The 2015 World Rally Championship season is the forty-third edition of the WRC, the top rallying series. It consists of thirteen rallies, starting with the unpredictable Monte Carlo Rally and finishing on the mud of Rally GB. The reigning drivers’ champion is Frenchman Sebastien Ogier whilst his team, Volkswagen Motorsport, holds the title of the reigning manufacturers’ champions. The season also sees three support categories running alongside the WRC, namely the WRC-2, WRC-3 and Junior WRC championships.
2015 Calendar
| Round | Date | Rally | Surface |
| 1 | 22-25 January | 83eme Rallye Monte Carlo | Mixed |
| 2 | 12-15 February | 63rd Rally Sweden | Snow |
| 3 | 5-8 March | 29. Rally Mexico | Gravel |
| 4 | 23-26 April | 35. Rally Argentina | Gravel |
| 5 | 21-24 May | 49. Rally de Portugal | Gravel |
| 6 | 11-14 June | 12. Rally d’Italia Sardegna | Gravel |
| 7 | 2-5 July | 72nd Rally Poland | Gravel |
| 8 | 30 July – 2 August | 65th Rally Finland | Gravel |
| 9 | 20-23 August | 33. Rallye Deutschland | Tarmac |
| 10 | 10-13 September | 24th Rally Australia | Gravel |
| 11 | 1-4 October | 58. Tour de Corse | Tarmac |
| 12 | 22-25 October | 51. Rally Catalunya | Mixed |
| 13 | 12-15 November | 71st Wales Rally GB | Gravel |
Driver Line-Up
There have been a couple of driver changes from 2014, most notably the absence of Mikko Hirvonen, who chose to retire from the sport with 15 WRC wins to his name. That left a space in the M-Sport team, which was filled by Estonian Ott Tanak, who had impressed many with his driving in the past few seasons including a season with the team back in 2012. His team-mate will be Elfyn Evans, who remains with M-Sport following an encouraging debut season last year. Martin Prokop and newcomer Lorenzo Bertelli will also be running Ford Fiestas for their private teams.
The current manufacturers’ champions Volkswagen have stuck with the same drivers that dominated the 2014 season, including reigning champion Sebastien Ogier. His team-mate is the always spectacular Jari-Matti Latvala, with Andreas Mikkelsen driving for the second team in a third Volkswagen.
Citroen have also retained their driver line-up from 2014 in the hope of building on a relatively disappointing 2014; Kris Meeke and Mads Ostberg will be their drivers. However, nine time World Champion Sebastien Loeb will return for the Monte Carlo Rally in January in what is predicted to be a one-off appearance.
The line-up is completed by the Hyundai team, who had an incredibly promising 2014, including their debut win with the all new i20 courtesy of Thierry Neuville. Dani Sordo will be the driver alongside the Belgian, with a third car being run on selected rallies.
2015 WRC Rally Reports and Standings
83eme Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo (Preview)
Drivers’ Championship Standings
| Pos. | Driver Name | MC | SWE | MEX | ARG | POR | ITA | POL | FIN | Total |
| 1 | S. Ogier | 25 | 25 + 3 | 25 + 3 | 0 + 3 | 18 + 3 | 25 + 3 | 25 + 3 | 18 + 3 | 161 |
| 2 | J. Latvala | 18 + 1 | Ret | 0 | Ret | 25 + 2 | 8 + 2 | 10 | 25 + 2 | 93 |
| 3 | M. Ostberg | 12 | 1 + 1 | 18 | 18 + 1 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 15 | 84 |
| 4 | A. Mikkelsen | 15 | 15 | 15 + 2 | Ret | 15 + 1 | 0 + 1 | 18 + 1 | Ret | 83 |
| 5 | T. Neuville | 10 | 18 + 2 | 4 + 1 | Ret | 0 | 15 | 8 | 12 | 70 |
| 6 | K. Meeke | 1 + 3 | 6 | 0 | 25 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 0 + 1 | 54 |
| 7 | E. Evans | 6 | 8 | 12 | 15 | 0 | 12 | R | 0 | 53 |
| 8 | O. Tanak | 0 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 15 + 2 | 10 | 50 |
| 9 | H. Paddon | – | 10 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 18 | 12 | Ret | 44 |
| 10 | D. Sordo | 8 | – | 10 | 10 + 2 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 39 |
| 11 | M. Prokop | 2 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 1 | Ret | 0 | 6 | 33 |
| 12 | K. Al-Qassimi | – | – | – | 8 | 0 | 1 | – | 0 | 9 |
| 13 | J. Hanninen | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 6 | 8 |
| 14 | Y. Protasov | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 8 |
| 15 | N. Al-Attiyah | – | – | 6 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 6 |
Manufacturers’ Championship Standings
| Pos. | Team Name | MC | SWE | MEX | ARG | POR | ITA | POL | FIN | Total |
| 1 | Volkswagen | 25 + 18 | 25 + 0 | 25 + 6 | 4 + 0 | 18 + 25 | 25 + 8 | 25 + 10 | 18 + 25 | 257 |
| 2 | Citroen | 4 + 8 | 6 + 2 | 4 + 18 | 25 + 18 | 12 + 6 | 2 + 10 | 6 + 4 | 1 + 15 | 141 |
| 3 | Hyundai | 15 + 12 | 18 + 10 | 8 + 12 | 0 + 10 | 1 + 8 | 15 + 4 | 8 + 2 | 12 + 4 | 139 |
| 4 | M-Sport | 10 + 2 | 8 + 12 | 15 + 1 | 15 + 8 | 0 + 6 | 12 + 6 | 15 + 0 | 2 + 10 | 126 |
| 5 | Volkswagen II | – | 15 | – | 0 | 15 | 1 | 18 | 0 | 49 |
| 6 | Hyundai N | – | 1 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 18 | 12 | 0 | 43 |
| 7 | Jipocar Czech | 6 | 4 | 10 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 43 |
| 8 | F.W.R.T | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | – | 0 | 0 | 6 | 9 |
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