2017 World Rally Championship: Ogier's Fifth Title in a Year of New Cars

The 2017 season ran under the most substantial rule changes in years, with Toyota returning to the sport and Volkswagen leaving it. Ogier and Julien Ingrassia still took the title, but Thierry Neuville won four rounds and pressed them to the end of the year.

What was the 2017 World Rally Championship?

It was the 45th season of the World Rally Championship, the highest class of international rallying as recognised by the FIA. Teams and crews contested thirteen events for drivers, co-drivers and manufacturers, and the series was supported by WRC-2, WRC-3 and a new privateers' category called the WRC Trophy.

Ogier and Ingrassia began the year as defending champions, having won their fourth titles at the 2016 Rally Catalunya. Volkswagen Motorsport had taken its fourth manufacturers' title at Wales Rally GB that year, but it did not return to defend the crown after its parent company withdrew from the sport.

Four wins for Neuville, a fifth title for Ogier and Ingrassia, and new cars that tested both speed and consistency.

What changed in the 2017 regulations?

The technical rules were revised to raise grip and speed. Engine power rose from 300 bhp (223.7 kW) to 380 bhp (283.4 kW), and the monocoque lost 25 kg (55.1 lb). Modelling suggested that stage records could fall by up to thirty seconds, which drew comparisons with the Group B era.

• Engine: 380 bhp (283.4 kW) and 450 Nm (331.9 lb ft) of torque, up from 300 bhp (223.7 kW)
• Turbo restrictor enlarged from 33mm to 36mm, with the maximum turbo pressure fixed at 2.5 bar absolute
• Monocoque cut by 25 kg (55.1 lb)
• Larger bumper overhangs, door sills, door pillars and a fixed rear wing, for aerodynamic grip
• Rear diffuser rules relaxed, and extra brake cooling ducts allowed
• Active centre differential reintroduced for the first time since 2010, with electronic differentials permitted
• Any production car at least 3.9 m (12.8 ft) long eligible for recognition as a World Rally Car

The sporting rules changed too. Manufacturers could enter two or three crews per round, with only the best two results scoring. Power Stage points went to the top five drivers, and the running order returned to the 2014 system, with championship leaders going first on day one and in reverse order after that.

Which teams and manufacturers entered in 2017?

Toyota returned after eighteen years with the new Yaris WRC, Citroen came back as a fully factory-supported team with the C3 WRC, and Hyundai switched to the three-door i20 Coupe WRC. M-Sport ran the Ford Fiesta WRC, while Volkswagen withdrew as a manufacturer and abandoned its 2017 Polo WRC programme.

Toyota had last run a factory team between 1997 and 1999 with the Corolla WRC. Tommi Makinen, a former world champion, oversaw the cars, Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila moved across from Volkswagen, and Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm made their WRC-specification debut from Portugal.

Citroen replaced the DS3 WRC with the C3 WRC, a new car based on the Citroen C3, and Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle contested the full season. Craig Breen and Scott Martin shared a car with Stephane Lefebvre until a third C3 became available for the Tour de Corse.

Hyundai kept its 2016 crews, Thierry Neuville with Nicolas Gilsoul, Hayden Paddon with John Kennard, and Dani Sordo with Marc Marti. After Mexico, Paddon and Kennard ended a twelve-year partnership, and Sebastian Marshall took over as Paddon's co-driver.

M-Sport re-hired Ott Tanak from DMACK and signed Ogier and Ingrassia to share one car. Evans and Barritt returned to the premier class, and DMACK stopped running a customer team to become a partner and tyre supplier.

Volkswagen had dropped its Polo R WRC plans because of the emissions scandal that surfaced in 2015. A 2017 Polo WRC was abandoned after the FIA refused an exemption that would have allowed it to compete, and the company moved to a customer programme for an R5-specification Polo planned for 2018.

How did the calendar and routes change?

The FIA moved the Tour de Corse forward from October to April, breaking up a run of six gravel events followed by four tarmac rallies. The Rally of China was dropped from the schedule, and several rallies changed their routes, headquarters or stage layouts to vary the surfaces.

Monte Carlo was the biggest reworking. Eighty-five percent of the 2016 route was revised, and the competitive distance rose from 337.59 km to 382.65 km. The Col de Turini was added as part of the Power Stage.

Sweden moved its base from Karlstad to Torsby and cut back on purpose-built stages, while Germany moved from Trier to Saarbrucken. The Tour de Corse was shortened by seventy-four kilometres, and Mexico dropped its eighty-kilometre Guanajuato stage.

Round-by-round results

The table lists the winner of each of the thirteen events in calendar order, with the co-driver and the note that best explains the result.

How did the season open in Monte Carlo?

Ogier and Ingrassia won Rallye Monte Carlo, their fourth victory in the event, and gave M-Sport its first win since Wales Rally GB in 2012. The opening stages were marked by attrition, with the lead changing hands and several crews retiring before the finish. Neuville started as the early leader before a late crash.

Ogier was not in front early on. He lost forty seconds when he slid into a ditch and recovered from ninth after the off. Neuville carried the overnight lead, and extended it beyond a minute on the second leg, until he crashed on the final stage of the day. The impact broke his suspension and cost him half an hour, and Ogier inherited the lead.

Meeke and Juho Hanninen crashed out and restarted the next day with a penalty, Lefebvre suffered a gearbox failure, and Evans struggled for grip on the icy surface. Latvala and Anttila finished second on Toyota's return, and Tanak completed the podium after a misfire let Latvala past on the final leg.

The rally was overshadowed by a fatal accident on the opening stage. Hayden Paddon lost control on black ice and hit a spectator, who later died of his injuries. Paddon withdrew, although he was eligible to restart under Rally-2 rules.

How did Sweden and Mexico play out?

Latvala and Anttila won Sweden, Toyota's first WRC victory since 1999, and took the drivers' and co-drivers' lead with five Power Stage points. In Mexico, Meeke and Nagle won by fourteen seconds, their first victory of the season and the first for the Citroen C3 WRC.

In Sweden, Neuville built a twenty-second lead over Latvala by the end of the first day, with Tanak a further thirty seconds back. On the second leg Neuville extended his overnight advantage to forty-three seconds, but he hit a tyre stack on the final stage of the day and broke his steering, which forced him out. Tanak had won every stage of the morning loop and closed to within five seconds of Latvala.

Latvala won the opening stages of the third day and consolidated his lead over Tanak. Ogier spun on the first stage of the day and lost ground, and Tanak was unable to respond on the Power Stage. Latvala took his fourth victory in Sweden, with Tanak second and Ogier third.

Mexico began with Ogier leading after two runs of the New Mexico City street stage. An accident involving civilian vehicles caused heavy traffic on the road to Leon, and the first two special stages of Friday were cancelled because the cars arrived late. Meeke won the first gravel stage, and Ogier's spin on a hairpin pushed Meeke's lead beyond thirty seconds.

On the final Power Stage, Meeke lost control over a bump in a fast right-hander, left the road and hit a spectator's parked car. He spent twenty seconds in a field doubling as a car park, then rejoined and still won by fourteen seconds. Ogier's podium was briefly in doubt after a scrutineering problem with his gearbox, but the car was cleared on closer examination.

What happened in Corsica and Argentina?

Neuville and Gilsoul took the Tour de Corse, and Hyundai became the fourth manufacturer to win in four rallies. They then took a second consecutive victory in Argentina, which closed the gap to Latvala and Anttila to two points in the drivers' standings.

In Corsica, Meeke and Nagle led early until their engine failed, handing the lead to Neuville. Ogier and Ingrassia were troubled by a misfire, and Neuville's Hyundai built a lead of more than thirty seconds that held to the end.

Argentina was tough on the crews. Ogier slid into a ditch, Latvala's engine overheated, and Sordo broke a steering arm after striking a rock, losing eleven minutes. Evans and Barritt led early on soft DMACK tyres, but two punctures, a spin and the loss of a rear diffuser let Neuville cut the lead from one minute to eleven seconds.

Neuville finished less than a second behind before the final stage. Evans struck a bridge and lost a second and a half, and Neuville took the win. Tanak and Jarveoja took third through a cautious drive that avoided damage, and Ogier and Ingrassia were fourth.

How did Portugal and Sardinia change the title fight?

Ogier and Ingrassia won Portugal, their second victory of the season, which matched the record of five wins in the rally set by Markku Alen and Ilkka Kivimaki. In Sardinia, Ott Tanak and Martin Jarveoja claimed their maiden World Rally Championship victory after a rally in which the lead changed hands repeatedly.

The opening leg in Portugal changed hands five times in seven stages. Latvala and Anttila, and Meeke and Nagle, both held the lead before crashing out. Latvala was battling a fever and back injury, and Meeke broke his suspension after sliding off the road. On the second day Tanak ran wide and damaged his car, leaving Ogier with a twenty-second lead over Neuville.

Neuville made set-up changes for the afternoon and began closing the gap, but Ogier kept his pace and won by fifteen seconds. Sordo and Marti completed the podium in third, while Tanak and Jarveoja recovered to fourth and picked up five Power Stage points. Breen and Martin were the leading Citroen in fifth.

In Sardinia, dust from the surface lingered in the forest stages and reduced visibility, and high temperatures ran across the weekend. Meeke and Nagle had led on the first day before a roll-over, their fourth in three rallies, ended their event. Paddon and Marshall inherited the lead until they clipped an embankment and tore a suspension upright from the car.

Tanak and Jarveoja inherited the lead and held a twenty-eight second advantage before the Power Stage. Latvala and Anttila finished second, and Lappi and Ferm fourth, scoring five Power Stage points for winning that stage. Ogier and Ingrassia were fifth.

Who won in Poland and Finland?

Neuville and Gilsoul won Poland, their third win of the season, after Tanak and Jarveoja lost a late lead on the final day. Lappi and Ferm won Finland in their fourth start in the premier class, after a rally in which the Toyotas and a privately entered Fiesta fought for the lead.

Heavy rain the week before made the normally loose, sandy surface very slippery, and deep ruts formed on the second pass. Latvala and Anttila retired with a terminal engine fault. Tanak and Jarveoja lost their rear wing late on the second day, and Neuville suffered a puncture soon after building a lead. On the final day Tanak briefly retook the lead, then clipped a tree stump and spun into an embankment, handing Neuville the win by over a minute.

In Finland, Ogier's rally ended early when he damaged his suspension after landing heavily off a jump. He then misheard a pace note and slid into a tree. Ingrassia was diagnosed with a concussion, and M-Sport retired the car on medical advice. Latvala and Anttila's Toyota retired after an electrical fault, which left Lappi and Ferm with a fifty-two second lead.

What decided Germany and Catalunya?

Tanak and Jarveoja won Germany, their second win of the season and M-Sport's first there. Meeke and Nagle took their first tarmac win of their career in Catalunya, while Ogier and Ingrassia extended their championship lead. Neuville and Gilsoul retired with suspension damage in both rallies.

In Germany, Tanak and Jarveoja managed their tyres across mixed surfaces and benefited from others' errors. Mikkelsen and Jaeger were second, and Ogier and Ingrassia reclaimed the lead by finishing third.

Mikkelsen and Jaeger led early on their Hyundai debut before a culvert strike ended their rally. Meeke and Nagle took the lead when Ogier and Ingrassia became embroiled in a fight with Tanak, who was running a gravel gearbox on tarmac.

Neuville and Gilsoul retired with damaged suspension, and Tanak and Jarveoja finished third, passing Neuville in the standings. Hanninen and Lindstrom were the only Toyota to finish fourth, and Mads Ostberg and Torstein Eriksen took fifth.

How did Wales Rally GB and Australia finish the season?

Elfyn Evans and Daniel Barritt won Wales Rally GB, the seventh different crew to win a rally in 2017, while Ogier and Ingrassia secured their fifth consecutive title. In Australia, Neuville and Gilsoul won for the fourth time that year and Tanak finished second.

The Wales result made Ogier and Ingrassia the first Ford crew to win the World Championship since 1981. Neuville and Gilsoul finished second despite an early penalty.

Latvala and Anttila were catching the leaders in the dry, but they fell back in the wet and crashed out on the final stage. Paddon and Marshall took third, their first podium of the season. Ogier and Ingrassia finished fourth but won the Power Stage for five championship points.

How did the scoring system work?

Points went to the top ten classified finishers. In the manufacturers' championship only the top two cars from each maker scored, and only if they were 2017-specification World Rally Cars. The Power Stage paid five points for first, four for second, three for third, two for fourth and one for fifth.

What was the final championship result?

Ogier and Ingrassia took the drivers' and co-drivers' titles, Neuville and Gilsoul finished second thirty-two points behind, and Tanak and Jarveoja were third. M-Sport won the manufacturers' title, its first since 2007, with Hyundai second ninety-three points behind and Toyota third.

Ogier and Ingrassia became the second most successful crew in the sport's history, behind Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elena. They were also only the third crew to win titles with more than one manufacturer.

Frequently asked questions

Who won the 2017 World Rally Championship?

Sebastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia won the drivers' and co-drivers' titles, their fifth consecutive championship. M-Sport took the manufacturers' crown, its first since 2007.

Why did Volkswagen leave the championship?

Its parent company withdrew from the sport, and the Polo R WRC programme had already been cancelled after the emissions scandal of 2015. The planned 2017 car was then dropped.

Why was the Rally of China removed?

Storm damage to the proposed route had cancelled the 2016 round. Removing it from 2017 gave organisers time to prepare a future bid to rejoin the championship.

How many events were there and when did they start?

Thirteen events ran in Europe, the Americas and Oceania. Monte Carlo started on 19 January and Australia finished on 19 November.