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 ← Previous event Next event →
Host country	Poland
Rally base	Kraków, Poland
Dates run	12 July 1973 – 15 July 1973
Stages	55 (734 km; 456 miles)
Stage surface	Asphalt and gravel
Overall distance	3,912 km (2,431 miles)
Statistics
Crews	62 at start, 3 at finish
Overall results
Overall winner	Achim Warmbold Jean Todt Fiat Fiat Abarth 124 Rallye

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	1	8 h : 28 m : 14 s	4	4	Achim Warmbold Jean Todt	Fiat Abarth 124 Rallye	20
2	1	11 h : 15 m : 16 s	2	91	Egon Culmbacher Werner Ernst	Wartburg 353	15
3	1	12 h : 8 m : 31 s	1	55	Maciej Stawowiak Jan Czyżyk	Polski Fiat 125p	12
Retired (excluded)			4	2	Jean-Luc Thérier Alain Mahé	Alpine Renault A110 1800
Retired (mechanical)			4	3	Alcide Paganelli Ninni Russo	Fiat Abarth 124 Rallye
Retired (accident)			4	7	Adam Smorawiński Zbigniew Kołaczkowski	Porsche 911
Retired (time)			2	12	Hans Britth Magnus Olsson	Ford Capri 2600
Retired			2	21	Marian Bień Wiesław Nicieja	Polski Fiat 125p
Retired (time)			2	23	Jerzy Dobrzański Antoni Ryniak	Polski Fiat 125p
Retired (accident)			2	24	Stasys Brundza Anatoli Brum	Moskvich 412
Retired (mechanical)			2	26	Ryszard Żyszkowski Jerzy Żyszkowski	Polski Fiat 125p
Retired			2	27	Horst Rausch Jerzy Sypniewski	BMW 2002
Retired			2	31	Kastytis Girdauskas Arvydas Girdauskas	Moskvich 412
Retired			2	34	Krzysztof Komornicki Błażej Krupa	Polski Fiat 125p
Retired			2	35	Jerzy Landsberg Marian Wangrat	Polski Fiat 125p
Retired (time)			2	36	Lev Morozov Andris Kalnais	Moskvich 412
Retired (accident)			1	49	Heino Sepp Toomas Bernstein	Moskvich 412
Retired (time)			1	57	Evert Wesström Bo Carlsson	Toyota Corolla
Retired (mechanical)			1	63	Marek Varisella Janina Jedynak	Polski Fiat 125p

Source: Independent WRC archive

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	1	147
2	63	Fiat	2	84
3	33	Citroën	7	33
4	22	Datsun	6	34
5	20	Saab	5	42
6	16	Ford	3	76
7	15	Wartburg	14	15
8	14	Volkswagen	15	15
9	13	Lancia	13	17
10	13	Peugeot	16	13
11	12	Polski Fiat	12	18
12	8	Porsche	9	27
13	5	Opel	11	25
14	4	BMW	8	28
	4	Mitsubishi	17	4
	4	Volvo	4	44
17	3	Škoda	18	3
18	2	Toyota	10	25
19	1	Audi	20	2

External links

• Official website of the World Rally Championship
• 1973 Rally Poland at Rallye-info Archived 2020-06-27 at the Wayback Machine