1973 Press-on-Regardless Rally
Encyclopedia
The 1973 Press-on-Regardless Rally was the 25th running of the American rally, and the eleventh round of the inaugural World Rally Championship
season. Run at the outset of November in the State of Michigan
in the United States
, the rally was run entirely on gravel.
Due to a combination of scheduling and location, the event was not attended by most European competitors. Giving teams only two weeks following the preceding Sanremo Rally to travel across the Atlantic Ocean
, and then giving even less time for a return to Europe
for the following RAC Rally in England
, proved unrealistic for most teams, and in the event, only a few teams from Poland
made the trip with their domestic Polski Fiat 125p
vehicles. As it turned out, the event was primarily a local affair, with a Canadian, Walter Boyce
, taking the win ahead of a field of American drivers.
In 1973, and for several years afterward, only manufacturers were given points for finishes in WRC events. With the teams focused on the prestigious RAC Rally upcoming, and with the year's championship already sewn up by Alpine Renault, the works teams did not make an effort to compete in the American leg of the championship. Toyota became the beneficiary as it was a Corolla
that carried Boyce to victory, while other makes popular on the North American market filled out the ranks. Datsun
s were particularly prevalent--especially the locally popular Datsun 510
--and Polski Fiat
was rewarded for their effort in making the trip by a finish in the points, but overall, the results factored little into the factory efforts for the championship.
World Rally Championship
The World Rally Championship is a rallying series organised by the FIA, culminating with a champion driver and manufacturer. The driver's world championship and manufacturer's world championship are separate championships, but based on the same point system. The series currently consists of 13...
season. Run at the outset of November in the State of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the rally was run entirely on gravel.
Due to a combination of scheduling and location, the event was not attended by most European competitors. Giving teams only two weeks following the preceding Sanremo Rally to travel across the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
, and then giving even less time for a return to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
for the following RAC Rally in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, proved unrealistic for most teams, and in the event, only a few teams from Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
made the trip with their domestic Polski Fiat 125p
Polski Fiat 125p
The Polski Fiat 125p was a motor vehicle manufactured between 1967 and 1991 in People's Republic of Poland and Republic of Poland by the state-owned manufacturer Fabryka Samochodów Osobowych under a license agreement with Fiat. It was a simplified variation of the Fiat 125, with engines and...
vehicles. As it turned out, the event was primarily a local affair, with a Canadian, Walter Boyce
Walter Boyce
Walter Boyce is a Canadian former rally racer. He is the only Canadian to win a World Rally Championship event, which he managed at the 1973 Press-on-Regardless Rally in the United States. He took his second podium finish at the 1974 Rally of the Rideau Lakes in his home country, finishing third...
, taking the win ahead of a field of American drivers.
In 1973, and for several years afterward, only manufacturers were given points for finishes in WRC events. With the teams focused on the prestigious RAC Rally upcoming, and with the year's championship already sewn up by Alpine Renault, the works teams did not make an effort to compete in the American leg of the championship. Toyota became the beneficiary as it was a Corolla
Toyota Corolla
The Toyota Corolla is a line of subcompact and compact cars manufactured by the Japanese automaker Toyota, which has become very popular throughout the world since the nameplate was first introduced in 1966. In 1997, the Corolla became the best selling nameplate in the world, with over 35 million...
that carried Boyce to victory, while other makes popular on the North American market filled out the ranks. Datsun
Datsun
Datsun was an automobile marque. The name was created in 1931 by the DAT Motorcar Co. for a new car model, spelling it as "Datson" to indicate its smaller size when compared to the existing, larger DAT car. Later, in 1933 after Nissan Motor Co., Ltd...
s were particularly prevalent--especially the locally popular Datsun 510
Datsun 510
The Datsun 510 was a series of the Datsun Bluebird sold from 1968 to 1974, and offered outside the U.S. and Canada as the Datsun 1600. According to AutoWeek's G.D...
--and Polski Fiat
Polski Fiat
Polski Fiat was a Polish car brand. Under this brand, cars under licence of the Italian manufacturer FIAT were manufactured or assembled in Poland.-Before World War II:...
was rewarded for their effort in making the trip by a finish in the points, but overall, the results factored little into the factory efforts for the championship.
Results
| Finish | Total time |
Car # | Driver Co-driver |
Car | Mfr. points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 h : 58 m : 28.2 s | 110 |  Walter BoyceWalter Boyce Walter Boyce is a Canadian former rally racer. He is the only Canadian to win a World Rally Championship event, which he managed at the 1973 Press-on-Regardless Rally in the United States. He took his second podium finish at the 1974 Rally of the Rideau Lakes in his home country, finishing third... Doug Woods |
 Toyota CorollaToyota Corolla The Toyota Corolla is a line of subcompact and compact cars manufactured by the Japanese automaker Toyota, which has become very popular throughout the world since the nameplate was first introduced in 1966. In 1997, the Corolla became the best selling nameplate in the world, with over 35 million... |
20 |
| 2 | 7 h : 22 m : 43.2 s | 116 |  Jim Walker Terry Palmer |
 Volvo 142 S |
15 |
| 3 | 7 h : 33 m : 36.0 s | 105 | John Smiskol Carol Smiskol |
Datsun 240Z |
12 |
| 4 | 7 h : 39 m : 1.8 s | 114 | John Buffum John Buffum John Buffum is the most successful U.S. rally driver ever, winning 11 national titles and 117 national championship events.... Wayne Zitkus |
Ford Escort RS1600 | 10 |
| 5 | 7 h : 45 m : 0.6 s | 127 | John Rodgers Erik Brooks |
Datsun 1600 SSS |
|
| 6 | 7 h : 57 m : 30.6 s | 108 |  Robert Mucha Ryszard Żyszkowski |
Polski Fiat 125p Polski Fiat 125p The Polski Fiat 125p was a motor vehicle manufactured between 1967 and 1991 in People's Republic of Poland and Republic of Poland by the state-owned manufacturer Fabryka Samochodów Osobowych under a license agreement with Fiat. It was a simplified variation of the Fiat 125, with engines and... |
6 |
| 7 | 8 h : 5 m : 4.6 s | 123 | Bill Dodd Rudy Kren |
Ford Capri 2600 | |
| 8 | 8 h : 8 m : 12.0 s | 130 | Jim Callon Gary Hays |
Datsun 510 Datsun 510 The Datsun 510 was a series of the Datsun Bluebird sold from 1968 to 1974, and offered outside the U.S. and Canada as the Datsun 1600. According to AutoWeek's G.D... |
|
| 9 | 8 h : 9 m : 28.2 s | 136 | Steve Dorr Rick Andersson |
Datsun 510 Datsun 510 The Datsun 510 was a series of the Datsun Bluebird sold from 1968 to 1974, and offered outside the U.S. and Canada as the Datsun 1600. According to AutoWeek's G.D... |
|
| 10 | 8 h : 16 m : 12.6 s | 121 | Chuck McLaren Doug Leverton |
Datsun 510 Datsun 510 The Datsun 510 was a series of the Datsun Bluebird sold from 1968 to 1974, and offered outside the U.S. and Canada as the Datsun 1600. According to AutoWeek's G.D... |
|
| 11 | 122 | John Chalmers William Potvin |
Datsun 510 Datsun 510 The Datsun 510 was a series of the Datsun Bluebird sold from 1968 to 1974, and offered outside the U.S. and Canada as the Datsun 1600. According to AutoWeek's G.D... |
||
| 12 | 8 h : 20 m : 47.4 s | 117 | Andrzej Jaroszewicz Zbigniew Dziadura |
Polski Fiat 125p Polski Fiat 125p The Polski Fiat 125p was a motor vehicle manufactured between 1967 and 1991 in People's Republic of Poland and Republic of Poland by the state-owned manufacturer Fabryka Samochodów Osobowych under a license agreement with Fiat. It was a simplified variation of the Fiat 125, with engines and... |
|
| 13 | 113 | Gary Neil Gary Neil Gary Derek Campbell Neil is a Scottish former professional footballer. He was born in Glasgow and played professionally for Torquay United.... Don RamsayDon Ramsay Don Ramsay was a Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario personality who had a 45 year career primarily on CJIC radio and CJIC-TV. Ramsay became well known as "your old saddle pal" and as "the dean of country music".-History:... |
Datsun 1600 SSS |
||
| 14 | 8 h : 35 m : 58.8 s | 160 |  Edgar HerrmannEdgar Herrmann Edgar Herrmann is a German-born Kenyan former rally driver. He also competed in sports car racing, driving mainly a Porsche 911. Herrmann notably won the Safari Rally in Kenya both in 1970 and 1971. Sports Illustrated journalist Robert F... Joe LeBeau |
Subaru GL |
|
| 15 | 8 h : 39 m : 10.8 s | 120 | Marek Varisella Janina Jedynak |
Polski Fiat 125p Polski Fiat 125p The Polski Fiat 125p was a motor vehicle manufactured between 1967 and 1991 in People's Republic of Poland and Republic of Poland by the state-owned manufacturer Fabryka Samochodów Osobowych under a license agreement with Fiat. It was a simplified variation of the Fiat 125, with engines and... |
|
| Retired (accident) | 104 | Taisto Heinonen John Bellefleur |
 Opel MantaOpel Manta The Opel Manta was a rear-wheel-drive sports coupé motor vehicle built by Opel, from 1970 to 1988.-1970–75: Opel Manta A:The Manta A was released in September 1970, two months ahead of the then new Opel Ascona on which it was based... |
||
| Retired (mechanical) | 106 | Erhard Dahm Tom Grishaw |
Jeep Wagoneer Jeep Wagoneer The Jeep Wagoneer was an early sport utility vehicle and the first luxury 4x4, produced under varying marques from 1963 to 1991. It was noteworthy for being in production for more than 28 years with only minor mechanical changes... |
||
| Retired (mechanical) | 107 | Gene Henderson Ken Pogue Ken Pogue Ken Pogue is a Canadian actor.He is married to the actress Diana Barrington. His first motion picture role in 1973 was in The Neptune Factor. He almost drowned in SCUBA gear. He worked at the Stratford Festival and St. Lawrence Centre in the 1960s through 1980s before moving to television and film... |
Jeep Wagoneer Jeep Wagoneer The Jeep Wagoneer was an early sport utility vehicle and the first luxury 4x4, produced under varying marques from 1963 to 1991. It was noteworthy for being in production for more than 28 years with only minor mechanical changes... |
||
| Retired (excluded) | 109 | Scott Harvey Ralph Backman |
Dodge Colt Dodge Colt The Dodge Colt and the similar Plymouth Champ and Plymouth Colt, were subcompact cars sold by Dodge and Plymouth from 1970 to 1994. They were captive imports from Mitsubishi Motors, initially twins of the rear-wheel drive Galant and Lancer families before shifting to the smaller front-wheel drive... |
||
| Retired (accident) | 112 | Bob Hourihan Geraint Phillips |
Datsun 1800 SSS |
||
Championship standings
| After round 11 | Team | Season end | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Points | Position | Points | |
| 1 | 127 |  Alpine Renault |
1 | 147 |
| 2 | 84 |  FiatFiat FIAT, an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial, and industrial group based in Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli... |
2 | 84 |
| 3 | 46 | Ford Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK... |
3 | 76 |
| 4 | 42 | Saab Saab Automobile Saab Automobile AB, better known as Saab , is a Swedish car manufacturer owned by Dutch automobile manufacturer Swedish Automobile NV, formerly Spyker Cars NV. It is the exclusive automobile Royal Warrant holder as appointed by the King of Sweden... |
5 | 42 |
| 5 | 34 | Datsun Datsun Datsun was an automobile marque. The name was created in 1931 by the DAT Motorcar Co. for a new car model, spelling it as "Datson" to indicate its smaller size when compared to the existing, larger DAT car. Later, in 1933 after Nissan Motor Co., Ltd... |
6 | 34 |
| 6 | 34 | Volvo Volvo Cars Volvo Car Corporation, or Volvo Personvagnar AB, is a Swedish automobile manufacturer founded in 1927, in Gothenburg, Sweden. It is owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. Volvo was originally formed as a subsidiary company to the ball bearing maker SKF. When Volvo AB was introduced on the Swedish... |
4 | 44 |
| 7 | 33 | Citroën Citroën Citroën is a major French automobile manufacturer, part of the PSA Peugeot Citroën group.Founded in 1919 by French industrialist André-Gustave Citroën , Citroën was the first mass-production car company outside the USA and pioneered the modern concept of creating a sales and services network that... |
7 | 33 |
| 8 | 25 | Toyota |
10 | 25 |
| 9 | 24 | BMW BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands... |
8 | 28 |
| 10 | 24 | Porsche Porsche Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry.... |
9 | 27 |
| 11 | 18 | Polski Fiat Polski Fiat Polski Fiat was a Polish car brand. Under this brand, cars under licence of the Italian manufacturer FIAT were manufactured or assembled in Poland.-Before World War II:... |
12 | 18 |
| 12 | 17 | Lancia Lancia Lancia Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian automobile manufacturer founded in 1906 by Vincenzo Lancia and which became part of the Fiat Group in 1969. The company has a long history of producing distinctive cars and also has a strong rally heritage. Some modern Lancias are seen as presenting a more... |
13 | 17 |
| 13 | 15 |  Wartburg |
14 | 15 |
| 14 | 15 | Opel Opel Adam Opel AG, generally shortened to Opel, is a German automobile company founded by Adam Opel in 1862. Opel has been building automobiles since 1899, and became an Aktiengesellschaft in 1929... |
11 | 25 |
| 15 | 14 | Volkswagen Volkswagen Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is... |
15 | 15 |
| 16 | 13 | Peugeot Peugeot Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker based in Europe.The family business that precedes the current Peugeot company was founded in 1810, and manufactured coffee mills and bicycles. On 20 November 1858, Emile Peugeot applied for the lion... |
16 | 13 |
| 17 | 4 | Mitsubishi Mitsubishi Motors is a multinational automaker headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. In 2009 it was the fifth-largest Japan-based automaker and the 17th-largest in the world measured by production... |
17 | 4 |
| 18 | 3 |  ŠkodaŠkoda Auto Škoda Auto , more commonly known as Škoda, is an automobile manufacturer based in the Czech Republic. Škoda became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group in 2000, positioned as the entry brand to the group... |
18 | 3 |
| 19 | 1 | Audi Audi Audi AG is a German automobile manufacturer, from supermini to crossover SUVs in various body styles and price ranges that are marketed under the Audi brand , positioned as the premium brand within the Volkswagen Group.... |
20 | 2 |
See also
- 1973 World Rally Championship season
- Press-on-Regardless RallyPress-on-Regardless RallyPress-on-Regardless Rally is a road rally organized by the Detroit Region of the Sports Car Club of America.The Press-on-Regardless was first run in 1949 as a 24 hour Time-Speed-Distance rally. In 1969, the POR became a stage rally...
- 25th Press-on-Regardless Rally at Rallybase
- Press on Regard. 1973 at Jonkka's World Rally Archive
- 1973 San Remo Rally, WRC Round 10 at Rallye-info