1973 Press-on-Regardless Rally

Infobox Rally
name=25th Press-on-Regardless Rally
native_name=
country=USA
round=11


caption=
rallybase=Detroit, Michigan
start=
finish=
startdate=31 October 1973
enddate=4 November 1973
stages=85
stagekm=
controls=
overallkm=2735
surface=Gravel
championship=1973 WRC for Manufacturers
driver1=flagicon|Canada Walter Boyce
team1=
car1=Toyota Corolla
driver2=flagicon|USA Jim Walker
team2=
car2=Volvo 142S
driver3=flagicon|USA John Smiskol
team3=
car3=Datsun 240Z
teamsstart=58
teamsfinish=23

The 1973 Press-on-Regardless Rally was the 25th running of the American rally, and the eleventh round of the inaugural World Rally Championship season. Run at the outset of November in the State of Michigan in the United States, the rally was run entirely on gravel.

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.

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Results

Championship standings

See also

* 1973 World Rally Championship season
* Press-on-Regardless Rally
* [http://www.rallybase.nl/index.php?type=result&rallyid=386 25th Press-on-Regardless Rally] at [http://www.rallybase.nl/ Rallybase]
* [http://www.juwra.com/press_on_regardless_1973.html Press on Regard. 1973] at [http://www.juwra.com/ Jonkka's World Rally Archive]
* [http://www.rallye-info.com/event.asp?event=331 1973 San Remo Rally, WRC Round 10] at [http://www.rallye-info.com/ Rallye-info]