Although it was launched pretty late by FIA (International Automobile Federation) – in 1973 – the WRC has grown to become one of the most interesting and captivating racing events on the Planet. The main idea was to create a competition in which usual cars would compete on usual roads.

The first World Rally Championship took off with only 13 events, most of them being in Europe. From the early beginning of the competition, one could have noticed that Nordic drivers will have a serious saying in future of WRC. Sweden and Finland were to become regular stages in every year’s calendar, while the number of non-European events would increase from decade to decade.

Calendar for the first edition of the World Rally Championship (1973):

January 19 – 26                             Monte Carlo Rally
February 15 – 18                           Swedish Rally
March 13 – 18                                Rally Portugal
April 19 – 23                                   Safari Rally
August 8 – May 13                         Moroccan Rally
May 23 – 28                                    Acropolis Rally (Greece)
July 12 – 15                                    Rally Poland
August 3 – 5                                   Rally of the 1000 Lakes (Finland)
September 12 – 14                       Alpine Rally (Austria)
October 10 – 13                             Rally San Remo
October 31 – November 4           Press on Regardless Rally (USA)
November 17 – 21                        Lombard RAC (Great Britain)
December 1 – 2                            Tour de Corse (France)

The first manufacturers to take part in the World Rally Championship were: Renault, Fiat, Ford, Volvo, Saab, Nissan, Citroen and BMW. Renault was the first WRC winner in Manufacturers’ Classification, taking the titles in style with a 63-points advantage over 2nd place Fiat. Ford ranked 3rd overall.

The period of time between 1973 and 1976 (inclusively) lacked a world champion. Manufacturers’ Standings were more important than the individual himself. After Renault’s success the rookie season, Lancia took over and won 3 titles in a row, before WRC started to pay more attention to drivers.

Being that the Drivers’ and the Manufacturers’ standings became two total different things, it wasn’t necessary for a Constructor to have a WRC champion, but a winning team, able to put some points on the scoreboard every time they went into the race. It was the case in 1977, when Sandro Munari won the FIA Cup for Driver on a Lancia, but the Manufacturer’s Title went to Fiat. In 1979, the world title for drivers was first introduced.

Walter Rohrl was an iconic driver of his generation, the Bavarian winning his first world title in 1980, while also bringing FIAT its 3rd Manufacturers’ title. Walter would go on to win another one two years later (1982), this time on an Opel. The next 5 years saw several Manufacturers battle for supremacy in the WRC. Until Juha Kankkunen (FIN) brought home 2 world titles for both him and his Manufacturer (1986, 1987 with Peugeot and Lancia respectively), nobody managed to win back to back titles in the competition. Walter Rohl, Ari Vatanen, Hannu Mikkola, Stig Blomqvist and Timo Salonen won some Drivers’ titles of their own, while Fiat, Talbot, Audi and Lancia took their share in the Manufacturers’ competition.

Kankkunen was the first man to defend his world title in 1987, after switching teams (from Peugeot to Lancia). Despite Lancia’s new domination in WRC (that lasted from 1987 to 1991), the Finnish driver wasn't able to make the most of it. The 1988 and 1989 seasons were all about his team mate Massimo “Miki” Biasion. Actually, Kankkunen was unhappy with how Lancia treated him (blaming them for trying to improve Biasion’s car than helping him win a 3rd title) and decided to switch to Toyota.

Biasion’s back-to-back titles in 1988 – 1989 equaled Kankkunen’s record 3 years earlier and the Finnish driver was not about to let that pass away. And, after Carlos Sainz’ success in 1990, Juha came back to Lancia for his 3rd world title in WRC. This way, he set up a new record in the sport, being the first driver ever to win 3 world titles in WRC.

The beginning of the ‘90s brought the fans a constant & thrilling battle between Spaniard Carlos Sainz and Finland's Juha Kankkunen. The two drivers shared 4 world titles from 1990 to 1993 (1990, 1992 Carlos Sainz / 1991, 1993 Juha Kankunnen). Juha improved his WRC record to 4 world titles, just before Didier Auriol clinched Toyota’s second world title (and his own first) in 1994.

Subaru, a team that entered the WRC at the beginning of the ‘80s, won its first World Title in 1995, thanks to Scottish driver Colin McRae. It was to be McRae’s first & last world title, since he wasn't able to defend his title in the seasons to come.

Starting 1996 and ending with 1999, a new era was born inside the WRC. Tommi Makinen was to become the first and only rally driver to win 4 world titles in a row. Finland would give the world a second WRC myth, since Makinen crushed all his rivals from the early beginning of the seasons. Mitsubishi, however, were unable to find Makinen a good team mate and they had to suffer from it. From all 4 Riders’ titles, only one was materialized into a Manufacturers’ title for Mitsubishi (1998). It was to be its first & last world title inside the WRC.

It was to take another few years for another “living legend” to compete in the WRC. After Marcus Grönholm (2), Richard Burns (1) and Petter Solberg (1) had their share of success in the World Championship, Frenchman Sébastien Loeb stepped in and won 3 titles in a row (2004 - 2006). Ever since he started competing for Citroen, Loeb won the championship in style almost every season. His last performance in 2006 was probably the best to illustrate that, since the Frenchman won the title despite not being able to compete in the last 4 events of the season (he injured his shoulder while mountain-biking).

Now, if one wants to get technical, there is one thing everyone should know from the start. Although they look the same as everyday vehicles, the WRC cars are far from it. The engine is much more powerful than usual – around 300 bhp (225 kW) – and the cars are built especially for tarmac, gravel and snow surfaces. Also, a WRC car must be built upon a production car with a minimum of 2500 units. The future modifications on it will not be limited, though. Therefore, many manufacturers work on increasing engine capacity, adding turbocharger and sequential gearbox, as well as creating aerodynamic appendages.

Limitations for 2007 Season in WRC:

The maximum number of engines which may be used on a car at the discretion of the Manufacturer or Manufacturer Team for the year 2007 without incurring any penalty is:
- 6 engines per Manufacturer’s car.
- 3 engines per car for a Manufacturer Team which has nominated 10 Championship events.
- 4 engines per car for a Manufacturer Team which has nominated 11 or 12 Championship events.
- 5 engines per car for a Manufacturer Team which has nominated 13 or 14 Championship events.
- 6 engines per car for a Manufacturer Team which has nominated 15 or 16 Championship events.

During the 2007 season, the use of chassis for both testing and competing in registered events without incurring a penalty will be limited as follows:
- 10 chassis for each Manufacturer
- 6 chassis for each Manufacturer team which has nominated 10 Championship events
- 7 chassis for each Manufacturer team which has nominated 11 or 12 Championship events
- 8 chassis for each Manufacturer team which has nominated 13 or 14 Championship events
- 10 chassis for each Manufacturer team which has nominated 15 or 16 Championship events.
Should the maximum number of chassis be exceeded, a time penalty of 5 minutes will be imposed from the time each additional chassis is first used.

NB: No Tyres Limitations

On the other hand, if one wants to see near-standard road cars, P-WRC (Production car World Rally Championship) would be the place to look for it. Apart from improving drivers’ safety, these cars are almost the same most of us are buying from authorized dealers. FIA launched this new program in 2002, as a replacement for the former FIA Group N Championship.

The Production car drivers compete on the same venues as WRC drivers, only that their calendar alternates WRC events with J-WRC (Junior WRC) stages. Soon after the WRC drivers enter the race, the P-WRC competitors will have to do the same, wearing race numbers from 31-60. Only the first eight at the end of the race score in the overall classification, as with the WRC cars.

The Junior World Rally Championship (since it was brought into discussion the previous paragraph) is a support competition for WRC. FIA’s main plan, when they launched the championship, was to give young talented drivers the chance to get used to rally cars and compete in international competitions. Also, it would be a great chance for manufacturers to test their newest developments in terms of rallying.

The calendar seems very much alike the one in P-WRC, with J-WRC competitors having to start 30 minutes after the WRC drivers, while the first 8 at the end get to score points in the overall classification.

WRC Champions in Drivers' & Manufacturers' Classifications:

2008	Sébastien LOEB (FRA), Citroën C4	Citroën
2007	Sébastien LOEB (FRA), Citroën C4	Ford
2006	Sébastien LOEB (FRA), Citroën C4	Ford
2005	Sébastien LOEB (FRA), Citroën Xsara	Citroën
2004	Sébastien LOEB (FRA), Citroen Xsara	Citroën
2003	Petter SOLBERG (NOR), Subaru Impreza	Citroën
2002	Marcus GRÖNHOLM (FIN), Peugeot 206	Peugeot
2001	Richard BURNS (GBR), Subaru Impreza	Peugeot
2000	Marcus GRÖNHOLM (FIN), Peugeot 206	Peugeot
1999	Tommi MAKINEN (FIN), Mitsubishi Lancer	Toyota
1998	Tommi MAKINEN (FIN), Mitsubishi Lancer	Mitsubishi
1997	Tommi MAKINEN (FIN), Mitsubishi Lancer	Subaru
1996	Tommi MAKINEN (FIN), Mitsubishi Lancer	Subaru
1995	Colin McRAE (GBR), Subaru Impreza	Subaru
1994	Didier AURIOL (FRA), Toyota Celica	Toyota
1993	Juha KANKKUNEN (FIN), Toyota Celica	Toyota
1992	Carlos SAINZ (SPA), Toyota Celica	Lancia
1991	Juha KANKKUNEN (FIN), Lancia Delta	Lancia
1990	Carlos SAINZ (SPA), Toyota Celica	Lancia
1989	Massimo BIASION (ITA), Lancia Delta	Lancia
1988	Massimo BIASION (ITA), Lancia Delta	Lancia
1987	Juha KANKKUNEN (FIN), Lancia Delta	Lancia
1986	Juha KANKKUNEN (FIN), Peugeot 205	Peugeot
1985	Timo SALONEN (FIN), Peugeot 205	Peugeot
1984	Stig BLOMQVIST (SWE), Audi Quattro	Audi
1983	Hannu MIKKOLA (FIN), Audi Quattro	Lancia
1982	Walter RÖHRL (GER), Opel Ascona	Audi
1981	Ari VATANEN (FIN), Ford Escort	Talbot
1980	Walter ROHRL (GER), Fiat 131	Fiat
1979	Björn WALDEGAARD (SWE), Ford Escort & Merc. 450	Ford
1978	Markku ALEN (FIN), Fiat 131 & Lancia Stratos	Fiat
1977	Sandro MUNARI (ITA), Lancia Stratos F	Fiat
1976	-	Lancia
1975	-	Lancia
1974	-	Lancia
1973	-	Alpine-Renault