The
FIA International Championship for Manufacturers (IMC) 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
Sports ...
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.
In the inaugural season,
Porsche
Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The company ...
's
Björn Waldegård drove his
911 S to victory at the
Monte Carlo Rally
The Monte Carlo Rally or Rallye Monte-Carlo (officially ''Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo'') is a rallying event organised each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco. The rally now takes place along the French Riviera in Monaco and southeas ...
, the
Swedish Rally and the
Österreichische Alpenfahrt. With Porsche leading
Alpine-Renault
The Société des Automobiles Alpine SAS, commonly known as Alpine (), is a French manufacturer of racing and sports cars established in 1955. The Alpine car marque was created in 1954.
Jean Rédélé, the founder of Alpine, was originally ...
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
Andrew Cowan (13 December 1936 – 15 October 2019) was a Scottish rally driver, and the founder and senior director of Mitsubishi Ralliart until his retirement on 30 November 2005.
Early years
Cowan was raised in Duns, a small town in the ...
'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.
The final IMC title went to
Lancia
Lancia () is an Italian car manufacturer and a subsidiary of FCA Italy S.p.A., which is currently a Stellantis division. The present legal entity of Lancia was formed in January 2007 when its corporate parent reorganised its businesses, but it ...
. The
Fulvia 1.6 Coupé HF was driven by
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 p ...
(35 points),
Harry Källström (22)
Sandro Munari
Sandro Munari (born 27 March 1940), also nicknamed 'Il Drago' (The Dragon) is a former motor racing and rally driver from Italy.
Career
Sandro Munari was born in Cavarzere, in the Veneto region. He began rallying in 1965 and won the Italian Ral ...
(20) and
Amilcare Ballestrieri (20).
Fiat
Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiar ...
finished second in the standings with their
124 Sport Spider.
1970
Events
Final standings
1971
Events
Final standings
1972
Events
Final standings
References
External links
Official website of the World Rally Championship
{{World Rally Championship results
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
Rally racing series
World Rally Championship