53rd running of the World Rally Championship From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2025 FIA World Rally Championship is the fifty-third occurrence of the World Rally Championship, an international rallying series organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and WRC Promoter GmbH. Teams and crews compete for the World Rally Championships for Drivers, Co-drivers and Manufacturers. Crews are free to compete in cars complying with Groups Rally1 to Rally5 regulations; however, only manufacturers competing with Rally1 cars are eligible to score points in the manufacturers' championship. The championship began in January 2025 with the Monte Carlo Rally and is set to conclude in November 2025 with the calendar newcomer Rally Saudi Arabia. The series is supported by the WRC2 and WRC3 categories at every round of the championship and by Junior WRC at selected events.
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Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe are the reigning drivers' and co-drivers' champions, having secured their first championship titles at the 2024 Rally Japan. Toyota are the defending manufacturers' champions.
After the first round to go, Sébastien Ogier and Vincent Landais respectively lead the drivers' and co-drivers' championship over Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin by seven points. Adrien Fourmaux and Alexandre Coria are third, a further six points behind. In the manufacturers' championship, the reigning manufacturers' champions Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT hold a twenty-four-point lead over Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT, with M-Sport Ford WRT in third.
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The 2025 season is scheduled to be contested over fourteen rounds crossing Europe, Africa, South America and Asia.
| Round | Start date | Finish date | Rally | Rally headquarters | Surface | Stages | Distance | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23 January | 26 January |  Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo |
Gap, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France | Mixed[a] | 18 | 343.80 km | [1] |
| 2 | 13 February | 16 February |  Rally Sweden |
Umeå, Västerbotten County, Sweden | Snow | 18 | 300.22 km | [2] |
| 3 | 20 March | 23 March |  Safari Rally Kenya |
Nairobi, Nakuru County, Kenya | Gravel | 21 | 384.86 km | [3] |
| 4 | 24 April | 27 April |  Rally Islas Canarias |
Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Spain | Tarmac | 18 | 306.12 km | [4] |
| 5 | 15 May | 18 May |  Rally de Portugal |
Matosinhos, Porto, Portugal | Gravel | TBA | TBA | |
| 6 | 5 June | 8 June |  Rally Italia Sardegna |
Olbia, Sardinia, Italy | Gravel | TBA | TBA | |
| 7 | 26 June | 29 June |  Acropolis Rally Greece |
Lamia, Central Greece, Greece | Gravel | TBA | TBA | |
| 8 | 17 July | 20 July |  Rally Estonia |
Tartu, Tartu County, Estonia | Gravel | TBA | TBA | |
| 9 | 31 July | 3 August |  Rally Finland |
Jyväskylä, Central Finland, Finland | Gravel | TBA | TBA | |
| 10 | 28 August | 31 August |  Rally del Paraguay |
Encarnación, Itapúa, Paraguay | Gravel | TBA | TBA | |
| 11 | 11 September | 14 September |  Rally Chile |
Concepción, Biobío, Chile | Gravel | TBA | TBA | |
| 12 | 16 October | 19 October |  Central European Rally |
Bad Griesbach, Bavaria, Germany | Tarmac | TBA | TBA | |
| 13 | 6 November | 9 November |  Rally Japan |
Toyota, Aichi, Japan | Tarmac | TBA | TBA | |
| 14 | 27 November | 30 November |  Rally Saudi Arabia |
Jeddah, Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia | Gravel | TBA | TBA | |
| Sources:[5][6] | ||||||||
The calendar was expanded to fourteen rounds, including five flyaway events.[7] This was originally planned for the 2024 season,[8] but WRC Promoter GmbH retained the total of thirteen events in the hopes of attracting more Rally1 entries.[9]
The following manufacturers are set to contest the championship under Rally1 regulations.[20]
| Manufacturer | Entrant | Car | No. | Driver name | Co-driver name | Rounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ford |  M-Sport Ford WRT |
Ford Puma Rally1 | 13 |  Grégoire Munster |
 Louis Louka |
1–2 |
| 55 |  Josh McErlean |
Eoin Treacy |
1–2 | |||
| Hyundai |  Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT |
Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | 1 | Thierry Neuville |
Martijn Wydaeghe |
1–2 |
| 8 | Ott Tänak |
Martin Järveoja |
1–2 | |||
| 16 |  Adrien Fourmaux |
Alexandre Coria |
1–2 | |||
| Toyota | Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT |
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | 17 | Sébastien Ogier |
Vincent Landais |
1 |
| 18 | Takamoto Katsuta |
Aaron Johnston |
2 | |||
| 33 | Elfyn Evans |
Scott Martin |
1–2 | |||
| 69 | Kalle Rovanperä |
Jonne Halttunen |
1–2 | |||
| Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT2 |
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | 5 | Sami Pajari |
Marko Salminen |
1–2 | |
| Sources:[21][22] | ||||||
The following crews entered in Rally1 cars as privateers or under arrangement with the manufacturers.
| Manufacturer | Entrant | Car | No. | Driver name | Co-driver name | Rounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ford | M-Sport Ford WRT |
Ford Puma Rally1 | 9 | Jourdan Serderidis |
Frédéric Miclotte |
2 |
| 22 |  Mārtiņš Sesks |
Renārs Francis |
2 | |||
| Toyota | Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT |
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | 18 | Takamoto Katsuta |
Aaron Johnston |
1 |
| 37 | Lorenzo Bertelli |
Simone Scattolin |
2 | |||
| Sources:[21][22] | ||||||
M-Sport retained the crew of Grégoire Munster and Louis Louka for another complete season.[23] They are set to be joined by Josh McErlean and Eoin Treacy as the team's second full-time crew.[24] The deal was done as a collabration with Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy.[25] The crew of Mārtiņš Sesks and Renārs Francis is set to compete on a part-time basis with the team starting with Rally Sweden.[26]
Hyundai team chief Cyril Abiteboul confirmed that Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja will continue driving for their team in 2025.[27] Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe extended their contract for one year with the team.[28] Having won the title in 2024, Neuville is set to compete with the number 1.[29] Adrien Fourmaux and Alexandre Coria moved from M-Sport to drive a third car full season.[30]
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Toyota retained the crew of Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen, who are due to return full-time after they contested a partial season in 2024.[31] They are set to join the crew of Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin and of Takamoto Katsuta and Aaron Johnston as the team's full-time competitors.[32] Newly-crowned WRC2 champion Sami Pajari, who ran selected races with the team in 2024, was signed with a full-time programme with the team.[33] However, he would be joined with new co-driver Marko Salminen,[34] following the departure of Enni Mälkönen at the end of last season.[35] Sébastien Ogier and Vincent Landais would continue to run a partial season with the team.[36]
South Korean tyre manufacturer Hankook will become the official tyre supplier of the championship, providing tyres to all entrants of four wheel drive cars.[37] The company replaces Pirelli, who supplied tyres to the championship between 2021 and 2024.[38] Under the terms of the agreement, Hankook will supply tyres until the end of the 2027 championship.[39]
Rally1 cars will no longer use the hybrid system introduced in 2022, and subsquently the minimum weight of the cars and the width of the air intake will be reduced to compensate for the change so that cars maintain the same power-to-weight ratio that they had when using the hybrid system.[40] The decision was made when teams expressed concerns about the increasing costs of repairing the hybrid system.[41]
The points distribution system will be revised for the second consecutive season following widespread criticism of the 2024 point system.[42] Points will be awarded based on the general top ten classification at the end of the rally in a scale of 25–17–15–12–10–8–6–4–2–1, with additional points awarded to the five fastest crews on Sunday and the five fastest crews in the Power Stage.[43] Saturday points will be dropped.[44]
The opening round of the 2025 championship saw Sébastien Ogier and Vincent Landais overcame changeable conditions and crowned winners.[45] The victory also pushed Ogier's Monte winning number into double-digit — a total of ten wins.[46]
| Round | Event | Winning driver | Winning co-driver | Winning entrant | Winning time | Report | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo |
Sébastien Ogier |
Vincent Landais |
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT |
3:19:06.2 | Report | [47][48] |
| 2 | Rally Sweden |
Report | |||||
| 3 | Safari Rally Kenya |
Report | |||||
| 4 | Rally Islas Canarias |
Report | |||||
| 5 | Rally de Portugal |
Report | |||||
| 6 | Rally Italia Sardegna |
Report | |||||
| 7 | Acropolis Rally Greece |
Report | |||||
| 8 | Rally Estonia |
Report | |||||
| 9 | Rally Finland |
Report | |||||
| 10 | Rally del Paraguay |
Report | |||||
| 11 | Rally Chile |
Report | |||||
| 12 | Central European Rally |
Report | |||||
| 13 | Rally Japan |
Report | |||||
| 14 | Rally Saudi Arabia |
Report |
Points are awarded to the top ten classified finishers in each event.[49] In the manufacturers' championship, teams are eligible to nominate three crews to score points, but these points are only awarded to the top two classified finishers representing a manufacturer and driving a 2022-specification Rally1 car. There are also five bonus points awarded to the winners in an accumulated standings across all Sunday stages, four points for second place, three for third, two for fourth and one for fifth. The same points scale will be awarded to the five fastest crews of the Power Stage as well.[50]
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 25 | 17 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| Sunday | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | ||||
| Power Stage | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | ||||
The driver who recorded a points-scoring classification would be taken into account for the championship regardless of the categories.
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The co-driver who recorded a points-scoring classification would be taken into account for the championship regardless of the categories.
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Only the best two results of each manufacturer in the respective overall classification by the end of Saturday, accumulated position of all Sunday stages and Power Stage at each rally were taken into account for the championship.
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