It is already this weekend that the World Rally Championship starts in Monte Carlo, what promises to be one of the most exciting and unpredictable world rally championships in recent times.
This year there are more variables to raise not only the uncertainty, but also the adrenaline, of what is one of the car competitions that guarantees better moments and images!
So, in just five well-founded points, we've listed the reasons why, this year, you should REALLY not miss the World Rally Championship.
1. World Rally Cars will be (even) faster
For lovers of speed and adrenaline, this reason alone is enough to make your eyes pop! After all, after a 2017 that was the debut of the current regulations and in which everyone was “spiders” trying to adapt to the new reality, 2018 now appears as the first year in which the teams were already able to do the work from home, aerodynamically polishing their cars and giving drivers the opportunity to better adapt to their “mounts”.In short, all arguments that make you believe that, this year, the vast majority of drivers, and especially the title contenders, will be faster at all stages of the World Cup!
2. It will be the year of confirmation of the return of the best Ogier
After four years of domination (2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016) shielded in the power of an official team such as Volkswagen Motorsport, champion Sebastién Ogier started last season under the sign of uncertainty: at the service of a new, semi -private (M-Sport) and of which he barely knew the car (Ford Fiesta WRC).
He ended up surprising, even so, winning the penta-championship. 2018 will therefore be the year in which the Frenchman's undeniable driving skills are confirmed.
3. The return of a man named Sebastién Loeb
But if 2018 will have to be the year of confirmation for five-time champion Ogier, the season that has just begun will also be the return of what may very well be, even if only on a psychological level, one of the biggest obstacles to achieving the first premise – nothing more, nothing less than nine-time world champion Sebastién Loeb.
After having walked for a few years through disciplines and races as different as the WTCC, the WRX, the 24 Hours of Le Mans or the Pikes Peak ramp, Sebastian Loeb once again said “yes” to his eternal team, Citroën, to, behind the wheel of a C3 WRC, make three stages of this 2018 WRC: Mexico (March 8th to 11th), Corsica (April 5th to 8th) and Spain (25th to 28th of October).
But… what if the “pet” comes back?…
4. The year of truth for Hyundai Motorsport
After four years of finishing the championship “almost there”, that is, almost in first place on the podium, the disappointment suffered in 2017, when losing the championship to an Ogier, set off alarm bells at Hyundai Motorsport headquarters. With no more room to let the title slip, the structure responsible for aligning the official i20 WRCs was strengthened for 2018 with Andreas Mikkelsen and is now attacking the championship with only one option: to be champion.5. The 2018 World Rally Championship itself
Traditionally regarded as one of the most exciting automobile championships, in which drivers take more risks, to the delight of those who are, not infrequently, appointed as the best fans of motor sport, motivated by the spectacular images that the World Cup produces and which can hardly be seen in another specialty, the WRC 2018 appears as the edition in which all these arguments will be raised to an even higher level.
Firstly, due to the fact that, for the first time in the history of the competition, it is possible to watch all the specials, of all 13 rallies that make up the championship, live, through the Internet. This, in a year in which, at the outset, the same four clear candidates for the final victory are back, albeit with strong arguments: Hyundai Motorsport, Citroën Racing, Toyota GAZOO Racing and the title champion M-Sport Ford WRC. Tell us: was it possible to wish better?…
In the meantime, and so you don't miss out on the action, here are the 13 races of the 2018 World Rally Championship:
1. Monte-Carlo 25th – 28th January
2. Sweden 15th – 18th February
3. Mexico 8 – 11 March
4. France 5 – 8 April
5. Argentina 26th – 29th April
6. Portugal 17th – 20th May
7. Italy 7 – 10 June
8. Finland 26th – 29th July
9. Germany 16-19 August
10. Turkey 13 – 16 September
11. Great Britain 4 – 7 October
12. Spain 25 – 28 October
13. Australia 15 – 18 November