The 1979 World Rally Championship was the seventh season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) World Rally Championship (WRC). The season consisted of 12 rallies, one more than the previous year. The addition marked the return to New Zealand, an event which would remain on the schedule through today.

1979 marked the first season for the new World Rally Championship for Drivers. This successor to the preceding FIA Cup for Rally Drivers was aligned with the World Rally Championship for Manufacturers. Both championships used the same schedule of events for accumulating points toward the titles, although the point awarding methods were different for each. Manufacturers continued to receive points under the system adopted in 1977, in which points were garnered for both placement overall and placement within the car's group. Only the top finishing car from each manufacturer would garner points, and regardless of group finish, an overall finish of 10th or better was required to obtain points. Drivers were awarded points on the former system, simply based on overall finish, from 20 points for 1st place to 1 point for 10th place.

After several years of competitive but ultimately unsuccessful attempts to seize the championship, Ford finally gathered its first WRC manufacturer's title. A strong season which included five rally wins gave it the edge over new challenger Datsun, whose 160J (Violet) proved successful, and former champion Fiat. Ford's fortune would be short-lived however, and despite determined and competitive participation in WRC events, 1979 would be the company's sole WRC title until their return to victory in 2006.

The competition for the first WRC driver's title was extremely close, and ultimately was decided by the two contenders placing first and second in the final rally of the season. The final difference between the winner, Swede Björn Waldegård, and the runner-up, Finn Hannu Mikkola, was only a single point.

Events

1979 World Rally Championship event map

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

1979 World Rally Championship schedule and results

Round	Rally name	Stages	Podium finishers
			Rank	Driver	Co-driver	Team	Car	Time
1	Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo (20 January–26 January)	30 stages 619 km Tarmac	1	Bernard Darniche	Alain Mahé	Team Chardonnet	Lancia Stratos HF	8:13.38
			2	Björn Waldegård	Hans Thorszelius	Ford Motor Company	Ford Escort RS1800	8:13.44
			3	Markku Alén	Ilkka Kivimäki	Alitalia Fiat	Fiat 131 Abarth	8:17.47
2	Swedish Rally (16 February–18 February)	38 stages 630 km Snow/Ice	1	Stig Blomqvist	Björn Cederberg		Saab 99 Turbo	6:34.49
			2	Björn Waldegård	Hans Thorszelius	Ford Motor Company	Ford Escort RS1800	6:36.09
			3	Pentti Airikkala	Risto Virtanen		Vauxhall Chevette 2300 HS	6:39.31
3	Rallye de Portugal (6 March–11 March)	45 stages 735 km Tarmac/Gravel	1	Hannu Mikkola	Arne Hertz	Ford Motor Company	Ford Escort RS1800	9:13.52
			2	Björn Waldegård	Hans Thorszelius	Ford Motor Company	Ford Escort RS1800	9:16.36
			3	Ove Andersson	Henry Liddon	Toyota Team Europe	Toyota Celica 2000GT	9:35.00
4	Safari Rally (April 12–16)	82 controls 5028 km Gravel	1	Shekhar Mehta	Mike Doughty	DT Dobie Team Datsun	Datsun 160J	+6:27 pen
			2	Hannu Mikkola	Arne Hertz	DT Dobie Daimler-Benz	Mercedes 450 SLC 5.0	+7:15 pen
			3	Markku Alén	Ilkka Kivimäki	Alitalia Fiat	Fiat 131 Abarth	+7:20 pen
5	Acropolis Rally (May 28–31)	54 stages 1008 km Gravel/Tarmac	1	Björn Waldegård	Hans Thorszelius	Rothmans Rally Team	Ford Escort RS1800	13:35.06
			2	Timo Salonen	Seppo Harjanne	N. I. Theocharakis	Datsun 160J	14:07.04
			3	Harry Källström	Claes Billstam	N. I. Theocharakis	Datsun 160J	14:11.39
6	Rally New Zealand (14 July–18 July)	42 stages 672 km Tarmac/Gravel	1	Hannu Mikkola	Arne Hertz	Masport	Ford Escort RS1800	8:05.45,8
			2	Blair Robson	Chris Porter	Masport	Ford Escort RS1800	8:27.03,0
			3	Ari Vatanen	David Richards	Ford Motor Company	Ford Escort RS1800	8:29.40,8
7	1000 Lakes Rally (24 August–28 August)	45 stages 424 km Gravel	1	Markku Alén	Ilkka Kivimäki	Alitalia Fiat	Fiat 131 Abarth	4:01.11
			2	Ari Vatanen	David Richards	Rothmans Rally Team	Ford Escort RS1800	4:02.42
			3	Björn Waldegård	Hans Thorszelius	Ford Motor Company	Ford Escort RS1800	4:07.15
8	Critérium du Québec (13 September–16 September)	25 stages 384 km Tarmac/Gravel	1	Björn Waldegård	Hans Thorszelius	Ford Motor Company	Ford Escort RS1800	3:35.32
			2	Timo Salonen	Seppo Harjanne	Team Datsun Europe	Datsun 160J	3:36.10
			3	Ari Vatanen	David Richards	Rothmans Rally Team	Ford Escort RS1800	3:41.50
9	Rallye Sanremo (1 October–7 October)	66 stages 1078 km Tarmac/Gravel	1	Antonio 'Tony' Fassina	Mauro Mannini	Jolly Club	Lancia Stratos HF	12:37.17
			2	Walter Röhrl	Christian Geistdörfer	Alitalia Fiat	Fiat 131 Abarth	12:41.31
			3	Attilio Bettega	Maurizio Perissinot		Fiat 131 Abarth	12:55.59
10	Tour de Corse (2 November–4 November)	22 stages 1129 km Tarmac	1	Bernard Darniche	Alain Mahé	Team Chardonnet	Lancia Stratos HF	14:36.46
			2	Jean Ragnotti	Jean-Marc Andrié		Renault 5 Alpine	15:12.52
			3	Pierre-Louis Moreau	Patrice Baron		Porsche 911 SC	15:23.06
11	RAC Rally (19 November–23 November)	56 stages 687 km Gravel/Tarmac	1	Hannu Mikkola	Arne Hertz	Ford Motor Company	Ford Escort RS1800	8:03.38
			2	Russell Brookes	Paul White	Andrews Heat For Hire	Ford Escort RS1800	8:14.07
			3	Timo Salonen	Stuart Pegg	Team Datsun Europe	Datsun 160J	8:16.22
12	Rallye Côte d'Ivoire (9 December–14 December)	50 controls 5668 km Gravel	1	Hannu Mikkola	Arne Hertz		Mercedes 450 SLC 5.0	+3:23 pen
			2	Björn Waldegård	Hans Thorszelius		Mercedes 450 SLC 5.0	+3:58 pen
			3	Andrew Cowan	Klaus Kaiser		Mercedes 450 SLC 5.0	+4:10 pen

Championship for manufacturers

1979 World Rally Championship for Manufacturers

Rank	Manufacturer	Event												Total points
		MON	SWE	POR	KEN	GRC	NZL	FIN	CAN	ITA	FRA	GBR	CIV
1	Ford	16	16	18	-	18	18	(16)	18	(12)	-	18	-	122
2	Datsun	-	(8)	14	18	17	(6)	14	17	-	-	16	12	108
3	Fiat	14	12	-	15	-	-	18	-	16	12	5	-	92
4	Lancia	18	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	18	18	11	-	65
5	Toyota	-	-	16	-	-	-	10	12	-	10	-	10	58
6	Opel	-	13	9	-	-	-	-	-	14	13	-	-	49
7	Renault	11	-	-	-	13	-	-	-	-	17	-	-	41
8	Mercedes	-	-	-	17	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	18	35
9	Porsche	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	9	15	-	-	32
10	Vauxhall	-	14	-	-	-	10	-	-	-	-	7	-	31
11	Peugeot	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8	-	6	-	8	22
12	Saab	-	18	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	18
13	Mitsubishi	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	13	-	-	-	-	13
14	Talbot	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	12	-	-	-	12
15	Audi	-	-	11	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	11
16	Mazda	-	-	-	-	-	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	10
17	Triumph	-	-	-	-	-	-	7	-	-	-	-	-	7
18	Volvo	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6
	Škoda	-	-	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6
20	Lada	-	-	-	-	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4

Championship for drivers

1979 World Rally Championship for Drivers

Rank	Driver	Event												Total points
		MON	SWE	POR	KEN	GRC	NZL	FIN	CAN	ITA	FRA	GBR	CIV
1	Björn Waldegård	15	15	15	(6)	20	-	12	20	-	-	(2)	15	112
2	Hannu Mikkola	8	8	20	15	-	20	-	-	-	-	20	20	111
3	Markku Alén	12	10	-	12	-	-	20	-	6	-	8	-	68
4	Timo Salonen	-	-	-	-	15	-	8	15	-	-	12	-	50
	Ari Vatanen	1	-	-	-	-	12	15	12	-	-	10	-	50
6	Bernard Darniche	20	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	20	-	-	40
7	Jean Ragnotti	-	-	-	-	10	-	-	-	-	15	-	-	25
8	Andrew Cowan	-	-	-	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	12	22
9	Walter Röhrl	-	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	15	-	3	-	21
10	Stig Blomqvist	-	20	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	20
	Shekhar Mehta	-	-	-	20	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	20
	Antonio 'Tony' Fassina	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	20	-	-	-	20
13	Ove Andersson	-	-	12	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8	20
14	Andy Dawson	-	-	10	-	-	-	-	10	-	-	-	-	20
15	Pentti Airikkala	-	12	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	-	16
16	Blair Robson	-	-	-	-	-	15	-	-	-	-	-	-	15
	Russell Brookes	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	15	-	15
18	Harry Källström	-	-	-	2	12	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	14
19	Attilio Bettega	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	12	-	-	-	12
	Pierre-Louis Moreau	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	12	-	-	12
21	Michèle Mouton	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8	-	-	12
22	Jean-Claude Andruet	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	10
	Paul Adams	-	-	-	-	-	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	10
	Ulf Grönholm	-	-	-	-	-	-	10	-	-	-	-	-	10
	Tony Pond	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	10	-	-	-	10
	Alain Coppier	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	10	-	-	10
	Vic Preston, Jr.	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	10	10
28	Carlos Torres	-	-	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	10
	Rauno Aaltonen	-	-	-	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8
	Anastasios 'Iaveris' Markouizos	-	-	-	-	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8
	Shane Murland	-	-	-	-	-	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	8
	Taisto Heinonen	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8	-	-	-	-	8
	Dario Cerrato	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8	-	-	-	8
34	Jean-Pierre Nicolas	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6
	Björn Johansson	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6
	Harald Demuth	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6
	Iórgos Moschous	-	-	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6
	David Parkes	-	-	-	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	6
	Lasse Lampi	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	6
	Hendrik Blok	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	6
	Bernard Picone	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	-	-	6
	John Taylor	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	-	6
	Alain Ambrosino	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	6
44	Ola Strömberg	-	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4
	Freddy Kottulinsky	-	-	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4
	Mike Kirkland	-	-	-	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4
	Evangelos Gallo	-	-	-	-	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4
	Brian Green	-	-	-	-	-	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	4
	Tapio Rainio	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	-	-	-	-	-	4
	Jack Swayze	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	-	-	-	-	4
	Angelo Presotto	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	-	-	-	4
	Paul Rouby	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	-	-	4
	Michel Mitri	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	4
54	Guy Fréquelin	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3
	Lars Carlsson	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3
	Joaquim Santos	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3
	Václav Blahna	-	-	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3
	Roger Goss	-	-	-	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	3
	Per Eklund	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	3
	Claude Laurent	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	3
	Antonio Tognana	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	-	-	-	3
	Jean-Pierre Mari	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	-	-	3
	Jean-Pierre Paure	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	3
64	Jacques Alméras	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2
	John Haugland	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2
	Jorge Ortigão	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2
	Nikolay Elizarov	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2
	Malcolm Stewart	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	2
	Erkki Pitkänen	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	2
	Nicole Quimet	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	2
	Domenico 'Nico' Grosoli	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	2
	Jean Bondrille	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	2
73	Sven-Inge Neby	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
	Marques Baptista	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
	Sandro Munari	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
	Sergey Vukovich	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
	Bob Robb	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
	Pekka Vilpponen	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	1
	Paul Bourgeois	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	1
	Paolo Pasutti	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	1
	Jean-Charles Martinetti	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	1
	Greg Carr	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	1

1979 driver points awarded by nationality

Rank	Country	Top ranked driver	Event												Total points
			MON	SWE	POR	KEN	GRC	NZL	FIN	CAN	ITA	FRA	GBR	CIV
1	Finland	Hannu Mikkola	21	30	20	35	15	32	66	27	6	-	54	20	326
2	Sweden	Björn Waldegård	15	49	31	2	32	-	12	23	-	-	-	23	187
3	France	Bernard Darniche	45	-	-	-	10	-	-	3	-	81	-	13	152
4	United Kingdom	Andrew Cowan	-	-	10	10	-	-	-	10	10	-	21	12	73
5	Italy	Tony	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	48	-	-	-	48
6	New Zealand	Blair Robson	-	-	-	-	-	43	-	-	-	-	-	-	43
7	Kenya	Shekhar Mehta	-	-	-	24	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	10	34
8	West Germany	Walter Röhrl	-	-	6	3	-	-	-	-	15	-	3	-	27
9	Greece	Iaveris	-	-	-	-	18	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	18
10	Canada	Taisto Heinonen	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	15	-	-	-	-	15
11	Portugal	Carlos Torres	-	-	14	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	14
12	United States	Hendrik Blok	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	6
13	Czechoslovakia	Václav Blahna	-	-	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3
14	Soviet Union	Nikolay Elizarov	-	-	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3
15	Norway	John Haugland	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2
16	Australia	Greg Carr	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	1

Teams

1979 team performance

Team	Drivers	Cars	Performance Results			Points
			Entries	Finishes	Wins	Maker	Driver
Ford Motor Company	Björn Waldegård Hannu Mikkola	Ford Escort RS1800	11	11	3	86	147
Alitalia Fiat	Markku Alén Walter Röhrl Sandro Munari	Fiat 131 Abarth	9	8	1	80	82
Team Datsun Europe	Timo Salonen Andy Dawson Harry Källström John Haugland Erkki Pitkänen	Datsun 160J	10	6	-	61	59
Team Chardonnet	Bernard Darniche	Lancia Stratos HF	4	2	2	36	40
Rothmans Rally Team	Björn Waldegård Ari Vatanen	Ford Escort RS1800 Ford Fiesta	9	5	1	34	66
Toyota Team Europe	Ove Andersson	Toyota Celica 2000GT	9	2	-	26	20
Masport	Hannu Mikkola Blair Robson	Ford Escort RS1800	3	2	1	18	35
DT Dobie Team Datsun	Shekhar Mehta Harry Källström Rauno Aaltonen Mike Kirkland	Datsun 160J	4	4	1	18	34
Jolly Club	Tony	Lancia Stratos HF	1	1	1	18	20
N. I. Theocharakis	Timo Salonen Harry Källström Iórgos Moschous Evangelos Gallo	Datsun 160J	4	4	-	17	37
DT Dobie Daimler-Benz	Hannu Mikkola Andrew Cowan Björn Waldegård	Mercedes 450 SLC 5.0 Mercedes 280 E	5	3	-	17	31
Conrero	Dario Cerrato	Opel Ascona B	1	1	-	14	8
Renault Elf Calberson	Jean Ragnotti	Renault 5 Alpine	1	1	-	13	10
Fiat France	Michèle Mouton Jean-Claude Andruet	Fiat 131 Abarth	2	2	-	12	14
Audi Motorsport	Harald Demuth Freddy Kottulinsky Franz Wittmann	Audi 80 GLE	10	7	-	11	10
Lancia GB	Markku Alén	Lancia Stratos HF	1	1	-	11	8
Team Lopes Correia	Joaquim Santos Joaquim Moutinho	Opel Kadett GT/E	2	1	-	9	3
Dealer Team Vauxhall	Pentti Airikkala	Vauxhall Chevette 2300 HS	1	1	-	7	4
Biamar	Václav Blahna	Škoda 130RS	2	1	-	6	3
Autoexport Moskva	Nikolay Elizarov Sergey Vukovich	Lada 21011	3	2	-	4	3
Nylex	Paul Adams	Ford Escort RS1800	2	1	-	-	10
Ford Australia	Greg Carr	Ford Escort RS1800	1	1	-	-	1
British Leyland Cars	Per Eklund Graham Elsmore Simo Lampinen	Triumph TR 7 V8	4	3	-	-	-
Marshalls	Jean-Claude Lefèbvre	Peugeot 504 V6 Coupé	4	1	-	-	-
FSO	Andrzej Jaroszewicz	FSO Polonez 2000	2	1	-	-	-
Aleuropa	Vítor Oliveira	Opel 1204 SL	1	1	-	-	-
Fiat Kenya	Robin Ulyate	Fiat 131 Abarth	1	1	-	-	-
Kassidopoulos	Manolis Halivelakis	Toyota Corolla	1	1	-	-	-
Toyota Team Great Britain	Tapio Rainio	Toyota Celica 2000GT	1	1	-	-	-
Opel Dealer Team Holland	Anders Kulläng	Opel Kadett GT/E	5	-	-	-	-
GM Dealer Team New Zealand	Pentti Airikkala	Vauxhall Chevette 2300 HS	1	-	-	-	-
GM Portugal	Mêquêpê	Vauxhall Chevette 2300 HS	1	-	-	-	-
Opel France	Jean-Louis Clarr	Opel Kadett GT/E	1	-	-	-	-
Saab Scania	Stig Blomqvist Ola Strömberg	Saab 99 Turbo	2	-	-	-	-
Talbot France	Jean-Pierre Nicolas	Talbot Sunbeam Lotus	1	-	-	-	-