In 1981, audi quattro works driver michele mouton became the first woman to win a world championship rally. Haynes fires up the audi quattro manual for fans daily. Women who entered a world rally championship event. Michele mouton is a french rally driver with her car au. This was accomplished in 1981 at the rally of sanremo with her codriver fabrizia pons. The annual classic car rally takes place at the magnificent leighton hall in carnforth in lancashire. The rs 5 is a descendant of the original coupe quattro that terrorized rally stages in the 1980s. Driver first season final season wrc rallies wrc wins championships louise aitken. As the audi quattro, the first rally car to have over 300 bhp and both a. Feb 03, 2011 audi usa frank sprongl, audi rally car champion, discusses what is like to be a rally race car driver and explains the benefit.
See more ideas about rally car, audi sport and rally. Michele mouton fabrizia pons audi motorsport winning rallye san remo 1981. She drove such monsters like killer b audi quattro s1. She is also the only woman ever to race the crazy fast group b cars. Race fans can now construct their own car toy of this beloved model from lego building bricks. To pay tribute to michele mouton and all women drivers, audi and lego have decided that all those who have purchased the lego set of the legendary audi quattro s1 will be able to obtain the. The audi sport quattro laserlight concepts heritage how. Names like harald demuth, a rally driver who won the 1982 and 1984 german rally championships from behind the wheel of an audi quattro. Legend of the quattro get the latest car news, car. Also on display is the 360 hp audi quattro rallye a2 group b from 1984. Aug 31, 2016 wrc rally crash extreme best of 20172020 the essential compilation. Their fourwheel drive turbo nutter group b machine made mince meat out of the competition. The original sport quattro was a rally racing legend, a squaredoff coupe with allwheel drive that let it grip the dirt roads of the rally circuit, winning races and turning bystanders into lifelong audi fans.
The 1981 rally sanremo was the maiden victory for michele mouton and the audi quattro the first 4wd rally car in wrc michelle mouton and fabrizia pons celebrating on the hood of audi quattro rally drivers rally car audi sport audi quattro performance cars car and driver monte carlo race cars racing. Bugattilamborghiniaudi arally driversrally carwomen driversaudi sportaudi quattro. Dominant victories and two drivers and manufacturers titles with the ur quattro in the world rally championship between 1982 and 1984 were important factors for the market success of quattro. This marked the first time that a female driver had won a wrc event in rallying. The audi quattro was the first rally car to have both a turbocharger and. Audi would wind down its domination of rallying by winning the legendary pikes peak hill climb three times in a row in record time with the sport quattro. Aug 25, 2018 the audi rally team, with hannu mikkola and michele mouton driving, won three wrc rallies in 1981 and michele mouton became the first woman ever to win a wrc rally. The group b regulations fostered some of the fastest, most powerful, and most sophisticated rally cars ever built and is commonly referred to as the golden era of rallying. She is the only female rally driver who won a wrc event.
Jun 28, 2016 the fastest girl in the group b ronin band 28. The list of moutons achievements in rally sport is impressive. While rally racing may have been put on hiatus by audi, the quattro continued to succeed in touring racing. The rise of the urquattro 1985 audi hemmings daily. When you are a french woman rally driver and they are phoning. Colin parkinson entered the quattro in a few low profile events and made entry in two books, audi quattro by graham robson and audi quattro the development and competition history by. While some say that the cars made group b legendary, do not forget that you needed drivers capable of handling such raw machines. See more ideas about audi sport, rally car and rally.
She drove such monsters like killer b audi quattro s1 with 630hp, peugeot 205 t16, lancia stratos and fiat 1 abarth rally with 220hp and only rear wheel drive. Pikes peak audi quattro s1 michele mouton group b rally wrc. Pons is one of two people to have achieved world championship points as a driver and co driver, having finished ninth overall in the 1978 sanremo rally before switching to codriving. The quattro was audi sports answer to lancias group b domination in the world rally championship during the mid1980s, and the first rally car to. The debut of this pedestrian looking sedan in 1990 resulted in the car being criticized as a chauffeurs car, but those critics were dumbstruck when audi driver hansjoachim stuck won deutsche tourenwagen masters dtm, german touring car masters championship in 1990. Rally driver michele moutons wrc win in a 1984 audi rally. In 1981, michele mouton became the first female driver to win a world championship rally, piloting an audi quattro. List of female world rally championship drivers wikipedia. Pons is a recipient of the halda trophy for 1982, the highest honor for a co driver. She drove such monsters like killer b audi quattro s1 with 630hp, peugeot 205 t16, lancia stratos and. Nov 09, 2011 a 2012 audi tt rs sits next to a 1984 audi rally quattro a2 group b racer, an evolution of the quattro driven by michele mouton to victory in 1981 to become the first and so far, only woman to. It was a successful year, but audi was just getting startedthe quattro would go on to win the wrc manufacturers championships in 1982 and 1984, and finish second in 1983 and 1985. In 1981, audi quattro debuted in the world rally championship with immediate success.
He made his rallying debut in the 1973 monte carlo rally. The italians notched up six world rally championship manufacturer titles to audi s two, and three drivers championships to audi s two, in the 1980s and early 90s. Competing in the world rally championship for the audi factory team, she took four victories and finished runnerup in the drivers world championship in 1982. How one iconic rally photo helped audis quattro allwheel. Product description the 1985 audi sport quattro s1 was one of the kings of the group b rally racing circuit. Audi quattro concept meets urquattro car and driver. Behold this 10minute tribute to audis most iconic rally.
When you are a french woman rally driver and they are phoning from germany asking you to do the world. The audi quattro was the first rally car to have both a turbocharger and fourwheeldrive, but had not yet gained fia homologation. In 1985, the car was sold to an international privateer rally driver before eventually finding its way into the garage of veteran rally crew chief colin parkinson. After spending most of his career driving saabs, stig blomqvist joined audi in 1982, driving audi quattro, the first ever fourwheeldrive rally car. At the audi club north america merchandise store, you can choose and purchase from a selection of audi and audi club branded products curated by audi club north america for its owners and enthusiasts. Also, she helped audi win the first manufacturers title in the rally by driving the famous audi quattro. The sport quattro came with an integrated roll cage and fulfilled a wish list for audi s rally drivers, including cutting about 800 pounds from the weight of the production coupe our roadlegal.
Audi rs 6 tfsi v8 quattro auto at leighton hall classic car rally, carnforth, lancashire, uk. Michele mouton is the best female driver ever and one of the best rally drivers in history. He joined audi in 1979 after having driven for toyota in the german rally championship. Just as stirling moss is known as the greatest driver never to win a formula one title michelle is known as the. Audi quattro celebrating forty years of the audi all. Although he has many wins in manufacturers such as fiat, opel, lancia, ford and bmw. There are fascinating indepth interviews with many of the drivers and engineers involved, including michele mouton, the first woman to win a world championship rally.
The original rally quattro debuted in 1980, and was very much based on the roadcar versions of the car, but with a highly tuned 300bhp engine. Louise cook british female rally driver on the road to the. At the inaugural autosport awards gala, mouton won the international rally driver of the year award a small consolation for coming so close to winning the wrc title. Audi earned its second manufacturers cup in 1984, but the quattro was now competing in the tougher group b against a new breed of specialized rally. Datsun 240z, datsun 160j, peugeot 504 coupe, nissan 240rs, lancia stratos, opel ascona 400, ford escort, toyota celica tct, audi quattro 200 and volkswagen golf gti.
The first audi quattro was a group 4 rally car but after the new rules were introduced, it was converted to the. Jun 23, 2011 louise aims to be the first ever female world rally champion and follow in those footsteps left by michele mouton who came so very close in the audi quattro group b in the 80s. Aug 17, 2015 in 1981, audi quattro debuted in the world rally championship with immediate success. Harald demuth rally driver twotime german rally champion harald demuth helped develop the quattro, campaigned group b and 80 versions in the uk and drove an audi 100 quattro. In this car it was the swedish driver stig blomqvists turn to take the world championship in 1984, with the manufacturer. Gripped by quattro celebrating forty years of the audi. Audi could therefore only enter rallies as zero cars and not as competitive entries. Dec 26, 2018 michele mouton was part of the audi quattro team early on, before even rohrl was ever behind the wheel of it. The french driver became the first and, to date, only woman to win a race in the world rally championship, with her victory in the san remo rally in 1981. Nov 09, 2011 michele mouton is the first and so far, only woman to win a world rally championship event. The 1985 audi sport quattro s1 is still the most powerful rally car ever built.
Mouton started with her audi quattro in 1981, the first rally car to have over 300 hp. Though definitely cut from similar cloth, quattro and delta never really crossed swords on the rally stage. The big executive saloon was also campaigned by audi uk in 1988, while an audi 90 quattro also appeared on events in europe around that time. Prior to audi, though, mouton had been a very successful rally driver in smaller rally races throughout europe, driving alpines and fiat abarths in the 1970s. A third audi quattro will be taking part on the welsh. Audi tapped the finnish driver based on his years of experience and clean driving style, both of which seemed suited to the dynamics of the noseheavy quattro blueprint.
Or, perhaps, we just need to know who is the best at not driving off cliffs. The audi sport quattro concept was unveiled at the 20 frankfurt motor show to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the original audi sport quattro. Walter rohrl first made his name as a world champion rally driver for audi in their quattro. She gave audi their world champion title with the most powerful and savage group b cars ever made. The first audi quattro was a group 4 rally car but after the new rules were introduced, it was converted to the car which dominated in the first years of the group b era.
She is still the last woman to compete in toplevel rallying. Includes an audi rally driver minifigure the cool driver minifigure is wearing an iconic rally racing suit and matching helmet. Volkswagen had an excellent record with the golf, but audi had no presence in rallying, demuth told audi. A group b era, audi quattro rally car, on display in the pinnacle of rallying section of the 2016 london classic car show. Audi introduced the first fourwheeldrive rally car, the quattro, and a driver. For 1984, audi developed the sport quattro s1 group b rally car, which bore little relationship to the urquattros. The ten most quintessentially german cars audi quattro rally car in the oh shit. Audi introduced the first fourwheeldrive rally car, the quattro, and a driver from the french riviera would become the first and so far only woman to win a world rally championship event. In 1984, mouton took an audi quattro to pikes peak in colorado, finishing fastest in the.
Audi most powerful s1 800hp rally car, s1 and winter rally videos. Why safari rally was much more than just a motorcar race. The pair won four rallies with the rallye sanremo in 1981 and a further three to finish second in the 1982 championship. As a result, the german firm enjoyed success with manufacturers titles in 82 and 84 as well as drivers titles in 83 and 84 at the hands of hannu mikkola and stig blomqvist respectively. This factorybuilt audi quattro rally car is also an. The season hailed the fully enforced group b regulations of the wrc and mouton was now at the wheel an updated audi quattro. Click on a name to learn more about the drivers achievements and rallying biography. Michele mouton was the audi quattros fiercest driver. The lessons learned from building and racing the car would later be effectively applied to audis participation in gt and touringcar racing, with success to follow in transam, dtm and btcc series.
Audi sport successful women world of sports rally car car and driver studio portraits michel courses champions. The styling of the audi sport quattro laserlight concept is based on the classic 1984 audi sport quattro s1. Mouton started with her audi quattro in 1981, the first rally car to have over 300. The sport quattro s1 would also be triumphant in the pikes peak. In the autumn of 1981, a wrc round was won for the first time in history by a female. Mouton started with her audi quattro in 1981, the first rally car to have over 300 hp, a turbocharger, and fourwheel drive.
Michele mouton is by far the most successful woman racing driver of all time and is undoubtedly one of the biggest legends of rallying. Rallyings most tenacious driver was a woman jalopnik. This is a list of women that have entered at least one world rally championship event. Group b rally showdown audi sport quattro vs peugeot 205 t16. The quattro did very well in the early 1980s, including a win by michele mouton, the first woman to win an international rally.
Audi sport quattro 081984 copenhaguen blue color with grey leatheralcantara fabric interior. Watch a porsche rally car almost kill spectators you have alfa romeos new giulia, a new audi ur quattro using the new tt rs, a ford. The audi quattro took a convincing victory on the welsh last year in the hands of another top swede, bjorn waldegaard, and of course took audi to their first world championship title. He won the mintex rally in february, first round of the open series. As other manufacturers cottoned on to the quattro s success, the fight for the world rally championship became even more heated. The drivers and races that shaped audis motorsport legacy.
Been trying to upload this for ages my mornings spent after working a night shift. Audi holds exhibition of group bs most famous rally cars. Michele mouton alpine a110 women drivers, electrical problems, good for. Audi quattro 19811987 first fourwheeldrive rally car. Prior to audi, though, mouton had been a very successful rally driver in smaller rally races throughout europe, driving alpines and fiat abarths in. While the initial quattro had an awd advantage over the competition. Jun 30, 2016 after spending most of his career driving saabs, stig blomqvist joined audi in 1982, driving audi quattro, the first ever fourwheeldrive rally car.
Racing pro michele mouton is the best female driver ever. Over the next three years, audi would introduce the a1 and a2 evolutions of the quattro in response to the new group b rules, raising the power output of the turbocharged inline 5cylinder engine to around 355 ps 261 kw. Michele mouton, heroine of rallying race cars, rally car, audi. This one has been a fulltilt rally car for at least two owners, and is very nicely prepared and offered for much cheaper than we would expect. Michele mouton born 23 june 1951 is a french former rally driver. Large or custom orders can be made available upon request for chapter events and needs by contacting mollie hughes at mollie. Hannu mikkola won two rallies sweden and great britain and achieved one more podium finland, while michele mouton won rallye sanremo and became the first and only woman to win the world rally. The quattro won the manufacturers championship for audi in 1982 and 1984, and the drivers championship in 1983 and 1984, with. The quattro won the manufacturers championship for audi in 1982 and 1984, and the drivers championship in 1983 and 1984, with hannu. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. In 1981, audi driver michele mouton was the first woman to win a wrc rally, and won the pikes peak international hill climb in 1985.
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