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]
The 1998 championship was contested over thirteen rounds in Europe, Africa, South America and Oceania.
More information Round, Dates ...
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More information Team, Manufacturer ...
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 |
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Drivers' championship
More information Pos., Driver ...
|
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) |
|
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Manufacturers' championship
More information Pos., Manufacturer ...
|
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) |
|
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More information Black = Tarmac, Brown = Gravel ...
1998 World Rally Championship event map
|
Black = Tarmac |
Brown = Gravel |
Blue = Snow/Ice |
Red = Mixed Surface |
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More information Rally Name, Dates run ...
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