World Rally Championship

World Rally Championship
CategoryRallying
CountryInternational
Inaugural season1973
Manufacturers3
Tyre suppliersPirelli
Drivers' championFinland Kalle Rovanperä
Co-Drivers' championFinland Jonne Halttunen
Manufacturers' championJapan Toyota
Official websiteWRC.com
Current season

The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is an international rallying series owned and governed by the FIA. Inaugurated in 1973, it is the second oldest of the FIA's world championships after Formula One. Each season lasts one calendar year, and separate championship titles are awarded to drivers, co-drivers and manufacturers. There are also two support championships, WRC2 and WRC3, which are contested on the same events and stages as the WRC, but with progressively lower maximum performance and running costs of the cars permitted. Junior WRC is also contested on five events of the World Rally Championship calendar.[1][2][3][4]

A WRC season typically consists of 13 three- to four-day rally events driven on surfaces ranging from gravel and tarmac to snow and ice. Each rally is usually split into 15–25 special stages which are run against the clock on up to 350 kilometres (220 mi) of closed roads.[5][6]

  1. ^ "What is the WRC? – Rally UK". Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  2. ^ "TOTAL AND THE WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP". TotalEnergies Malaysia. 29 August 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  3. ^ Naess, Hans Erik (2014). A Sociology of the World Rally Championship. United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan.
  4. ^ Hope-Frost, Henry; Davenport, John (2004). The complete book of the World Rally Championship. St. Paul, MN: Motorbooks International. ISBN 978-0-7603-1954-3.
  5. ^ "What is WRC?". WRC.com.
  6. ^ "FAQ about the World Rally Championship (WRC)". RallyUSAOfficial. Retrieved 20 April 2024.