List of World Rally Championship Drivers' champions

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]

Sébastien Loeb has won the World Drivers' Championship a record nine times.
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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.

Colin McRae, winner of the 1995 World Rally Championship
Petter Solberg won the World Rally Championship in 2003.

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
List of World Rally Championship Drivers' champions
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
Nine-time champion Sébastien Loeb and his co-driver Daniel Elena
Sébastien Ogier has the second most drivers' titles with seven.
Tommi Mäkinen won four World Rally Championships.
List of World Rally Championship Drivers' Champions by driver
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
Marcus Grönholm, the seventh Finnish world champion
List of World Rally Championship Drivers' Champions by nationality
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
Markku Alén driving a Lancia Delta HF 4WD in 1987. Rally versions of the Delta brought Lancia four drivers' titles.

Privateers counted as constructors.

List of World Rally Championship Drivers' champions by constructor
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

  1. "About FIA". FIA. Archived from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
  2. "What is WRC?". World Rally Championship. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  3. "The WRC's greatest drivers". World Rally Championship. 23 July 2008. Archived from the original on 8 October 2008. Retrieved 10 November 2008.
  4. Rule changes summary juwra.com
  5. "Loeb clinches eighth title". Sky Sports. 12 November 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  6. "Hirvonen's exit hands eighth straight world title to Loeb". CNN. 11 November 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  7. "1997 – Subaru". Subaru. Archived from the original on 12 April 2009. Retrieved 10 December 2008.
  8. 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.
  9. Hope-Frost 2004, pp. 13–14
  10. "Björn Waldegård". Rally Base. Retrieved 10 December 2008.

See also

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