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.
The 2003 World Rally Championship was the 31st season of the FIA World Rally Championship. The season consisted of 14 rallies. The drivers' world championship was won by Petter Solberg in a Subaru Impreza WRC, ahead of Sébastien Loeb and Carlos Sainz. The manufacturers' title was won by Citroën, ahead of Peugeot and Subaru.
The FIA World Rally Championship-3, or WRC-3, was a companion rally series to the World Rally Championship, and was driven on the same stages. WRC-3 was limited to production-based cars homologated under the R1, R2 and R3 rules. The series began in 2002, replacing the FIA Cup for Production Rally Drivers, and continued for 16 years until its cancellation at the end of 2018. The cars used were Group N modified road cars, often based on turbocharged, four wheel drive versions of standard small cars such as the Subaru Impreza WRX and the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, although a wide range of vehicles are homologated by the FIA for use in Group N. Apart from FIA sanctioned events, a lot of rallies at national levels are run under Group N.
The 2007 Rally New Zealand, 11th round of 2007 World Rally Championship, was run on 31 August to 2 September. After a tight battle for three days, Marcus Grönholm beat Sébastien Loeb for the win by 0.3 seconds, making it the second-closest finish in WRC history. This was the closest finish in the history of the World Rally Championship. The previous record was held by the 1998 Rally de Portugal, in which Colin McRae took the win 2.1 seconds ahead of Carlos Sainz.
The 2009 World Rally Championship was the 37th season of the FIA World Rally Championship. The season consisted of twelve rallies and began on 30 January, with Rally Ireland and ended with Rally GB on 25 October. Sébastien Loeb won the World Drivers' championship at Rally GB by one point from Mikko Hirvonen, taking his sixth consecutive crown. Citroën secured their fifth Manufacturers' title, Martin Prokop won the JWRC Drivers' championship and Armindo Araujo won the PWRC Drivers' championship.
Kenneth Block is a professional rally driver with the Hoonigan Racing Division, formerly known as the Monster World Rally Team. Block is also one of the co-founders of DC Shoes. Over the years, he has also competed in many action sports events including skateboarding, snowboarding, and motocross. Since selling his ownership of DC Shoes, Block has shifted his business focus to Hoonigan Industries, an apparel brand for auto enthusiasts. He is currently the co-owner and "Head Hoonigan In Charge" (HHIC) at the company..
The FIA World Rally Championship-2 or WRC-2, is a companion rally series to the World Rally Championship, and is driven on the same stages. WRC-2 is limited to production-based cars homologated under the Super 2000, N4, R5 rules. The series began in 2010 and split the Production World Rally Championship (P-WRC), which was previously open to both Super 2000 and Group N4 cars, into two separate competitions, both of which received their own FIA titles. There was also a World Rally Championship Cup for Teams within the S-WRC but this was discontiniued after 2010. From 2013, WRC-2 replaced S-WRC.
The 2012 Rally Sweden, officially 60th Uddeholm Swedish Rally, was the second round of the 2012 World Rally Championship (WRC) season. The rally took place between 9 and 12 February 2012.
The Volkswagen Polo R WRC is a World Rally Car built and operated by Volkswagen Motorsport and based on the Volkswagen Polo for use in the World Rally Championship. The car, which made its début at the start of the 2013 season, is built to the second generation of World Rally Car regulations that were introduced 2011, which are based upon the existing Super 2000 regulations, but powered by a turbocharged 1.6-litre engine rather than the normally aspirated 2-litre engine found in Super 2000 cars.
Pontus Johan Tidemand is a Swedish rally and former rallycross driver. He is the 2017 WRC-2 champion. A previous Škoda Motorsport driver, he will drive a programme for M-Sport in 2019.
The 2015 FIA World Rally Championship-3 is the third season of the World Rally Championship-3, an auto racing championship recognized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, running in support of the World Rally Championship. It was created when the Group R class of rally car was introduced in 2013. The Championship is composed by thirteen Rallies, and Drivers and Teams must nominate a maximum of six event. The best five results will be counted towards the championship.
The 2014 RallyRACC Catalunya — Costa Daurada was the twelfth round of the 2014 World Rally Championship season. The event was based in Salou, Catalonia, and started on 23 October and finished on 26 October after seventeen special stages, totaling just under 373 competitive kilometres.
The 2016 World Rally Championship was the 44th season of the World Rally Championship, an auto racing championship recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) as the highest class of international rallying. Teams and drivers competed in thirteen rounds—starting with the Rallye Monte Carlo in January and finishing with Rally Australia in November—for the World Rally Championships for Drivers and Manufacturers.
The 2016 FIA World Rally Championship-2 was the fourth season of the World Rally Championship-2, an auto racing championship recognized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, ran in support of the World Rally Championship. It was created when the Group R class of rally car was introduced in 2013. The Championship was open to cars complying with R4, R5, and Super 2000 regulations. The Championship was composed of thirteen rallies, and drivers and teams had to nominate a maximum of seven events. The best six results counted towards the championship.
The 2016 FIA World Rally Championship-3 was the fourth season of the World Rally Championship-3, an auto racing championship recognized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, ran in support of the World Rally Championship. It was created when the Group R class of rally car was introduced in 2013. The Championship was composed of fourteen rallies, and drivers and teams had to nominate a maximum of six events. The best five results counted towards the championship.
The 2017 Wales Rally was the 12th round of the 2017 World Rally Championship. The rally was being held over four days between 26 October and 29 October 2017, and was based in Deeside, United Kingdom. Britons Elfyn Evans and Daniel Barritt won the rally on their home soil, which marked their first success in the WRC.
The 2018 FIA World Rally Championship-3 was the sixth and final season of the World Rally Championship-3, an auto racing championship recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, running in support of the World Rally Championship. It was created when the Group R class of rally car was introduced in 2013.
The 2019 FIA World Rally Championship is the forty-seventh season of the World Rally Championship, an auto racing championship recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) as the highest class of international rallying. Teams and crews will compete in fourteen events for the World Rally Championships for Drivers, Co-drivers and Manufacturers. Crews are free to compete in cars complying with World Rally Car and Group R regulations; however, only Manufacturers competing with World Rally Cars homologated under regulations introduced in 2017 are eligible to score points in the Manufacturers' championship. The series will once again be supported by the World Rally Championship-2 category at every round and by the Junior World Rally Championship at selected events. The World Rally Championship-3 was discontinued.
The 2019 FIA World Rally Championship-2 is the seventh season of the World Rally Championship-2, an auto racing championship for rally cars that is recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile as the second-highest tier of international rallying. The category was created when the Group R class of rally car was introduced in 2013 and runs in support of the World Rally Championship. The championship is only open to cars complying with R5 regulations.
