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Who are the greatest WRC drivers of all time?
The World Rally Championship has been graced by top talent since its first season in 1973. Here's a run-down of the kings of gravel from across WRC history.
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01
Juha Kankkunen
Juha Kankkunen shows off at the Safari Rally
© Toyota
- Nationality: Finland
- Date of birth: April 2, 1959
- Years in WRC: 1979-2010
- World Champion: 1986, ’87, ’91 and ’93
- Rally starts: 161
- Rally wins: 23
- Stage wins: 390
- Podiums: 75
- Other series: Dakar Rally
Juha Kankkunen’s laid-back demeanour contrasted with the fiery Carlos Sainz and belied his own steely determination. Like Sébastien Ogier, Kankkunen had the versatility and consistency to win his titles with three different teams. In 1986, he was the fastest at the wheel of the iconic Peugeot 205 T16 in a team masterminded by Jean Todt, and in 1993, he moved to Lancia and became the first driver to successfully defend a World Rally Championship. He took Lancia to the top in ’91 but was battling against internal politics as much as his rivals. He was at his most dominant in 1993 with the Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD. In 2010, he returned to WRC to race in the 60th Rally Finland, finishing an impressive eighth.
02
Carlos Sainz
Luis and Carlos celebrate their 1992 win in Spain
© Getty Images
- Nationality: Spain
- Date of birth: April 12, 1962
- Years in WRC: 1987-2005
- World Champion: 1990 & ’92
- Rally starts: 194
- Rally wins: 26
- Stage wins: 586
- Podiums: 97
- Other series: World Rally Raid, Dakar Rally, Extreme E
Signed by Toyota as they joined WRC in 1989, Carlos Sainz took on the established Lancia Team with its galaxy of stars, including Miki Biasion and Didier Auriol. The driver known as El Matador made his breakthrough in 1990 with his first win at the Acropolis Rally in Greece. Three more victories, and he was the world champion and a huge 45 points clear of the field. In 1992, he did it again, defeating his great rival Juha Kankkunen with back-to-back wins in Spain and GB. He later helped VW to develop the championship-winning Polo R WRC. Outside WRC, he has steered VW, Peugeot, MINI and most recently Audi to the top in the Dakar Rally.
More from Carlos Sainz at the 2024 Dakar Rally
03
Colin McRae
Colin McRae 1995
© Volkswagen Motorsport
- Nationality: Great Britain
- Date of birth: August 5, 1968
- Died: September 15, 2007
- Years in WRC: 1988-2006
- World Champion: 1995
- Rally starts: 142
- Rally wins: 25
- Stage wins: 460
- Podiums: 42
- Other series: Le Mans 24H, Dakar Rally
A superstar of World Rally, Colin McRae would either win or crash trying – as proven by his ratio of stage wins versus rally wins. With Prodrive, McRae scored Subaru’s first win at the wheel of a Legacy before it made way for the iconic Impreza 555, which he took to the marque’s first World Championship in 1995. He was the youngest world champion until Kalle Rovanperä shattered the record in 2022 and took Subaru to three consecutive manufacturer’s titles, but could not land another driver’s championship. His appearances at X Games in the USA and the Colin McRae Dirt and Dirt Rally video game made McRea a household name long after his untimely death in 2007.
What made Colin McRae so good? Watch a masterclass in driving from the man himself in the video below.
04
Tommi Mäkinen
Tommi Mäkinen was Ogier's choice
© DPPI/Francois Flammand
- Nationality: Finland
- Date of birth: June 26, 1964
- Years in WRC: 1988-2003
- World Champion: 1996 ’97, ’98 & ’99
- Rally starts: 135
- Rally wins: 24
- Stage wins: 361
- Podiums: 45
Before the WRC was ruled by Frenchmen called Sébastien, there were the Finns: a seemingly endless number of fearless and fast drivers like Markku Alén, Ari Vatanen, Hannu Mikkola and Marcus Grönholm. At the wheel of the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III, Mäkinen was a fierce rival of McRae and more consistent, which proved crucial as those extra championship points were decisive in securing four World Championships. As a team boss, he took Toyota Gazoo to the top and signed winning drivers Ott Tänak, Sébastien Ogier and a young Kalle Rovanperä.
05
Sébastien Loeb
Sébastien Loeb
© Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool
- Nationality: France
- Date of birth: February 26, 1974
- Years in WRC: 1999-2022
- World Champion: 2004-12
- Rally starts: 184
- Rally wins: 80
- Stage wins: 949
- Podiums: 120
- Other series: Le Mans 24H, WTCC, Dakar Rally, Extreme E
A former gymnast, Sébastien Loeb is the most successful driver in WRC history, winning nine World Championships in a row with Citroen. The stats show Loeb also has the record for the most rally wins, stage wins and podiums. The versatile Frenchman also set the record for the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, won the X Games and Extreme E, raced in World Touring Cars, World Rallycross, Le Mans and is a three-time runner-up at the Dakar Rally.
06
Sébastien Ogier
Ogier, Ingrassia and Volkswagen all claimed titles
© Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool
- Nationality: France
- Date of birth: December 17, 1983
- Years in WRC: 2008-Present
- World Champion: 2013-18, 2020-21
- Rally starts: 185
- Rally wins: 60
- Stage wins: 710
- Podiums: 101
- Other series: Le Mans 24H, WEC, DTM
Having come through the ranks at a Citroen Team built around Loeb, Sébastien Ogier leapt at Jost Capito’s offer to be lead driver at the new Volkswagen team. He spent 2012 racing a Skoda Fabia S2000 and developing the Polo R WRC that took him to four consecutive titles. When VW left the WRC in 2016, Ogier switched to M-Sport and won his fifth and sixth championships. He rejoined Citroen but lost out to Estonia’s Ott Tänak in 2019. Moving to Toyota, Ogier took two more world championships before then announcing he was retiring at the end of 2021.
That retirement was short-lived, as Ogier announced he would race some rounds of the WRC in 2022 with Toyota. He's since continued to race selected events, winning rally number 60 at the Vodafone Rally de Portugal in May 2024. In doing so, the Frenchman is now the most successful driver in the Portuguese event's history, with six wins.
1 h 18 min
Sébastien Ogier: The Final Season
Discover how Sébastien Ogier won his eighth and last world title before calling time on his career.
07
Kalle Rovanperä
Kalle Rovanperä
© Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool
- Nationality: Finnish
- Date of birth: October 1, 2000
- Years in WRC: 2020-present
- World Champion: 2022 and 2023
- Rally starts: 68
- Rally wins: 12
- Stage wins: 183
- Podiums: 22
- Other series: Drift Masters
The future of WRC, Kalle Rovanperä is already a two-time world champion, smashing the record set by Colin McRae, who was 27 when he became world champion in 1995. Rovanperä started young, racing anything he could find as a child and learning rally from the age of eight. With his father, Harri, also a successful rally driver, in his corner, Rovanperä began competing in the Latvia national championship at 15 before graduating to WRC2 at 17. By 2020, as reigning WRC2 champion, he was chasing podiums in the main category, scored his first wins in 2021 and his first world title in 2022.
6 min
How Kalle Rovanperä won Safari Rally Kenya
Current championship leader Kalle Rovanperä won WRC Safari Rally Kenya for the first time – here's how.
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