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26th season of the FIA World Rally Championship
The 1998 World Rally Championship was the 26th season of the
FIA
World Rally Championship . The season consisted of 13 rallies.
Tommi Mäkinen won his third consecutive drivers' world championship driving for
Mitsubishi , ahead of
Carlos Sainz and
Colin McRae . The manufacturers' title was won by
Mitsubishi (who still operated under
Group A regulations), ahead of
Toyota and
Subaru . This year also marked the
Ford Escort 's last full-season works outing before being replaced by the
Ford Focus WRC in 1999. The season ended in dramatic fashion when Carlos Sainz's Corolla WRC stopped approximately 300 metres from the finishing line in the final stage at
Margam due to mechanical failure, thus surrendering his fourth place on the rally and handing the title to Mäkinen.
[1]
[2]
Calendar
The 1998 championship was contested over thirteen rounds in Europe, Africa, South America and Oceania.
Teams and drivers
Team
Manufacturer
Car
Tyre
No
Drivers
Rounds
Team Mitsubishi Ralliart
Mitsubishi
Lancer Evolution III
Lancer Evolution IV
Lancer Evolution V
M
1
Tommi Mäkinen
All
2
Richard Burns
All
15
Ed Ordynski
12
16
Uwe Nittel
1–2, 4–5, 8, 10
555 Subaru World Rally Team
Subaru
Impreza 555
Impreza WRC 98
P
3
Colin McRae
All
4
Piero Liatti
1, 3–9, 11–12
Kenneth Eriksson
2
Jarmo Kytölehto
10
Alister McRae
13
10
Piero Liatti
2
12
Ari Vatanen
13
13
Possum Bourne
12
15
Juha Kangas
13
Toyota Castrol Team
Toyota
Corolla WRC
Celica GT-Four ST205
M
5
Carlos Sainz
All
6
Didier Auriol
1, 3–4, 6–13
Thomas Rådström
2
Freddy Loix
5
9
Didier Auriol
2, 5
11
Freddy Loix
4, 8, 12
Marcus Grönholm
2, 4–5, 9–10, 13
12
Neal Bates
12
14
Thomas Rådström
9
15
Thomas Rådström
4–5, 8, 10
16
Yoshio Fujimoto
9, 12
18
Isolde Holderied
6, 8
27
Henrik Lundgaard
13
34
Volkan Isik
4-6, 8, 10-13
37
Pedro Chaves
4
Ford Motor Co Ltd
Ford
Escort WRC
M
7
Juha Kankkunen
All
8
Bruno Thiry
1–2, 5–13
Ari Vatanen
3–4
11
Ari Vatanen
10
SEAT Sport
SEAT
Córdoba WRC
P
9
Harri Rovanperä
10–13
10
Oriol Gómez
10
Marc Duez
11–12
Gwyndaf Evans
13
Peugeot Sport
Peugeot
306 Maxi
M
11
François Delecour
1, 5–6, 11
14
Gilles Panizzi
1, 5–6, 11
25
Manuel Muniente
5
28
Adruzilo Lopes
1, 4–5
Citroën Sport
Citroën
Xsara F2
M
12
Philippe Bugalski
5–6, 11
16
Jesús Puras
5, 11
Fabien Doenlen
6
19
Patrick Magaud
6, 11
Renault Sport
Renault
Mégane Maxi
M
19
Martin Rowe
6, 11, 13
21
Luís Climent
5
25
Tapio Laukkanen
6, 10–11, 13
28
Nejat Avci
9, 12
32
José Carlos Macedo
4
35
Jonas Kruse
2, 4, 10
Pedro Azeredo
4
Hyundai World Rally Team
Hyundai
Coupe Evo
Coupe Evo 2
M
20
Kenneth Eriksson
4–5, 7–13
21
Alister McRae
5–6
29
Wayne Bell
4, 8–13
48
Dean Herridge
12
Volkswagen
Volkswagen
Golf GTI 16V Kit Car
P
17
Alister McRae
2, 7, 10-12
30
Harry Joki
2
24
Kris Rosenberger
3-4, 7, 9, 12
31
Raimund Baumschlager
3-4, 13
40
Janne Tuohino
10
41
Jan Habig
13
47
Esa Saarenpää
10
48
Jani Pirttinen
10
Nissan Motorsports Europe
Nissan
Almera Kit Car
M
23
Mark Higgins
4, 8, 10-11, 13
48
José Araújo
4
61
Ercan Kazaz
13
Škoda Motorsport
Škoda
Octavia Kit Car
M
22
Pavel Sibera
5-6, 8, 10-11, 13
37
Fabio Danti
11
Opel
Vauxhall
Opel
Vauxhall
Astra G Kit Car
M
18
Jarmo Kytölehto (
Opel )
13
40
Neil Wearden (
Vauxhall )
13
Results and standings
Drivers' championship
Key
Colour
Result
Gold
Winner
Silver
2nd place
Bronze
3rd place
Green
Points finish
Blue
Non-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple
Did not finish (Ret)
Black
Excluded (EX)
Disqualified (DSQ)
White
Did not start (DNS)
Cancelled (C)
Blank
Withdrew entry from the event (WD)
Co-drivers' championship
Manufacturers' championship
Key
Colour
Result
Gold
Winner
Silver
2nd place
Bronze
3rd place
Green
Points finish
Blue
Non-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple
Did not finish (Ret)
Black
Excluded (EX)
Disqualified (DSQ)
White
Did not start (DNS)
Cancelled (C)
Blank
Withdrew entry from the event (WD)
FIA Teams' Cup
Group N Cup
Key
Colour
Result
Gold
Winner
Silver
2nd place
Bronze
3rd place
Green
Points finish
Blue
Non-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple
Did not finish (Ret)
Black
Excluded (EX)
Disqualified (DSQ)
White
Did not start (DNS)
Cancelled (C)
Blank
Withdrew entry from the event (WD)
Events
1998 World Rally Championship event map
Black = Tarmac
Brown = Gravel
Blue = Snow/Ice
Red = Mixed Surface
References
External links