The World Rally Championship (WRC) is a rallying series administered by Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body.[1] The series currently consists of 13 three-day events driven on surfaces that range from gravel and tarmac to snow and ice. Each rally is split into 15–25 special stages, which are run against the clock on closed roads. The WRC was formed from well-known and popular international rallies, most of which had previously been part of the European Rally Championship and/or the International Championship for Manufacturers; the series was first contested in 1973.[2] The drivers' championship was first awarded in 1977 and 1978 as an FIA Cup for Drivers title, to Sandro Munari and Markku Alén, respectively. The first official world champion in rallying was Björn Waldegård in 1979.[3]
Each season normally consists of 12 to 16 rallies driven on surfaces ranging from gravel and tarmac to snow and ice. Points from these events are calculated towards the drivers', co-drivers' and manufacturers' world championships. The driver's championship and manufacturer's championship are separate championships, but are based on the same point system. In the current points system, points are awarded at the end of each rally to the top ten WRC (overall) drivers that qualify as follows: 25, 18, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1. In addition to those points, from 2011 each event holds 1 special stage, the Power Stage, in which drivers and co-drivers can score extra points – currently awarded to five fastest drivers (5, 4, 3, 2, 1). [4]
Sébastien Loeb holds the record for the most drivers' championships, winning nine during his career.[5] He also holds the record for the most championships won in a row; he won his nine titles consecutively from 2004 to 2012.[6] Sébastien Ogier is second with eight. Kalle Rovanperä is the youngest world champion; he was 22 years old when he won the 2022 World Rally Championship.[7] French drivers have won the most titles with 18 championships between 3 drivers. Finland are second with 16 championships between 8 different drivers. Citroën cars have won the most drivers' championships with nine titles, all of them with Loeb.
Key
edit| Podiums | The number of times the champion finished in the top three in a rally |
| Margin | The margin of points by which the champion defeated the runner-up(s) |
Winners
editBy season
edit* Season still in progress.
By driver
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| Driver | Total | Seasons |
|---|---|---|
| Sébastien Loeb | 9 | 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 |
| Sébastien Ogier | 8 | 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021 |
| Juha Kankkunen | 4 | 1986, 1987, 1991, 1993 |
| Tommi Mäkinen | 4 | 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 |
| Walter Röhrl | 2 | 1980, 1982 |
| Miki Biasion | 2 | 1988, 1989 |
| Carlos Sainz | 2 | 1990, 1992 |
| Marcus Grönholm | 2 | 2000, 2002 |
| Kalle Rovanperä | 2 | 2022, 2023 |
| Sandro Munari | 1 | 1977 |
| Markku Alén | 1 | 1978 |
| Björn Waldegård | 1 | 1979 |
| Ari Vatanen | 1 | 1981 |
| Hannu Mikkola | 1 | 1983 |
| Stig Blomqvist | 1 | 1984 |
| Timo Salonen | 1 | 1985 |
| Didier Auriol | 1 | 1994 |
| Colin McRae | 1 | 1995 |
| Richard Burns | 1 | 2001 |
| Petter Solberg | 1 | 2003 |
| Ott Tänak | 1 | 2019 |
By nationality
edit
| Country | Drivers | Total wins |
|---|---|---|
| France | 3 | 18 |
| Finland | 8 | 16 |
| Italy | 2 | 3 |
| United Kingdom | 2 | 2 |
| Sweden | 2 | 2 |
| West Germany | 1 | 2 |
| Spain | 1 | 2 |
| Norway | 1 | 1 |
| Estonia | 1 | 1 |
By manufacturer
edit
Privateers counted as manufacturers.
| Manufacturer | Total |
|---|---|
| Citroën | 9 |
| Toyota | 9 |
| Lancia | 5 |
| Ford | 4 |
| Mitsubishi | 4 |
| Peugeot | 4 |
| Volkswagen | 4 |
| Subaru | 3 |
| Audi | 2 |
| Fiat | 2 |
| Opel | 1 |
Notes
edit- ^ Until 1997, only a certain number (seven, eight or nine) of a driver's best results counted towards the championship. The points column lists the points counted in the championship.[8]
- ^ a b In 1977 and 1978, the drivers' championships was the FIA Cup for Drivers.[9]
- ^ Alén drove a Lancia Stratos HF at the Rallye Sanremo and at the Lombard RAC Rally.[10]
- ^ Waldegård drove a Mercedes 450 SLC 5.0 at the endurance rallies; the Safari Rally and the Rallye Côte d'Ivoire.[11]
References
editGeneral
- WRC.com WRC History
- FIA World Rally Championship FIA Results and Statistics
- eWRC-Results.com Top Stats
Specific
- ^ "About FIA". FIA. Archived from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
- ^ "What is WRC?". World Rally Championship. Archived from the original on 20 September 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- ^ "The WRC's greatest drivers". World Rally Championship. 23 July 2008. Archived from the original on 8 October 2008. Retrieved 10 November 2008.
- ^ Rule changes summary juwra.com
- ^ "Loeb clinches eighth title". Sky Sports. 12 November 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- ^ "Hirvonen's exit hands eighth straight world title to Loeb". CNN. 11 November 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- ^ Howard, Tom (2 October 2022). "WRC New Zealand: Rovanpera clinches history making world title with victory". Autosport. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
- ^ "1997 – Subaru". Subaru. Archived from the original on 12 April 2009. Retrieved 10 December 2008.
- ^ Hope-Frost, Henry; Davenport, John (2004). The Complete Book of the World Rally Championship. MotorBooks/MBI Publishing Company. p. 13. ISBN 0-7603-1954-5.
- ^ Hope-Frost & Davenport 2004, pp. 13–14
- ^ "Björn Waldegård". Rally Base. Retrieved 10 December 2008.
See also
editExternal links
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