List of World Rally Championship Drivers' champions

Sébastien Loeb has won the World Drivers' Championship a record nine times in a row.
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The World Rally Championship (WRC) is a rallying series administered 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 eight. Kalle Rovanperä is the youngest world champion; he was 22 years old when he won the 2022 World Rally Championship.[7] French drivers have won the most titles with 18 championships between 3 drivers. Finland are second with 16 championships between 8 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.
  1. ^ "About FIA". FIA. Archived from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
  2. ^ "What is WRC?". World Rally Championship. Archived from the original on 20 September 2018. 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. ^ Howard, Tom (2 October 2022). "WRC New Zealand: Rovanpera clinches history making world title with victory". Autosport. Retrieved 2 October 2022.