2016 World Rally Championship

Sébastien Ogier, the defending drivers' champion.

The Volkswagen Polo R WRC, the car entered by defending manufacturers' champions Volkswagen Motorsport.

The 2016 World Rally Championship is the running forty-fourth 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 drivers compete in fourteen rounds—starting with the Rallye Monte Carlo in January and finishing with Rally Australia in November—for the World Rally Championships for Drivers and Manufacturers.

Sébastien Ogier started the season as the defending drivers' champion. His team, Volkswagen Motorsport, is the defending manufacturers' champions.

Calendar

The calendar was announced in November by the FIA. The season will maintain the same rallies as the 2015 championship with the addition of the China Rally and will be contested over fourteen rounds in Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Australia.

Round	Dates		Rally name	Rally headquarters	Surface	Stages	Distance
	Start	Finish
1	22 January	24 January	84ème Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo	Gap, Hautes-Alpes	Mixed	16	337.59km
2	12 February	14 February	64th Rally Sweden	Karlstad, Värmland	Snow	12	226.48km
3	4 March	6 March	30º Rally Guanajuato México	León, Guanajuato	Gravel	21	399.67km
4	22 April	24 April	36º Rally Argentina	Villa Carlos Paz, Córdoba	Gravel	18	364.68km
5	20 May	22 May	50º Rally de Portugal	Matosinhos, Porto	Gravel	19	368.00km
6	10 June	12 June	13º Rally d'Italia Sardegna	Alghero, Sardinia	Gravel
7	1 July	3 July	73rd Rally Poland	Mikołajki, Warmia-Masuria	Gravel
8	29 July	31 July	66th Rally Finland	Jyväskylä, Keski-Suomi	Gravel
9	19 August	21 August	34. ADAC Rallye Deutschland	Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate	Tarmac
10	9 September	11 September	19th China Rally	Beijing, Hebei	Tarmac
11	30 September	2 October	59ème Tour de Corse – Rallye de France	Bastia, Haute-Corse	Tarmac
12	14 October	16 October	52º Rally RACC Catalunya – Costa Daurada	Salou, Tarragona	Mixed
13	28 October	30 October	72nd Wales Rally GB	Deeside, Flintshire	Gravel
14	18 November	20 November	25th Rally Australia	Coffs Harbour, New South Wales	Gravel

Notes

• ^1  – The Rally Sweden was shortened due to warm weather conditions turning frozen roads into soft, muddy gravel and making the studded tyres unsafe to use.

Calendar changes

• Rally Australia was moved from its September date to November to become the final round of the championship.
• The calendar expanded to fourteen rounds in 2016, with the inclusion of the Rally of China, seventeen years after its only appearance as a round of the WRC.
• The Tour de Corse will relocate its headquarters from Corte to Bastia, and will feature a brand-new route.

Teams and drivers

The following teams and drivers are scheduled to compete in the World Rally Championship during the 2016 season:

World Rally Car entries eligible to score manufacturer points
Constructor	Team	Tyre	No.	Drivers	Co-drivers	Rounds
Volkswagen (Volkswagen Polo R WRC)	Volkswagen Motorsport	M	1	Sébastien Ogier	Julien Ingrassia	1–6
			2	Jari-Matti Latvala	Miikka Anttila	1–6
	Volkswagen Motorsport II	M	9	Andreas Mikkelsen	Anders Jæger	1–6
Hyundai (Hyundai i20 WRC)	Hyundai Motorsport	M	3	Thierry Neuville	Nicolas Gilsoul	1–4
				Hayden Paddon	John Kennard	5–6
			4	Dani Sordo	Marc Martí	1, 3–6
				Hayden Paddon	John Kennard	2
	Hyundai Motorsport N	M	10	Hayden Paddon	John Kennard	1
				Kevin Abbring	Sebastian Marshall	5–6
			20	Dani Sordo	Marc Martí	2
				Hayden Paddon	John Kennard	3–4
				Thierry Neuville	Nicolas Gilsoul	5–6
M-Sport (Ford Fiesta RS WRC)	M-Sport World Rally Team	M	5	Mads Østberg	Ola Fløene	1–6
			6	Eric Camilli	Nicolas Klinger	1–2
					Benjamin Veillas	3–6
	DMACK World Rally Team	D	12	Ott Tänak	Raigo Mõlder	1–6
	Jipocar Czech National Team	P	21	Martin Prokop	Jan Tománek	3, 5–6
	Yazeed Racing	P	30	Yazeed Al Rajhi	Michael Orr	2, 5–6

Major entries ineligible to score manufacturer points
Constructor	Team	Tyre	No.	Drivers	Co-drivers	Rounds
Citroën (Citroën DS3 WRC)	Abu Dhabi Total World Rally Team	M	7	Kris Meeke	Paul Nagle	1–2, 5
			8	Stéphane Lefebvre	Gabin Moreau	1, 5
			14	Khalid Al-Qassimi	Chris Patterson	2, 5
			15	Craig Breen	Scott Martin	2
	Felice Re	P	18	Felice Re	Mara Bariani	1
	Marcos Ligato	M	81	Marcos Ligato	Rubén García	4
Ford (Ford Fiesta RS WRC)	Robert Kubica	P	16	Robert Kubica	Maciek Szczepaniak	1
	Adapta Motorsport	M	16	Henning Solberg	Ilka Minor	2, 4–6
	Benito Guerra	P	16	Benito Guerra	Borja Rozada	3
	M-Sport World Rally Team	M	17	Bryan Bouffier	Victor Bellotto	1
	Jaroslav Melichárek	P	22	Jaroslav Melichárek	Erik Melichárek	5
	FWRT s.r.l.	P	37	Lorenzo Bertelli	Simone Scattolin	1–6
	Federico Della Casa	P	81	Federico Della Casa	Domenico Pozzi	6
	Roberto Tononi	P	83	Roberto Tononi	Paolo Comini	6
Mini (Mini John Cooper Works WRC)	Eurolamp World Rally Team	P	18	Valeriy Gorban	Volodymyr Korsia	4–6
			81			2–3
			82	Mait Maarend	Mihkel Kapp	6
			95			2

Constructor changes

File:2014 Rallye Deutschland by 2eight DSC1655.jpg

Citroën formally withdrew manufacturer support for the DS3 WRC at the end of the 2015 season.

• Citroën will withdraw their works team from the 2016 season in order to focus on development of their 2017 car ahead of major regulation changes for the 2017 season. However, the manufacturer remained open to contesting selected events and the Citroën DS3 WRC was still made available to privateer teams. Citroën previously withdrew formal works support for a team in 2006 when the Xsara WRC reached the end of its working life in order to focus on developing the Xsara's replacement, the C4 WRC.
• After contesting selected World Rally Championship and WRC-2 events between 2013 and 2015, Anglo-Chinese tyre manufacturer DMACK will expand to contest the full 2016 season as a manufacturer team. The team will compete with Ford Fiesta RS WRCs built and prepared by M-Sport.

Driver changes

• Elfyn Evans was dropped by M-Sport World Rally Team in favour of Mads Østberg and Eric Camilli. However he would remain with the team next season, competing in WRC-2 with all-new Ford Fiesta R5.
• Mads Østberg left Citroën to and returned to M-Sport World Rally Team, the team he competed for in 2013. He is partnered by Toyota test driver Eric Camilli, who made his World Rally Championship début after competing part-time in the WRC-2 championship throughout 2015.
• After competing part-time with Hyundai in 2015, Hayden Paddon was promoted to a full-time seat for the 2016 season. Hyundai's development driver Kevin Abbring took Paddon's place making regular appearances for the team, expanding on his four-round campaign in 2015.
• Ott Tänak left the M-Sport World Rally Team and returned to the DMACK World Rally Team, the team he drove for at selected events in 2014.

Rally summaries

Round 1 — 84ème Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo

Defending World Champion Sébastien Ogier started the season with a win in Monte Carlo, his third consecutive in the principality. Ogier and Kris Meeke fought for the rally lead until Meeke hit a rock on SS12. He managed to return to the stage finish but was forced to withdraw due to damage sustained to his gearbox. Jari-Matti Latvala retired from third after losing control of his car and running off the road, hitting a spectator, though no-one was seriously injured. Andreas Mikkelsen finished second after resisting Thierry Neuville. Only seven WRC cars reached the end of the rally after six retirements.

Round 2 — 64th Rally Sweden

The Rally Sweden was marked by the lack of snow, which forced the organization to change the rally route and cancel some of the stages that had started to thaw out, making the studded snow tyres unsafe to use. Ogier protested the event going ahead, but with the changes to the route approved by the FIA, he took to the start and went on to claim the win.

Jari-Matti Latvala was delayed by mechanical issues, suffering a broken drive shaft early in the second stage. Andreas Mikkelsen in the third Polo R WRC was Ogier's early challenger, but as the temperature started to drop and the roads started to freeze over, Hayden Paddon emerged as his biggest rival. By the third day, the roads had completely set, allowing Ogier to maintain his lead. Mads Østberg completed the podium, having taken advantage of his rivals' ongoing battles to build and sustain a margin big enough to maintain third overall.

Round 3 — 30º Rally Guanajuato México

Having scored no points in the opening rounds while Ogier took a full 58, Jari-Matti Latvala started the Rally Mexico needing to secure a strong result if he was to have any hope of mounting a bid for the World Drivers' Championship. With the running order set based on championship positions, Ogier was forced to sweep the roads clear of loose gravel, while Latvala enjoyed comparatively clean roads. He took advantage of this from the first stage, establishing an early lead that he consistently built upon throughout the first two days of the event. With the running order for the final day—which included the single longest special stage on the calendar, weighing in at eighty kilometres—based on the rally standings, Latvala's advantage was quashed, but his lead strong enough to secure his first win of the season ahead of Ogier. Hyundai's Dani Sordo finished third overall, but a late penalty handed the final podium place to Mads Østberg.

Results and standings

Season summary

Round	Event name	Winning driver	Winning co-driver	Winning manufacturer	Winning time	Report
1	84ème Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo	Sébastien Ogier	Julien Ingrassia	Volkswagen Motorsport	3:49:53.1	Report
2	61st Rally Sweden	Sébastien Ogier	Julien Ingrassia	Volkswagen Motorsport	1:59:47.4	Report
3	30º Rally Guanajuato México	Jari-Matti Latvala	Miikka Anttila	Volkswagen Motorsport	4:25:57.4	Report
4	36º Rally Argentina	Hayden Paddon	John Kennard	Hyundai Motorsport N	3:40:52.9	Report
5	50º Rally de Portugal	Kris Meeke	Paul Nagle	Abu Dhabi Total WRT	3:59:01.0	Report

FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers

Points are awarded to the top ten classified finishers. There are also three bonus points awarded to the winner of the Power stage, two points for second place and one for third.

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th
Points	25	18	15	12	10	8	6	4	2	1

Pos. Driver MON SWE MEX ARG POR ITA POL FIN DEU CHN FRA ESP GBR AUS Points 1 Sébastien Ogier 11 11 21 23 31 114 2 Andreas Mikkelsen 23 42 Ret 3 23 67 3 Mads Østberg 4 3 3 5 7 58 4 Hayden Paddon 25 2 53 11 Ret 57 5 Dani Sordo 62 6 4 42 4 56 6 Jari-Matti Latvala Ret 26 12 16 62 37 7 Kris Meeke Ret 233 1 26 8 Ott Tänak 7 5 6 15 Ret 24 9 Thierry Neuville 3 14 Ret 6 29 23 10 Eric Camilli Ret Ret 16 8 5 14 11 Stéphane Lefebvre 5 36 10 12 Martin Prokop 7 8 10 13 Henning Solberg 7 9 27 8 14 Marcos Ligato 7 6 15 Elfyn Evans 8 9 17 30 6 16 Lorenzo Bertelli Ret Ret 8 13 WD 4 17 Craig Breen 8 4 18 Teemu Suninen 12 10 9 46 3 19 Pontus Tidemand 11 9 2 20 Esapekka Lappi 9 12 2 21 Nicolás Fuchs 14 10 10 2 22 Armin Kremer 10 19 1 23 Valeriy Gorban 24 10 Ret Ret 1 Pos. Driver MON SWE MEX ARG POR ITA POL FIN DEU CHN FRA ESP GBR AUS Points

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired (Ret) Black Excluded (EX) Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Blank Withdrew entry before the event (WD) Notes: 1 2 3 – Indicate position on Power stage

FIA World Rally Championship for Co-Drivers

Points are awarded to the top ten classified finishers. There are also three bonus points awarded to the winner of the Power stage, two points for second place and one for third.

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th
Points	25	18	15	12	10	8	6	4	2	1

Pos. Co-driver MON SWE MEX ARG POR ITA POL FIN DEU CHN FRA ESP GBR AUS Points 1 Julien Ingrassia 11 11 21 23 31 114 2 Anders Jæger 23 42 Ret 3 23 67 3 Ola Fløene 4 3 3 5 7 58 4 John Kennard 25 2 53 11 Ret 57 5 Marc Martí 62 6 4 42 4 56 6 Miikka Anttila Ret 26 12 16 62 37 7 Paul Nagle Ret 233 1 26 8 Raigo Mõlder 7 5 6 15 Ret 24 9 Nicolas Gilsoul 3 14 Ret 6 29 23 10 Benjamin Veillas 16 8 5 14 11 Gabin Moreau 5 36 10 12 Jan Tomanek 7 8 10 13 Ilka Minor 7 9 27 8 14 Rubén Garcia 7 6 15 Craig Parry 8 9 17 30 6 16 Simone Scattolin Ret Ret 8 13 WD 4 17 Scott Martin 8 4 18 Mikko Markkula 12 10 9 46 3 19 Jonas Andersson 11 9 2 20 Janne Ferm 9 12 2 21 Fernando Mussano 14 10 10 2 22 Pirmin Winklhofer 10 19 1 23 Volodymyr Korsia 24 10 Ret Ret 1 Pos. Co-driver MON SWE MEX ARG POR ITA POL FIN DEU CHN FRA ESP GBR AUS Points

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired (Ret) Black Excluded (EX) Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Blank Withdrew entry before the event (WD) Notes: 1 2 3 – Indicate position on Power stage

FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers

Points are awarded to the top ten classified finishers.

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th
Points	25	18	15	12	10	8	6	4	2	1

Pos. Manufacturer No. MON SWE MEX ARG POR ITA POL FIN DEU CHN FRA ESP GBR AUS Points 1 Volkswagen Motorsport 1 1 1 2 2 2 145 2 Ret 8 1 9 5 2 Hyundai Motorsport 3 3 7 Ret 6 Ret 96 4 5 2 4 4 3 3 M-Sport World Rally Team 5 4 3 3 5 6 82 6 Ret Ret 8 7 4 4 Volkswagen Motorsport II 9 2 4 Ret 3 1 70 5 Hyundai Motorsport N 10 7 Ret 51 20 6 5 1 9 6 DMACK World Rally Team 12 6 5 6 8 Ret 30 7 Jipocar Czech National Team 21 7 7 12 8 Yazeed Racing 30 Ret 8 4 Pos. Manufacturer No. MON SWE MEX ARG POR ITA POL FIN DEU CHN FRA ESP GBR AUS Points

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired (Ret) Black Excluded (EX) Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Blank Withdrew entry before the event (WD)

External links

• Official website of the World Rally Championship