World Rally Championship
The World Rally Championship is motorsport’s toughest road trip. Instead of racing wheel to wheel on a track, crews of a driver and a co-driver run flat out against the clock on closed public roads, one car at a time, on gravel, snow, ice and asphalt. Since 1973 it has visited forests in Finland, mountain passes above Monaco and the plains of Kenya. Here’s what you’ll want to know: the 2027 calendar, the 2026 champions in every class, the stories fans still argue about, how the rules work, and the manufacturers and drivers who’ve won the most titles.
World Rally Championship at a Glance
First season 1973 opened with the Monte Carlo Rally on January 19
Format 13 to 15 rallies a year each a few hundred kilometers of timed stages over 3–4 days
Classes Rally1, WRC2, WRC3 plus a WRC2 Challenger standings for non-factory crews
2026 champions Elfyn Evans & Scott Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 · won by 5 points
Next rally January 21–24, 2027 Rallye Monte-Carlo, round 1 of 15
Wins record 80 rally wins Sébastien Loeb, 2002–2022
World Rally Championship 2027 Calendar
The FIA released the 2027 schedule on October 8, 2026, and it’s the biggest WRC season since 2008: 15 rallies, starting in Monaco on January 21 and finishing in Saudi Arabia on November 28. The headline news if you’re in the US is Rally US, a gravel event based around Knoxville, Tennessee, that brings the championship back to America for the first time since 1988. Great Britain returns too, with Rally Scotland on a three-year deal. Portugal sits out for a year, Italy swaps its Sardinia gravel for asphalt roads around Rome, and Estonia and Finland run on back-to-back weekends.
2027 FIA World Rally Championship
| Round | Dates | Rally | Surface | Where | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January 21–24 | Rallye Monte-Carlo | Mixed | Monaco & France | Upcoming |
| 2 | February 18–21 | Rally Sweden | Snow | Sweden | Upcoming |
| 3 | March 18–21 | Safari Rally Kenya | Gravel | Kenya | Upcoming |
| 4 | April 8–11 | Croatia Rally | Asphalt | Croatia | Upcoming |
| 5 | May 6–9 | Rally Islas Canarias | Asphalt | Canary Islands, Spain | Upcoming |
| 6 | June 3–6 | Rally Japan | Asphalt | Japan | Upcoming |
| 7 | June 24–27 | Acropolis Rally Greece | Gravel | Greece | Upcoming |
| 8 | July 8–11 | Rally d’Italia (Rome) | Asphalt | Italy | Upcoming |
| 9 | July 22–25 | Rally Estonia | Gravel | Estonia | Upcoming |
| 10 | July 29–August 1 | Rally Finland | Gravel | Finland | Upcoming |
| 11 | August 26–29 | Rally US | Gravel | Tennessee & Kentucky, USA | Upcoming |
| 12 | September 30–October 3 | Rally Scotland | Gravel | Scotland, UK | Upcoming |
| 13 | October 21–24 | Rally del Paraguay | Gravel | Paraguay | Upcoming |
| 14 | November 4–7 | Rally Chile Biobío | Gravel | Chile | Upcoming |
| 15 | November 25–28 | Rally Saudi Arabia (finale) | Gravel | Saudi Arabia | Upcoming |
How the 2026 season played out
The 2026 season was planned at 14 rounds, but on September 17 the FIA and the WRC Promoter dropped Rally Saudi Arabia, citing regional developments that affected logistics. That made Rally Italia Sardegna, October 1–4, the 13th and final round, and the titles were settled there. Toyota drivers won 12 of the 13 rallies.
| Dates | Rally | Where | Winner | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 22–25 | Rallye Monte-Carlo | Monaco & France | Oliver Solberg | Done |
| February 12–15 | Rally Sweden | Sweden | Elfyn Evans | Done |
| March 12–15 | Safari Rally Kenya | Kenya | Takamoto Katsuta | Done |
| April 9–12 | Croatia Rally | Croatia | Takamoto Katsuta | Done |
| April 23–26 | Rally Islas Canarias | Canary Islands, Spain | Sébastien Ogier | Done |
| May 7–10 | Rally de Portugal | Portugal | Thierry Neuville | Done |
| May 28–31 | Rally Japan | Japan | Elfyn Evans | Done |
| June 25–28 | Acropolis Rally Greece | Greece | Sébastien Ogier | Done |
| July 16–19 | Rally Estonia | Estonia | Sami Pajari | Done |
| July 30–August 2 | Rally Finland | Finland | Sami Pajari | Done |
| August 27–30 | Rally del Paraguay | Paraguay | Sami Pajari | Done |
| September 10–13 | Rally Chile Biobío | Chile | Oliver Solberg | Done |
| October 1–4 | Rally Italia Sardegna (finale) | Italy | Oliver Solberg | Done |
| November | Rally Saudi Arabia | Saudi Arabia | — | Cancelled (dropped from WRC) |
World Rally Championship Champions: 2026
The 2026 season is finished, and these are the reigning champions heading into 2027. The WRC crowns a driver and a co-driver, because the person reading the pace notes is just as responsible for a stage time as the one steering. Manufacturers score their own title, and the Rally2 cars of WRC2 have their own championships.
2026 champion
Drivers
Elfyn Evans Toyota
Evans had finished runner-up five times before 2026, and he looked set for a sixth when a puncture in Sardinia dropped him to fifth. Then Oliver Solberg, who only needed to beat him by a few seconds, slid off two corners from the end of the final stage. Evans is the first Welsh driver to win the title and the first Briton since Richard Burns in 2001.
2026 champion
Co-drivers
Scott Martin Toyota
Martin has read the notes for Evans for years, so the title is just as much his. He’s the first English co-driver to win it, joining fellow Britons David Richards, Derek Ringer, Robert Reid and Phil Mills.
2026 champion
Manufacturers
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
Toyota wrapped up the makes’ title a round early at Rally Chile. It was its sixth in a row and its tenth overall, tying Lancia’s all-time record, and a neat send-off for the GR Yaris Rally1 in its fifth and final season.
2026 champion
WRC2
Robert Virves Škoda
The Estonian won four rallies in a Toksport Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 and was confirmed champion when Saudi Arabia came off the calendar, since nobody could catch him anymore. He’s the first Estonian WRC2 champion.
2026 champions at a glance
| Title | Champion | Car | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drivers | Elfyn Evans (UK) | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | 243 points, 5 ahead of Oliver Solberg |
| Co-drivers | Scott Martin (UK) | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | Evans’s co-driver; first title for both |
| Manufacturers | Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | 662 points to Hyundai’s 440 |
| WRC2 drivers | Robert Virves (Estonia), co-driver Jakko Viilo | Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, Toksport WRT | Four wins; also took the WRC2 Challenger title |
| WRC2 teams | Lancia Corse HF | Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale | Won the teams’ title in its first season |
The year before: 2025 champions
In 2025 Sébastien Ogier won his ninth title by just four points over Evans, sealing it on the final Power Stage of Rally Saudi Arabia. Here’s how that season finished.
| Title | Champion | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Drivers & co-drivers | Sébastien Ogier & Vincent Landais | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, 293 points to Elfyn Evans’s 289 |
| Manufacturers | Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT | 735 points, 224 ahead of Hyundai |
| WRC2 drivers & co-drivers | Oliver Solberg & Elliott Edmondson | Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 |
| WRC2 teams | Toksport WRT | Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 |
World Rally Championship History
Rallying is older than the WRC. The Monte Carlo Rally dates to 1911, and long-distance road events were popular across Europe for decades before the FIA tied the biggest ones into a world championship in 1973. Since then the WRC has run through some wild eras, from the fire-breathing Group B monsters of the 1980s to the hybrid Rally1 cars that just finished their run. The 2026 season was the 54th.
- 1973 The FIA launches the World Rally Championship for manufacturers, starting with the Monte Carlo Rally on January 19. Alpine-Renault wins the first title with the little A110.
- 1974–1976 The wedge-shaped Lancia Stratos, the first car designed from scratch for rallying, wins three makes’ titles in a row.
- 1977–1978 Drivers get the FIA Cup, won by Sandro Munari and then Markku Alén.
- 1979 The first official drivers’ world title goes to Björn Waldegård, by a single point over Hannu Mikkola.
- 1981 The Audi quattro proves four-wheel drive is the future, and Michèle Mouton wins in Sanremo.
- 1982–1986 The Group B era: around 500 horsepower, light bodies and huge crowds standing in the road.
- 1986 Henri Toivonen and Sergio Cresto are killed on the Tour de Corse, and Group B is banned from 1987.
- 1987–1992 Under Group A rules, Lancia’s Delta wins six makes’ titles in a row.
- 1995 Colin McRae becomes the first British world champion, in a Subaru Impreza.
- 1996–1999 Tommi Mäkinen wins four straight titles for Mitsubishi.
- 1997 World Rally Car rules arrive, letting makers build turbocharged four-wheel-drive versions of everyday hatchbacks.
- 2004–2012 Sébastien Loeb and co-driver Daniel Elena win nine titles in a row for Citroën.
- 2013–2018 Sébastien Ogier wins six straight, four with Volkswagen and two with M-Sport Ford.
- 2022 Hybrid Rally1 cars arrive, and Kalle Rovanperä becomes the youngest champion at 22.
- 2025 The hybrid units are dropped, and Ogier’s ninth title ties Loeb’s record.
- 2026 Elfyn Evans wins the title in the last year of Rally1, and Toyota’s tenth makes’ title ties Lancia’s record.
- 2027 New WRC27 cars and a 15-round calendar with the US and UK back on the map.
Memorable Stories From the World Rally Championship
Rallying hands out drama in big portions, because one wrong pace note or one sharp rock can undo a whole season. Here are the stories you’ll hear most when rally fans get together.
1986
The end of Group B
Lancia Delta S4 Tour de Corse
Group B cars had so much power and so little weight that drivers said the stages were coming at them too fast. After a season of crashes, Henri Toivonen and co-driver Sergio Cresto were killed when their Lancia Delta S4 left the road on the Tour de Corse. Within hours the sport’s governing body froze development, and the cars were banned from the championship the next year.
1981–1982
Mouton beats the boys
Audi quattro Michèle Mouton
Michèle Mouton and co-driver Fabrizia Pons won the 1981 Rallye Sanremo in an Audi quattro, making Mouton the first woman to win a world championship rally. A year later she won three more and finished second in the drivers’ standings. No woman has come closer to the title.
1995
McRae’s flat-out title
Subaru Impreza 555 Colin McRae
Colin McRae drove like every stage was the last one, which made him a fan favorite and occasionally a mechanic’s nightmare. In 1995 the Scot brought it all together in the blue-and-yellow Subaru Impreza, clinching the title on home roads at the RAC Rally to become Britain’s first world champion.
2004–2012
Nine in a row
Citroën Sébastien Loeb
Sébastien Loeb, a former gymnast from Alsace, won nine straight titles with Citroën and co-driver Daniel Elena. Along the way he collected 80 rally wins, a record nobody has come near. He still pops up for the odd rally, and he won one as recently as 2022.
2022
The youngest champion
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Kalle Rovanperä
Kalle Rovanperä was driving rally cars in Finland before he was a teenager, so nobody was shocked when he won. The timing was the story: he clinched the 2022 title at age 22, making him the youngest world champion in the sport’s history, and he won again in 2023.
2026
Two corners from glory
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Rally Italia Sardegna
Going into the last stage of 2026, Oliver Solberg needed to beat Elfyn Evans by a few seconds for the title. He was ahead on the splits with about a kilometer to go, then slid wide into the sand and bushes. Solberg still won the rally, but Evans won the championship by five points after five years as runner-up.
Want a couple more? In 2025, Ogier and Evans started the last day of the Saudi finale two points apart, and Ogier settled it on the final Power Stage. And in 2026, Toyota’s Sami Pajari took his first three WRC wins at three rallies in a row, in Estonia, Finland and Paraguay, something no crew had done before.
World Rally Championship Rules
A rally isn’t a race in the usual sense. You’re never side by side with a rival; you’re racing their time on the same roads, and every surface from ice to asphalt is fair game. Here’s how it works under the 2026 rules, plus what changes when the new cars arrive in 2027.
The classes
Top class, through 2026
Rally1
The 2026 season was the last for Rally1, built by Toyota, Hyundai and Ford (through M-Sport). The hybrid units that came in 2022 were removed for 2025, which cut the minimum weight from 1,260 kg to 1,180 kg (2,778 lb to 2,601 lb). The 1.6-liter turbo engines breathe through a 35 mm restrictor and make roughly 380 hp, running on fully sustainable fuel and Hankook tires.
The step below
WRC2 (Rally2)
WRC2 uses Rally2 cars like the Škoda Fabia RS, Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 and Citroën C3 Rally2, which are sold to private teams around the world. Drivers nominate seven events and their best six results count. There’s also a Challenger standings for crews who aren’t factory-backed.
The new top class from 2027
WRC27
From 2027 the top class switches to WRC27 rules: a spaceframe chassis using some Rally2 parts, about 300 hp, and a €345,000 cost cap. Both car makers and tuning companies can build them, and Rally2 cars can compete alongside them. The rules are set to stay for 10 years.
How a rally works
- How you win. Every crew runs the same special stages one car at a time, a minute or two apart. The stage times are added up, and the lowest total at the end wins. The road sections between stages are on open roads, where crews drive at legal speeds.
- Recce. Before each rally, crews drive the stages at low speed in road cars to write their pace notes. Recce runs on the Tuesday and Wednesday before the rally.
- Road order. On day one, crews start in championship order, so the leader sweeps the loose gravel off the road for everyone else. On later days, the order is reversed based on the rally classification.
- Points. The top 10 overall score 25, 17, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 and 1 point. Sunday’s stages are also scored as a mini rally, paying 5-4-3-2-1, and so does the final Power Stage. That means a perfect weekend is worth 35 points.
- Manufacturers. Each factory team can enter three crews, but only its top two finishers score manufacturer points.
- Rest and repairs. Crews must get at least 10 hours of rest during an event, and changing an engine after the rally starts costs a 60-minute penalty.
- Retiring and restarting. A crew that crashes out or breaks down can usually restart the next day after repairs, with a time penalty, so they can still chase Sunday and Power Stage points.
One thing that stays the same: the co-driver. Every crew is two people, and the co-driver reads the notes aloud for every corner, crest and jump, so they score their own championship.
Manufacturers With the Most WRC Titles
The manufacturers’ championship is the WRC’s original title, awarded every year since 1973. Fourteen names are on the list, and two now share the record. Peugeot is next with five, then Volkswagen with four. Here’s the top three, with links to our Toyota and Citroën pages.
10 makes’ titles
Lancia
1974–1976, 1983 6 in a row, 1987–92
Lancia won with the Stratos in the 1970s, the rear-drive 037 in 1983 and then the Delta, which won six straight titles under Group A rules from 1987 to 1992.
10 makes’ titles
Toyota
1993–2026 6 in a row, 2021–26
Toyota won in the 1990s with the Celica GT-Four and the Corolla WRC, then came back in 2017 and won in 2018 with the Yaris WRC. The GR Yaris Rally1 then won every makes’ title from 2022 to 2026, matching Lancia’s record of 10.
8 makes’ titles
Citroën
2003–2012 Xsara, C4, DS3
Citroën won three straight with the Xsara WRC from 2003 to 2005 and five more from 2008 to 2012 with the C4 and DS3, almost all of them with Sébastien Loeb leading the team.
Drivers With the Most WRC Titles
Drivers have had a world title since 1979, and two Frenchmen have taken 18 of the 48 awarded since then. Nobody else has more than four.
9 titles
Sébastien Loeb
France 9 in a row, 2004–12
Every one of Loeb’s titles came with Citroën and co-driver Daniel Elena. He also holds the record for rally wins with 80.
9 titles
Sébastien Ogier
France 2013–2025
Ogier won four with Volkswagen, two with M-Sport Ford and three with Toyota, the last in 2025, when he tied Loeb’s record. He did it with two co-drivers: Julien Ingrassia for eight titles and Vincent Landais for the ninth.
4 titles each
Juha Kankkunen and Tommi Mäkinen
Finland Tied for third
Kankkunen won with Peugeot, Lancia and Toyota between 1986 and 1993. Mäkinen won all four of his in a row for Mitsubishi, from 1996 to 1999.
Talk Rally With Other Fans
Planning a trip to Knoxville for Rally US, arguing about the new 2027 cars or still not over that last stage in Sardinia? Share it with other rally fans in the AutoGathering community.
- Rally US 2027 trip planning
- Best spectator stages
- WRC27 car debates
- Pace notes and co-driving
- Group B legends
- Rally car builds
- Rally sim setups
- Stage photos
World Rally Championship FAQ
When does the 2027 WRC season start?
The 2027 season opens with Rallye Monte-Carlo on January 21–24, 2027, and runs 15 rounds to Rally Saudi Arabia on November 25–28.
Who won the 2026 World Rally Championship?
Elfyn Evans and co-driver Scott Martin won the 2026 drivers’ and co-drivers’ titles in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, five points ahead of Oliver Solberg. Toyota won the manufacturers’ title.
Is the WRC coming to the United States?
Yes. Rally US runs August 26–29, 2027, on gravel roads in Tennessee and Kentucky, based around Knoxville. It’s the first WRC round in the US since 1988.
Who has won the most WRC titles?
Sébastien Loeb and Sébastien Ogier, with nine drivers’ titles each. Loeb won his in a row from 2004 to 2012; Ogier won his between 2013 and 2025.
Who has the most WRC rally wins?
Sébastien Loeb, with 80 wins between 2002 and 2022.
Which manufacturer has won the most WRC titles?
Lancia and Toyota, with 10 manufacturers’ titles each. Toyota tied the record in 2026. Citroën is next with eight.
How do WRC points work?
The top 10 overall score 25-17-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1. Sunday’s stages and the final Power Stage each pay 5-4-3-2-1 to the fastest five, so a perfect weekend is worth 35 points.
What cars race in the WRC?
Through 2026 the top class used 1.6-liter turbo Rally1 cars from Toyota, Hyundai and Ford. From 2027, new WRC27 cars with about 300 hp and a €345,000 cost cap take over, and Rally2 cars race in WRC2.
Explore the Rallies
Rallies run on public roads rather than permanent tracks, but our racing-circuit directory already lists several WRC events, including the Safari Rally in Kenya and the Paraguay and Chile rounds in South America. Use them to plan a trip to the stages.
Photo credits
- Header image: yrjö jyske, CC BY 2.0, cropped and resized.
- No. 33 Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 of…: TTTNIS, CC0, cropped and resized.
- No. 33 Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid…: Miloslav Rejha, CC BY 4.0, cropped and resized.
- Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid from the…: Tokumeigakarinoaoshima, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped and resized.
- Lancia Delta S4 Group B rally car…: Tennen-Gas, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped and resized.
- 1983 Audi quattro A1 Group B rally…: Gravitatas, CC0, cropped and resized.
- Colin McRae’s 1995 championship-winning Subaru Impreza 555: Cs-wolves, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped and resized.
- Sébastien Loeb’s Citroën Xsara WRC on a…: Yaamboo, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped and resized.
- No. 69 Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid…: Miloslav Rejha, CC BY 4.0, cropped and resized.
- Oliver Solberg’s Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 on…: Geonich, CC BY 4.0, cropped and resized.
- 1988–89 Lancia Delta HF Integrale 8v rally…: Albmartiniracing at Italian Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped and resized.
- Citroën Xsara WRC at Rally Australia 2004: 306maxi at English Wikipedia, Public domain, cropped and resized.
- Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena’s Citroën C4…: Jef132, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped and resized.
- Sébastien Ogier’s Volkswagen Polo R WRC on…: Harpagornis, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped and resized.
- Tommi Mäkinen’s Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III that…: TTTNIS, CC0, cropped and resized.
- Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 of Andreas Mikkelsen…: Miloslav Rejha, CC BY 4.0, cropped and resized.
- Toyota Celica GT-Four that won Rally Australia…: TTTNIS, CC0, cropped and resized.