20	-	-	-	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	8	28
12	Bernard Darniche	6	-	-	-	20	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	26
13	Stig Blomqvist	-	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	-	-	12	23
14	Jorge Recalde	-	-	-	-	-	-	12	10	-	-	-	-	22
15	Anders Kulläng	10	10	0	0	-	0	-	-	0	-	-	2	22
16	Jochi Kleint	12	-	-	8	-	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	20
	Tony Pond	-	-	8	-	12	-	-	-	-	0	-	0	20
18	Björn Waldegård	3	-	12	-	0	0	-	-	2	-	0	0	17
19	Rauno Aaltonen	0	-	-	15	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	15
20	Mike Kirkland	-	-	-	12	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	12
	Attilio Bettega	0	-	0	-	-	12	-	-	-	0	-	-	12
	Domingo De Vitta	-	-	-	-	-	-	0	12	-	-	-	-	12
	Antonio Fassina	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	12	-	-	12
24	Björn Johansson	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	-	-	0	12
25	Terry Kaby	-	-	-	-	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	11
26	Jean-Pierre Ballet	0	-	-	-	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	10
	Ernesto Soto	-	-	-	-	-	-	10	-	-	-	-	-	10
	Michel Mitri	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	10	-	10
29	Ricardo Albertengo	-	-	-	-	-	-	8	-	-	-	-	-	10
	Carlos Torres	-	-	0	-	-	-	-	8	-	-	-	-	8
	Luigi Battistolli	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8	-	-	8
32	Lasse Lampi	-	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	-	-	0	8
33	Jean-Claude Lefèbvre	-	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6
	Iórgos Moschous	-	-	-	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	6
	Luis Etchegoyen	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	6
	Gustavo Trelles	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	6
	Miki Biasion	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	-	-	6
	Alain Ambrosino	-	-	-	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	-	6
39	Sören Nilsson	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	4	-	-	-	-	5
	Horacio Maglione	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	5
41	Rafael 'Cid'	-	-	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4
	Yoshio Iwashita	-	-	-	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4
	Jean-Michel Tichadou	-	-	-	-	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4
	'Carlo'	-	-	-	-	-	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	4
	Federico West	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	-	-	-	-	-	4
	Samir Assef	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	-	4
47	Ola Strömberg	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3
	Manuel Queirós Pereira	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3
	Jayant Shah	-	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3
	Gérard Swaton	-	-	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3
	Václav Blahna	-	-	-	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	3
	Luís Romero	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	3
	Julio Berges	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	3
	Dario Cerrato	0	-	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	-	-	3
	Jacques Durieu	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	-	3
56	Jacques Alméras	2	-	-	-	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2
	Joaquim Moutinho	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2
	Malcolm Smith	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2
	Camille Bartoli	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2
	Pavlos Moschoutis	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	2
	Miguel Tubal	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	2
	Maria Carmo Zacarias	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	2
63	Alain Coppier	1	-	-	-	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
	Kenjiro Shinozuka	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
	Rod Hall	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
	Jean-Felix Farrucci	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
	Claude Laurent	0	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	0	-	0	0	1
	Antero Laine	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	0	-	0	1
	Federico Ormezzano	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	1
	Roger Clark	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1

1981 World Rally Championship event map

Black = Tarmac	Brown = Gravel	Blue = Snow/Ice	Red = Mixed Surface

1981 World Rally Championship schedule and results

Round	Rally name	Stages	Podium finishers
			Rank	Driver	Co-driver	Car	Time
1	Rallye Monte Carlo (24–30 January)	32 stages 757 km Tarmac	1	Jean Ragnotti	Jean-Marc Andrié	Renault 5 Turbo	9:55:55
			2	Guy Fréquelin	Jean Todt	Talbot Sunbeam Lotus	9:58:49
			3	Jochi Kleint	Gunter Wanger	Opel Ascona 400	10:02:54
2	Swedish Rally[1] (13–15 February)	25 stages 369 km Snow/Ice	1	Hannu Mikkola	Arne Hertz	Audi Quattro	3:48:07
			2	Ari Vatanen	David Richards	Ford Escort RS1800	3:50:00
			3	Pentti Airikkala	Risto Virtanen	Ford Escort RS1800	3:51:47
3	Rallye de Portugal (4–7 March)	46 stages 681 km Gravel/Tarmac	1	Markku Alén	Ilkka Kivimäki	Fiat 131 Abarth	8:27:26
			2	Henri Toivonen	Fred Gallagher	Talbot Sunbeam Lotus	8:36:36
			3	Björn Waldegård	Hans Thorszelius	Toyota Celica 2000GT	8:43:47
4	Safari Rally (16–20 April)	77 controls 5209 km Gravel	1	Shekhar Mehta	Mike Doughty	Datsun Violet GT	+3:39 pen
			2	Rauno Aaltonen	Lofty Drews	Datsun Violet GT	+3:44 pen
			3	Mike Kirkland	Dave Haworth	Datsun 160J	+4:51 pen
5	Tour de Corse (30 April–2 May)	24 stages 1144 km Tarmac	1	Bernard Darniche	Alain Mahé	Lancia Stratos HF	14:26.23
			2	Guy Fréquelin	Jean Todt	Talbot Sunbeam Lotus	14:42:25
			3	Tony Pond	Ian Grindrod	Datsun Violet GT	14:45.29
6	Acropolis Rally (1–4 June)	57 stages 960 km Gravel	1	Ari Vatanen	David Richards	Ford Escort RS1800	13:17:25
			2	Markku Alén	Ilkka Kivimäki	Fiat 131 Abarth	13:22:00
			3	Attilio Bettega	Maurizio Perissinot	Fiat 131 Abarth	13:25:19
7	Rally Codasur (18–23 July)	18 stages 1341 km Gravel	1	Guy Fréquelin	Jean Todt	Talbot Sunbeam Lotus	14:22:52
			2	Shekhar Mehta	Mike Doughty	Datsun Violet GT	15:01:04
			3	Jorge Recalde	Jorge del Bouno	Datsun 160J	16:01:19
8	Rallye do Brasil (6–8 August)	20 stages 714 km Gravel	1	Ari Vatanen	David Richards	Ford Escort RS1800	9:39:40
			2	Guy Fréquelin	Jean Todt	Talbot Sunbeam Lotus	9:48:11
			3	Domingo De Vitta	Daniel Muzio	Ford Escort RS	10:19:46
9	1000 Lakes Rally (28–30 August)	46 stages 440 km Gravel	1	Ari Vatanen	David Richards	Ford Escort RS1800	4:07:27
			2	Markku Alén	Ilkka Kivimäki	Fiat 131 Abarth	4:08:26
			3	Hannu Mikkola	Arne Hertz	Audi Quattro	4:10:19
10	Rallye Sanremo (5–10 October)	59 stages 751 km Gravel/Tarmac	1	Michèle Mouton	Fabrizia Pons	Audi Quattro	8:05:50
			2	Henri Toivonen	Fred Gallagher	Talbot Sunbeam Lotus	8:09:15
			3	Antonio Fassina	Rudy Roberto Dalpozzo	Opel Ascona 400	8:12:08
11	Rallye Côte d'Ivoire (26–31 October)	56 controls 5087 km Gravel	1	Timo Salonen	Seppo Harjanne	Datsun Violet GT	+9:57 pen
			2	Per Eklund	Ragnar Spjuth	Toyota Celica 2000GT	+11:09 pen
			3	Shekhar Mehta	Mike Doughty	Datsun Violet GT	+11:22 pen
12	RAC Rally (22–25 November)	65 stages 722 km Gravel/Tarmac	1	Hannu Mikkola	Arne Hertz	Audi Quattro	8:30:00
			2	Ari Vatanen	David Richards	Ford Escort RS1800	8:41:05
			3	Stig Blomqvist	Björn Cederberg	Talbot Sunbeam Lotus	8:43:36

• 1981 in sports

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1981 in World Rally Championship.

• FIA World Rally Championship 1981 at ewrc-results.com