2017 World Rally Championship

Sébastien Ogier is the reigning drivers' champion.

Reigning manufacturers' champions Volkswagen Motorsport left the sport at the end of the 2016 season.

The 2017 World Rally Championship is scheduled to be the forty-fifth season of the World Rally Championship, an auto racing championship recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) as the highest class of international rallying. Teams and crews are planned to compete for the World Rally Championships for Drivers, Co-drivers and Manufacturers. Drivers are free to compete in cars complying with World Rally Car and Group R regulations; however, only Manufacturers competing with World Rally Cars would be eligible to score points in the Manufacturers' championship. The series is scheduled to be once again be supported by the WRC-2 and WRC-3 championships at every round.

The 2017 season plans to see substantial revisions to the technical regulations aimed at improving the performance of the cars and offering teams a greater degree of technical and design freedom. Toyota is expected to return to the sport as a full manufacturer team, entering the Toyota Yaris WRC, while Citroën also plans to return to full-time competition after contesting a partial campaign in 2016, while Volkswagen withdrew from the championship at the end of the 2016 season.

Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia are the reigning World Drivers' and Co-drivers' Champions, after securing their fourth World Championship titles at the 52º Rally Catalunya.^[1] Their team, Volkswagen Motorsport, are the reigning World Manufacturers' Champions, having secured their fourth title at the 72nd Wales Rally GB.^[2][3]

List of planned events

A provisional calendar was announced in September 2016 by the FIA,^[4] with the final version published in November.^[5] The season is due to be contested over thirteen rounds in Europe, North and South America and Australia.

Nations which are scheduled to host a rally in 2017 are highlighted in green, with rally headquarters marked by a black dot.

Round	Dates		Rally name	Rally headquarters	Surface
	Start	Finish
1	20 January	22 January	85ème Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo	Gap, Hautes-Alpes	Mixed
2	10 February	12 February	65th Rally Sweden	Karlstad, Värmland	Snow
3	10 March	12 March	31º Rally Guanajuato México	León, Guanajuato	Gravel
4	7 April	9 April	60ème Tour de Corse – Rallye de France	Bastia, Haute-Corse	Tarmac
5	28 April	30 April	37º Rally Argentina	Villa Carlos Paz, Córdoba	Gravel
6	19 May	21 May	51º Rally de Portugal	Matosinhos, Porto	Gravel
7	9 June	11 June	14º Rally d'Italia Sardegna	Alghero, Sardinia	Gravel
8	30 June	2 July	74th Rally Poland	Mikołajki, Warmia-Masuria	Gravel
9	28 July	30 July	67th Rally Finland	Jyväskylä, Keski-Suomi	Gravel
10	18 August	20 August	35. ADAC Rallye Deutschland	Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate	Tarmac
11	6 October	8 October	53º Rally RACC Catalunya – Costa Daurada	Salou, Tarragona	Mixed
12	27 October	29 October	73rd Wales Rally GB	Deeside, Flintshire	Gravel
13	17 November	19 November	26th Rally Australia	Coffs Harbour, New South Wales	Gravel
Source:[4][5][6]

Calendar changes

• The FIA re-organised the calendar to include a greater variation in surfaces between events, bringing the Tour de Corse forward from October to April.^[4][7] The decision was made after concerns were expressed about the 2016 calendar, which originally contained six consecutive gravel events followed by four tarmac rallies.^[8]
• The FIA put the Rallies of Argentina and Poland on notice regarding safety concerns, threatening to rescind their World Championship status for the 2017 season unless safety standards were improved in 2016.^[9][10][11] Both events were subsequently included on the calendar.^[4][5]
• Following its cancellation in 2016, the Rally of China was removed from the calendar.^[4]
• Proposals from fourteen new and established rallies across Europe, the Middle East and Asia were submitted to the FIA for accreditation as World Championship or candidature rounds with a view to expanding the calendar.^[12][13] The expansion was first touted after FIA President Jean Todt expressed concerns that the championship was too heavily focused on European events, with just three of the thirteen rallies held as part of the 2016 season being run outside Europe.^[13]

Entries

The following teams and drivers are scheduled to compete in the World Rally Championship during the 2017 season:

World Rally Car entries eligible to score manufacturer points
Constructor	Team	Tyres	No.	Drivers	Co-drivers	Rounds
Citroën (Citroën C3 WRC)	Citroën World Rally Team[14][15]	TBA	TBA	Khalid Al Qassimi[16]	TBA	TBA
			TBA	Craig Breen[16]	Scott Martin[16]	TBA
			TBA	Stéphane Lefebvre[16]	TBA	TBA
			TBA	Kris Meeke[16]	Paul Nagle[17]	TBA
Hyundai (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)	Hyundai World Rally Team[18]	TBA	TBA	Thierry Neuville[19]	Nicolas Gilsoul[20]	TBA
			TBA	Hayden Paddon[18]	John Kennard[18]	TBA
			TBA	Dani Sordo[21]	TBA	TBA
M-Sport (Ford Fiesta RS WRC)	DMACK World Rally Team[22]	D	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA
			TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA
	M-Sport World Rally Team[23]	TBA	TBA	Eric Camilli[24]	TBA	TBA
			TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA
Toyota (Toyota Yaris WRC)	Toyota GAZOO Racing[25][26][27]	M	TBA	Juho Hänninen[28]	Kaj Lindström[28]	TBA
			TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA
			TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA
Source:[24]

Constructor changes

Citroën plans to return to full-time competition in 2017.

• Citroën announced their intention to return to the sport with a fully factory-supported team after competing part-time in 2016 to focus on the development of their 2017-generation car.^[14] The DS3 WRC is to be retired from competition and succeeded by the C3 WRC, a brand-new car based on the Citroën C3.^[15] The decision to re-enter the World Rally Championship is scheduled to coincide with Citroën withdrawing its factory support for the Citroën C-Elysée WTCC and its World Touring Car Championship programme.^[29]
• Hyundai plan to return to entering a three-door variant of the i20 WRC, known as the i20 Coupe WRC,^[30][31] having used the five-door model in competition throughout the 2016 season.^[32] The team had previously used a three-door model in 2014 and 2015 before being forced to adopt the five-door model in 2016 for logistical reasons.^[32] However, the team considered the three-door model to be better-suited to competition, and developed the i20 Coupe WRC around it.^[30]
• Toyota announced their plans to return to the sport after eighteen years.^[25] The Japanese manufacturer is scheduled to enter the brand-new Toyota Yaris WRC under the banner of Toyota GAZOO Racing.^[26] The development and operation of the cars is overseen by four-time World Drivers' Champion Tommi Mäkinen.^[33] Toyota last competed in the sport as a factory-supported team between 1997 and 1999 with the Corolla WRC before withdrawing ahead of the 2000 season to focus on its Formula One project.
• Volkswagen withdrew from the championship at the end of the 2016 season, with the company cancelling the Polo R WRC programme in light of the emissions scandal that broke in 2015.^[3] The 2016 specification of the Polo R WRC was retired from competition, while the 2017 model was abandoned in favour of a Polo rally car built to R5 regulations and scheduled for introduction in 2018.^[3]

Team changes

• DMACK World Rally Team is scheduled to expand to enter a second car for the 2017 season.^[22]

Crew changes

• Juho Hänninen signed a deal to return to the championship, driving for Toyota.^[28] Hänninen last contested the championship on a regular basis with Hyundai in 2014 before joining Toyota as a development driver. Hänninen will switch co-drivers, with Kaj Lindström replacing Tomi Tuominen.^[28]
• Kris Meeke and co-driver Paul Nagle signed for a full-time drive with Citroën.^[16] Craig Breen and Scott Martin are planned to share a car with Stéphane Lefebvre between events—as they did in 2016—but are scheduled to contest the full season once a third C3 WRC becomes available.^[16]
• As a result of Volkswagen's decision to cancel their World Rally Championship programme, Volkswagen Motorsport's three crews—Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia, Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila, and Andreas Mikkelsen and Anders Jæger—left the team.^[3]

Regulation changes

Technical regulations

Cars that competed between 2011 and 2016—such as this Mini John Cooper Works WRC—are still eligible to compete in 2017.

• The sport underwent a revision of the technical regulations for 2017, introducing a variety of changes aimed at improving aerodynamic and mechanical grip,^[34] with modelling suggesting that average stage speeds is expected to increase to the point where stage records could be broken by up to thirty seconds and drawing comparisons to the defunct Group B regulations.^[35][36]
  • An increase in the engine's power output from 300 bhp (223.7 kW) to 380 bhp (283.4 kW), the equivalent of a TC1-specification World Touring Car Championship engine.^[36][37]
  • The introduction of a larger turbo restrictor, increasing from 33mm in 2016 to 36mm in 2017; however, the maximum allowable turbo pressure will remain fixed at 2.5 bar absolute.^[38]
  • A reduction in the overall weight of the car, cutting 25 kg (55.1 lb) from the monocoque.^[34][36]
  • An increase in the overhang of the front and rear bumpers, and increases in the size of the door sills, door pillars and the fixed rear wing, allowing for the inclusion of additional aerodynamic aids.^[34] However, the bodywork of the 2017 model must be able to cover the bodywork of the 2016 model of car.^[39]
  • Deregulation of the rules governing the rear diffuser to allow manufacturers to develop a wider range of aerodynamic shapes.^[34]
  • Deregulation of the rules governing the wheel arches, allowing the introduction of additional brake cooling ducts.^[39]
  • The reintroduction of an active centre differential for the first time since the 2010 season.^[35]
  • The introduction of an electronic differential for the first time in the sport.^[40]
• Homologation requirements were relaxed to allow any production car that is at least 3.9 m (12.8 ft) long to be eligible for recognition as a World Rally Car.^[38] The design of the car was finalised by September 2016 and submitted for homologation by 1 November 2016.^[41]

Sporting regulations

• The points-scoring system for the World Championship for Manufacturers was changed, with manufacturers permitted to enter at least two and as many as three crews in each round, with the best two results being awarded points.^[4]
• A new privateers' championship to be known as the WRC Trophy is scheduled to be contested for crews entering World Rally Cars used between 2011 and 2016.^[4][42][43] Crews competing in the WRC Trophy will nominate seven rounds at which they will be eligible to score points, with their six best results counting towards their final points tally.^[43]
• The FIA plans to exercise stricter controls over which drivers are eligible to compete in 2017-specification cars by only permitting registered manufacturers to enter 2017-specification cars.^[4][6] The rule is planned to be introduced as a response to concerns over inexperienced drivers and drivers paying for the opportunity to race from being able to compete in the more powerful 2017 cars without oversight.^[44] The controls stop short of a licensing system similar to the one used in Formula One to allow experienced guest drivers to compete part-time.^[45]
• The rules governing the running order—the order in which crews enter a stage—will revert back to the system used in 2014 to address concerns over road sweeping,^[46] whereby championship leaders were forced to clear the roads of loose gravel, costing them time and exposing the harder-packed and faster road base for following drivers to take advantage of. Under the reintroduced rules, the crews will enter a stage in championship order for the first day of competition, and then in reverse championship order for the remaining legs of the event.^[47]

References

External links

• Official website of the World Rally Championship