2019 World Rally Championship-2 Pro

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2019 FIA World Rally Championship-2
Drivers' Champion:
Kalle Rovanperä
Co-drivers' Champion:
Jonne Halttunen
Manufacturers' Champion:
Škoda Motorsport
Previous: none Next: 2020 (WRC-2)
Parent series:
FIA World Rally Championship
Support series:
FIA World Rally Championship-2
FIA Junior World Rally Championship

The 2019 FIA World Rally Championship-2 Pro was the first season of the World Rally Championship-2 Pro, an auto racing championship for rally cars that is recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile as the second-highest tier of international rallying. The category was created in 2019 and open to cars entered by manufacturers and complying with Group R5 regulations.[1][2][3] The World Rally Championship-2 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 Monaco Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo Gap, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Mixed[a] 16[b] 323.83 km
2 14 February 17 February Sweden Rally Sweden Torsby, Värmland Snow 19 316.80 km
3 7 March 10 March Mexico Rally Guanajuato México León, Guanajuato Gravel 21 316.51 km
4 28 March 31 March France Tour de Corse Bastia, Corsica Tarmac 14 347.51 km
5 25 April 28 April Argentina Rally Argentina Villa Carlos Paz, Córdoba Gravel 18[c] 347.50 km
6 9 May 12 May Chile Rally Chile Talcahuano, Biobío Gravel 16 304.81 km
7 30 May 2 June Portugal Rally de Portugal Matosinhos, Porto Gravel 20[d] 311.47 km
8 13 June 16 June Italy Rally Italia Sardegna Alghero, Sardinia Gravel 19 310.52 km
9 1 August 4 August Finland Rally Finland Jyväskylä, Central Finland Gravel 23 307.58 km
10 22 August 25 August Germany ADAC Rallye Deutschland Bostalsee, Saarland Tarmac 19 344.04 km
11 12 September 15 September Turkey Rally of Turkey Marmaris, Muğla Gravel 17 318.77 km
12 3 October 6 October United Kingdom Wales Rally GB Llandudno, Conwy Gravel 22[e] 312.75 km
13 24 October 27 October Spain RACC Rally Catalunya de España Salou, Catalonia Mixed[f] 17 325.56 km
14 14 November 17 November Australia Rally Australia Coffs Harbour, New South Wales Gravel Cancelled[g]
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[]

Manufacturer Entrant Car Tyre Crew details
Driver name Co-driver name Rounds
Citroën France Citroën Total Citroën C3 R5 M Norway Mads Østberg Norway Torstein Eriksen 2, 5–7, 10, 12–13
Ford United Kingdom M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta R5 M United Kingdom Gus Greensmith United Kingdom Elliott Edmondson 1–2, 5–6, 8
Poland Łukasz Pieniążek Poland 2–4
Poland 7
Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II France Eric Camilli France 9–10
United Kingdom Gus Greensmith United Kingdom Elliott Edmondson 11–13
New Zealand Hayden Paddon New Zealand John Kennard 12
Škoda Czech Republic Škoda Motorsport Škoda Fabia R5 M Finland Kalle Rovanperä Finland Jonne Halttunen 1–2, 4, 6
Bolivia Marco Bulacia Wilkinson[h] Argentina [h] 5–6
P Finland Finland 2
Škoda Fabia R5 Evo M Finland Kalle Rovanperä Finland Jonne Halttunen 7–13
Czech Republic Jan Kopecký Czech Republic 7–8, 10–11
Czech Republic 12–13
Czech Republic 14
P Finland Finland 9
Source:[21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34]

Crew changes[]

Škoda Motorsport scaled back their involvement in the championship to a single two-car team. The team retained defending drivers' champion Jan Kopecký and Kalle Rovanperä, while 2017 champions Pontus Tidemand and Jonas Andersson left the team.[35] Tidemand later joined WRC team M-Sport Ford on a part-time basis,[36] while Andersson remained in the World Rally Championship-2, partnering Ole Christian Veiby.[37] M-Sport Ford WRT will also enter two cars, one for Polish driver Łukasz Pieniążek and the other for Gus Greensmith and Elliott Edmondson.[38] Greensmith will also make his World Rally Car début with M-Sport Ford WRT.[39] Reigning two-time French Rally champion Yoann Bonato, who competed for privateer Citroën team in 2018, was entered by the factory Citroën team for Monte Carlo, before Citroën withdrew their entry from the rally, leaving Bonato to run as a WRC-2 entrant.[40] After driving for Citroën's WRC team in 2018, Mads Østberg moved to the WRC-2 in 2019, staying with Citroën's factory team in a different C3 R5, in conjunction with DG Sport.[41] Although not a member of Škoda's factory roster, 2018 Finnish Rally Champion was nominated to score points for Škoda alongside factory driver Kalle Rovanperä at Rally Sweden. Škoda would repeat this practice with 18-year-old Bolivian driver Marco Bulacia Wilkinson, who is set to participate in the pro-class in the South American double-header in Argentina and Chile, joining Rovanperä on the latter rally.

Results and standings[]

Season summary[]

Round Event Winning driver Winning co-driver Winning entrant Winning time Report
1 Monaco Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo United Kingdom Gus Greensmith United Kingdom Elliott Edmondson United Kingdom M-Sport Ford WRT 3:34:20.5 Report
2 Sweden Rally Sweden Norway Mads Østberg Norway Torstein Eriksen France Citroën Total 2:55:54.5 Report
3 Mexico Rally Guanajuato México Poland Łukasz Pieniążek Poland United Kingdom M-Sport Ford WRT 4:22:31.1 Report
4 France Tour de Corse Poland Łukasz Pieniążek Poland United Kingdom M-Sport Ford WRT 3:52:19.7 Report
5 Argentina Rally Argentina Norway Mads Østberg Norway Torstein Eriksen France Citroën Total 3:35:23.1 Report
6 Chile Rally Chile Finland Kalle Rovanperä Finland Jonne Halttunen Czech Republic Škoda Motorsport 3:23:46.3 Report
7 Portugal Rally de Portugal Finland Kalle Rovanperä Finland Jonne Halttunen Czech Republic Škoda Motorsport 3:30:57.0 Report
8 Italy Rally Italia Sardegna Finland Kalle Rovanperä Finland Jonne Halttunen Czech Republic Škoda Motorsport 3:40:51.8 Report
9 Finland Rally Finland Finland Kalle Rovanperä Finland Jonne Halttunen Czech Republic Škoda Motorsport 2:38:34.4 Report
10 Germany ADAC Rallye Deutschland Czech Republic Jan Kopecký Czech Republic Czech Republic Škoda Motorsport 3:27:24.1 Report
11 Turkey Marmaris Rally of Turkey United Kingdom Gus Greensmith United Kingdom Elliott Edmondson United Kingdom M-Sport Ford WRT 4:05:30.8 Report
12 United Kingdom Wales Rally GB Finland Kalle Rovanperä Finland Jonne Halttunen Czech Republic Škoda Motorsport 3:11:49.1 Report
13 Spain RACC Rally Catalunya de España Norway Mads Østberg Norway Torstein Eriksen France Citroën Total 3:16:04.2 Report
14 Australia Rally Australia Rally cancelled (due to bushfires) Report[42]

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[]

Pos. Driver MON
Monaco 		SWE
Sweden 		MEX
Mexico 		FRA
France 		ARG
Argentina 		CHI
Chile 		POR
Portugal 		ITA
Italy 		FIN
Finland 		DEU
Germany 		TUR
Turkey 		GBR
United Kingdom 		CAT
Spain 		AUS
Australia 		Points Best 8
1 Finland Kalle Rovanperä 2 2 Ret 1 1 1 1 3 3 1 3 206 176
2 Norway Mads Østberg 1 1 2 3 3 4 5 1 145 145
3 United Kingdom Gus Greensmith 1 3 2 3 4 WD 1 3 4 137 137
4 Czech Republic Jan Kopecký 2 2 1 2 2 2 WD 115 115
5 Poland Łukasz Pieniążek 4 1 1 4 74 74
6 France Eric Camilli 2 2 36 36
7 Bolivia Marco Bulacia Wilkinson Ret 4 12 12
8 New Zealand Hayden Paddon 4 12 12
9 Finland Ret Ret 0 0
Pos. Driver MON
Monaco 		SWE
Sweden 		MEX
Mexico 		FRA
France 		ARG
Argentina 		CHI
Chile 		POR
Portugal 		ITA
Italy 		FIN
Finland 		DEU
Germany 		TUR
Turkey 		GBR
United Kingdom 		CAT
Spain 		AUS
Australia 		Points Best 8
hideKey
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[]

Pos. Co-Driver MON
Monaco 		SWE
Sweden 		MEX
Mexico 		FRA
France 		ARG
Argentina 		CHI
Chile 		POR
Portugal 		ITA
Italy 		FIN
Finland 		DEU
Germany 		TUR
Turkey 		GBR
United Kingdom 		CAT
Spain 		AUS
Australia 		Points Best 8
1 Finland Jonne Halttunen 2 2 Ret 1 1 1 1 3 3 1 3 206 176
2 Norway Torstein Eriksen 1 1 2 3 3 4 5 1 145 145
3 United Kingdom Elliott Edmondson 1 3 2 3 4 WD 1 3 4 137 137
4 Czech Republic 2 2 1 2 79 79
5 Poland 4 1 1 62 62
6 France 2 2 36 36
7 Czech Republic 2 2 36 36
8 Argentina Ret 4 12 12
9 Poland 4 12 12
10 New Zealand John Kennard 4 12 12
11 Finland Ret Ret 0 0
Pos. Co-Driver MON
Monaco 		SWE
Sweden 		MEX
Mexico 		FRA
France 		ARG
Argentina 		CHI
Chile 		POR
Portugal 		ITA
Italy 		FIN
Finland 		DEU
Germany 		TUR
Turkey 		GBR
United Kingdom 		CAT
Spain 		AUS
Australia 		Points Best 8
hideKey
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)

Manufacturers' standings[]

Pos. Entrant MON
Monaco 		SWE
Sweden 		MEX
Mexico 		FRA
France 		ARG
Argentina 		CHI
Chile 		POR
Portugal 		ITA
Italy 		FIN
Finland 		DEU
Germany 		TUR
Turkey 		GBR
United Kingdom 		CAT
Spain 		AUS
Australia 		Points
1 Czech Republic Škoda Motorsport 2 2 Ret Ret 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 WD 323
Ret 4 2 2 Ret 3 3 2 3
2 United Kingdom M-Sport Ford WRT 1 3 1 1 2 3 4 4 2 2 1 3 4 259
4 WD WD 4
3 France Citroën Total 1 1 2 3 3 4 5 1 145
Pos. Entrant MON
Monaco 		SWE
Sweden 		MEX
Mexico 		FRA
France 		ARG
Argentina 		CHI
Chile 		POR
Portugal 		ITA
Italy 		FIN
Finland 		DEU
Germany 		TUR
Turkey 		GBR
United Kingdom 		CAT
Spain 		AUS
Australia 		Points
hideKey
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)

Footnotes[]

  1. ^ The Monte Carlo Rally was run on a tarmac and snow surface.
  2. ^ The third stage of the rally was cancelled on safety grounds when spectator areas became overcrowded.
  3. ^ The third stage of the rally was cancelled due to the weather.
  4. ^ The 14th and the 15th stage of the rally was cancelled.
  5. ^ The 20th stage of the rally was cancelled due to insufficient safety cover.
  6. ^ The first leg of Rally Catalunya will run on gravel stages and the second and third legs on tarmac stages.
  7. ^ Rally Australia was cancelled due to a bushfire emergency in Northern New South Wales.[4]
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b The crew of Marco Bulacia Wilkinson and was run wholly independently from Škoda Motorsport in Argentina and Chile, but were nominated to score points for them in the Pro class.

References[]

  1. ^ "2019 WRC Sporting Regulations" (PDF). Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  2. ^ Jump up to: 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.
  3. ^ Herrero, Daniel (13 October 2018). "Australia remains finale on 2019 WRC calendar". speedcafe.com. Speedcafe. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  4. ^ Howard, Tom (12 November 2019). "UPDATE: Rally Australia cancelled due to bushfires". speedcafe.com. Speedcafe. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  5. ^ "Rally Calendar Overview". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 18 February 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  6. ^ "Season 2019 WRC". ewrc-results.com. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  7. ^ Jump up to: 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.
  8. ^ Howard, Tom (17 November 2017). "Rally Aus continues push for multi-year WRC deal". speedcafe.com. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  9. ^ Coch, Mat (9 February 2018). "Canada seeking to host WRC from 2023". speedcafe.com. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  10. ^ "FIA signs agreement for 'modern-era' Safari Rally". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. 22 June 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  11. ^ "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.
  12. ^ "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.
  13. ^ Evans, David (14 June 2018). "WRC team pushing for Italy 2019 boycott over Sardinia route". motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ Jump up to: a b Evans, David (12 October 2018). "Tour of Corsica announces 2019 World Rally Championship reprieve". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ "Chile steps up to 2019 WRC". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 12 October 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  19. ^ "86è Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo 2018" (PDF). acm.mc (in French). Automobile Club de Monaco. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  20. ^ "52. Vodafone Rally de Portugal 2018". ewrc-results.com. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  21. ^ "Michelin signs new WRC agreement". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 13 October 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2018. The French tyre company and WRC Promoter have agreed an extension of their current partnership under which Michelin will be Official Tyre of the WRC until the end of 2019.
  22. ^ "Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo 2019 Official Entry List" (PDF). acm.mc. Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  23. ^ "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.
  24. ^ "Rally Guanajuato México 2019 Official Entry List" (PDF). rallymexico.com. Rally Mexico. 14 February 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  25. ^ "Corsica linea Tour de Corse 2019 Official Entry List" (PDF). tourdecorse.com. 9 March 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 July 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  26. ^ "YPF Rally Argentina 2019 Official Entry List" (PDF). rallyargentina.com. Rally Argentina. 6 April 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 July 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  27. ^ "Copec Rally Chile 2019 Official Entry List" (PDF). rallymobil.cl. Rally Chile. 18 April 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  28. ^ "Vodafone Rally de Portugal 2019 Official Entry List" (PDF). rallydeportugal.pt. Rally de Portugal. 23 May 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 May 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  29. ^ "Rally Italia Sardegna 2019 Official Entry List". rallyitaliasardegna.com. Rally Italia Sardegna. 3 June 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  30. ^ "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.
  31. ^ "ADAC Rallye Deutschland 2019 Entry List" (PDF). adac-rallye-deutschland.de. Rallye Deutschland. 13 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  32. ^ "Rally Turkey Marmaris 2019 Entry List" (PDF). rallyturkey.com. Rally of Turkey. 16 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  33. ^ "Wales Rally GB 2019 Entry List" (PDF). walesrallygb.com. Wales Rally GB. 11 September 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  34. ^ "Rally RACC Catalunya 2019 Entry List" (PDF). . 8 October 2019. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  35. ^ Evans, David (28 November 2018). "Skoda Motorsport scales back for 2019 WRC2 season, Tidemand exits". Autosport. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  36. ^ Klien, Jamie (21 December 2018). "Tidemand gets two WRC rounds with M-Sport". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  37. ^ "Monte-Carlo and Sweden in a VW Polo R5 and new co-driver". ocveiby.com. 19 December 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
  38. ^ "M-Sport Ford Confirm Greensmith and Pieniazek for WRC-2 Pro". M-Sport.co.uk. 10 January 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  39. ^ Evans, David (9 January 2019). "M-Sport hands WRC2 driver Greensmith WRC chance". motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  40. ^ "2019 FIA World Rally Championship entrants". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 21 December 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
  41. ^ Evans, David (14 January 2019). "Mads Østberg lands Citroën WRC2 drive". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  42. ^ "Rally Australia Cancelled". wrc.com. Retrieved 12 November 2019.

External links[]

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