1973 Press-on-Regardless Rally

Template:Use mdy dates Template:Template other The 1973 Press-On-Regardless Rally (formally the 25th Press-On-Regardless Rally) was the eleventh round of the inaugural World Rally Championship season. Run at the outset of November in Michigan in the United States. The rally was run entirely on gravel.

Report

Due to a combination of scheduling and location, the event was not attended by most European competitors. Giving teams only two weeks following the preceding Sanremo Rally to travel across the Atlantic Ocean, and then giving even less time for a return to Europe for the following RAC Rally in England, proved unrealistic for most teams, and in the event, only a few teams from Poland made the trip with their domestic Polski Fiat 125p vehicles. As it turned out, the event was primarily a local affair, with a Canadian, Walter Boyce, taking the win ahead of a field of American drivers.

In 1973, and for several years afterward, only manufacturers were given points for finishes in WRC events. With the teams focused on the prestigious RAC Rally upcoming, and with the year's championship already sewn up by Alpine Renault, the works teams did not make an effort to compete in the American leg of the championship. Toyota became the beneficiary as it was a Corolla that carried Boyce to victory, while other makes popular on the North American market filled out the ranks. Datsuns were particularly prevalent—especially the locally popular Datsun 510—and Polski Fiat was rewarded for their effort in making the trip by a finish in the points, but overall, the results factored little into the factory efforts for the championship.

Results

1973 Press-on-Regardless Rally results

Finish	Total time	Car #	Driver Co-driver	Car	Mfr. points
1	6 h : 58 m : 28.2 s	110	Template:Flagicon Walter Boyce Template:Flagicon Doug Woods	Template:Flagicon Toyota Corolla	20
2	7 h : 22 m : 43.2 s	116	Template:Flagicon Jim Walker Template:Flagicon Terry Palmer	Template:Flagicon Volvo 142 S	15
3	7 h : 33 m : 36.0 s	105	Template:Flagicon John Smiskol Template:Flagicon Carol Smiskol	Template:Flagicon Datsun 240Z	12
4	7 h : 39 m : 1.8 s	114	Template:Flagicon John Buffum Template:Flagicon Wayne Zitkus	Template:Flagicon Ford Escort RS1600	10
5	7 h : 45 m : 0.6 s	127	Template:Flagicon John Rodgers Template:Flagicon Erik Brooks	Template:Flagicon Datsun 1600 SSS
6	7 h : 57 m : 30.6 s	108	Template:Flagicon Robert Mucha Template:Flagicon Ryszard Żyszkowski	Template:Flagicon Polski Fiat 125p	6
7	8 h : 4 m : 54.6 s	123	Template:Flagicon Bill Dodd Template:Flagicon Rudy Kren	Template:Flagicon Ford Capri 2600
8	8 h : 8 m : 12.0 s	130	Template:Flagicon Jim Callon Template:Flagicon Gary Hays	Template:Flagicon Datsun 510
9	8 h : 9 m : 28.2 s	136	Template:Flagicon Steve Dorr Template:Flagicon Rick Andersson	Template:Flagicon Datsun 510
10	8 h : 16 m : 12.6 s	121	Template:Flagicon Chuck McLaren Template:Flagicon Doug Leverton	Template:Flagicon Datsun 510
11	8 h : 20 m : 47.4 sTemplate:NoteTag	117	Template:Flagicon Andrzej Jaroszewicz Template:Flagicon Zbigniew Dziadura	Template:Flagicon Polski Fiat 125p
12	8 h : 21 m : 40.8 s	122	Template:Flagicon John Chalmers Template:Flagicon William Potvin	Template:Flagicon Datsun 510
13	8 h : 35 m : 42.6 s	113	Template:Flagicon Gary Neil Template:Flagicon Don Ramsay	Template:Flagicon Datsun 1600 SSS
14	8 h : 35 m : 58.8 s	160	Template:Flagicon Edgar Herrmann Template:Flagicon Joe LeBeau	Template:Flagicon Subaru GL
15	8 h : 39 m : 10.8 s	120	Template:Flagicon Marek Varisella Template:Flagicon Janina Jedynak	Template:Flagicon Polski Fiat 125p
Retired (accident)		104	Template:Flagicon Taisto Heinonen Template:Flagicon John Bellefleur	Template:Flagicon Opel Manta
Retired (engine)		106	Template:Flagicon Erhard Dahm Template:Flagicon Tom Grishaw	Template:Flagicon Jeep Wagoneer
Retired (engine)		107	Template:Flagicon Gene Henderson Template:Flagicon Ken Pogue	Template:Flagicon Jeep Wagoneer
Retired (excluded)		109	Template:Flagicon Scott Harvey Template:Flagicon Ralph Beckman	Template:Flagicon Dodge Colt
Retired (accident)		112	Template:Flagicon Bob Hourihan Template:Flagicon Geraint Phillips	Template:Flagicon Datsun 1800 SSS
Retired (time barred)		147	Template:Flagicon Randy Graves Template:Flagicon Ruth Heidel	Template:Flagicon Alpine-Renault A110

Championship standings after the event

1973 World Rally Championship for Manufacturers points standings after round 11

After round 11		Team	Season end
Position	Points		Position	Points
1	127	Template:Flagicon Alpine Renault	1	147
2	84	Template:Flagicon Fiat	2	84
3	46	Template:Flagicon Ford	3	76
4	42	Template:Flagicon Saab	5	42
5	34	Template:Flagicon Datsun	6	34
6	34	Template:Flagicon Volvo	4	44
7	33	Template:Flagicon Citroën	7	33
8	25	Template:Flagicon Toyota	10	25
9	24	Template:Flagicon BMW	8	28
10	24	Template:Flagicon Porsche	9	27
11	18	Template:Flagicon Polski Fiat	12	18
12	17	Template:Flagicon Lancia	13	17
13	15	Template:Flagicon Wartburg	14	15
14	15	Template:Flagicon Opel	11	25
15	14	Template:Flagicon Volkswagen	15	15
16	13	Template:Flagicon Peugeot	16	13
17	4	Template:Flagicon Mitsubishi	17	4
18	3	Template:Flagicon Škoda	18	3
19	1	Template:Flagicon Audi	20	2

External links

• Official website of the World Rally Championship
• 1973 Press-on-Regardless Rally at Rallye-info Template:Webarchive