The 1983 World Rally Championship was the 11th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) World Rally Championship (WRC). The season consisted of 12 rallies. By this time, the schedule format had become generally stable, with only one or two changes to venues year to year. 1983 brought the return of Argentina to the schedule in place of Brazil. Audi's Hannu Mikkola beat the defending world champion Walter Röhrl and his Lancia teammate Markku Alén to the drivers' title. Lancia captured the manufacturers' title from Audi by just two points.

Summary

German Walter Röhrl, champion of the previous year despite his manufacturer's failed bid to capture the title, was tapped to drive for the Martini Racing team along with Finn Markku Alén in the new Lancia Rally 037 car. Audi Sport meanwhile carried forward from its successful title run in 1982 led by the same pair of drivers, Finn Hannu Mikkola and Frenchwoman Michèle Mouton, equipped with the Quattro A1 (later in the season upgrading to the A2 model). The team also included future champion Swede Stig Blomqvist. Rothmans Opel Rally Team tapped former champion Finn Ari Vatanen and fellow countryman Henri Toivonen to drive the Ascona 400 during the season.

Competition was fierce both for drivers and manufacturers. The works battle quickly centered on the Audi and Lancia, and over the course of the season the two cars won 10 of the 12 events and sit on 30 of the year's 36 podium positions. Lancia emerged on top, returning the manufacturer to glory for the first time since the company seized three consecutive titles in the mid-1970s, despite deciding not to participate in last two events. Audi's performance was impressive and the car was improved in the second half of the season, winning three of the final four events to nearly catch the Italian maker (who, of course, withdrew from two last events, leaving Audi with little competition).

Driver competition was no less intense, with both of the Martini team-mates scoring well through the season. They were outpaced by Mikkola, who was able to garner four wins and seven podiums to take the title by a healthy margin in the end. While Mikkola appeared in all events, Röhrl and Alén only appeared in six and seven events respectively, which gave Mikkola clear path to the title. Mikkola teammate Blomqvist was impressive, finally winning in the last event of the year to place fourth overall, but Mouton's season was a disappointment, her fifth-place finish well off the pace. The Rothmans team meanwhile suffered an unimpressive season, the lone highlight being Vatanen's win in Kenya. This was the team's only podium finish, and Ari himself finished a distant sixth place on the year.

As with previous seasons, while all 12 events were calculated for tallying the drivers' scores, only 10 of the events applied to the championship for manufacturers. The two events in 1983 that applied only to driver standings were Sweden and the Rallye Côte d'Ivoire.

Teams and drivers

Team	Constructor	Car	Tyre	Drivers	Rounds
Martini Racing	Lancia	Rally 037	P	Walter Röhrl	1, 3, 5–7, 10
				Markku Alén	1, 3, 5–6, 8–10
				Jean-Claude Andruet	1, 5
				Adartico Vudafieri	3, 8
				Attilio Bettega	5–7, 10
				Francisco Mayorga	8
				Pentti Airikkala	9
Audi Sport	Audi	Quattro A1 Quattro A2	M P	Hannu Mikkola	All
				Michèle Mouton	1–10, 12
				Stig Blomqvist	1–3, 6–10, 12
				Lasse Lampi	2, 9, 11–12
				Franz Wittmann	3, 6
				Vic Preston Jr	4
				Shekhar Mehta	8
				Rubén Luis di Palma	8
				Per Eklund	9
				Bernard Darniche	10
				John Buffum	12
Rothmans Opel Rally Team	Opel	Ascona 400 Manta 400	M	Ari Vatanen	1–2, 4, 6, 9–10, 12
				Henri Toivonen	1, 6, 9–10, 12
				Guy Frequelin	1, 5
				Rauno Aaltonen	4
				Jimmy McRae	6, 12
				Phil Colins	12
				Clinton Smith	12
				Alastair Sutherland	12
				Alex Jackson	12
Renault Elf	Renault	5 Turbo	M	Jean Ragnotti	1, 5–6
				Jean-Luc Thérier	1, 3, 5
				Bruno Saby	1, 5
				Dany Snobeck	1
				Philippe Touren	1, 5
				Gilbert Sau	1
				Manuel Pereira	3
				François Chatriot	5
				Jean-Pierre Manzagol	5
Team Nissan Europe	Nissan	240RS	D	Timo Salonen	1, 3–4, 6–7, 9, 12
				Terry Kaby	3
				Shekhar Mehta	4, 6–7
				Mike Kirkland	4
				Jayant Shah	4
				Tony Pond	5
				George Moschous	6
				Reg Cook	7
				Erkki Pitkänen	9
				Peter Geitel	12
Automobiles Talbot	Talbot	Sunbeam Lotus	M	Chris Lord	1
				Antonio Zanini	3
				Jon Woodner	12
				David Keating	12
				Alain Truchet	12
				Colin Barrell	12
Citroën Compétitions	Citroën	Visa	M	Maurice Chomat	1, 3, 6, 12
				Alain Coppier	1, 3, 5–6, 9–10, 12
				Christian Dorche	1–3, 5–6, 12
				Francisco Romãozinho	3
				Philippe Wambergue	3, 6, 12
				Christian Rio	3, 6, 12
				Olivier Tabatoni	3, 5–6, 9
				Rufino Fontes	3
Mitsubishi Ralliart	Mitsubishi	Lancer 2000 Turbo	Y	Georg Fischer	3, 9
				Harri Toivonen	9, 12
Peugeot Sport	Peugeot	504 Pick-up V6	M	John Hellier	4
				Basil Criticos	4
BMW Motul	BMW	M1	P	Bernard Béguin	5
Jolly Club	Lancia	Rally 037	P	Adartico Vudafieri	5, 10
				Miki Biasion	10
				Tonino Tognana	10
Toyota Team Europe	Toyota	Celica TCT	P	Björn Waldegård	9, 11–12
				Juha Kankkunen	9, 11–12
				Per Eklund	11–12
Pro Motor Sport	Ferrari	308 GTB	M	Björn Waldegård	10
				Federico Ormezzano	10
				Maurizio Cavalli	10
GM Dealer Sport	Vauxhall	Chevette 2300 HSR	M	Russell Brookes	12
				Terry Kaby	12
				George Hill	12

Events

Map

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

Schedule and results

Round	Rally name	Stages	Podium finishers
			Rank	Driver	Co-driver	Team	Car	Time
1	Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo (22–29 January 1983)	30 stages 709 km (441 mi) Tarmac	1	Walter Röhrl	Christian Geistdörfer	Martini Racing	Lancia Rally 037	7:58:57
			2	Markku Alén	Ilkka Kivimäki	Martini Racing	Lancia Rally 037	8:05:59
			3	Stig Blomqvist	Björn Cederberg	Audi Sport	Audi Quattro A1	8:10:15
2	Swedish Rally[1] (11–13 February 1983)	24 stages 466 km (290 mi) Snow/Ice	1	Hannu Mikkola	Arne Hertz	Audi Sport	Audi Quattro A1	4:28:47
			2	Stig Blomqvist	Björn Cederberg	Audi Sport	Audi 80 Quattro	4:29:34
			3	Lasse Lampi	Pentti Kuukkala	Audi Sport	Audi Quattro A1	4:32:51
3	Rallye de Portugal (2–5 March 1983)	40 stages 642 km (399 mi) Gravel/Tarmac	1	Hannu Mikkola	Arne Hertz	Audi Sport	Audi Quattro A1	7:17:24
			2	Michèle Mouton	Fabrizia Pons	Audi Sport	Audi Quattro A1	7:18:19
			3	Walter Röhrl	Christian Geistdörfer	Martini Racing	Lancia Rally 037	7:19:14
4	Safari Rally (30 March – 4 April 1983)	87 controls 5,035 km (3,129 mi) Gravel	1	Ari Vatanen	Terry Harryman	Rothmans Opel Rally Team	Opel Ascona 400	+3:96 pen
			2	Hannu Mikkola	Arne Hertz	Audi Sport	Audi Quattro A1	+4:02 pen
			3	Michèle Mouton	Fabrizia Pons	Audi Sport	Audi Quattro A1	+4:55 pen
5	Tour de Corse (5–7 May 1983)	28 stages 1,008 km (626 mi) Tarmac	1	Markku Alén	Ilkka Kivimäki	Martini Racing	Lancia Rally 037	12:43:38
			2	Walter Röhrl	Christian Geistdörfer	Martini Racing	Lancia Rally 037	12:45:27
			3	Adartico Vudafieri	Luigi Pirollo	Jolly Club	Lancia Rally 037	12:50:08
6	Acropolis Rally Greece (30 May – 2 June 1983)	45 stages 836 km (519 mi) Gravel	1	Walter Röhrl	Christian Geistdörfer	Martini Racing	Lancia Rally 037	11:12:22
			2	Markku Alén	Ilkka Kivimäki	Martini Racing	Lancia Rally 037	11:18:42
			3	Stig Blomqvist	Björn Cederberg	Audi Sport	Audi Quattro A2	11:26:18
7	Rally New Zealand (25–28 June 1983)	33 stages 1,069 km (664 mi) Gravel	1	Walter Röhrl	Christian Geistdörfer	Martini Racing	Lancia Rally 037	12:10:13
			2	Timo Salonen	Seppo Harjanne	Team Nissan Europe	Nissan 240RS	12:26:11
			3	Attilio Bettega	Maurizio Perissinot	Martini Racing	Lancia Rally 037	12:41:42
8	Rally Argentina (2–6 August 1983)	18 stages 1,274 km (792 mi) Gravel	1	Hannu Mikkola	Arne Hertz	Audi Sport	Audi Quattro A2	10:18:54
			2	Stig Blomqvist	Björn Cederberg	Audi Sport	Audi Quattro A2	10:21:28
			3	Michèle Mouton	Fabrizia Pons	Audi Sport	Audi Quattro A2	10:25:35
9	Rally Finland (26–28 August 1983)	50 stages 473 km (294 mi) Gravel	1	Hannu Mikkola	Arne Hertz	Audi Sport	Audi Quattro A2	4:23:44
			2	Stig Blomqvist	Björn Cederberg	Audi Sport	Audi Quattro A2	4:24:05
			3	Markku Alén	Ilkka Kivimäki	Martini Racing	Lancia Rally 037	4:24:33
10	Rallye Sanremo (2–8 October 1983)	58 stages 775 km (482 mi) Gravel/Tarmac	1	Markku Alén	Ilkka Kivimäki	Martini Racing	Lancia Rally 037	8:50:17
			2	Walter Röhrl	Christian Geistdörfer	Martini Racing	Lancia Rally 037	8:52:26
			3	Attilio Bettega	Maurizio Perissinot	Martini Racing	Lancia Rally 037	8:55:27
11	Rallye Côte d'Ivoire[1] (25–30 October 1983)	54 controls 4,600 km (2,900 mi) Gravel	1	Björn Waldegård	Hans Thorszelius	Toyota Team Europe	Toyota Celica TCT	+5:18 pen
			2	Hannu Mikkola	Arne Hertz	Audi Sport	Audi Quattro A2	+5:29 pen
			3	Per Eklund	Dave Whittock	Toyota Team Europe	Toyota Celica TCT	+6:58 pen
12	RAC Rally (19–23 November 1983)	57 stages 790 km (490 mi) Gravel/Tarmac	1	Stig Blomqvist	Björn Cederberg	Audi Sport UK	Audi Quattro A2	8:50:28
			2	Hannu Mikkola	Arne Hertz	Audi Sport	Audi Quattro A2	9:00:21
			3	Jimmy McRae	Ian Grindrod	Rothmans Opel Rally Team	Opel Manta 400	9:12:19

Standings

Drivers' championship

Rank	Driver	Event												Total points
		MON	SWE	POR	KEN	FRA	GRC	NZL	ARG	FIN	ITA	CIV	GBR
1	Hannu Mikkola	(10)	20	20	15	–	–	–	20	20	–	15	15	125
2	Walter Röhrl	20	–	12	–	15	20	20	–	–	15	–	–	102
3	Markku Alén	15	–	10	–	20	15	–	8	12	20	–	–	100
4	Stig Blomqvist	12	15	–	–	–	12	–	15	15	–	–	20	89
5	Michèle Mouton	–	10	15	12	–	–	–	12	–	4	–	–	53
6	Ari Vatanen	8	6	–	20	–	10	–	–	–	–	–	–	44
7	Attilio Bettega	–	–	–	–	10	8	12	–	–	12	–	–	42
8	Lasse Lampi	–	12	–	–	–	–	–	–	4	–	–	10	26
9	Shekhar Mehta	–	–	–	–	–	6	10	10	–	–	–	–	26
10	Per Eklund	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10	–	12	–	22
11	Björn Waldegård	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	20	–	20
12	Adartico Vudafieri	–	–	8	–	12	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	20
13	Timo Salonen	–	–	–	–	–	–	15	–	3	–	–	–	18
14	Henri Toivonen	6	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10	–	–	16
15	Jimmy McRae	–	–	–	–	–	3	–	–	–	–	–	12	15
16	Kalle Grundel	–	8	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3	11
17	Jayant Shah	–	–	–	10	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10
	Alain Ambrosino	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10	–	10
19	Juha Kankkunen	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6	–	–	4	10
20	Bruno Saby	1	–	–	–	8	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	9
21	Johnny Hellier	–	–	–	8	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	8
	Reg Cook	–	–	–	–	–	–	8	–	–	–	–	–	8
	Pentti Airikkala	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	8	–	–	–	8
	Miki Biasion	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	8	–	–	8
	Eugène Salim	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	8	–	8
	Russell Brookes	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	8	8
27	Franz Wittmann	–	–	4	–	–	4	–	–	–	–	–	–	8
28	Antonio Zanini	–	–	6	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6
	Wolfgang Stiller	–	–	–	6	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6
	Tony Pond	–	–	–	–	6	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6
	Possum Bourne	–	–	–	–	–	–	6	–	–	–	–	–	6
	Franz Wurz	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6	–	–	–	–	6
	Dario Cerrato	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6	–	–	6
	John Buffum	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6	6
35	Jean Ragnotti	4	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4
	Sören Nilsson	–	4	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4
	Manoj Shah	–	–	–	4	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4
	Jean-Sébastien Couloumiès	–	–	–	–	4	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4
	Michael Bish	–	–	–	–	–	–	4	–	–	–	–	–	4
	Ernesto Soto	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4	–	–	–	–	4
41	Jean-Claude Andruet	3	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3
	Mikael Ericsson	–	3	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3
	Terry Kaby	–	–	3	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3
	Paul de Voest	–	–	–	3	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3
	Alain Coppier	–	–	–	–	3	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3
	Peter Watt	–	–	–	–	–	–	3	–	–	–	–	–	3
	Jorge Recalde	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3	–	–	–	–	3
	Lucky	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3	–	–	3
49	Mikael Sundström	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	2	3
50	Francis Serpaggi	2	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2
	Lars-Erik Walfridsson	–	2	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2
	Christian Dorche	–	–	2	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2
	Jean-Michel Guyot	–	–	–	–	2	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2
	Philippe Wambergue	–	–	–	–	–	2	–	–	–	–	–	–	2
	Mike Cameron	–	–	–	–	–	–	2	–	–	–	–	–	2
	Carlos Celis	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2	–	–	–	–	2
	Erkki Pitkänen	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2	–	–	–	2
	Bernard Darniche	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2	–	–	2
59	Ola Strömberg	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
	Marc Duez	–	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
	Jean-Louis Ravenel	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
	Maurice Chomat	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
	Gerardo del Campo	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	–	–	1
	Gabriele Noberasco	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	1
	Mats Holmbom	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	1

Manufacturers' championship

Rank	Manufacturers	Event										Total points
		MON	POR	KEN	FRA	GRC	NZL	ARG	FIN	ITA	GBR
1	Lancia	18	14	–	18	18	18	(10)	14	18	–	118
2	Audi	14	18	16	–	14	–	18	18	(6)	18	116
3	Opel	10	(9)	18	12	12	–	–	9	12	14	87
4	Nissan	–	4	12	8	8	16	–	4	–	–	52
5	Renault	6	–	–	10	–	–	11	–	–	–	27
6	Toyota	–	–	10	–	–	–	–	8	–	6	24
7	Subaru	–	–	–	–	–	13	–	–	–	–	13
8	British Leyland Cars	–	–	–	–	–	11	–	–	–	–	11
	Volkswagen	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	11	11
10	Peugeot	–	–	10	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10
	Vauxhall	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10	10
12	Mazda	–	–	–	–	–	9	–	–	–	–	9
	Alfa Romeo	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	9	–	9
14	Citroën	–	2	–	5	2	–	–	–	–	–	9
15	Talbot	–	8	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	8
16	Mitsubishi	–	–	–	–	–	7	–	–	–	–	7

Pointscoring systems

Drivers' championship

Manufacturers' championship