The Critérium du Québec (also known as the Rally of Canada) was a

rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event Sport ...

competition that was part of the

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the FIA. There are separate championships for drivers, co-drivers, manufacturers and t ...

from

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

. Critérium du Québec was

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

's second WRC event after the Rally of the Rideau Lakes, which was part of the calendar in 1974.

History

The ''5ème Critérium Molson du Québec'' was the first edition of the rally on the World Rally Championship schedule. Fiat took a double win with its 131 Abarth both in 1977 and 1978, first with

Timo Salonen Timo Salonen (born October 8, 1951) is a Finnish former rally driver who won the 1985 World Rally Championship season for Peugeot. It was commented of him that he stood out from other drivers, because he was overweight, wore thick glasses and smok ...

and

Simo Lampinen Simo Lampinen (born 22 June 1943) is a Finnish former rally driver, and one of the first of the "Flying Finns" who came to dominate the sport. Biography Lampinen was born in Porvoo. Having contracted polio at a young age, he was left with a pr ...

and a year later with

Walter Röhrl Walter Röhrl (; born 7 March 1947) is a German rally and auto racing driver, with victories for Fiat, Opel, Lancia and Audi as well as Porsche, Ford and BMW. Röhrl has scored 14 victories over his career, with his notable achievements includin ...

and

Markku Alén Markku Allan Alén (born 15 February 1951) is a Finnish former rally and race car driver. He drove for Fiat, Lancia, Subaru and Toyota in the World Rally Championship, and held the record for most stage wins (801) in the series, until Sébastie ...

. The 1979 event, won by

Björn Waldegård Björn Waldegård (12 November 1943 – 29 August 2014) was a Swedish rally driver, and the winner of the inaugural World Rally Championship for drivers in 1979. His Swedish nickname was "Walle". Career Waldegård, who came from Rimbo, had a ca ...

in a

Ford Escort RS1800 The Ford Escort is a small family car that was manufactured by Ford of Europe from 1968 until 2000. In total there were six generations, spread across three basic platforms beginning with the original rear-wheel drive Mk.1/Mk.2 (1968–1980), ...

, was the rally's final appearance in the WRC.

Winners

External links

Critérium du Québec at World Rally Archive

Critérium du Québec at RallyBase
Motorsport competitions in Canada World Rally Championship rallies Recurring sporting events established in 1977 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1979 {{Rally-stub