1973 Rally of Morocco

The 1973 Rally of Morocco (formally the 16th Rally of Morocco) was the fifth round of the inaugural World Rally Championship season. Run in mid-May between Morocco's two major cities, Rabat and Casablanca, the Rallye du Maroc was a very long stage rally covering more than 1200 km on both hard and soft surface roads.

1973 Rally of Morocco 16th Rally of Morocco
Round 5 of the 1973 World Rally Championship season ← Previous event Next event →
Host country	Morocco
Dates run	8 May 1973 – 13 May 1973
Start location	Rabat, Morocco
Finish location	Casablanca, Morocco
Stages	27 (1,210 km; 750 miles)
Stage surface	Asphalt and gravel
Overall distance	5,300 km (3,300 miles)
Statistics
Crews	66 at start, 13 at finish
Overall results
Overall winner	Bernard Darniche Alain Mahé Alpine Renault Alpine Renault A110 1800

Report

In 1973, and for several years afterward, only manufacturers were given points for finishes in WRC events. Morocco represented a third win for the strong Alpine Renault A110 1800, though the Citroën DS 23 also made a strong showing.

Results

1973 Rally of Morocco results

Finish		Total time	Group	Car #	Driver Co-driver	Car	Mfr. points
Overall	In group
1	1	15 h : 1 m : 22 s	4	1	Bernard Darniche Alain Mahé	Alpine-Renault A110 1800	20
2	1	15 h : 20 m : 4 s	2	9	Bob Neyret Jacques Terramorsi	Citroën DS 23	15
3	1	15 h : 34 m : 37 s	1	21	Richard Bochnicek Sepp-Dieter Kernmayer	Citroën DS 23
4	2	15 h : 39 m : 56 s	1	15	Raymond Ponnelle Pierre de Serpos	Citroën DS 23
5	2	15 h : 52 m : 0 s	4	4	Jean-Pierre Nicolas Michel Vial	Alpine-Renault A110 1800
6	3	15 h : 59 m : 43 s	4	6	Björn Waldegård Fergus Sager	Fiat Abarth 124 Rallye	6
7	4	16 h : 18 m : 16 s	4	3	Jean-Luc Thérier Christian Delferrier	Alpine-Renault A110 1800
8	2	16 h : 48 m : 26 s	2	7	Jean Deschazeaux Jean Plassard	Citroën DS 23
9	3	17 h : 53 m : 47 s	2	35	Lorenzo Merlone Riccardo Mortara	Volvo 142 S	2
10	3	18 h : 3 m : 33 s	1	25	Claudine Trautmann [fr][1] Marie-Pierre Palayer	Peugeot 504	1
11	4	20 h : 18 m : 38 s	1	42	Marc Gerenthon Hélène Gerenthon	Datsun 1600 SSS
12	4	22 h : 47 m : 41 s	2	30	Pierre Pagani Jean-Claude Refuveille	Volkswagen K 70
Finished over the limit			2	46	Paul Hadley Dave Robson	Opel Ascona SR
Retired (mechanical)			4	2	Rauno Aaltonen John Davenport	Fiat Abarth 124 Rallye
Retired (accident)			4	5	Shekhar Mehta Geraint Phillips	Datsun 240Z
Retired (mechanical)			2	8	Bernard Consten Gérard Flocon	Peugeot 504
Retired (mechanical)			2	10	Hannu Mikkola Atso Aho	Peugeot 504
Retired (mechanical)			2	11	Tony Fall Mike Wood	Peugeot 504
Retired (mechanical)			2	12	Jean-François Piot Jean De Alexandris	Renault 12 Gordini
Retired (mechanical)			2	13	Timo Mäkinen Henry Liddon	Peugeot 504
Retired (mechanical)			4	16	Marianne Hoepfner Yveline Vanoni	Alpine Renault A110 1800
Retired (mechanical)			2	17	Francisco Romãozinho José Bernardo	Citroën GS
Retired (mechanical)			2	18	Claude Laurent Jacques Marché	Citroën GS
Retired (mechanical)			2	19	Jean Guichet Jean Todt	Peugeot 504

Source: Independent WRC archive^[2]

Championship standings after the event

1973 World Rally Championship for Manufacturers points standings after round 5

After round 5		Team	Season end
Position	Points		Position	Points
1	72	Alpine Renault	1	147
2	28	Fiat	2	84
3	27	Citroën	7	33
4	22	Datsun	6	34
5	20	Saab	5	42
6	13	Lancia	13	17
7	13	Peugeot	16	13
8	12	Ford	3	76
9	8	Porsche	9	27
10	6	Volkswagen	15	15
11	5	Opel	11	25
12	4	BMW	8	28
	4	Mitsubishi	17	4
	4	Volvo	4	44
15	3	Škoda	18	3