1969 began at a frenetic pace. In rallying, the season began with one of the most important events on the calendar for many years: The Rally Costa Brava. The debut of the Escudería Repsol–Jolly Club was a positive one, as Alberto Ruiz Gimenez –with Jaime Segovia as co–driver– took third place in the overall standings in a Lancia HF 1.300. Eladio Doncel, joined by Rene (Manolo Fernandez Parero) and with the same car model, took fourth overall, whilst the third Escudería Repsol vehicle –a Lancia Zagato driven by Jaime Lazcano, was written off after leaving the road and sending co–driver Ricardo Muñoz to hospital, unconscious. He would recover completely from the incident.
The season continued with the Rally Vasco– Navarro, which in 1969 had added difficulty thanks to persistent fog for a large part of the race. Ruiz Gimenez again took third overall, with Doncel just behind. Lencina retired from the race with a fuel pump issue on his Lancia HF.
In road racing competitions, with the Porsche 907 used by De la Peña and the Porsche 911 L and R of Julio Gargallo and Jaime Lazcano, the Escudería Repsol suffered from mechanical issues and the superiority of their rivals. It would only be in the hill climb competitions that success would be widespread, in mostly foreign events. Notable results include the wins for Alberto Ruiz Gimenez in the Cesana–Sestrieres and Trento–Bondone, and his third place at the Mont Ventoux, etc., whilst in Spain Julio Gargallo was victorious in Asturias at the Naranco and Jose de la Peña shone at the mountainous Canencia and Morcuera routes in Madrid.
As the season progressed, the Spanish Rally Championship became tougher for the Escudería Repsol–Jolly Club when it became apparent that the Lancia HF 1300 leased to them were insufficient against the Porsche 911. It was due to this that in a rally like the R.A.C.E, Ruiz Gimenez was unable to do better than fourth place, whilst in the Rally Firestone (with points counting towards the European Championship at this round, the Costa Brava event and the R.A.C.E), Eladio Doncel placed third with a 160hp Alfa Romeo GTA. In his second outing with the Porsche 911, Ruiz Gimenez retired from the race when his air–cooled 6–cylinder Porsche 911 literally lost its engine.
The 2000 Virajes and Barcelona–Andorra rallies were also none too favourable for the team. In the former, with HQ based in the city of Manresa, Jose Manuel Lencina was nevertheless able to take his Lancia HF 1300 to fourth. In the latter, with a Group 2 Alfa Romeo GTA, he repeated the position. Doncel and Ruiz Gimenez had mechanical misfortunes in both rallies with Porsche 911s, retiring due to breakages to the clutch, alternator and transmission of their cars. In the Barcelona–Andorra, when Ruiz Gimenez was driving in fourth, he lost all hopes of the 1969 title when a bearing broke on his 911.
The season was running out and there was not much left to do that year. However, the strong presence of the Repsol–Jolly Club was felt in the final event of the season, in which it ran two Porsche 911s and two Lancia HF 1300s. Unfortunately, all four drivers would retire from the race; Alberto Ruiz Gimenez (Porsche), did so due to an accident in fog, Eladio Doncel (Lancia Fulvia HF) due to brake problems and electrical failures, Jose Manuel Lencina (Lancia Fulvia HF), for inability to reach the Jolly Club pits and Julio Gargallo (Porsche 911 R), courtesy of a broken bearing.
The only satisfying excursión abroad in the 1969 season was on the ten laps of the 72km Targa Florio circuito in Sicilly, where Ruiz Gimenez was first in his class in a Lancia Zagato and Doncel won the GT class with a Porsche 911.
Much effort had been made, but the end result in the 1969 Spanish Rally Championship saw Jose Maria Palomo win the title in his Porsche 911 RS for the Escudería Tergal, whilst Eladio Doncel, was third for Escudería Repsol.
