The World Rally Championship (WRC) is a rallying series organised by the FIA, culminating with a champion 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 13 three-day events driven on surfaces ranging from gravel and tarmac to snow and ice. Each rally is split into 10–25 special stages which are run against the clock on closed roads.
Sébastien Loeb holds the record for the most event victories, having won 80 times.[1] Sébastien Ogier is second with 57 wins and Marcus Grönholm is third with 30 wins. Sébastien Loeb holds the distinction of having the longest time between his first win and his last. He won his first rally in 2002 at the 2002 Rallye Deutschland, and his last in 2022 at the 2022 Monte Carlo Rally, a span of 19 years, 4 months and 28 days. Shekhar Mehta and Jean-Luc Thérier share the record for the longest period of time between two wins–almost six years between the 1973 Safari Rally and the 1979 Safari Rally for the Kenyan driver and 1974 Press-on-Regardless Rally and 1980 Tour de Corse for the French driver.[2] Loeb holds the record for the most consecutive wins, having two six-win streaks (2005 Rally New Zealand–2005 Rally Argentina and 2008 Wales Rally GB–2009 Rally Argentina).[3] Kalle Rovanperä is the youngest winner of a World Rally Championship event; he was 20 years, 11 months and 17 days old when he won the 2021 Rally Estonia.[4] Loeb is the oldest winner of a World Rally Championship event; he was 47 years and 331 days old when he won the 2022 Monte Carlo Rally.[4] Neuville holds the record for the most event wins (19) without ever winning a championship.
As of the 2023 Rally Mexico, there have been 80 different World Rally Championship event winners.[5] The first rally winner was Jean-Claude Andruet at the 1973 Rally Monte Carlo, and the most recent driver to score their first win was Kalle Rovanperä at the 2021 Rally Estonia.[6]
By driver edit
All figures correct as of the 2024 Rally Italia Sardegna. In total of 645 WRC events.[5]
| Bold | Driver has competed in the 2024 season |
| Italics | World Rally Champion |
By driver's nationality edit
All figures correct as of the 2024 Rally Italia Sardegna.[7]
| Rank | Country | Wins | Driver(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  France | 207 | 18 |
| 2 |  Finland | 192 | 16 |
| 3 |  United Kingdom | 49 | 5 |
| 4 |  Sweden | 43 | 10 |
| 5 |  Italy | 30 | 8 |
| 5 |  Spain | 30 | 3 |
| 7 |  Estonia | 25 | 2 |
| 8 |  Belgium | 21 | 2 |
| 9 |  Germany | 17 | 3 |
| 9 |  Norway | 17 | 3 |
| 11 |  Kenya | 8 | 3 |
| 12 |  Austria | 2 | 2 |
| 12 |  Japan | 2 | 1 |
| 14 |  Argentina | 1 | 1 |
| 14 |  Canada | 1 | 1 |
| 14 |  New Zealand | 1 | 1 |
| 14 |  Portugal | 1 | 1 |
Milestone races winners edit
| Race number | Year | Rally [8] | Winner | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Driver | Manufacturers | |||
| 100 | 1982 |  Monte Carlo Rally | Walter Röhrl | Opel |
| 200 | 1990 | Rallye de Portugal | Miki Biasion | Lancia |
| 300 | 1998 |  Acropolis Rally | Colin McRae | Subaru |
| 400 | 2005 | Rally Argentina | Sébastien Loeb | Citroën |
| 500 | 2012 | Rally Finland | Sébastien Loeb | Citroën |
| 600 | 2020 | Rally Estonia | Ott Tänak |  Hyundai |
Most wins per season edit
All figures correct as of the 2024 Croatia Rally. In total of 645 WRC events.[5]
| Bold | Won the World Championship in the same year |
* Season still in progress.
By co-driver edit
The WRC events have been won by 103 different co-drivers. All figures correct as of the 2024 Croatia Rally.[9]
| Bold | Driver has competed in the 2024 season |
| Italics | World Rally Champion |
By constructor edit
21 different constructors have won a rally as of the 2024 Rally Italia Sardegna.[10]
| Rank | Constructor | Wins |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Citroën | 102 |
| 2 |  / Ford | 94 |
| 3 | Toyota | 88 |
| 4 | Lancia | 73 |
| 5 | Peugeot | 48 |
| 6 | Subaru | 47 |
| 7 | Volkswagen | 44 |
| 8 | Mitsubishi | 34 |
| 9 | Hyundai | 30 |
| 10 | Audi | 24 |
| 11 | Fiat | 21 |
| 12 | Datsun / Nissan | 9 |
| 13 | Alpine-Renault | 6 |
| Renault | 6 | |
| Opel | 6 | |
| 16 | Saab | 4 |
| 17 | Mazda | 3 |
| 18 | Talbot | 2 |
| BMW | 2 | |
| Porsche | 2 | |
| Mercedes-Benz | 2 |
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Sebastien Loeb takes eighth Rally Argentina". rte.ie. Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 6 May 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- ^ "Gaps between wins". Jonkka's World Rally Archive. juwra.com. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
- ^ "Win streaks". Jonkka's World Rally Archive. juwra.com. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
- ^ a b "Oldest and youngest winners". Jonkka's World Rally Archive. juwra.com. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
- ^ a b c "Driver WRC wins". Jonkka's World Rally Archive. juwra.com. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
- ^ "Elfyn Evans wins the Wales Rally GB as Frenchman Sebastien Ogier takes third to claim his fifth consecutive world championship title". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 29 October 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- ^ "Driver wins per nationalities". Jonkka's World Rally Archive. juwra.com. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
- ^ "Statistics - Events in General". Jonkka's World Rally Archive. juwra.com. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
- ^ "Co-driver statistics > Wins". Jonkka's World Rally Archive. juwra.com. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
- ^ "Make Wins". Jonkka's World Rally Archive. juwra.com. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
External links edit
- WRC.com — official site
- World Rally Championship regulations fia.com