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The World Rally Championship (WRC) is a rallying series administrated 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 seven - six championships won consecutively from 2013 World Rally Championship to 2018 World Rally Championship and 2020 World Rally Championship. France have won the most titles with 18 championships between 3 drivers. Finland are second with 14 championships between 7 different drivers. Citroën cars have won the most drivers' championships with nine titles, all of them with Loeb.
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Key
| 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
By season
| Season | Country | Driver | Car | Wins | Podiums | Points[A] | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 |  Italy | Sandro Munari[B] | Lancia Stratos HF | 3 | 4 | 31 | 1 |
| 1978 |  Finland | Markku Alén[B][C] | Fiat 131 Abarth | 4 | 8 | 52 | 21 |
| 1979 |  Sweden | Björn Waldegård[D] | Ford Escort RS1800 | 2 | 7 | 112 | 1 |
| 1980 |  West Germany | Walter Röhrl | Fiat 131 Abarth | 4 | 6 | 118 | 54 |
| 1981 | Finland | Ari Vatanen | Ford Escort RS1800 | 3 | 5 | 96 | 7 |
| 1982 | West Germany | Walter Röhrl | Opel Ascona 400 | 2 | 8 | 109 | 12 |
| 1983 | Finland | Hannu Mikkola | Audi Quattro A1/A2 | 4 | 7 | 125 | 23 |
| 1984 | Sweden | Stig Blomqvist | Audi Quattro A2/Sport Quattro | 5 | 6 | 125 | 21 |
| 1985 | Finland | Timo Salonen | Peugeot 205 T16/E2 | 5 | 8 | 127 | 52 |
| 1986 | Finland | Juha Kankkunen | Peugeot 205 T16 E2 | 3 | 6 | 118 | 14 |
| 1987 | Finland | Juha Kankkunen | Lancia Delta HF 4WD | 2 | 5 | 100 | 6 |
| 1988 | Italy | Miki Biasion | Lancia Delta HF 4WD/integrale | 5 | 6 | 115 | 29 |
| 1989 | Italy | Miki Biasion | Lancia Delta HF integrale/integrale 16v | 5 | 5 | 106 | 41 |
| 1990 |  Spain | Carlos Sainz | Toyota Celica GT-Four ST165 | 4 | 9 | 140 | 45 |
| 1991 | Finland | Juha Kankkunen | Lancia Delta HF integrale 16v | 5 | 7 | 150 | 7 |
| 1992 | Spain | Carlos Sainz | Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD | 4 | 8 | 144 | 10 |
| 1993 | Finland | Juha Kankkunen | Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD | 5 | 7 | 135 | 23 |
| 1994 |  France | Didier Auriol | Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD | 3 | 6 | 116 | 17 |
| 1995 |  United Kingdom | Colin McRae | Subaru Impreza 555 | 2 | 5 | 90 | 5 |
| 1996 | Finland | Tommi Mäkinen | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III | 5 | 6 | 123 | 31 |
| 1997 | Finland | Tommi Mäkinen | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV | 4 | 9 | 63 | 1 |
| 1998 | Finland | Tommi Mäkinen | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV/Evolution V | 5 | 7 | 58 | 2 |
| 1999 | Finland | Tommi Mäkinen | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI | 4 | 7 | 62 | 7 |
| 2000 | Finland | Marcus Grönholm | Peugeot 206 WRC | 4 | 7 | 65 | 5 |
| 2001 | United Kingdom | Richard Burns | Subaru Impreza WRC 2001 | 1 | 6 | 44 | 2 |
| 2002 | Finland | Marcus Grönholm | Peugeot 206 WRC | 5 | 9 | 77 | 40 |
| 2003 |  Norway | Petter Solberg | Subaru Impreza WRC 2003 | 4 | 7 | 72 | 1 |
| 2004 | France | Sébastien Loeb | Citroën Xsara WRC | 6 | 12 | 118 | 36 |
| 2005 | France | Sébastien Loeb | Citroën Xsara WRC | 10 | 13 | 127 | 56 |
| 2006 | France | Sébastien Loeb | Citroën Xsara WRC | 8 | 12 | 112 | 1 |
| 2007 | France | Sébastien Loeb | Citroën C4 WRC | 8 | 13 | 116 | 4 |
| 2008 | France | Sébastien Loeb | Citroën C4 WRC | 11 | 13 | 122 | 19 |
| 2009 | France | Sébastien Loeb | Citroën C4 WRC | 7 | 9 | 93 | 1 |
| 2010 | France | Sébastien Loeb | Citroën C4 WRC | 8 | 13 | 276 | 105 |
| 2011 | France | Sébastien Loeb | Citroën DS3 WRC | 5 | 9 | 222 | 8 |
| 2012 | France | Sébastien Loeb | Citroën DS3 WRC | 9 | 10 | 270 | 57 |
| 2013 | France | Sébastien Ogier | Volkswagen Polo R WRC | 9 | 11 | 290 | 114 |
| 2014 | France | Sébastien Ogier | Volkswagen Polo R WRC | 8 | 10 | 267 | 49 |
| 2015 | France | Sébastien Ogier | Volkswagen Polo R WRC | 8 | 10 | 263 | 80 |
| 2016 | France | Sébastien Ogier | Volkswagen Polo R WRC | 6 | 11 | 268 | 108 |
| 2017 | France | Sébastien Ogier | Ford Fiesta WRC | 2 | 9 | 232 | 24 |
| 2018 | France | Sébastien Ogier | Ford Fiesta WRC | 4 | 6 | 219 | 18 |
| 2019 |  Estonia | Ott Tänak | Toyota Yaris WRC | 6 | 9 | 263 | 36 |
| 2020 | France | Sébastien Ogier | Toyota Yaris WRC | 2 | 5 | 122 | 8 |
By driver
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| Driver | Total | Seasons |
|---|---|---|
| Sébastien Loeb | 9 | 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 |
| Sébastien Ogier | 7 | 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020 |
| 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 |
| 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
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| Country | Drivers | Total wins |
|---|---|---|
| France | 3 | 17 |
| Finland | 7 | 14 |
| Italy | 2 | 3 |
| United Kingdom | 2 | 2 |
| Sweden | 2 | 2 |
| West Germany | 1 | 2 |
| Spain | 1 | 2 |
| Norway | 1 | 1 |
| Estonia | 1 | 1 |
By constructor
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Privateers counted as constructors.
| Constructor | Total |
|---|---|
| Citroën | 9 |
 Toyota | 6 |
| Lancia | 5 |
 /Ford | 4 |
| Mitsubishi | 4 |
| Peugeot | 4 |
| Volkswagen | 4 |
| Subaru | 3 |
| Audi | 2 |
| Fiat | 2 |
| Opel | 1 |
Notes
A. ^ 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.[7]
B. a b In 1977 and 1978, the drivers' championships was the FIA Cup for Drivers.[8]
C. ^ Alén drove a Lancia Stratos HF at the Rallye Sanremo and at the Lombard RAC Rally.[9]
D. ^ Waldegård drove a Mercedes 450 SLC 5.0 at the endurance rallies; the Safari Rally and the Rallye Côte d'Ivoire.[10]
References
General
- "FIA World Championship for Drivers". World Rally Championship. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
Specific
- ^ "About FIA". FIA. Archived from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
- ^ "What is WRC?". World Rally Championship. 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.
- ^ "1997 – Subaru". Subaru. Archived from the original on 12 April 2009. Retrieved 10 December 2008.
- ^ Hope-Frost, Henry; John Davenport (2004). The Complete Book of the World Rally Championship. MotorBooks/MBI Publishing Company. p. 13. ISBN 0-7603-1954-5.
- ^ Hope-Frost 2004, pp. 13–14
- ^ "Björn Waldegård". Rally Base. Retrieved 10 December 2008.