The 2019 FIA WRC2 Championship was the seventh 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 is open to cars complying with R5 regulations.[ 1]
The 2019 season saw the creation of a new category within the championship, known as WRC2 Pro .[ 2] [ 3] This was open to manufacturer entries competing in cars built to R5 specifications, while the wider WRC2 Championship was open to privately entered cars .
Calendar
A map showing the locations of the rallies in the 2019 championship. Event headquarters are marked with a black dot.
The championship was contested over fourteen rounds in Europe, the Middle East, North and South America, and Australia.[ 2]
Round
Dates
Rally
Rally headquarters
Rally details
Start
Finish
Surface
Stages
Distance
1
24 January
27 January
Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo
Gap , Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur [ a]
Mixed[ b]
16[ c]
323.83 km
2
14 February
17 February
Rally Sweden
Torsby , Värmland
Snow
19
316.80 km
3
7 March
10 March
Rally Guanajuato México
León , Guanajuato
Gravel
21
316.51 km
4
28 March
31 March
Tour de Corse
Bastia , Corsica
Tarmac
14
347.51 km
5
25 April
28 April
Rally Argentina
Villa Carlos Paz , Córdoba
Gravel
18[ d]
347.50 km
6
9 May
12 May
Rally Chile
Concepción , Biobío
Gravel
16
304.81 km
7
30 May
2 June
Rally de Portugal
Matosinhos , Porto
Gravel
20[ e]
311.47 km
8
13 June
16 June
Rally Italia Sardegna
Alghero , Sardinia
Gravel
19
310.52 km
9
1 August
4 August
Rally Finland
Jyväskylä , Central Finland
Gravel
23
307.58 km
10
22 August
25 August
ADAC Rallye Deutschland
Bostalsee , Saarland
Tarmac
19
344.04 km
11
12 September
15 September
Rally of Turkey
Marmaris , Muğla
Gravel
17
318.77 km
12
3 October
6 October
Wales Rally GB
Llandudno , Conwy
Gravel
22[ f]
312.75 km
13
24 October
27 October
RACC Rally Catalunya de España
Salou , Catalonia
Mixed[ g]
17
325.56 km
14
14 November
17 November
Rally Australia
Coffs Harbour , New South Wales
Gravel
Cancelled [ h]
Source: [ 2] [ 5] [ 6]
Calendar expansion
Following the return of Rally Turkey to the championship in 2018, the FIA announced plans to expand the calendar to fourteen rounds in 2019 with the long-term objective of running sixteen championship events. Twelve prospective bids for events were put together,[ 7] including candidate events in New Zealand , Japan and Chile .[ 8] Prospective events in Kenya , Croatia , Canada and Estonia expressed interest in joining the calendar within five years.[ 9] [ 10] [ 11] [ 12]
The planned expansion put pressure on European rounds to maintain their position on the calendar as teams were unwilling to contest sixteen events immediately. The Tour de Corse and Rally Italia Sardegna proved to be unpopular among teams for the logistical difficulties of travelling to Corsica and Sardinia and low spectator attendance at the events.[ 7] [ 13] Organisers of Rally Japan reached an agreement with the sport's promoter to host a rally in 2019, with the proposed event moving from Sapporo on the island of Hokkaido to Toyota City in Honshu .[ 14] However, plans to return to Japan were abandoned when the promoter came under pressure to retain the Tour de Corse.[ 15]
The proposed events in Japan and Kenya ran candidate events in 2019 in a bid to join the championship in 2020 .[ 16] [ 17] Both were successful in secure a place on the 2020 calendar. The calendar published in October 2018 included Rally Chile as part of the expansion to fourteen rounds.[ 2] The event was based in Concepción and ran on gravel roads.[ 18]
Route changes
The route of Rallye Monte Carlo was shortened by 70.91 km (44.1 mi) compared to the 2018 route .[ 19] The route was revised after rule changes that were introduced for the 2019 championship limited the maximum distance of a route to 350 km (217.5 mi).[ 2] Organisers of the Tour de Corse announced plans for a new route, with up to three-quarters of the 2019 route being revised from the 2018 rally .[ 16] Rally de Portugal was also shortened by 46.72 km (29.0 mi) compared to the 2018 route .[ 20]
Entries
In accordance with the 2019 regulations, all crews in WRC2 were required to register as independent entrants. Teams were still allowed to be present, but only to prepare the car for the driver.[ 1]
Manufacturer
Team
Car
Tyre
Crew details
Driver name
Co-driver name
Rounds
Citroën
CHL Sport Auto
Citroën C3 R5
M
Yoann Bonato
Benjamin Boulloud
1, 4
Citroën Total
M
Guillaume De Mévius
Martijn Wydaeghe
1, 4, 7–8, 10, 12–13
G.Car Sport Racing
P
Tamara Molinaro
Lorenzo Granai
2
Citroën Monster Procircuit Rally Team
M
Benjamín Israel
Marcelo Der Ohannesian
6
Vincente Israel
Matías Ramos
6
Samuel Israel
Nicolás García
6
Rosselot Rally Team
M
Eduardo Castro
Julio Echazu
6
Citroën Vodafone Team
P
José Pedro Fontes
Inês Ponte
7
Saintéloc Junior Team
M
Eric Camilli
Benjamin Veillas
13
MRT Motorsport
Citroën DS3 R5
M
Germán Lyon
Ignacio Uez
6
Volkswagen
Kristoffersson Motorsport
Volkswagen Polo GTI R5
M
Ole Christian Veiby
Jonas Andersson
1–2, 4, 7–8, 12–13
P
Johan Kristoffersson
Stig Rune Skjærmoen
2, 9
THX Racing
M
Nicolas Ciamin
Yannick Roche
1, 4, 10
Printsport
M
Emil Lindholm
Mikael Korhonen
2, 9, 13
Lars Stugemo
Kalle Lexe
2
BMA Autosport
M
Eric Camilli
François-Xavier Buresi
4
Alberto Heller
José Díaz
12
P
Stéphane Lefebvre
Thomas Dubois
10
Sebastian Schwinn
Felix Griebel
10
Lotos Rally Team
P
Kajetan Kajetanowicz
Maciek Szczepaniak
4–6, 10, 12–13
Racing 4 You
M
Pedro Meireles
Mário Castro
7
PSRX Volkswagen Sweden
P
Oliver Solberg
Aaron Johnston
12
Petter Solberg
Phil Mills
12
AR Vidal Racing
P
Nil Solans
Marc Martí
13
Ford
M-Sport Ford World Rally Team
Ford Fiesta R5
M
Adrien Fourmaux
Renaud Jamoul
1, 4, 10, 12
Pedro Heller
Pablo Olmos
3
Marc Martí
5–6
Alberto Heller
José Díaz
3, 5–7
Felipe Rossi
Luis Allende
6
P
Emil Bergkvist
Patrik Barth
2, 7
"Pedro" [ i]
Emanuele Baldaccini
4, 7
Nil Solans
Marc Martí
4, 8
Tommi Mäkinen Racing
P
Takamoto Katsuta
Daniel Barritt
2, 4–8
Castrol Ford Team Türkiye
P
Murat Bostanci
Onur Vatansever
11
Bugra Banaz
Burak Erdener
11
Tommi Mäkinen Racing
Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II
P
Takamoto Katsuta
Daniel Barritt
9
M-Sport Ford World Rally Team
P
"Pedro"
Emanuele Baldaccini
10–11
Jan Solans
Mauro Barreiro
13
M
Gaurav Gill
Glenn MacNeall
11–12, 14
Adrien Fourmaux
Renaud Jamoul
13
Alberto Heller
José Díaz
13
Škoda
BMA Autosport
Škoda Fabia R5
M
Grégoire Munster [ j]
Louis Louka
1, 9
Brettex Site Services
P
Rhys Yates
Denis Giraudet
1
James Morgan
2, 4, 7, 10
Sportec Engineering
P
Manuel Villa
Daniele Michi
1
Toksport World Rally Team
M
Henning Solberg
Ilka Minor
2, 7, 11–12
Yigit Timur
Maxime Vilmot
2
P
Eyvind Brynildsen
Veronica Engan
2
Sports Racing Technologies
P
Nikolay Gryazin
Yaroslav Fedorov
2
M
4, 7–10
Printsport
M
Jari Huttunen
Antti Linnaketo
2
Tomi Tukiainen
Mikko Pohjanharju
9
Brink Motorsport
P
Martin Berglund
Joakim Gevert
2
Max Rpm
P
Patrik Flodin
Göran Bergsten
2
Pontus Tidemand Racing
P
Mattias Monelius
Nicklas Edvardsson
2
SMK Sundsvall
P
Anton Eriksson
Lars Andersson
2
SXM Compétition
P
Joakim Roman
Ida Lidebjer
2
M
Sébastien Bedoret
Thomas Walbrecq
4
Race Seven
M
Benito Guerra
Jamie Zapata
3, 5–7
P
Marco Bulacia
Fabian Cretu
11–14
RB Motorsport
8
Free Rally Service
M
3
2C Competition
M
Pierre-Louis Loubet
Vincent Landais
4, 7–8
Motorsport Italia
P
Fabio Andolfi
Simone Scattolin
4, 8, 10, 13–14
Emanuele Inglesi
11–12
Paulo Nobre
Gabriel Morales
5–6, 9, 11–13
M
Diogo Salvi
Hugo Magalhães
11
Sport & You
Paulo Babo
7
P
Miguel Barbosa
Jorge Carvalho
7
Susaron Rally Team
M
Emilio Fernández
Joaquin Riquelme
6
CB Tech Rally by Škoda
M
Jorge Martínez
Alberto Alvarez
6
Alejandro Cancio
Santiago García
6
Cristóbal Vidaurre
Rubén García
6
ARC Sport
M
Ricardo Teodósio
José Teixeira
7
Pedro Almeida
Nuno Almeida
7
TGS Worldwide
P
Eerik Pietarinen
Juhana Raitanen
7
P&B Racing
M
António Dias
Nuno Rodrigues da Silva
7
Lotos Rally Team
P
Kajetan Kajetanowicz
Maciek Szczepaniak
8, 11
BC Vision Motorsport
P
Burak Cukurova
Vedat Bostanci
11
Deniz Fahri
Bahadir Gücenmez
11
Bora Manyera
Çem Cerkez
11
Calm Competició
M
José Antonio Suarez
Alberto Iglesias
13
2C Competition
Škoda Fabia R5 Evo
M
Pierre-Louis Loubet
Vincent Randais
9, 12–14
Toksport World Rally Team
M
Henning Solberg
Ilka Minor
9
SXM Compétition
M
Sébastien Bedoret
Thomas Walbrecq
10
Škoda Auto Deutschland
M
Marijan Griebel
Pirmin Winklhofer
10
P
Fabian Kreim
Tobias Braun
10
Race Seven
M
Benito Guerra
Daniel Cué
12
Jamie Zapata
13–14
Sports Racing Technologies
M
Nikolay Gryazin
Yaroslav Fedorov
13
Hyundai
HMI Hyundai Italian Rally Team
Hyundai i20 R5
P
"Pedro" [ i]
Emanuele Baldaccini
1
Hyundai Motorsport N
P
Simone Tempestini
Sergio Itu
4, 7–8, 10, 12–13
Jari Huttunen
Antti Linnaketo
7
Mikko Lukka
9
Point Cola Racing
M
Martín Scuncio
Javiera Roman
6
Tomás Etcheverry
Sebastián Vera
6
Team Hyundai Portugal
M
Armindo Araújo
Luis Ramalho
7
Bruno Magalhães
Hugo Magalhães
7
Sarrazin Motorsport
P
Dominik Dinkel
Christina Fürst
10
Melvyn Evans Motorsport
P
Rhys Yates
James Morgan
12–13
Peugeot
Peugeot Sport Chile
Peugeot 208 T16 R5
M
Francisco López
Nicolás Levalle
6
Source: [ 21] [ 22] [ 23] [ 24] [ 25] [ 26] [ 27] [ 28] [ 29] [ 30]
Crew changes
Daniel Barritt left the M-Sport World Rally Team to partner Toyota protégé Takamoto Katsuta .[ 31]
Changes
The formation of the WRC2 Pro championship saw the introduction of changes to eligibility. The Pro category was open to manufacturer-supported entries, with teams permitted to enter two crews per event. Pro entries must contest a minimum of eight rallies, including one outside Europe. Only the eight best results will contribute to the Pro championship. Crews contesting the wider WRC2 will not face any such restrictions.[ 32]
The team's championship of the wider WRC2 was discontinued. Entrants in the championship were required to register under the name of the crew's driver.[ 1]
Results and standings
Season summary
Scoring system
Points were awarded to the top ten classified finishers in each event.
Position
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
10th
Points
25
18
15
12
10
8
6
4
2
1
Drivers' standings
Key
Colour
Result
Gold
Winner
Silver
2nd place
Bronze
3rd place
Green
Points finish
Blue
Non-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple
Did not finish (Ret)
Black
Excluded (EX)
Disqualified (DSQ)
White
Did not start (DNS)
Cancelled (C)
Blank
Withdrew entry from the event (WD)
Co-drivers' standings
Key
Colour
Result
Gold
Winner
Silver
2nd place
Bronze
3rd place
Green
Points finish
Blue
Non-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple
Did not finish (Ret)
Black
Excluded (EX)
Disqualified (DSQ)
White
Did not start (DNS)
Cancelled (C)
Blank
Withdrew entry from the event (WD)
References
^ a b c "2019 WRC Sporting Regulations" (PDF) . Retrieved 1 February 2019 .
^ a b c d e "FIA announces World Motor Sport Council decisions" . fia.com . Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . 12 October 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2018 .
^ Herrero, Daniel (13 October 2018). "Australia remains finale on 2019 WRC calendar" . speedcafe.com . Speedcafe . Retrieved 13 October 2018 .
^ Howard, Tom (12 November 2019). "UPDATE: Rally Australia cancelled due to bushfires" . speedcafe.com . Speedcafe . Retrieved 12 November 2019 .
^ "Rally Calendar Overview" . wrc.com . WRC Promoter GmbH . 18 February 2019. Archived from the original on 26 April 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2019 .
^ "Season 2019 WRC" . ewrc-results.com . Retrieved 29 January 2019 .
^ a b Evans, David (4 July 2018). "Japan and Chile now both expected to host 2019 WRC rounds" . autosport.com . Motorsport Network . Retrieved 4 July 2018 .
^ Howard, Tom (17 November 2017). "Rally Aus continues push for multi-year WRC deal" . speedcafe.com . Retrieved 12 April 2018 .
^ Coch, Mat (9 February 2018). "Canada seeking to host WRC from 2023" . speedcafe.com . Retrieved 12 April 2018 .
^ "FIA signs agreement for 'modern-era' Safari Rally" . autosport.com . Motorsport Network . 22 June 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2018 .
^ "Urmo Aava: eesmärk on jõuda WRC sarja, mitte nendega konkureerida" [Urmo Aava: the goal is to reach WRC, not to be their rival] (in Estonian). Eesti Rahvusringhääling . 30 May 2018.
^ "Rally Estonia naaseb ja tahab murda 2021. aastaks MM-sarja" [Rally Estonia returns and wants to reach the World Championship by 2021] (in Estonian). Postimees . 1 November 2017.
^ Evans, David (14 June 2018). "WRC team pushing for Italy 2019 boycott over Sardinia route" . motorsport.com . Motorsport Network . Retrieved 6 July 2018 .
^ Evans, David (22 August 2018). "Rally Japan gets go-ahead from WRC Promoter for 2019 event" . autosport.com . Motorsport Network . Archived from the original on 23 August 2018.
^ Evans, David (11 October 2018). "Rally Japan's WRC return set to be abandoned at FIA council meeting" . autosport.com . Motorsport Network . Retrieved 11 October 2018 .
^ a b Evans, David (12 October 2018). "Tour of Corsica announces 2019 World Rally Championship reprieve" . autosport.com . Motorsport Network . Retrieved 14 October 2018 .
^ Evans, David (12 October 2018). "2019 WRC calendar: 14-round schedule given green light by FIA WMSC" . autosport.com . Motorsport Network . Retrieved 12 October 2018 .
^ "Chile steps up to 2019 WRC" . wrc.com . WRC Promoter GmbH . 12 October 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2018 .
^ "86è Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo 2018" (PDF) . acm.mc (in French). Automobile Club de Monaco . Retrieved 29 December 2017 .
^ "52. Vodafone Rally de Portugal 2018" . ewrc-results.com . Retrieved 18 May 2019 .
^ "87. Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo" (PDF) . Retrieved 15 January 2019 .
^ "Entry list Rallye Automobile de Monte Carlo 2019" . Retrieved 15 January 2019 .
^ "87. Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo" . ewrc-results.com . Retrieved 12 January 2019 .
^ "Rally Sweden 2019 Official Entry List" (PDF) . rallysweden.com . Rally Sweden . 18 January 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2019 .
^ "LISTE OFFICIELLE DES ENGAGÉS CORSICA linea – Tour de Corse 2019" (PDF) . 2 March 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2019 .
^ "Rally Finland 2019 Official Entry List" (PDF) . nesterallyfinland.fi . Rally Finland . 5 July 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 July 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2019 .
^ "Rallye Deutschland 2019 Official Entry List" (PDF) . adac-rallye-deutschland.de . ADAC . 13 August 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2019 .
^ "Rally Turkey 2019 Official Entry List" (PDF) . rallyturkey.com . Rally Turkey . 15 August 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2019 .
^ "Wales Rally GB 2019 Official Entry List" (PDF) . walesrallygb.com . Wales Rally GB . 11 September 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 October 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2019 .
^ "Rally RACC Catalunya 2019 Official Entry List" (PDF) . rallyracc.com . 8 October 2019. Retrieved 8 October 2019 .
^ "Toyota reveals 2019 programme for WRC protege Takamoto Katsuta" . autosport.com . Motorsport Network . 19 December 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2018 .
^ Evans, David (6 December 2018). "FIA reveals more details of WRC support structure in 2019" . autosport.com . Motorsport Network . Retrieved 6 December 2018 .
^ "Rally Australia Cancelled" . www.wrc.com . Retrieved 12 November 2019 .
External links
Categories within the World Rally Championship
Teams and drivers that are eligible to score manufacturer points