Former works Mazda WRC driver Ingvar Carlsson, born in 1947, has passed away at the age of 62 following a short illness.

Carlsson won the first ever Rally Australia, in 1988, when the event was run as an Asia-Pacific Rally Championship event, aiming for WRC inclusion the following year (which it achieved).

Carlsson drove for several manufacturers on many WRC rounds, taking the controls of BMW, Datsun, Fiat, Mercedes, and Mazdas. He finished third for Mazda in the 1985 Acropolis Acropolis.

He played an important role in Mazda's rally programme, working on the development of the Group B RX-7 followed by the Group A 323 4WD - the Japanese constructor's first four-wheel drive entry. The car tackled its first WRC event at Monte Carlo in 1985.

The 1989 season saw Carlsson record a maiden World Rally Championship victory in his homeland Sweden. His second victory that year came in New Zealand where he truly dominated.

A single podium finish occurred in 1990 in New Zealand. The team switched to the Mazda 323 GT-X the following year, but no podiums appeared on their tally.

When Mazda decided to leave the World Rally Championship at the end of the 1991 season, Carlsson followed them out and brought his WRC career to an end.

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