# 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