Carlos Sainz
| Carlos Sainz | |
|---|---|
| World Rally Championship record | |
| Nationality | |
| Active years | 1987 - 2005 |
| Teams | Toyota, |
| World rallies | 196 |
| Championships | 2 (1990, 1992) |
| Wins | 26 |
| Podium finishes | 97 |
| Stage wins | 756 |
| Points | 1242 |
| First world rally | 1987 Rally Portugal |
| First win | 1990 Acropolis Rally |
| Last win | 2004 Rally Argentina |
| Last world rally | 2005 Acropolis Rally |
Carlos Sainz (born April 12, 1962 in Madrid, Spain) is a former Spanish rally driver. He was World Rally Champion for Toyota in both 1990 and 1992. His co-drivers were Luis Moya and Marc Marti. Constructors' World Champions to have benefitting from Sainz include Subaru (1995), Toyota (1999) and Citroën (2003, 2004 and 2005).
Sainz began rallying in 1980. He first appeared in the World Rally Championship with
Ford during the 1987
season. He left to join Toyota Team Europe, the Japanese marque's rallying arm
operating in Cologne, Germany. Despite all previous rallying
Toyota Celicas having only ever looked a competitive prospect on highly specialised
endurance rallies such as the Safari Rally, the new combination of Toyota and Sainz rapidly
rose in competitiveness, to the point of winning its first world rally event, the Acropolis
Rally, in June of 1990, with Sainz going on to claim his first world drivers' title
later that year and for the first time, breaking the stranglehold on the titles which only the dominant
After narrowly failing to defend his title against a resurgent Lancia-mounted Juha Kankkunen in identical Toyota machinery in 1991, his efforts capped by a dramatic roll of his Celica GT4 which left him in a neckbrace, Sainz managed to claim his second overall points victory, aboard the new ST185 Toyota Celica in the 1992 season. In a year that would prove the last for the foreseeable future for Lancia, Sainz managed to score memorable victories on the Safari Rally and on his home asphalt round, the Rally Catalunya, repelling the might of the representatives for the Italian marque, Kankkunen and six-time rally victor, Didier Auriol. Indeed, Auriol's retirement on the final round in Great Britain, combined with Sainz's victory, confirmed the title in favour of the Spaniard.
Such success, however, failed to coerce Sainz into staying with Toyota. Instead, he moved to the private
Sainz responded by rejoining Ford for the 1996 season. He spent two seasons with the squad, aboard the Ford Escort RS Cosworth and latterly, the Escort World Rally Car. He also won the Race of Champions at the end of 1997. He then departed, once again, for Toyota, helping to further the Corolla World Rally Car project that had been instituted in 1997 as part of the Cologne recovery from the embarrassment of exclusion from the world championship on the penultimate round of the 1995 season. He won on his first outing for them, on the 1998 Monte Carlo Rally, and later in the season, added a victory in New Zealand. The seemingly terminal blow to title rival Tommi Mäkinen's chances that was his retirement on the first day of the final event of the year, the Rally Great Britain, seemingly gave the initiative to Sainz, who now only had to score the points associated with finishing fourth, in order to ensure the title. However, he too, just 500 metres from the finish of the very last stage, was then forced to retire, with a mechanical problem. As a result, both Sainz and Toyota gifted their respective titles to rivals Mäkinen and Mitsubishi Ralliart.
A subdued season followed for Sainz in 1999, although it did at least culminate in a departing manufacturers' title for Toyota, by now fostering alternative interests in Formula One. This was the precursor of another, three year stint with Ford, again alongside McRae, beginning with the 2000 season. There, he won the inaugural edition of the Cyprus round of the World Championship, and finished third in the drivers' points standings. He failed to score victory on any rally during the 2001 season, finishing sixth in the championship. In 2002, he inherited the victory of the Rally Argentina, having provisionally finished third, by virtue of the disqualifications of the two leading Peugeots of Marcus Grönholm and Richard Burns. Effectively frozen out along with McRae at Ford, he moved to Citroën for the 2003 and 2004 seasons, with whom he was to score his final world rally victory, at the 2004 Rally Argentina.
Despite formally retiring at the end of the 2004 season, with a possible view to moving into the World Touring Car Championship, he was to actually find himself invited back to the WRC fold on the request of Citroën, to replace the faltering Belgian driver François Duval. Although Duval was soon to reclaim his seat, Sainz's two rallies back in the Citroën impressed many, with the now-43 year old Spaniard posting 4th and 3rd finishing positions respectively.
2006 saw a first participation for Sainz at the wheel of a Volkswagen in that year's Dakar Rally. In 2007, he repeated his attempt with Volkswagen. Following the resignation of Fernando Martin, he even ran, eventually in vain, for the vice-president position at his beloved football club Real Madrid C.F., for which he once trained.
A limited number of 440 Celica GT-Four ST185s, carrying his name on a plaque in the vehicle, and with decals on the outside, were produced in the United Kingdom in the early 1990s, in an attempt to capitalise on Sainz's two championship successes with the works team. It is been said that Sainz still keeps a Celica GT-Four given to him by Toyota, which he drives to Real Madrid games at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.
Titles
| Year | Title | Car |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Spanish rally champion | Ford Sierra RS Cosworth |
| 1988 | Spanish rally champion | Ford Sierra RS Cosworth |
| 1990 | Asia-Pacific rally champion | Toyota Celica GT-Four ST165 |
| 1990 | World Rally Champion | Toyota Celica GT-Four ST165 |
| 1991 | World Rally Championship runner-up | Toyota Celica GT-Four ST165 |
| 1992 | World Rally Champion | Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD ST185 |
| 1994 | World Rally Championship runner-up | Subaru Impreza 555 |
| 1995 | World Rally Championship runner-up | Subaru Impreza 555 |
| 1996 | World Rally Championship 3rd place | Ford Escort Cosworth |
| 1997 | Champion of Champions | |
| 1998 | World Rally Championship runner-up | Toyota Corolla WRC |
| 2000 | World Rally Championship 3rd place | Ford Focus WRC |
| 2002 | World Rally Championship 3rd place | Ford Focus RS WRC 02 |
| 2003 | World Rally Championship 3rd place | Citroën Xsara WRC |
World Rally Championship
| Year | Place | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | not rated | Ford Sierra RS Cosworth |
| 1988 | 10. | Ford Sierra RS Cosworth |
| 1989 | 8. | Toyota Celica GT4 |
| 1990 | 1. | Toyota Celica GT4 |
| 1991 | 2. | Toyota Celica GT4 |
| 1992 | 1. | Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD |
| 1993 | 8. | Lancia Delta Integrale |
| 1994 | 2. | Subaru Impreza |
| 1995 | 2. | Subaru Impreza |
| 1996 | 3. | Ford Escort |
| 1997 | 3. | Ford Escort WRC |
| 1998 | 2. | Toyota Corolla WRC |
| 1999 | 5. | Toyota Corolla WRC |
| 2000 | 3. | Ford Focus WRC |
| 2001 | 6. | Ford Focus WRC |
| 2002 | 3. | Ford Focus WRC |
| 2003 | 3. | Citroën Xsara WRC |
| 2004 | 4. | Citroën Xsara WRC |
External links
- (Spanish) Official website of Carlos Sainz
- Sils Car Museum where the Ford Sierra Cosworth with which Carlos Sainz won the Spain Rally Championship on 1987 can be visited
- Turbocelica.nl Celica Carlos Sainz edition dedicated resource
- Unofficial fansite of Carlos Sainz
| World Rally Champions |
|---|
|
1977: Sandro Munari (FIA Cup) · 1978: Markku Alén (FIA Cup) · 1979: Björn Waldegård · 1980: Walter Röhrl · 1981: Ari Vatanen · 1982: Walter Röhrl · 1983: Hannu Mikkola · 1984: Stig Blomqvist · 1985: Timo Salonen · 1986-1987: Juha Kankkunen · 1988-1989: Massimo Biasion · 1990: Carlos Sainz · 1991: Juha Kankkunen · 1992: Carlos Sainz · 1993: Juha Kankkunen · 1994: Didier Auriol · 1995: Colin McRae · 1996-1997-1998-1999: Tommi Mäkinen · 2000: Marcus Grönholm · 2001: Richard Burns · 2002: Marcus Grönholm · 2003: Petter Solberg · 2004-2005-2006: Sébastien Loeb See also: List of drivers · List of records |
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