1998 British Rally Championship

The 1998 Mobil 1 British Rally Championship was won by Manxman Martin Rowe in the Renault Megane Maxi Kit Car ahead of veteran Welsh driver Gwyndaf Evans in the SEAT Ibiza Kit Car and Alister McRae in The Volkswagen Golf Kit Car. Reigning champion Mark Higgins had a very disappointing season in the new Nissan Almera Kit Car. The ladies' cup was won by SEAT driver Barbara Armstrong ahead of Ford's Stephanie Simmonite. The manufacturers' championship was won by Renault.

Driver Changes

1996 Champion Gwyndaf Evans moved from Ford to SEAT

Robbie Head was replaced at Renault by Tapio Laukkanen who had moved from Volkswagen

Head in turn joined SEAT

Vauxhall returned to the series with the Astra Kit Car with Jarmo Kytolehto at the wheel

Harri Rovanpera did not compete in The British Championship this season to concentrate on his WRC Commitments with SEAT

Calendar

Round Event Date
Round 1 Vauxhall Rally of Wales 19-21 March
Round 2/3 Pirelli International Rally 24-26 April
Round 4/5 RSAC Scottish Rally 4-6 June
Round 6 Stena Line Ulster Rally 30 July – 1 August
Round 7 Manx International Rally 10-12 September

Teams and Drivers

Team Manufacturer Car No Driver Rounds
Nissan Motorsports Europe Nissan Almera Kit Car 1 Mark Higgins 7
Renault Dealer Rallying Association Renault Megane Kit Car 2 Martin Rowe All
Renault Dealer Rallying Association Renault Megane Kit Car 6 Tapio Laukkanen All
SEAT Cupra Sport SEAT Ibiza Kit Car 4 Gwyndaf Evans All
SEAT Cupra Sport SEAT Ibiza Kit Car 5 Robbie Head 7
SEAT Cupra Sport SEAT Ibiza Kit Car 17 Barbara Armstrong All
Volkswagen Motorsport UK (SBG Sport) Volkswagen Golf GTI Kit Car 3 Alister McRae All
Volkswagen Motorsport UK (SBG Sport) Volkswagen Golf GTI Kit Car 5 Raimund Baumschlager 6
Ford Motor Company Ford Escort Maxi Kit Car 11 Lars-Goran Andersson 4-5
Vauxhall Motorsport (RML) Vauxhall Astra Kit Car 10 Jarmo Kytolehto All
Polar Motorsport Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 4 24 Marko Ipatti All
Ford Motorsport (Boland Motorsport) Ford Escort RS2000 8 Stephanie Simmonite All
Ford Motorsport (Boland Motorsport) Ford Escort RS2000 12 Liam O'Callaghan 6-7
Proton Motorsport (Harry Hockly Motorsport) Proton Satria 14 Mats Andersson All
Proton Motorsport (Harry Hockly Motorsport) Proton Satria 20 Jenny Davies All
SW Motorsport Citroen Saxo Kit Car 19 Julian Reynolds 6
David Mann Proton Persona 21 David Mann All
Peugeot Sport UK Peugeot 106 GTI 7 Justin Dale All
Asquith Motorsport Honda Civic v-tec 31 Neil Wearden All

'Drivers Championship'

Pos Driver R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 Pts
1 Martin Rowe 1st 1st 4th 3rd 1st 2nd 1st 164
2 Gwyndaf Evans 3rd 2nd 1st 1st 4th 1st DNF 153
3 Alister McRae DNF 6th 2nd 2nd 3rd 3rd 5th 133
4 Tapio Laukkanen DNF 4th 3rd 9th 2nd 6th 2nd 127
5 Neil Wearden 2nd 8th 5th 5th 6th 8th DNF 102
6 Jarmo Kytolehto DNF 3rd DNF 4th 5th DNF 3rd 96
7 Barbara Armstrong 5th 11th 8th DNF 12th 14th 6th 74
8 Stephanie Simmonite 4th 14th 7th DNF 11th DNF 7th 73

Manufacturers Championship

Pos Entrant R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 Pts
1 Renault 26.5 32 32 25 25 32 32 36 190.5
2 SEAT 32 28 28 32 32 25 36 0 188.0
3 Volkswagen 26.5 0 22 28 28 28 29 26 165.5
4 Ford 22 25 18 22 20 20 26 29 144.0
5 Vauxhall 18 20 25 20 22 22 20 32 141.0
6 Peugeot 20 22 20 0 18 16 23 0 119.0
7 Proton 16 0 0 18 0 18 0 0 52.0

There was an earlier round before the Vauxhall Rally of Wales, the Silverstone RallySprint which only counted for manufacturers points

References