The 2018 FIA WRC2 Championship was the sixth season of WRC2, a rallying championship organised and governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, running in support of the World Rally Championship. The championship was open to cars complying with R4, R5, and Super 2000 regulations.[1]
Pontus Tidemand and Jonas Andersson were the defending drivers' and co-drivers' champions. Škoda Motorsport were the defending teams' champions. Although Škoda Motorsport went on to win the teams' championship for the third year in a row, Jan Kopecký and Pavel Dresler succeeded for the drivers' and co-drivers' titles defeating the former champions.
Calendar
editThe championship was contested over thirteen rounds in Europe, the Middle East, the Americas and Oceania.[2]
Round | Dates | Rally | Rally headquarters | Rally details | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Start | Finish | Surface | Stages | Distance | |||
1 | 25 January | 28 January | Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo | Gap, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur[a] | Mixed[b] | 17 | 394.74 km |
2 | 15 February | 18 February | Rally Sweden | Torsby, Värmland | Snow | 19 | 314.25 km |
3 | 8 March | 11 March | Rally Guanajuato México | León, Guanajuato | Gravel | 22 | 344.49 km |
4 | 5 April | 8 April | Tour de Corse | Bastia, Haute-Corse | Tarmac | 12 | 333.48 km |
5 | 26 April | 29 April | Rally Argentina | Villa Carlos Paz, Córdoba | Gravel | 18 | 358.25 km |
6 | 17 May | 20 May | Rally de Portugal | Matosinhos, Porto | Gravel | 20 | 358.19 km |
7 | 7 June | 10 June | Rally Italia Sardegna | Alghero, Sardinia | Gravel | 20 | 313.46 km |
8 | 26 July | 29 July | Rally Finland | Jyväskylä, Keski-Suomi | Gravel | 23 | 317.26 km |
9 | 16 August | 19 August | ADAC Rallye Deutschland | Bostalsee, Saarland | Tarmac | 18 | 325.76 km |
10 | 13 September | 16 September | Marmaris Rally of Turkey | Marmaris, Muğla | Gravel | 17 | 312.44 km |
11 | 4 October | 7 October | Wales Rally GB | Deeside, Flintshire | Gravel | 23 | 318.34 km |
12 | 25 October | 28 October | RACC Rally Catalunya de España | Salou, Tarragona | Mixed[c] | 18 | 331.58 km |
13 | 15 November | 18 November | Rally Australia | Coffs Harbour, New South Wales | Gravel | 24 | 318.64 km |
Source:[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] |
Calendar changes
editThe Rally of Poland was removed from the calendar after the FIA repeatedly raised concerns about the event's safety.[12] The FIA had previously ordered a review of the event's safety standards ahead of the 2017 event, threatening to rescind the rally's World Championship status if conditions were not improved.[13]
The Rally of Poland was replaced by the Rally of Turkey, which returned to the calendar for the first time since 2010.[2] The event, which was previously based in Istanbul, return to south-western Turkey. It was based in the coastal resort town of Marmaris in Muğla Province,[14] with the route running along the Mediterranean coastline.[15]
The rallies of Great Britain and Catalunya swapped places on the schedule, with Rally Catalunya becoming the penultimate round of the championship.[2] Rallye Deutschland relocated to a new headquarters with the service park located at the Bostalsee reservoir in Saarland state.[6]
Route changes
editRallye Monte Carlo featured a heavily revised route from the 2017 event, with half the route being brand new.[5] After starting in Mexico City in 2017, Rally Mexico returned to its traditional start in Guanajuato. The route featured minor changes and included a new Power Stage.[16]
The route for the Tour de Corse was heavily revised, with only two of the seven stages being run as they were in 2017. The headquarters of the event was relocated to Bastia, which hosted the event for the first time since 1978.[17]
Organisers of the Wales Rally GB announced plans for a heavily revised route. The changes were made possible by the passage of legislation by the British government allowing public roads to be used for motorsport.[18][19]
Entries
editEligible models
editThe 2018 season saw several new car models become available for competition:
- Citroën made an R5 variation of the C3, known as the Citroën C3 R5.[20] The Citroën DS3 R5 was still eligible to compete.
- Volkswagen entered WRC2 for the first time with the Volkswagen Polo GTI R5, the replacement for the cancelled Polo R WRC project.[21]
Entry list
editThe following teams and crews were entered in the 2018 FIA WRC2 Championship:
Results and standings
editSeason summary
editScoring system
editPoints were awarded to the top ten classified finishers in each event. Six best results counted towards championship.
Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Points | 25 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
FIA WRC2 Championship for Drivers
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FIA WRC2 Championship for Co-Drivers
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FIA WRC2 Championship for Teams
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Notes
edit- ^ The rally base of the Monte Carlo Rally was located in France.
- ^ Rallye Monte Carlo was run on a tarmac and snow surface.
- ^ Rally Catalunya was run on a tarmac and gravel surface.
References
edit- ^ "2016 FIA World Rally Championship Sporting Regulations". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 9 December 2015. Archived from the original on 21 August 2016. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
- ^ a b c d "Rally Aus retains WRC finale in 2018". speedcafe.com. 22 September 2017. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
- ^ "2018 calendar revealed". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
- ^ "Rally Calendar Overview". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. Archived from the original on 29 December 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
- ^ a b "86è Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo 2018" (PDF). acm.mc (in French). Automobile Club de Monaco. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
- ^ a b "Germany". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. Archived from the original on 26 December 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
- ^ "Season 2018 WRC". ewrc-results.com. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
- ^ "Turkey reveals compact route". wrc.com. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
- ^ "2018 Dayinsure Wales Rally GB Route 1.6" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 October 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
- ^ "RallyRACC 2018 Itinerary" (PDF). rallyracc.com. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
- ^ "2018 Rally Australia" (PDF). rallyaustralia.com.au. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
- ^ Evans, David (7 August 2017). "Turkey and Croatia set for 2018 World Rally Championship calendar". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
- ^ Evans, David (30 June 2016). "Rally Poland under pressure to prove safety to ensure WRC future". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
- ^ "Rally Catalunya preview". 2017 World Rally Championship season. September 2017. WRC Promoter GmbH.
- ^ Evans, David (4 November 2017). "WRC 2018: Teams back Turkey's return after candidate event success". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
- ^ "Mexico route confirmed". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
- ^ "Tour de Corse". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
- ^ Coch, Mat (22 March 2018). "Organisers confirm extended route for Rally GB". Speedcafe. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- ^ Evans, David (16 April 2018). "FIA blocks 'radical final stage plan for 2018 WRC Rally GB". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
- ^ Evans, David (31 May 2017). "Citroen starting from scratch with WRC2 car". Autosport. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
- ^ Evans, David (24 April 2017). "Volkswagen Polo WRC to run with a privateer for first time". Autosport. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
- ^ "Rallye Monte-Carlo Entry List" (PDF). acm.mc. Automobile Club de Monaco. 12 January 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
- ^ "Rally Sweden Entry List". rallysweden.com. Rally Sweden. 16 January 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2018.[permanent dead link ]
- ^ "Rally Mexico Entry List". rallymexico.com. 22 February 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
- ^ "Corsica linea Tour de Corse 2018 Entry List" (PDF). tourdecorse.com. 15 March 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 March 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
- ^ "YPF Rally Argentina 2018 Entry List" (PDF). rallyargentina.com. 4 April 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 October 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
- ^ "Vodafone Rally de Portugal 2018 Entry List" (PDF). rallydeportugal.pt. 7 May 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 May 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
- ^ "Rally Italia Sardegna 2018 Entry List". rallyitaliasardegna.com. 17 May 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
- ^ "Rally Finland 2018 Entry List" (PDF). nesterallyfinland.fi. 29 June 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 June 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
- ^ "ADAC Rallye Deutschland 2018 Entry List" (PDF). adac-rallye-deutschland.de. ADAC Rallye Deutschland. 26 July 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
- ^ "Rally Turkey 2018 Entry List" (PDF). rallyturkey.com. 22 August 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
- ^ "Wales Rally GB 2018 Entry List" (PDF). walesrallygb.com. Wales Rally GB. 14 September 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 September 2018. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
- ^ "Rally RACC Catalunya 2018 Entry List" (PDF). rallyracc.com. 10 October 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
- ^ Evans, David. "Solberg to make WRC return in Spain". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
- ^ "Rally Australia 2018 Entry List" (PDF). rallyaustralia.com. 23 October 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2018.