The race programme in 1970 was divided amongst the three existing drivers in the Escudería Repsol ranks. Alberto Ruiz Gimenez would contest the entire Spanish Rally Championship season, joined at select events by Eladio Doncel. Jose Manuel Lencina, who combined higher education with racing, chose to participate in the hill climbs and track races which required the fewest days of his time.
At the same time as the driver lineup was confirmed, new co-drivers were also chosen by each. Rafael Castañeda would accompany the man known affectionately as Oso (Bear), Ruiz Gimenez, whilst Juan Antonio Conde, Fernando Porrero, Juan Garcia de la Rasilla, Juan Carlos Oñoro, etc., would rotate as Eladio Doncel’s co–driver.
The 1970 season began with the team participating with rented cars, as the arrival of the two Porsche 911–S from Stuttgart would be delayed until the Rally of Orense that July. Alberto Ruiz Gimenez thus began the Rally Fallas, in Valencia, with a Seat 1430, placing fourth in the overall standings. He would repeat the result with a 210 CV Porsche 911–S Group 6 at the Rally Vasco–Navarro, in which he and the French–Basque Marc Etchebers engaged in an entertaining battle between Repsol–backed drivers for the win.
At the circuits, Repsol’s presence was sporadic, limited to select races for Sport–Prototypes and collaborating with teams. This was the case for Belgium’s Teddy Pilette, who participated with a Lola T–70 at Jarama before retiring on lap 24 with an engine failure.
The first successes of the season came in the Touring Car and Mountain races. Jose Manuel Lencina won at the Jarama circuit with a BMW 2002 Ti in the Homenaje a las Provincias event, as well as placing second in the Trofeo Deporte Español at the same track. The BMW 2002 Ti seemed infinitely reliable and Lencina also won the hill climbs at Canencia and Morcuera with ease.
The rally season continued with good results. Second place for Ruiz Gimenez–Puya/e at the Criterium Luis de Baviera, with a Porsche 91, and a fourth place at the el Rally Pikolin with a rented 911 T (due to his 2.2 litre 911 having failed to arrive from Germany). Eladio Doncel also participated at this event, with an R8 Gordini co–driven by Ricardo Muñoz. The pair would not complete the race, incurring a 14 minute penalty for running out of fuel and not starting the second stage.
Past the halfway point in the season, Ruiz Giménez was leading the championship and was still awaiting the arrival of Porsche 911–S from the Factory.
With the Rally Orense in mind and in order to save time, it was decided to travel to Germany and bring the cars back to Spain via road. They would arrive in time, but verifications at the rally would reveal that the ignition system in Ruiz Gimenez’ car was faulty. The solution, proposed by Eladio Doncel, was to take the double ignition of his 911 and install it in his teammate’s car. The end result saw Ruiz Gimenez– Castañeda win and Eladio Doncel–Conde place fourth.
The arrival of the two Porsche 911 S had an immediate effect and they took victory after victory at the timed rally sections. Ruiz Gimenez would win in the Cid, Rias Bajas and Jerez rallies and place second in the Rally de España. In those events that he did not win, or from which he retired, Eladio Doncel occupied the top spots with wins at the Rias Altas, Rally de Oviedo, 2000 Virajes, Barcelona–Andorra and Rally Firestone. That put the Escudería Repsol at the head of the championship.
The winning ways of Ruiz Gimenez and Doncel provoked conflict within the team, as both drivers had identical chances of taking the title at the season–ending Rally Costa del Sol. Doncel, who was the director of the Escudería that year, opted to participate in the race –meaning automatically rennouncing the Spanish Championship. Ruiz Gimenez retired from the rally after a crash, but a win for Jose Manuel Lencina with Doncel’s Porsche locked the points to make Alberto Ruiz Gimenez and Rafael Castañeda Spanish Rally Champions for 1970.
On track and in the mountains the 1970 season was also successful. Jose Manuel Lencina took several wins with his BMW 2002 Ti, becoming Spanish Champion in the Touring Car class and the Spanish Mountain Racing series.
