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.
The championship was contested over fourteen rounds in Europe, the Middle East, North and South America, and Australia.[2]
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]
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]
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]
Daniel Barritt left the M-Sport World Rally Team to partner Toyota protégé Takamoto Katsuta.[31]
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]
Points were awarded to the top ten classified finishers in each event.
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