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WRC
11 things you (probably) didn't know about the WRC
The World Rally Championship is an unrelenting battle against the elements and a race against the clock. Get ready for an attack of quick stats and hard facts.
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01
In the blink of an eye
0.2s – that's the closest-ever finish in WRC, when the margin of victory was a blink of an eye. Even more remarkably it's happened twice. In 2011, Sébastien Ogier pipped Jari-Matti Latvala to the top step at Rally Jordan and at the 2024 Rally Sardegna, Ogier was leading when his GR Yaris Rally1 picked up a puncture. He pushed to the end, but Ott Tänak was two-tenths quicker to take the win for Hyundai.
Ott Tänak celebrates winning the closest-ever finish in WRC
© Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool
02
The first rally and the road ahead
The oldest rally on the calendar is Rallye Monte-Carlo, which was first run in 1911 and was originally a race from different locations to the Principality. The latest rally to come on to the calendar is Rally Saudi Arabia, which will form part of the 2025 season. And in 2026, WRC is going racing in the United States.
The famous El Brinco stage at Rally Mexico
© Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool
03
The longest WRC stage
The longest WRC stage was an 80km beast at the 2016 Rally México, which used some of the roads from the famous El Brinco stage. The record is unlikely to be beaten, as modern rally stages range from about 10km to 35km and the trend is to have more media-friendly shorter stages of 12km, with occasional extended runs to push the crews’ physical and mental capacities.
WRC cars cost nearly €1m and have to take a lot of punishment
© Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool
04
Cost of a WRC car
A 2024 WRC car costs nearly €1million, which is a chunk of money for cars that take a lot of punishment across the season. If you're thinking of buying, wait until 2025 when the budget for a car will be capped at €400,000 – about twice the price of a WRC2 car.
While innovations and improvements in areas like technology and road safety remain top priorities, the new WRC is aimed at boosting participation and getting more drivers, manufacturers and fans from around the world involved in motorsport. That means costly elements like the current hybrid unit are out in favour of turbocharged engines running on 100 percent sustainable fuels.
Green for go: lights around the car signal if it's safe to touch
© Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool
05
WRC cars are so powerful, it's shocking
Hybrid cars recover energy that's otherwise lost through braking and convert it to electricity. That creates a 100kW boost of power to take the output over 500bhp. But that high-voltage electric current can be dangerous and could shock a hapless mechanic, marshal or eager fan. The red and green lights displayed around the cars are there to show when it's safe to touch the car and when to stay back.
Loeb in the garage
© Citroen Racing
06
The record breakers
The most successful driver in WRC is Sébastien Loeb, who's the nine-time World Rally Champion and has won 80 WRC rounds – starting in Germany 2002 and most recently in Monte-Carlo in 2022. From 184 starts, he's won 946 stages and stood on the podium 120 times. Sébastien Ogier is second on the list with 60 rally wins and 715 stages wins from 186 starts – and counting.
Record starter Jari-Matti Latvala on stage at Rally Finland
© Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool
Latvala in the frame
© Ford Motorsport
07
Leading from the front
At 210, Jari-Matti Latvala, now boss of Toyota Gazoo Racing, has the record for the most starts in WRC. He first competed at Rally GB in 2002 and most recently raced at his home event, Rally Finland, in 2023. Two-time world champion Carlos Sainz is second on 194 and his compatriot Dani Sordo is third on 190 and counting.
Jumping king: Thierry Neuville leaps over Colin's Crest
© Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool
08
Progressing in leaps and bounds
85m is the long jump recorded in a rally car, set by Sébastien Loeb at Rally Turkey in 2010. Thierry Neuville set the longest distance on the WRC’s most famous jump – Colin’s Crest at Rally Sweden – with a 44m jump in 2015. The Belgian also came closest to Loeb's record with a 75m jump on Rally Finland’s Ruuhimäki Wolf Power Stage in 2022.
Youngest winner and youngest World Champion: Kalle Rovanperä
© Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool
Evergreen Sébastien Loeb wins in Monte Carlo in 2022
© Joerg Mitter/Red Bull Content Pool
09
Youngest and oldest winners
The youngest rally world champion is Kalle Rovanperä, who wrapped up the 2022 title the day after his 22nd birthday. He’s also the youngest rally winner, taking Rally Estonia 2021 aged 20 years and 289 days. The oldest rally winner is Sébastien Loeb, who won Rally Monte Carlo in 2022 a month short of his 48th birthday – a feat made even more impressive given he had just finished runner up at the Dakar Rally. He probably still had the desert sand in his overalls.
Sébastien Loeb in control for Citroën
© GEPA/Red Bull Content Pool
10
The most successful manufacturer
Lancia has won the WRC more than any other manufacturer, with 10 titles. In second place is Citroën on eight, but the French marque has won more rallies than any other manufacturer – 102. Toyota in third are on seven titles and could draw level in 2024.
Adrien Formaux changes tyres after a puncture
© Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool
11
Get a grip of those WRC tyres
Crews have just 28 Pirelli tyres to use across the rally, from shakedown all the way to the Wolf Power Stage. The tyres come in a wide variety of treads and compounds, ranging from the Scorpion gravel tyres offering a soft option with a deep tread, which is a good all-round tyre, but is especially useful in damp conditions. The hard gravel compound is better in rounds like Sardegna with its closely-packed down gravel surfaces. The P-Zero is for high-grip asphalt roads and comes in three different compounds. And then there's the Sottozero tyres, one with an aggressive tread for grip in snowy conditions and another with 7mm studs to dig in and find grip on icy roads in Sweden and Gap at the start of Rallye Monte-Carlo.
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