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World Rally Championship

Category	World Rally Car
Country	International
Inaugural season	1973
Manufacturers	4
Tire suppliers	M, P, D
Drivers' champion	Sébastien Ogier
Co-drivers' champion	Julien Ingrassia
Constructors' champion	Toyota
Official website	www.wrc.com
Current season

The World Rally Championship (WRC) is a rallying series organised by the FIA, culminating with a champion driver, co-driver and manufacturer. The driver's world championship and manufacturer's world championship are separate championships, but based on the same point system. The series currently consists of 14 three-day events driven on surfaces ranging 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.^[1]

The WRC was formed from well-known and popular international rallies, most of which had previously been part of the European Rally Championship or the International Championship for Manufacturers, and the series was first contested in 1973. The World Rally Car is the current car specification in the series. It evolved from Group A cars which replaced the banned Group B supercars. World Rally Cars are built on production 1.6-litre four-cylinder cars, but feature turbochargers, anti-lag systems, four-wheel-drive, sequential gearboxes, aerodynamic parts and other enhancements bringing the price of a WRC car to around US$1 million (€700,000 / £500,000).^[2]

The WRC features three support championships, the Junior World Rally Championship (JWRC, formerly the WRC Academy), the World Rally Championship-2 (WRC 2, formerly the Super 2000 World Rally Championship), and the World Rally Championship-3 (WRC-3, formerly the Production World Rally Championship) which are contested on the same events and stages as the WRC, but with different regulations. The WRC-2, WRC-3 and junior entrants race through the stages after the WRC drivers.

History

Early

Group 4 Lancia Stratos HF.

The World Rally Championship was formed from well-known international rallies, nine of which were previously part of the International Championship for Manufacturers (IMC), which was contested from 1970 to 1972. The 1973 World Rally Championship was the inaugural season of the WRC and began with the Monte Carlo Rally on January 19.

Alpine-Renault won the first manufacturer's world championship with its Alpine A110, after which Lancia took the title three years in a row with the Ferrari V6-powered Lancia Stratos HF, the first car designed and manufactured specifically for rallying. The first drivers' world championship was not awarded until 1979, although 1977 and 1978 seasons included an FIA Cup for Drivers, won by Italy's Sandro Munari and Finland's Markku Alén respectively. Sweden's Björn Waldegård became the first official world champion, edging out Finland's Hannu Mikkola by one point. Fiat took the manufacturers' title with the Fiat 131 Abarth in 1977, 1978 and 1980, Ford with its Escort RS1800 in 1979 and Talbot with its Sunbeam Lotus in 1981. Waldegård was followed by German Walter Röhrl and Finn Ari Vatanen as drivers' world champions.

Group B era

Group B Audi Quattro S1.

The 1980s saw the rear-wheel-drive Group 2 and the more popular Group 4 cars be replaced by more powerful four-wheel-drive Group B cars. FISA legalized all-wheel-drive in 1979, but most manufacturers believed it was too complex to be successful. However, after Audi started entering Mikkola and the new four-wheel-drive Quattro in rallies for testing purposes with immediate success, other manufacturers started their all-wheel-drive projects. Group B regulations were introduced in the 1982, and with only a few restrictions allowed almost unlimited power. Audi took the constructors' title in 1982 and 1984 and drivers' title in 1983 (Mikkola) and 1984 (Stig Blomqvist). Audi's French female driver Michèle Mouton came close to winning the title in 1982, but had to settle for second place after Opel rival Röhrl. 1985 title seemed set to go to Vatanen and his Peugeot 205 T16 but a bad accident at the Rally Argentina left him to watch compatriot and teammate Timo Salonen take the title instead. Italian Attilio Bettega had even a more severe crash with his Lancia 037 at the Tour de Corse and died instantly.

Group B Ford RS200.

Group B Lancia Delta S4.

The 1986 started with impressive performances by Finns Henri Toivonen and Alén in Lancia's new turbo- and supercharged Delta S4, which could reportedly accelerate from 0–60 mph (96 km/h) in 2.3 seconds, on a gravel road.^[3] However, the season soon took a dramatic turn. At the Rally Portugal, three spectators were killed and over 30 injured after Joaquim Santos lost control of his Ford RS200. At the Tour de Corse, championship favourite Toivonen and his co-driver Sergio Cresto died in a fireball accident after plunging down a cliff. Only hours after the crash, Jean-Marie Balestre and the FISA decided to freeze the development of the Group B cars and ban them from competing in 1987. More controversy followed when Peugeot's Juha Kankkunen won the title after FIA annulled the results of the San Remo Rally, taking the title from fellow Finn Markku Alén.

Group A era

Group A Lancia Delta HF Integrale. Lancia is the manufacturer with the most wins in the WRC: 11 world Championship for Manufacturers, with 6 consecutives.

Group A Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205.

Group A Ford Escort RS Cosworth.

As the planned Group S was also cancelled, Group A regulations became the standard in the WRC until 1997. A separate Group A championship had been organized as part of the WRC already in 1986, with Sweden's Kenneth Eriksson taking the title with a Volkswagen Golf GTI 16V.^[4] Lancia was quickest in adapting to the new regulations and controlled the world rally scene with Lancia Delta HF, winning the constructors' title six years in a row from 1987 to 1992 and remains the most successful marque in the history of the WRC. Kankkunen and Miki Biasion both took two drivers' titles with the Lancia Delta HF.
The 1990s then saw the Japanese manufacturers, Toyota, Subaru and Mitsubishi, become title favourites. Spain's Carlos Sainz driving for Toyota Team Europe took the 1990 and 1992 titles with a Toyota Celica GT-Four. Kankkunen moved to Toyota for the 1993 season and won his record fourth title, with Toyota taking its first manufacturers' crown. Frenchman Didier Auriol brought the team further success in 1994, and soon Subaru and Mitsubishi continued the success of the Japanese constructors. Subaru's Scotsman Colin McRae won the drivers' world championship in 1995 and Subaru took the manufacturers' title three years in a row. Finland's Tommi Mäkinen driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution won the drivers' championship four times in a row, from 1996 to 1999. Mitsubishi also won the manufacturers' title in 1998. Another notable car was the Ford Escort RS Cosworth, which was specifically designed for rallying. It was the first production car to produce downforce both at front and rear.

World Rally Car era

Richard Burns in his Subaru Impreza WRC after a Finnish stage.

Peugeot 307 WRC and Ford Focus RS WRC 07 on a road section during the 2008 Monte Carlo Rally.

For the 1997 World Rally Championship, the World Rally Car regulations were introduced as an intended replacement for Group A (only successive works Mitsubishis still conforming to the latter formula; until they, too, homologated a Lancer Evolution WRC from the 2001 San Remo Rally). After the success of Mäkinen and the Japanese manufacturers, France's Peugeot made a very successful return to the World Rally Championship. Finn Marcus Grönholm took the drivers' title in his first full year in the series and Peugeot won the manufacturers' crown. England's Richard Burns won the 2001 title with a Subaru Impreza WRC, but Grönholm and Peugeot took back both titles in the 2002. 2003 saw Norway's Petter Solberg become drivers' champion for Subaru and Citroën continue the success of the French manufacturers. Citroën's Sébastien Loeb went on to control the following seasons with his Citroën Xsara WRC. Citroën took the constructors' title three times in a row and Loeb surpassed Mäkinen's record of four consecutive drivers' titles, earning his ninth consecutive championship in 2012. Volkswagen Motorsport entered the championship in 2013 and Sebastien Ogier dominated the series with six consecutive titles. New World Rally Car rules were introduced for 2017 which generated faster and more aggressive cars.

In 2018, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT won the World Rally Championship earning Toyota their first manufacturers' title since 1999.^[5] With Tommi Mäkinen heading the team, he became the first person in the history of rally driving to win a Championship both as a driver and as a team principal.^[6]

Structure

Škoda preparing their cars a day before the shakedown.

Each season normally consists of 13 rallies driven on surfaces ranging from gravel and tarmac to snow and ice. Points from these events are calculated towards the drivers' and manufacturers' world championships. The driver's championship and manufacturer's championship are separate championships, but based on the same point system. This means, for example, that Petter Solberg driving for Subaru can win the driver's championship but Citroën can win the manufacturer's championship, which is what happened in 2003, and again in 2006 and 2007 when Sébastien Loeb took his third and fourth WRC titles but Ford won the manufacturer's championship.

Under the current points system, points are awarded at the end of each rally to the top ten overall finishers in the World Rally Championship standings, as well as to the top ten finishers within the Super 2000 and Production Car (also known as WRC 2), two-wheel drive (also known as WRC 3) and Junior World Rally Championships. All categories use the following points structure:

Despite how many drivers are in one team, constructors may only nominate two drivers to score points for the team as well as scoring for themselves. As only nominated drivers are counted while awarding points, competitors placed further down the final standings than tenth overall (if preceded by privateer drivers) can score them.

A stadium-based super special stage in Argentina.

In the current era, each rally usually consists of between fifteen and thirty special stages of distances ranging from under 2 km (1.2 mi) (known as super special stages) to over 50 kilometres (31 mi). These competitive stages are driven on closed roads which are linked by non-competitive road sections—open roads on which all road laws of that country must be adhered to. On average a day consists of a total of 400 kilometres (250 mi) of driving.^[7] A WRC event begins with reconnaissance (recce) on Tuesday and Wednesday, allowing crews to drive through the stages and create or update their pace notes. On Thursday, teams can run through the shakedown stage to practice and test their set-ups. The competition typically begins on Friday and ends on Sunday, though some rallies—most notably the Monte Carlo Rally—may be run over four or five days. Cars start the stages at two-minute intervals in clear weather, or three-minute intervals if it is decided that visibility may be a problem for competitors. Each day, or leg, has a few designated service parks between the stages, where the teams can – within strict time limits – perform maintenance and repairs on their cars. The service park also allows spectators and the media to get close to the teams and their cars and drivers. Between the days, after a 45-minute end of day service, cars are locked away in parc fermé,^[7] a quarantine environment where teams are not permitted to access or work on their cars.

Power stage

First introduced in 2011, the "power stage" is the final stage of the rally. Additional World Championship points are available to the three (until 2016) fastest drivers through the stage (regardless of where they actually finished in the rally), with the fastest team receiving three points, the second-fastest receiving two points, and the third-fastest receiving one point. In 2017 the scoring system was amended so the five fastest drivers through the stage were awarded points from five for first to one for fifth. For special stages, timing will be to the tenth of a second. For the "Power Stage", timing will be to the thousandth of a second. ^[8]

Rally 2

Originally known as "SuperRally," Rally 2 is a set of regulations that allow a driver who retires from an event to re-enter the next day at the cost of a seven-minute time penalty for each missed stage (ten-minute penalty if only one stage is missed). This allows drivers who retire from an event to continue on and compete for World Championship points; however, if they retire on the final leg of a rally, re-entering is not possible. Similarly, the use of Rally 2 regulations is at the discretion of event organisers.

Cars

Andy Priaulx driving a Ford Focus RS WRC 07 at the 2007 Race of Champions.

The current cars with 1.6 L direct injection turbo engines and four-wheel drive are built to World Rally Car regulations for racing across tarmac, gravel and snow. The power output is limited to around 380 bhp (225 kW). Current cars in the championship include the Citroën C3 WRC, Ford Fiesta WRC, Toyota Yaris WRC and the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC. The Volkswagen Polo R WRC ended its run with the close of the 2016 season.^[9]

The WRC was formerly held for Group A and Group B rallycars. However, due to the increasing power, lack of reliability and a series of fatal accidents during the 1986 rally, Group B was permanently banned. Later, in 1997, the Group A cars evolved into the WRC car spec, to ease the development of new cars and bring new makes to the competition. In 2011, new rules were introduced to encourage more manufacturers (and privateers) to take part, because the recent economic downturn had prompted several manufacturers to leave the championship.

Cars in the Production Car World Rally Championship are limited to production-based cars homologated under Group N rules. Cars in the Super 2000 World Rally Championship are homologated under Super 2000 rules. Most cars in the Junior World Rally Championship are homologated under Super 1600 rules, but Group N and selected Group A cars can also contest the series.

Starting in 2013, a new category of rally cars known as Group R were introduced as a replacement to the Group A and Group N rally categories, with cars classified under one of six categories based on their engine capacity and type, wheelbase, and drivetrain. As a result, no cars will be homologated under Group A and Group N regulations and instead will be reclassified under Group R. Parallel to this, the Super 2000 and Production Car World Championships were restructured; Super 2000 and Group N cars were merged into a single championship known as World Rally Championship-2 alongside R4 and R5 cars, whilst the Production Car World Championship was completely reimagined as the World Rally Championship-3 for two-wheel drive cars complying with R1, R2 and R3 regulations.

Teams and drivers

Ford's Marcus Grönholm at the Bunnings Jumps of the 2006 Rally Australia.

21 different manufacturers have won a World Rally Championship event,^[10] and a further 11 have finished on the podium.^[11]

Suzuki and Subaru pulled out of the WRC at the end of the 2008 championship, both citing the economic downturn then affecting the automotive industry for their withdrawal. Mini and Ford both pulled out of the WRC at the end of the 2012 championship, due to a similar economic downturn affecting the European market, although Ford continued to give technical support to M-Sport.

A typical WRC team will consist of about 40 people on the events, with a further 60–100 at the team base.^[12]

Manufacturers and manufacturer-backed teams usually have two or three drivers participating in each rally who are eligible to score points. The total number of crews (driver and their co-driver) in the rallies varied from 47 (Monte Carlo and Mexico) to 108 (Great Britain) during the 2007.^[13]

In 2012, the Ford World Rally Team and the Mini WRC Team both announced their departure from the World Rally Championships for the 2013 season. Volkswagen and Hyundai made their return to the championship in 2013 and 2014, respectively. Toyota announced it will return to the World Rally Championships for the 2017 season ^[14] with its Toyota Gazoo Racing team and its Toyota Yaris WRC car. Also Citroën will return to the sport in 2017 with a fully factory-supported team after competing part-time in 2016 to focus on the development of their 2017-generation brand-new car based on the Citroën C3.

Coverage

TV

A cameraman at a hairpin turn at the 2007 Rallye Deutschland.

Promoter GmbH owns the commercial rights to the championship and through WRC TV produces daily updates from each event after the day's stages have finished and the TV coverage has been processed. These daily highlight programs are 30 minutes in duration and cover in depth the day's stages, with in-car footage as well as driver interviews. Before the rally there is also a magazine-style preview programme that normally incorporates special driver, technical and team features as well as providing an overview of the upcoming rally's route. There is also a post-event review program, which lasts approximately an hour, that summarises the rally and the big events that took place during the event.

Mitsubishi service park at the 2005 Cyprus Rally.

This is then shown in more than 150 markets in multiple languages. The make up and format for these programmes can change from country to country depending on the local broadcaster but all use WRC TV.

In the United Kingdom, coverage of the 2017 season is split between four broadcasters. Channel 5 broadcasts the post-event review, while the preview programme is screened on its Spike network. BT Sport has rights to live stages and daily highlights, Motors TV has highlights rights and Welsh language channel S4C also covers the championship in its Ralio programme.^[15]

In 2016, the cumulative worldwide TV audience for WRC TV's programmes was more than 700 million. The programming was available in over 150 markets and more than 12,000 hours were screened globally.^[16]

Radio

Live radio coverage was provided in English by WRC Live via the Internet, featuring end of stage reports direct from the drivers and teams plus service park news. They also produced podcasts. It also featured contemporary music during breaks in rally coverage.^[17]

Currently the radio plays the sound of WRC+ All Live.^[18]

Internet streaming

Coverage is provided by WRC Promoter GmbH via video on demand at its WRC+ website featuring live special stages, highlights, timing, onboard footage and live map tracking.^[19]

From 2018, WRC+ All Live was introduced, producing live coverage from all the stages during rally event.^[19]

Champions

Marcus Grönholm at the 2002 Rallye Deutschland with Peugeot 206 WRC.

Petter Solberg at the 2006 Cyprus Rally.

Sébastien Loeb during the Rally Catalunya 2008 with Citroën C4 WRC.

Sébastien Loeb at the 2011 Rally de Portugal with Citroën DS3 WRC.

Sébastien Ogier at the 2016 Rally de Portugal with Volkswagen Polo R WRC.

Season	Championship for Drivers			Championship for Manufacturers
	Driver	Car		Manufacturer	Car
2018	Sébastien Ogier	Ford Fiesta WRC		Toyota	Toyota Yaris WRC
2017	Sébastien Ogier	Ford Fiesta WRC		Ford[a][b]	Ford Fiesta WRC
2016	Sébastien Ogier	Volkswagen Polo R WRC		Volkswagen	Volkswagen Polo R WRC
2015	Sébastien Ogier	Volkswagen Polo R WRC		Volkswagen	Volkswagen Polo R WRC
2014	Sébastien Ogier	Volkswagen Polo R WRC		Volkswagen	Volkswagen Polo R WRC
2013	Sébastien Ogier	Volkswagen Polo R WRC		Volkswagen	Volkswagen Polo R WRC
2012	Sébastien Loeb	Citroën DS3 WRC		Citroën	Citroën DS3 WRC
2011	Sébastien Loeb	Citroën DS3 WRC		Citroën	Citroën DS3 WRC
2010	Sébastien Loeb	Citroën C4 WRC		Citroën	Citroën C4 WRC
2009	Sébastien Loeb	Citroën C4 WRC		Citroën	Citroën C4 WRC
2008	Sébastien Loeb	Citroën C4 WRC		Citroën	Citroën C4 WRC
2007	Sébastien Loeb	Citroën C4 WRC		Ford[b]	Ford Focus RS WRC 06/07
2006	Sébastien Loeb	Citroën Xsara WRC		Ford[b]	Ford Focus RS WRC 06
2005	Sébastien Loeb	Citroën Xsara WRC		Citroën	Citroën Xsara WRC
2004	Sébastien Loeb	Citroën Xsara WRC		Citroën	Citroën Xsara WRC
2003	Petter Solberg	Subaru Impreza WRC 2003		Citroën	Citroën Xsara WRC
2002	Marcus Grönholm	Peugeot 206 WRC		Peugeot	Peugeot 206 WRC
2001	Richard Burns	Subaru Impreza WRC 2001		Peugeot	Peugeot 206 WRC
2000	Marcus Grönholm	Peugeot 206 WRC		Peugeot	Peugeot 206 WRC
1999	Tommi Mäkinen	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI		Toyota	Toyota Corolla WRC
1998	Tommi Mäkinen	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution V		Mitsubishi	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution V
1997	Tommi Mäkinen	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV		Subaru	Subaru Impreza WRC
1996	Tommi Mäkinen	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III		Subaru	Subaru Impreza 555
1995	Colin McRae	Subaru Impreza 555		Subaru	Subaru Impreza 555
1994	Didier Auriol	Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD		Toyota	Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD
1993	Juha Kankkunen	Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD		Toyota	Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD
1992	Carlos Sainz	Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD		Lancia	Lancia Delta HF Integrale
1991	Juha Kankkunen	Lancia Delta Integrale 16V		Lancia	Lancia Delta Integrale 16V
1990	Carlos Sainz	Toyota Celica GT-Four		Lancia	Lancia Delta Integrale 16V
1989	Miki Biasion	Lancia Delta Integrale		Lancia	Lancia Delta Integrale
1988	Miki Biasion	Lancia Delta Integrale		Lancia	Lancia Delta Integrale
1987	Juha Kankkunen	Lancia Delta HF 4WD		Lancia	Lancia Delta HF 4WD
1986	Juha Kankkunen	Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2		Peugeot	Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2
1985	Timo Salonen	Peugeot 205 Turbo 16		Peugeot	Peugeot 205 Turbo 16
1984	Stig Blomqvist	Audi Quattro		Audi	Audi Quattro
1983	Hannu Mikkola	Audi Quattro		Lancia	Lancia Rally 037
1982	Walter Röhrl	Opel Ascona 400		Audi	Audi Quattro
1981	Ari Vatanen	Ford Escort RS1800		Talbot	Talbot Sunbeam Lotus
1980	Walter Röhrl	Fiat 131 Abarth		Fiat	Fiat 131 Abarth
1979	Björn Waldegård	Ford Escort RS1800[c]		Ford	Ford Escort RS1800
1978	Markku Alén[d]	Fiat 131 Abarth[e]		Fiat	Fiat 131 Abarth
1977	Sandro Munari[d]	Lancia Stratos HF		Fiat	Fiat 131 Abarth
1976	No drivers' championship[f]			Lancia	Lancia Stratos HF
1975				Lancia	Lancia Stratos HF
1974				Lancia	Lancia Stratos HF
1973				Alpine-Renault	Alpine-Renault A110

Event wins

Updated after 2018 Rally Catalunya. Drivers and manufacturers who have participated in the 2018 World Rally Championship are in bold.

Wins by driver[21] Driver Total 1 Sébastien Loeb 79 2 Sébastien Ogier 44 3 Marcus Grönholm 30 4 Carlos Sainz 26 5 Colin McRae 25 6 Tommi Mäkinen 24 7 Juha Kankkunen 23 8 Didier Auriol 20 9 Markku Alén 19 10 Hannu Mikkola 18

Driver wins by nationality[22] Nation Total 1 France 190 2 Finland 178 3 Sweden 43 4 Great Britain 42 5 Italy 30 6 Spain 28 7 Norway 17 Germany 17 9  Estonia 11 10  Belgium 10

Wins by manufacturer[23] Manufacturer Total 1 Citroën 99 2 / Ford 91 3 Lancia 73 4 Toyota 49 5 Peugeot 48 6 Subaru 47 7 Volkswagen 44 8 Mitsubishi 34 9 Audi 24 10 Fiat 21

Evolution of the calendar

Rally	73	74	75	76	77	78	79	80	81	82	83	84	85	86	87	88	89	90	91	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Tot.
Wales Rally GB																								[g]																								46
Tour de Corse																								[g]																								40
Portugal Rally																								[g]																								40
Rally Finland																							[g]																									46
Rally di Sanremo																							[g]																									30
Safari Rally																							[g]																									29
Press-on-Regardless Rally																																																2
Monte Carlo Rally																								[g]																								42
Acropolis Rally																							[g]																									38
Swedish Rally																						[g]																										43
Rallye du Maroc																																																3
Rally Poland																																																6
Österreichische Alpenfahrt																																																1
Rally Rideau Lakes																																																1
Critérium du Quebec																																																3
Rally New Zealand																								[g]																								31
Rallye Côte d'Ivoire[h]																																																15
Rally Argentina																							[g]																									38
Rally Brazil																																																2
Olympus Rally																																																3
Rally Australia																						[g]																										26
Rally Catalunya																						[g]																										29
Rally Indonesia																																																2
Rally China																																												[i]				1
Cyprus Rally																																																8
Rallye Deutschland																																																17
Rally of Turkey																																																8
Rally di Sardegna																																																15
Rally Mexico																																																15
Rally Japan																																																6
Rally Norway																																																2
Rally Ireland																																																2
Rally Jordan																																																3
Rallye d'Alsace																																																5
Rally Bulgaria																																																1
Rally Chile																																																1
Total	13	8	10	10	11	11	12	12	12	13	12	12	12	13	13	13	13	12	14	14	13	10	8	9	14	13	14	14	14	14	14	16	16	16	16	15	12	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	14	572

Other classes

A Super 1600 class Renault Clio.

Fiat Grande Punto Abarth S2000.

The World Rally Championship also features support championships called the World Rally Championship-2 (previously known as S-WRC), the World Rally Championship-3 (previously known as P-WRC) and the Junior World Rally Championship (J-WRC). These championships are contested on the same events and stages as the WRC.

The Super 2000 World Rally Championship (S-WRC) was started in 2010. Within the Super 2000 category are competitions for drivers (known as the S-WRC) and another for teams (the World Rally Championship Cup). The cars in the championship are under the Super 2000 rules.^[25] From 2013, WRC-2 replaced S-WRC and including cars with four-wheel drive (R5, R4 and S2000).^[26][27]

The Production car World Rally Championship (P-WRC) began in 2002, replacing the FIA Group N Cup which had been contested from 1987. Cars in the championship are production-based and homologated under Group N rules.^[28] From 2013, the Production WRC was renamed WRC-3 including Group R cars with two-wheel drive (R3, R2 and R1).^[26][27] By the end of 2018, the World Rally Championship-3 will be discontinued and a new class will be created within the World Rally Championship-2. The class, known as World Rally Championship-2 Pro, will be open to manufacturer-supported teams entering cars complying with Group R5 regulations.^[29]

The Junior World Rally Championship (J-WRC) was started in 2001, and can be contested with Super 1600, Group N and selected Group A cars. Drivers in the championship have to be 28 years or younger. There is no age limit for co-drivers.^[30]

The World Rally Championship Ladies Cup ran from 1990 to 1995 and could be won by any class of car. Louise Aitken-Walker was the first winner.^[31]

Video games

There have been many video games based on the World Rally Championship, and due to lack of licenses, many more based on only certain cars, drivers or events. Sega Rally was released in 1995, V-Rally and Top Gear Rally in 1997 and the first game in the very popular Colin McRae Rally series in 1998. Rally Trophy, released in 2001 for Microsoft Windows by Bugbear, concentrated on historic cars such as Alpine A110 and Lancia Stratos. RalliSport Challenge, released in 2002 for Windows and Xbox by Digital Illusions CE, featured classic Group B cars and hillclimb models along with modern WRC cars.

Fully FIA licensed WRC: World Rally Championship was released in 2001 for PlayStation 2 by Evolution Studios. The video game series had its fifth game, WRC: Rally Evolved, in 2005. Racing simulator Richard Burns Rally, released in 2004 for several platforms, has gathered recognition for its realism. Recent top-selling games include Colin McRae: DiRT 2, Sega Rally Revo and Dirt 3. Gran Turismo 5 will include the WRC totally licensed. In October 2010, Black Bean Games released WRC: FIA World Rally Championship which features the cars, drivers and events of the 2010 World Rally Championship, including those from the three support categories. A downloadable patch was produced allowing players to drive in Group B cars such as the Audi Quattro.^[32] Various cars whose participated in the WRC such as Mitsubishi Lancer WRC and Ford Fiesta RS WRC have also appeared in the Facebook game Car Town. The WRC video game license was acquired by French game development studio Kylotonn from Milestone S.r.l. after the release of WRC 4: FIA World Rally Championship in 2013. The first WRC game by Kylotonn was WRC 5, released in 2015. This was followed by WRC 6 in 2016, and WRC 7 in 2017.

See also

• 
  World Rally Championship portal
  

Book: Rallying

• List of World Rally Championship records

Footnotes

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to World Rally Championship.

News and information

• 
  WRC.com — official site


• 
  World Rally Championship regulations fia.com

Results

• 
  eWRC-results.com — complex and up-to-date results database


• 
  juwra.com – World Rally Archive — database and statistics