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World Rally Championship previous winners list

We take a look through the previous winners of the World Rally Championship since Björn Waldegård was crowned the first official world champion in 1979.

Motor Sports

Despite the World Rally Championship officially launching in 1973, it wasn't until 1979 that the official drivers' championship was implemented and Sweden's Waldegard was the first world champion.

The early years of WRC belonged to the Scandinavians, most notably the Finnish with Ari Vatanen, Hannu Mikkola and Timo Salonen all claiming the title in the 1980s.

Then it was the turn of the double world champions with Juha Kankkunen going back-to-back in 1986 and 1987 before Italy's Miki Biasion replicated the feat in 1988 and 1989.

Kankkunen added two more titles to his collection in 1991 and 1993, sandwiching Carlos Sainz's two triumphs in his famed Toyota Celica.

Colin McRae won his one and only drivers' championship in 1995 prior to a period of dominance by Tommi Makinen with Mitsubishi where he won four consecutive titles.

This century has been host to French supremacy courtesy of the two Sebastian's, Loeb and Ogier.

Loeb, the most successful driver in WRC history, was crowned champion nine years in a row from 2004 to 2012 before passing the torch to Ogier, who has won seven titles between 2013 and 2021.

Aged 22 years and one day old, Kalle Rovanpera made history in 2022 by becoming the youngest WRC champion and the Finnish sensation further validated his talent by defending his crown in 2023.

World Rally Championship previous winners

Season:

Champion:

Car:

1979

Bjorn Waldegard

Ford Escort RS1800

1980

Walter Rohrl

Fiat 131 Abarth

1981

Ari Vatanen

Ford Escort RS1800

1982

Walter Rohrl

Opel Ascona 400

1983

Hannu Mikkola

Audi Quattro A1/A2

1984

Stig Blomqvist

Audi Quattro A2/Sport

1985

Timo Salonen

Peugeot 205 T16 E2

1986

Juha Kankkunen

Peugeot 205 T16 E2

1987

Juha Kankkunen

Lancia Delta HF

1988

Miki Biasion

Lancia Delta HF/Integrale

1989

Miki Biasion

Lancia Delta Integrale

1990

Carlos Sainz

Toyoto Celica GT-Four ST165

1991

Juha Kankkunen

Lancia Delta Integrale

1992

Carlos Sainz

Toyota Celica Turbo

1993

Juha Kankkunen

Toyota Celica Turbo

1994

Didier Auriol

Toyota Celica Turbo

1995

Colin McRae

Subaru Impreza 555

1996

Tommi Makinen

Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III

1997

Tommi Makinen

Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV

1998

Tommi Makinen

Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V

1999

Tommi Makinen

Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI

2000

Marcus Gronholm

Peugeot 206

2001

Richard Burns

Subaru Impreza

2002

Marcus Gronholm

Peugeot 206

2003

Petter Solberg

Subaru Impreza

2004

Sebastian Loeb

Citroen Xsara

2005

Sebastian Loeb

Citroen Xsara

2006

Sebastian Loeb

Citroen Xsara

2007

Sebastian Loeb

Citroen C4

2008

Sebastian Loeb

Citroen C4

2009

Sebastian Loeb

Citroen C4

2010

Sebastian Loeb

Citroen C4

2011

Sebastian Loeb

Citroen DS3

2012

Sebastian Loeb

Citroen DS3

2013

Sebastian Ogier

Volkswagen Polo R

2014

Sebastian Ogier

Volkswagen Polo R

2015

Sebastian Ogier

Volkswagen Polo R

2016

Sebastian Ogier

Volkswagen Polo R

2017

Sebastian Ogier

Ford Fiesta WRC

2018

Sebastian Ogier

Ford Fiesta WRC

2019

Ott Tanak

Toyota Yaris WRC

2020

Sebastian Ogier

Toyota Yaris WRC

2021

Sebastian Ogier

Toyota Yaris WRC

2022

Kalle Rovanpera

Toyota GR Yaris

2023

Kalle Rovanpera

Toyota GR Yaris

2024

Thierry Neuville

Hyundai i20 N

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