1973 Polish Rally

33rd Polish Rally 33 Rajd Polski
Round 7 of the 1973 WRC for Manufacturers
Host country	Poland
Rally base	Kraków, Poland
Dates run	12 July 1973 – 15 July 1973
Stages	55 (734 km; 456 mi)
Stage surface	Asphalt and gravel
Overall distance	3,912 km (2,431 mi)
Results
Overall winner	Achim Warmbold
Crews	62 at start, 3 at finish

The 1973 Polish Rally was the 33rd running of the Rally Poland, and the seventh round of the inaugural World Rally Championship season. Run in mid-July in southern Poland, this marked to only year in which Poland (or any member of the Warsaw Pact) was part of the WRC calendar until 42 years later in 2015. This edition was also notable for the fact that of the 62 teams which began the rally, only three completed it, a record that stands today.

In 1973, and for several years afterward, only manufacturers were given points for finishes in WRC events. Despite the misfortune of most of the teams, Fiat was able to finally gain a win for their Fiat Abarth 124 Rallye. As no other major competitors were able to complete the rally, the win was by a substantial margin, the German driver outpacing the next finisher by nearly three hours.

Results

1973 33rd Rally Poland final results

Finish		Total time	Group	Car #	Driver Co-driver	Car	Mfr. points
Overall	In group
1	1	8 h : 28 m : 14 s	4	4	Achim Warmbold Jean Todt	Fiat Abarth 124 Rallye	20
2	1	11 h : 15 m : 16 s	2	91	Egon Culmbacher Werner Ernst	Wartburg 353	15
3	1	12 h : 8 m : 31 s	1	55	Maciej Stawowiak Jan Czyżyk	Polski Fiat 125p	12
Retired (excluded)			4	2	Jean-Luc Thérier Alain Mahé	Alpine Renault A110 1800
Retired (mechanical)			4	3	Alcide Paganelli Ninni Russo	Fiat Abarth 124 Rallye
Retired (accident)			4	7	Adam Smorawiński Zbigniew Kołaczkowski	Porsche 911
Retired (time)			2	12	Hans Britth Magnus Olsson	Ford Capri 2600
Retired			2	21	Marian Bień Wiesław Nicieja	Polski Fiat 125p
Retired (time)			2	23	Jerzy Dobrzański Antoni Ryniak	Polski Fiat 125p
Retired (accident)			2	24	Stasys Brundza Anatoli Brum	Moskvich 412
Retired (mechanical)			2	26	Ryszard Żyszkowski Jerzy Żyszkowski	Polski Fiat 125p
Retired			2	27	Horst Rausch Jerzy Sypniewski	BMW 2002
Retired			2	31	Kastytis Girdauskas Arvydas Girdauskas	Moskvich 412
Retired			2	34	Krzysztof Komornicki Błażej Krupa	Polski Fiat 125p
Retired			2	35	Jerzy Landsberg Marian Wangrat	Polski Fiat 125p
Retired (time)			2	36	Lev Morozov Andris Kalnais	Moskvich 412
Retired (accident)			1	49	Haino Sepp Tomas Bernstein	Moskvich 412
Retired (time)			1	57	Evert Wesström Bo Carlsson	Toyota Corolla
Retired (mechanical)			1	63	Marek Varisella Janina Jedynak	Polski Fiat 125p

Championship standings

1973 World Rally Championship for Manufacturers points standings after round 7

After round 6		Team	Season end
Position	Points		Position	Points
1	92	Alpine Renault	1	147
2	63	Fiat	2	84
3	33	Citroën	7	33
4	22	Datsun	6	34
5	20	Saab	5	42
6	16	Ford	3	76
7	15	Wartburg	14	15
8	14	Volkswagen	15	15
9	13	Lancia	13	17
10	13	Peugeot	16	13
11	12	Polski Fiat	12	18
12	8	Porsche	9	27
13	5	Opel	11	25
14	4	BMW	8	28
	4	Mitsubishi	17	4
	4	Volvo	4	44
17	3	Škoda	18	3
18	2	Toyota	10	25
19	1	Audi	20	2

See also

• 1973 World Rally Championship season
• Rally Poland
• 33 Rajd Polski at Rallybase
• Polish Rally 1973 at Jonkka's World Rally Archive
• 1973 Rally Poland, WRC Round 7 at Rallye-info