2009 World Rally Championship
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The 2009 World Rally Championship was the 37th season of the FIA World Rally Championship. The season consisted of twelve rallies and began on 30 January, with Rally Ireland and ended with Rally GB on 25 October. Sébastien Loeb won the World Drivers' championship at Rally GB by one point from Mikko Hirvonen, taking his sixth consecutive crown.[1] Citroën secured their fifth Manufacturers' title, Martin Prokop won the JWRC Drivers' championship and Armindo Araujo won the PWRC Drivers' championship.
Regulation changes
The number of mechanics available per car has been dropped from 12 to 8.[2]
Calendar
The 2009 championship was contested over twelve rounds in Europe, South America and Oceania.
| Rd. | Start date | Finish date | Rally | Rally headquarters | Surface | Stages | Distance | Support class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 January | 1 February | Sligo, Connacht | Tarmac | 19 | 349.73 km | JWRC | |
| 2 | 12 February | 15 February | Hamar, Innlandet | Snow | 23 | 360.90 km | PWRC | |
| 3 | 13 March | 15 March | Lemesos, Limassol District | Mixed | 14 | 332.07 km | PWRC/JWRC | |
| 4 | 2 April | 5 April | Almancil, Algarve | Gravel | 18 | 361.36 km | PWRC/JWRC | |
| 5 | 23 April | 26 April | Carlos Paz, Córdoba | Gravel | 23 | 331.80 km | PWRC/JWRC | |
| 6 | 22 May | 24 May | Olbia, Sardinia | Gravel | 17 | 347.12 km | PWRC/JWRC | |
| 7 | 12 June | 14 June | Loutraki, Corinthia | Gravel | 17 | 371.02 km | PWRC | |
| 8 | 25 June | 28 June | Mikołajki, Mrągowo County | Gravel | 18 | 352.00 km | JWRC | |
| 9 | 30 July | 2 August | Jyväskylä, Central Finland | Gravel | 23 | 345.15 km | JWRC | |
| 10 | 3 September | 6 September | Kingscliff, New South Wales | Gravel | 35 | 344.72 km | PWRC | |
| 11 | 2 October | 4 October | Salou, Catalonia | Tarmac | 18 | 353.62 km | JWRC | |
| 12 | 23 October | 25 October | Cardiff, Wales | Gravel | 16 | 348.30 km | PWRC | |
| Sources:[3] | ||||||||
Calendar changes
The 2009 season included twelve rallies, which was three fewer than the 2008 season, because the FIA imposed a "Round Rotation" System in order to attract candidate rallies to have a chance to be a WRC event. Monte Carlo, Sweden, Mexico, Jordan, Turkey, Germany, New Zealand, France and Japan were dropped from the calendar for 2009, but will return at the 2010 WRC Season. Ireland, Norway, Cyprus, Portugal, Poland and Australia returned to the 2009 season.
The eight events also part of the Production World Rally Championship were Norway, Cyprus, Portugal, Argentina, Italy, Greece, Australia and Rally GB. The eight rallies also on the Junior World Rally Championship schedule were Ireland, Cyprus, Portugal, Argentina, Italy, Poland, Finland and Spain.
Teams and drivers
In 2009 two categories are eligible to compete for the Manufacturer's championship:
Manufacturer (M)
- must take part in all the rallies of the Championship with two cars of the same make
- must enter only cars corresponding to the latest homologated version of a World Rally Car in conformity with the 2009 Appendix J
- must inform the FIA of the name of the first driver entered for the season at the time of registration for the Championship. No change of the first driver is authorised, except in a case of force majeure. The driver of the second car may be changed for each of the rallies in the Championship
Manufacturer Team (MT)
- must take part in a minimum of 8 Championship rallies with one or two cars; those rallies must be nominated on registering for the Championship
- cannot enter World Rally Cars homologated during the year 2009 and cannot use parts homologated after 2 January 2009
- can only score points in the events it nominated on registering.
The registered Manufacturers are Citroën Total World Rally Team and BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team; the registered Manufacturer Teams are Stobart VK M-Sport Ford, Munchi's Ford and Citroën Junior Team.
All teams ran Pirelli tyres.
| Manufacturers | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Car | Team | No | Drivers | Co-drivers | Rounds | |
| Citroën | C4 WRC | 1 | All | ||||
| 2 | All | ||||||
| Ford | Focus RS WRC 08 1-5 Focus RS WRC 09 6-13 |
3 | All | ||||
| 4 | All | ||||||
| Manufacturer Teams | |||||||
| Ford | Focus RS WRC 08 | 5 | 1–2 | ||||
| 3–12 | |||||||
| 6 | All | ||||||
| 9 | 3, 5–6, 9–11 | ||||||
| 4, 7 | |||||||
| Citroën | C4 WRC | 7 | 1 | ||||
| 2–4, 6–9 | |||||||
| 8 | 1–8, 10–11 | ||||||
| 11 | 12 | ||||||
| 12 | 5, 9–12 | ||||||
| World Rally Car entries ineligible to score manufacturer points | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Car | Team | Drivers | Co-drivers | Rounds | |
| Citroën | C4 WRC | 1–4, 6–8 | ||||
| 9, 12 | ||||||
| 11 | ||||||
| 12 | ||||||
| 11 | ||||||
| Xsara WRC | 2–9 | |||||
| Ford | Focus RS WRC 08 | 1, 3–4, 6–7, 9–12 | ||||
| 1–2 | ||||||
| 8 | ||||||
| 12 | ||||||
| 9 | ||||||
| 9 | ||||||
| 11 | ||||||
| Focus RS WRC 07 | 2 | |||||
| 4 | ||||||
| Focus RS WRC 06 | 2, 4 | |||||
| 4, 12 | ||||||
| 4 | ||||||
| 12 | ||||||
| 12 | ||||||
| Focus RS WRC 04 | 1 | |||||
| 1 | ||||||
| 1 | ||||||
| 2 | ||||||
| 9 | ||||||
| Peugeot | 307 WRC | 11 | ||||
| Škoda | Fabia WRC | 2 | ||||
| 8 | ||||||
| Octavia WRC | 9 | |||||
| Subaru | Impreza WRC 2008 | 2, 4, 6–7 | ||||
| 8 | ||||||
| 9, 12 | ||||||
| 2 | ||||||
| 4 | ||||||
| Impreza WRC 2007 | 1–2 | |||||
| 1 | ||||||
| 6 | ||||||
| 9 | ||||||
| 11 | ||||||
| Impreza WRC 2004 | 6 | |||||
Team and Driver changes
Subaru pulled out of the WRC at the end of the 2008 season, citing the economic downturn then affecting the automotive industry for their withdrawal, leaving Petter Solberg and Chris Atkinson without a drive.[4] Solberg would set up his own team for the 2009 season, running an eight year old Citroën Xsara WRC for the majority of the season, although the Norwegian did consider switching to a Peugeot 307 WRC for Rally Finland.[5][6] Chris Atkinson would drive for the Citroën Junior Team in the season opener in Ireland as a one off.[7]
Suzuki pulled out of the WRC at the end of the 2008 season, citing the economic downturn then affecting the automotive industry for their withdrawal, leaving Toni Gardemeister and Per-Gunnar Andersson without a seat.[8] Gardemeister would leave the WRC while Andersson would do a one off round at Rally Norway in a Škoda Fabia WRC.
Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team retained Henning Solberg and Matthew Wilson for 2009 and had planned to run Urmo Aava in eight rallies but was dropped after two.[9] 2008 drivers François Duval and Gianluigi Galli left the WRC.
Citroën set up the Citroën Junior Team as a manufacturer Team run by PH Sport who had run privateer C4’s the previous year.[10] Their three main drivers were 2008 JWRC champion Sébastien Ogier, Conrad Rautenbach and Evgeny Novikov.
J-WRC Entries
| No | Driver | Co-driver | Car | Rounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | Suzuki Swift S1600 | 1, 3, 5–6, 9, 11 | ||
| 32 | Suzuki Swift S1600 | 3–6, 8–9 | ||
| 33 | Suzuki Swift S1600 | 1, 4, 6, 8–9, 11 | ||
| 34 | Renault Clio R3 | 1, 4, 6, 8–9, 11 | ||
| 35 | Suzuki Swift S1600 | 1, 4, 6, 8–9, 11 | ||
| 36 | Citroën C2 S1600 | 1, 4, 6, 8–9, 11 | ||
| 37 | Renault Clio R3 | 1, 4, 6, 8–9, 11 | ||
| 38 | Citroën C2 S1600 | 1, 3, 6, 8–9, 11 | ||
| 39 | Renault Clio S1600 | 5 | ||
| Renault Clio R3 | 4, 6, 8 | |||
| 9, 11 | ||||
| Additional guest entries† | ||||
| 60 | Suzuki Swift Sport | 1 | ||
| 59 | Citroën C2 R2 | 8 | ||
| 60 | Citroën C2 R2 | 8 | ||
| 59 | Renault Clio R3 | 9 | ||
| 59 | Renault Clio R3 | 11 | ||
P-WRC Entries
| No | Driver | Co-driver | Car | Rounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | 2, 4–5, 7, 10, 12 | ||
| 32 | Fiat Abarth Grande Punto S2000 | 2–4, 6–7, 10, 12 | ||
| 33 | Subaru Impreza WRX STI | 2–3, 5, 7, 10, 12 | ||
| 34 | Subaru Impreza WRX STI | 2–4, 7, 10 | ||
| 6 | ||||
| 35 | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | 2–3 | ||
| 64 | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X | 4, 6–7, 12 | ||
| 36 | Subaru Impreza WRX STI | 3–7, 12 | ||
| 37 | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | 2–3, 5–6 | ||
| 7, 12 | ||||
| 38 | Subaru Impreza WRX STI | 3–7, 12 | ||
| 39 | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | – | ||
| 3, 6 | ||||
| 4 | ||||
| 5 | ||||
| 10 | ||||
| Škoda Fabia S2000 | 12 | |||
| 40 | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | 2–4, 6–7 | ||
| Subaru Impreza WRX STI | 12 | |||
| 43 | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X | 5 | ||
| Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | 10 | |||
| 65 | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X | 4, 6–7, 12 | ||
| 44 | Fiat Abarth Grande Punto S2000 | 2 | ||
| 4 | ||||
| Subaru Impreza WRX STI | 3 | |||
| 5, 12 | ||||
| 7 | ||||
| 45 | Subaru Impreza WRX STI | 2, 4, 6–7, 12 | ||
| Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | 10 | |||
| 46 | Škoda Fabia S2000 | 2–4, 6–7, 12 | ||
| 47 | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | 2–4, 6–7, 12 | ||
| 48 | Subaru Impreza WRX STI | 2–4 | ||
| Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | 6, 12 | |||
| 7 | ||||
| 10 | ||||
| 49 | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | 2, 4–6, 10 | ||
| 12 | ||||
| 50 | Subaru Impreza WRX STI | 4–7, 12 | ||
| 10 | ||||
| Additional guest entries† | ||||
| 59 | Subaru Impreza WRX STI | 2 | ||
| 60 | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | 2 | ||
| 159 | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | 3 | ||
| 160 | Subaru Impreza WRX STI | 3 | ||
| 159 | Peugeot 207 S2000 | 4 | ||
| 160 | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | 4 | ||
| 159 | Subaru Impreza WRX STI | 5 | ||
| 160 | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X | 5 | ||
| 59 | Škoda Fabia S2000 | 7 | ||
| 59 | Subaru Impreza WRX STI | 10 | ||
| 60 | Toyota Corolla S2000 | 10 | ||
- †^ – At each rally, the organiser may nominate two "guest drivers" from their country to score support category points.
Results and standings
Results and statistics
|
| Round | Rally name | Podium finishers | Statistics | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Driver | Car | Time | Stages | Length | Starters | Finishers | ||
| 1 | (30 January – 1 February) – Results and report |
1 | Citroën C4 WRC | 2:48:25.7 | (19)1a 17 |
(349.65 km)1b 310.18 km |
36 | 28 | |
| 2 | Citroën C4 WRC | 2:49:53.6 | |||||||
| 3 | Ford Focus RS WRC 08 | 2:50:33.5 | |||||||
| 2 | (12 – 15 February) – Results and report |
1 | Citroën C4 WRC | 3:28:15.9 | 23 | 360.90 km | 42 | 34 | |
| 2 | Ford Focus RS WRC 08 | 3:28:25.7 | |||||||
| 3 | Ford Focus RS WRC 08 | 3:29:37.7 | |||||||
| 3 | (13 – 15 March) – Results and report |
1 | Citroën C4 WRC | 4:50:34.7 | 14 | 332.07 km | 32 | 24 | |
| 2 | Ford Focus RS WRC 08 | 4:51:01.9 | |||||||
| 3 | Citroën Xsara WRC | 4:52:24.1 | |||||||
| 4 | (2 – 5 April) – Results and report |
1 | Citroën C4 WRC | 3:53:13.1 | 18 | 361.36 km | 70 | 41 | |
| 2 | Ford Focus RS WRC 08 | 3:53:37.4 | |||||||
| 3 | Citroën C4 WRC | 3:54:58.5 | |||||||
| 5 | (24 – 26 April) – Results and report |
1 | Citroën C4 WRC | 3:57:40.3 | 23 | 331.80 km | 51 | 33 | |
| 2 | Citroën C4 WRC | 3:58:53.4 | |||||||
| 3 | Focus RS WRC 08 | 4:01:44.4 | |||||||
| 6 | (22 – 24 May) – Results and report |
1 | Ford Focus RS WRC 09 | 4:00:55.7 | 17 | 347.12 km | 59 | 37 | |
| 2 | Ford Focus RS WRC 09 | 4:01:25.1 | |||||||
| 3 | Citroën Xsara WRC | 4:02:53.3 | |||||||
| 7 | (12 – 14 June) – Results and report |
1 | Ford Focus RS WRC 09 | 4:09:42.5 | (17)2a 15 |
(371.02 km)2b 341.01 km |
45 | 32 | |
| 2 | Citroën C4 WRC | 4:10:55.4 | |||||||
| 3 | Ford Focus RS WRC 09 | 4:11:27.5 | |||||||
| 8 | (26 – 29 June) – Results and report |
1 | Ford Focus RS WRC 09 | 3:07:27.5 | 18 | 352.00 km | 48 | 34 | |
| 2 | Citroën C4 WRC | 3:08:37.8 | |||||||
| 3 | Focus RS WRC 08 | 3:09:33.2 | |||||||
| 9 | (31 July – 2 August) – Results and report |
1 | Ford Focus RS WRC 09 | 2:50:40.9 | 23 | 345.15 km | 90 | 60 | |
| 2 | Citroën C4 WRC | 2:51:06.0 | |||||||
| 3 | Ford Focus RS WRC 09 | 2:51:30.8 | |||||||
| 10 | (4 – 6 September) – Results and report |
1 | Ford Focus RS WRC 09 | 2:53:06.5 | (35)3a 33 |
(344.72 km)3b 322.06 km |
40 | 25 | |
| 2 | Citroën C4 WRC | 2:53:54.0 | |||||||
| 3 | Citroën C4 WRC | 2:54:11.1 | |||||||
| 11 | (2 – 4 October) – Results and report |
1 | Citroën C4 WRC | 3:22:14.7 | 18 | 353.62 km | 70 | 52 | |
| 2 | Citroën C4 WRC | 3:22:26.7 | |||||||
| 3 | Ford Focus RS WRC 09 | 3:23:08.8 | |||||||
| 12 | (23 – 25 October) – Results and report |
1 | Citroën C4 WRC | 3:16:25.4 | 16 | 348.30 km | 62 | 50 | |
| 2 | Ford Focus RS WRC 09 | 3:17:31.5 | |||||||
| 3 | Citroën C4 WRC | 3:17:32.5 | |||||||
Notes:
- ^1 – Stages 7 (Murley) and 8 (Fardross) were cancelled.[13]
- ^2 – Stages 3 (Evangelistria) and 16 (Loutraki 2) were cancelled.[14]
- ^3 – Stages 6 (CTEK East 1) and 11 (CTEK East 2) were cancelled.[15]
Drivers' championship
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- Sébastien Loeb secured the drivers' championship title in Wales.
Manufacturers' championship
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- Citroën secured the manufacturers' championship in Catalunya.
JWRC Drivers' championship
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PWRC Drivers' championship
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References
- ^ "Loeb secures sixth title in a row". BBC Sport. 25 October 2009. Archived from the original on 28 October 2009. Retrieved 26 October 2009.
- ^ "2009 WRC sporting regulations (section 51.3)" (PDF).
- ^ "Juwra 2009 WRC calendar". Juwra. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
- ^ "Subaru join Suzuki in pulling out of WRC". France24. 16 December 2008. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
- ^ Grassman, Oliver (12 February 2009). "Solberg launches comeback with own team". Reuters. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
- ^ Evans, David (17 June 2009). "Solberg to test Peugeot 307". Autosport. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
- ^ Klose, Steane (27 December 2008). "Chris Atkinson Scores A Seat With Citroen For 2009 WRC". Drive. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
- ^ "Suzuki pull out of world rally championship". The Guardian. 15 December 2008. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
- ^ Panzariu, Ovidiu (23 January 2009). "Aava Aims for Maiden Points in Ireland". Auto Evolution. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
- ^ Beer, Matt (23 January 2009). "Citroen: Junior team can win too". Autosport. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
- ^ "World Rally Championship – FIA Juniors –". Archived from the original on 29 May 2009. Retrieved 3 July 2009.
- ^ "World Rally Championship - P-WRC -". Archived from the original on 19 April 2009. Retrieved 25 May 2009.
- ^ "4. Rally Ireland 2009 - Event stats". ewrc-results.com. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
- ^ "56. Acropolis Rally of Greece 2009 - Event stats". ewrc-results.com. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
- ^ "20. Repco Rally Australia 2009 - Event stats". ewrc-results.com. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
External links
- Official website of the World Rally Championship
- FIA World Rally Championship 2009 at ewrc-results.com