2014_FIA_World_Rally_Championship

2014 World Rally Championship

2014 World Rally Championship

42nd season of the World Rally Championship


The 2014 FIA World Rally Championship was the 42nd season of the World Rally Championship, a rallying championship recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile as the highest class of international rallying. Teams and drivers contested thirteen rallies across four continents, competing for the FIA World Rally Championships for Drivers and Manufacturers. The WRC-2, WRC-3 and Junior WRC championships all ran in support of the premier championship.

Sébastien Ogier successfully defended the World Drivers' Championship title.
The Volkswagen Polo R WRC, car entered by Volkswagen Motorsport, who successfully defended World Manufacturers' Championship title.

The 2014 season saw Hyundai return to the championship as a manufacturer for the first time since the 2003 season.[1] The Rally of Poland returned to the calendar after a five-year absence, replacing the Acropolis Rally.[2]

Sébastien Ogier and his team, Volkswagen Motorsport, secured both Drivers and Manufacturers title for a second consecutive time. Ogier secured the title with a round to spare by winning in Rally de Catalunya, Ogier's teammate Jari-Matti Latvala and Volkswagen Motorsport II's Andreas Mikkelsen finished the championship in second and third.[3] The Citroën World Rally Team was second at the Manufacturers' Championship.

Calendar

The 2014 calendar was announced at a meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Croatia on 27 September 2013.[4] The 2014 championship was contested over thirteen rounds in Europe, the Americas and Oceania.

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Calendar changes

  • Rally Australia and Rally New Zealand abandoned the event-sharing arrangement established in 2008 that saw each event host a round of the championship every other year. After hosting an event in 2013, Rally Australia remains on the calendar throughout 2014 and 2015 before the arrangement is due to be renegotiated.[2]
  • The Rallye Monte Carlo relocated its base from Valence in the French province of Rhône-Alpes to the town of Gap in the neighbouring province of Hautes-Alpes.[5]
  • The 2014 calendar saw the Rally of Poland return to the championship for the first time since 2009.[2] The event also crossed the border into Lithuania for one day of competition.[4] Its inclusion came at the expense of the Acropolis Rally, which was removed after struggling with its financial obligations to the championship. The Acropolis Rally later moved to the European Rally Championship for the 2014 season.[6] The rallies of Brazil and China had also been considered for inclusion on the WRC calendar before the FIA approved of the Rally of Poland.[7][8]

Teams and drivers

Hyundai returned to the WRC in 2014, competing with the i20 WRC.

The following teams and drivers are scheduled to compete in the World Rally Championship during the 2014 season:

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Team changes

Driver changes

Changes

  • Pirelli will return to the World Rally Championship as a tyre supplier in 2014, joining existing suppliers Michelin, DMACK and Hankook.[48] Pirelli was previously the exclusive supplier for the championship from 2008 to 2010.
  • The rules governing the running order for a day's stages will change in 2014, after the FIA expressed dissatisfaction with the qualifying stage format introduced in 2012, whereby the fastest drivers during the event shakedown were given the opportunity to choose their starting position for the rally as a means of discouraging drivers from stopping on a stage in order to gain a more-favourable starting position the next day.[49] The final format was decided upon at the December 2013 meeting of the World Motor Sport Council, with WRC and WRC-2 drivers starting in their provisional championship classification for the first day of the rally, before starting the second and third days in reverse order of the provisional rally classification. Cars that have retired on one day and are restarting the next under Rally-2 regulations will be placed after the WRC and WRC-2 driver groups.[50]
  • Manufacturers will no longer be required to nominate one permanent driver for the season, but will instead be obliged to nominate one driver for a minimum of ten events, leaving them free to rotate drivers through the remaining events as they so choose.[50]
  • Rallies must now follow a fixed format. There will be a ceremonial start on Thursday, with the last stage run as the Power Stage. The length of the Power Stage must be at least ten kilometers.[50]
  • All competitors registered in the Championships–WRC, WRC-2, WRC-3 and the Junior WRC—will be obliged to use a colour-coded windscreen sticker to distinguish its category.[50]

Rally summaries

Round 1 — Monte-Carlo Rally

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The first round of the season was run in difficult conditions, with heavy rain making for a slippery surface and low visibility. Former Formula One driver Robert Kubica took an early lead, but fell behind on the first leg when he made the wrong tyre choice. French privateer Bryan Bouffier – who won the event in 2011, when it was a round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge – took control and led the field at the end of the first day. Bouffier came under pressure from reigning World Champion Sébastien Ogier on the second day, and ultimately lost the lead when he spun during the afternoon stages, whilst Kubica crashed out. Ogier's rally was not without incident, with the Volkswagen driver surviving several close encounters with walls as he tried to recover from a poor start. Ogier went on to win the rally by over a minute, with Bouffier second and Kris Meeke finishing third. Hyundai's return to the World Rally Championship started and ended poorly as Thierry Neuville crashed heavily on the first stage and teammate Dani Sordo was forced to retire with a suspected electrical fault.

Round 2 – Rally Sweden

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Round 3 – Rally Mexico

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Round 4 — Rally de Portugal

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WRC leader Sébastien Ogier was the first on the road in the first leg, but his disadvantage was decreased since in the days before the rally it rained, and the Algarve roads were a combination of dry and a little moist tracks, which led to difficulties for drivers to choose the right tire compound. Sébastien Ogier led the rally since Lisbon SSS until the last stage of the first leg (SS7), finishing behind Mikko Hirvonen (1st) and Ott Tänak. In the middle Dani Sordo was in the lead after winning SS2 and SS3 with his Hyundai i20 WRC. In the 2nd leg Sébastien Ogier imposed a demonic pace retaking the lead and quickly pulled out of Mikko Hirvonen. Mads Østberg finished in the podium last place. Dani Sordo after a promising start, retired at the beginning of the last day (due to mechanical when he was heading do start SS14) when he was in overall fourth place. This rally was marked by the high number of crashes between the top drivers: Jari-Matti Latvala, Kris Meeke, Elfyn Evans and Robert Kubica (who would crash again in 2nd leg).

Round 5 — Rally Argentina

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Round 6 – Rally Italia Sardegna

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Round 7 – Rally Poland

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Round 8 – Rally Finland

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Round 9 – Rallye Deutschland

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Round 10 – Rally Australia

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Round 11 – Rallye de France Alsace

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Round 12 – Rally Catalunya

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Round 13 – Wales Rally GB

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Notes:

  • ^1 – The Monte Carlo Rally was shortened when a competitor stopped on Stage 14, blocking traffic and forcing organisers to abandon the stage.
  • ^2 – The Rally Sweden was shortened when a computer error disabled the timing system, preventing one of the stages from being run.

Results and standings

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.

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FIA World Rally Championship for Co-Drivers

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FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers

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References

  1. Evans, David (17 December 2012). "Hyundai World Rally Car makes European test debut". Autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  2. Evans, David (25 September 2013). "Greece set to lose WRC slot to Poland in 13-round 2014 calendar". Autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  3. "Ogier and Ingrassia win the title in style". FIA.com. FIA.com. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  4. "2014 WRC calendar revealed". WRC.com. 27 September 2013. Archived from the original on 23 January 2014. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
  5. "Rallye Monte Carlo heads home for Ogier". WRC.com. 9 July 2013. Archived from the original on 7 December 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  6. Evans, David (7 November 2013). "Acropolis Rally secures ERC slot for 2014". Autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  7. Evans, David (29 May 2013). "2014 WRC calendar set to be confirmed in June". Autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  8. Evans, David (10 July 2013). "Poland leads race as World Rally Championship plans new 2014 event". Autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  9. Burrows, Gus (20 June 2013). "Volkswagen halt 2014 development to ensure WRC future". SpeedCafe.com. Archived from the original on 2013-06-22. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  10. "Rallye Monte Carlo 2014 Entry List" (PDF). ACM.mc. Automobile Club Monte Carlo. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  11. "Mikkelsen replaces co-driver Markkula". WRC.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 15 May 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  12. Evans, David (12 July 2013). "Kris Meeke eyes 2014 Citroen WRC chance". Autosport.com. Hayparket Publications. Retrieved 13 July 2013. Citroen team principal Yves Matton confirmed to AUTOSPORT that he will run Al-Qassimi and two frontline drivers next season.
  13. "Kris Meeke, Mads Østberg and Khalid al Qassimi to compete for Citroën Racing in 2014". Citroen-WRC.com. Citroën Racing. 9 December 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-12-09. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  14. "Rally Sweden Entries". Rallysweden.com. Archived from the original on 2013-02-16. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  15. "Youth and experience: M-Sport confirm Hirvonen and Evans for 2014". M-Sport.co.uk. M-Sport.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2013-12-13. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  16. Beer, Matt (13 December 2013). "Robert Kubica commits to 2014 WRC with M-Sport". Autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  17. "Prokop confirms 2014 WRC programme". M-Sport.co.uk. Crash.net. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  18. "Prokop back with former co-driver". WRC.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  19. "Neuville signs with Hyundai for 2014". WRC.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. Archived from the original on 20 August 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  20. "Twitter: "I am very happy to be part of this exciting Hyundai WRC project."". HyundaiWRC. Twitter.com. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  21. "Hyundai adds Hänninen". WRC.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. Archived from the original on 4 November 2016. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
  22. "Rally Mexico Entry List" (PDF). Rallymexico.com. Rallymexico.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-02-21. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  23. "Paddon Joins Hyundai Line-up". WRC.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
  24. "Hyundai Goes large in Portugal". WRC.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
  25. "Hyundai N team to debut with Sordo". WRC.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  26. "ADAC Rallye Deutschland Entry List". www.adac-rallye-deutschland.de. www.adac-rallye-deutschland.de. Archived from the original on 2014-08-12. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  27. "Citroën Racing continues its involvement in rallying". CitroenRacing.com. Citroën Racing. 16 December 2013. Archived from the original on 18 December 2013. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  28. "Rallye de France Entry List" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 September 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  29. "Rallye de France Start List" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  30. "Rally Sweden 2014 Entry List" (PDF). rallysweden.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 January 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  31. "Ott Tanak back in WRC in 2014". Crash.Net. Crash.Net. Archived from the original on 8 March 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
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  33. "RallyRACC Entry List" (PDF). Retrieved 3 October 2014.
  34. Evans, David (3 January 2014). "Craig Breen and Pontus Tidemand get WRC Fords for Rally Sweden". Autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  35. "Lista zgłoszeń LOTOS 71st Rally Poland - Rajd Polski" (PDF). Rally Poland. Polski Związek Motorowy. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  36. "Draft Entry List — Neste Oil Rally Finland 2014" (PDF). Rally Finland. AKK Sports. 14 July 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  37. "entry list - Wales Rally GB" (PDF). Wales Rally GB. International Motor Sports Ltd. 21 October 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 October 2014. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  38. "Rally Australia Entry List" (PDF). rallyaustralia.com.au/wrc-notice-board/. rallyaustralia.com.au. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-09-03. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  39. Evans, David (24 September 2013). "Citroen rules out customer WRC cars for 2014". Autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  40. "Citroen to enter WTCC with Loeb". Autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. 25 June 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
  41. "Citroen names C-Elysée for WTCC campaign". World Touring Car Championship. Kigema Sport Organisation. 24 July 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  42. "Hyundai hands Hayden Paddon WRC lifeline". Speedcafe.com. 27 February 2014. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
  43. "Hyundai". World Rally Archive. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  44. Evans, David (10 December 2013). "WRC – Hyundai sign Sordo and Atkinson for 2014". Eurosport.com. Yahoo!. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
  45. Kabanovsky, Aleksander (25 December 2013). "Evgeny Novikov to skip 2014 World Rally Championship season". Autosport Russian Edition. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
  46. Elizalde, Pablo (1 August 2013). "Pirelli to return to the World Rally Championship in 2014". Autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  47. Evans, David (15 August 2013). "FIA wants to tweak running order rules in the WRC". Autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  48. "World Motorsport Council December". FIA.com. FIA.com. Retrieved 4 December 2013.

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