International Championship for Manufacturers

The FIA International Championship for Manufacturers (IMC) was a rally series culminating in a champion manufacturer. The championship was run from 1970 to 1972 and it was replaced by the FIA World Rally Championship in 1973. All the nine rallies of the 1972 IMC season were part of the 1973 World Rally Championship season.

Harry Källström's Lancia Fulvia 1.6 Coupé HF at the 1972 Press-on-Regardless Rally.

In the inaugural season, Porsche's Björn Waldegård drove his 911 S to victory at the Monte Carlo Rally, the Swedish Rally and the Österreichische Alpenfahrt. With Porsche leading Alpine-Renault by only three points before the season-ending RAC Rally, the championship went down to the wire. Alpine-Renault recruited Ove Andersson for the event, but he had an accident and retired. Alpine-Renault's best result was then Andrew Cowan's fifth place, and Porsche took the title. Porsche's Gérard Larrousse also picked up a point for sixth place.

In 1971, Alpine-Renault ran away with the title as Andersson won four of the eight events in the Alpine A110 1600. The Alpine-Renault, driven by Bernard Darniche, also won the last Coupe des Alpes, but because the event ran with an insufficient number of starters (36 when the FIA minimum was 50), no points were awarded towards the championship.[1]

The final IMC title went to Lancia. The Fulvia 1.6 Coupé HF was driven by Simo Lampinen (35 points), Harry Källström (22) Sandro Munari (20) and Amilcare Ballestrieri (20). Fiat finished second in the standings with their 124 Sport Spider.[2]

1970

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Events

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Round Event Dates  Starters   Finishers  Winner Car Second Car Third Car
1   Monte Carlo Rally 16–24 January 184 44   Björn Waldegård Porsche 911 S   Gérard Larrousse Porsche 911 S   Jean-Pierre Nicolas Alpine-Renault A110 1300
2   Swedish Rally 11–15 February 120 31   Björn Waldegård Porsche 911 S   Stig Blomqvist Saab 96 V4   Lillebror Nasenius Opel Kadett Rallye
3   Rallye Sanremo 4–8 March 109 15   Jean-Luc Thérier Alpine-Renault A110 1600   Harry Källström Lancia Fulvia 1.6 Coupé HF   Jean Vinatier Alpine-Renault A110 1600
4   Safari Rally 26–28 March 91 19   Edgar Herrmann Datsun 1600 SSS   Joginder Singh Datsun 1600 SSS   Bert Shankland Peugeot 504
5   Österreichische Alpenfahrt 6–10 May 54 20   Björn Waldegård Porsche 911 S   Håkan Lindberg Saab 96 V4   Jean-François Piot Ford Escort Twin Cam
6   Acropolis Rally 28–31 May 80 13   Jean-Luc Thérier Alpine-Renault A110 1600   Jean Vinatier Alpine-Renault A110 1600   Ove Andersson Ford Escort Twin Cam
7   RAC Rally 13–18 November 196 67   Harry Källström Lancia Fulvia 1.6 Coupé HF   Ove Eriksson Opel Kadett Rallye   Lillebror Nasenius Opel Kadett Rallye

Final standings

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Pos Manufacturer MON
 
SWE
 
ITA
 
KEN
 
AUT
 
GRC
 
GBR
 
Pts
1   Porsche 9 9 9 1 28
2   Alpine-Renault 4 9 2 9 2 26
3   Lancia 1 6 9 16
4   Saab 6 3 6 15
5   Opel 4 6 10
  Ford 2 4 4 10
7   Datsun 9 9
8   Peugeot 4 4
9   Fiat 1 2 3
10   Volvo 2 2
11   BMW 1 1
  Triumph 1 1
  Volkswagen 1 1
Source:[3]

1971

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Events

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Round Event Dates  Starters   Finishers  Winner Car Second Car Third Car
1   Monte Carlo Rally 22–29 January 248 22   Ove Andersson Alpine-Renault A110 1600   Jean-Luc Thérier Alpine-Renault A110 1600   Björn Waldegård Porsche 914/6
2   Swedish Rally 17–21 February 112 53   Stig Blomqvist Saab 96 V4   Lars Nyström BMW 2002 Ti   Harry Källström Lancia Fulvia 1.6 Coupé HF
3   Rallye Sanremo 14–17 March 86 20   Ove Andersson Alpine-Renault A110 1600   Amilcare Ballestrieri Lancia Fulvia 1.6 Coupé HF   Sergio Barbasio Lancia Fulvia 1.6 Coupé HF
4   Safari Rally 8–12 April 107 32   Edgar Herrmann Datsun 240Z   Shekhar Mehta Datsun 240Z   Bert Shankland Peugeot 504
5   Rallye du Maroc 28 April – 1 May 60 9   Jean Deschazeaux Citroën SM   Guy Chasseuil Peugeot 504 Ti   Bernard Consten Citroën DS 21
6   Österreichische Alpenfahrt 13–16 May 54 15   Ove Andersson Alpine-Renault A110 1600   Alcide Paganelli Fiat 124 Sport Spider   Klaus Russling Volkswagen Käfer 1302 S
7   Acropolis Rally 27–30 May 59 9   Ove Andersson Alpine-Renault A110 1600   Jean-Pierre Nicolas Alpine-Renault A110 1600   Simo Lampinen Lancia Fulvia 1.6 Coupé HF
8   Coupe des Alpes 21–26 June 36 11   Bernard Darniche Alpine-Renault A110 1600   Jean Vinatier Alpine-Renault A110 1800   Jean-François Piot Ford Escort RS 1600
9   RAC Rally 20–25 November 231 104   Stig Blomqvist Saab 96 V4   Björn Waldegård Porsche 911 S   Carl Orrenius Saab 96 V4

Final standings

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Herrmann's 1971 Safari Rally -winning Datsun 240Z.
Pos Manufacturer MON
 
SWE
 
ITA
 
KEN
 
MAR
 
AUT
 
GRC
 
GBR
 
Pts
1   Alpine-Renault 9 9 9 9 36
2   Saab 9 9 18
3   Porsche 3.5 3 2 2 6 16.5
4   Lancia 1 4 6 4 1 16
5   Datsun 2 9 11
  Fiat 2 6 3 11
7   Peugeot 4 6 10
8   Citroën 9 9
  BMW 6 2 1 9
10   Ford 3 3 6
11   Volkswagen 4 4
  Opel 2 2 4
Source:[4]

1972

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Events

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Round Event Dates  Starters   Finishers  Winner Car Second Car Third Car
1   Monte Carlo Rally 21–28 January 264 24   Sandro Munari Lancia Fulvia 1.6 Coupé HF   Gérard Larrousse Porsche 911 S   Rauno Aaltonen Datsun 240Z
2   Swedish Rally 17–20 February 91 56   Stig Blomqvist Saab 96 V4   Björn Waldegård Porsche 911 S   Harry Källström Lancia Fulvia 1.6 Coupé HF
3   Safari Rally 30 March – 3 April 85 18   Hannu Mikkola Ford Escort RS1600   Sobiesław Zasada Porsche 911 S   Vic Preston jr. Ford Escort RS1600
4   Rallye du Maroc 27–30 April 52 6   Simo Lampinen Lancia Fulvia 1.6 Coupé HF   Bob Neyret Citroën DS 21 Proto Chassis Court   Raymond Ponnelle Citroën DS 21
5   Acropolis Rally 25–28 May 98 14   Håkan Lindberg Fiat 124 Sport Spider   Simo Lampinen Lancia Fulvia 1.6 Coupé HF   Achim Warmbold BMW 2002 Ti
6   Österreichische Alpenfahrt 6–8 September 58 8   Håkan Lindberg Fiat 124 Spider   Günther Janger Volkswagen Käfer 1302 S   Per Eklund Saab 96 V4
7   Rallye Sanremo 22–25 October 69 13   Amilcare Ballestrieri Lancia Fulvia 1.6 Coupé HF   Sergio Barbasio Lancia Fulvia 1.6 Coupé HF   Håkan Lindberg Fiat 124 Spider
8   Press-on-Regardless Rally 2–4 November 77 21   Gene Henderson Jeep Wagoneer   Tom Jones Datsun 240Z   Erhard Dahm Jeep Wagoneer
9   RAC Rally 2–5 December 192 80   Roger Clark Ford Escort RS1600   Stig Blomqvist Saab 96 V4   Anders Kulläng Opel Ascona

Final standings

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Roger Clark's 1972 RAC Rally -winning Ford Escort RS1600.
Pos Manufacturer MON
 
SWE
 
KEN
 
MAR
 
GRC
 
AUT
 
ITA
 
USA
 
GBR
 
Pts
1   Lancia 20 12 20 15 20 10 97
2   Fiat 3 20 20 12 55
3   Porsche 15 15 15 8 53
4   Ford 8 20 20 48
5   Saab 20 12 15 47
6   Datsun 12 8 6 15 41
7   Opel 2 10 2 6 1 12 33
8   BMW 6 12 4 22
9   Jeep 20 20
10   Citroën 15 15
  Volkswagen 15 15
12   Peugeot 4 8 12
13   Volvo 10 1 11
14   Renault 10 10
15   Dodge 8 8
16   Toyota 6 2 8
17   Alpine-Renault 4 3 7
18   Alfa Romeo 3 3
Source:[5]

References

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  1. ^ Pfundner, Martin (2005). Alpine Trials & Rallies: 1910 To 1973. Veloce Publishing Ltd. p. 65.
  2. ^ "International Championship for Manufacturers". RallyBase. Retrieved 26 August 2008.
  3. ^ "FIA Motor Sport Bulletin N°42 December 1970" (PDF). historicdb.fia.com.
  4. ^ "FIA Motor Sport Bulletin N°54 December 1971" (PDF). historicdb.fia.com.
  5. ^ "FIA Motor Sport Bulletin N°67 January 1973" (PDF). historicdb.fia.com.
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