The 2017 FIA WRC2 Championship is the fifth season of the WRC2, a rallying championship organised and governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, running in support of the World Rally Championship. The Championship is open to cars complying with R4, R5, and Super 2000 regulations. Esapekka Lappi did not return to defend his 2016 title as he left Škoda Motorsport for the top WRC category to become third driver of Toyota GAZOO Racing. However, Škoda Motorsport retained the title thanks to Pontus Tidemand who won the championship after Rallye Deutschland.
Calendar
Teams and drivers Crews that are eligible for the WRC2 title Car Class Tyre Rounds CHL Sport Auto Citroën DS3 R5 R5 Yoann Bonato Benjamin Boulloud J-Motorsport Citroën DS3 R5 R5 Emil Bergkvist Joakim Sjöberg 1–2, 4, 6 Ola Fløene 10, 12 M-Sport World Rally Team Ford Fiesta R5 R5 Eric Camilli Benjamin Veillas 1–4, 6, 10, 12 Teemu Suninen Mikko Markkula 2, 4, 6, 10–12 Gus Greensmith 2, 6, 8–12 Pierre-Louis Loubet 6–7, 9–10, 12 Citroën DS3 R5 2, 4 Škoda Motorsport Škoda Fabia R5 R5 Pontus Tidemand Jonas Andersson Škoda Motorsport II 8 Motorsport Italia SRL Škoda Fabia R5 R5 Benito Guerra Borja Rozada 3, 12 Daniel Cué 5–6, 8, 10–11 Gekon Racing Citroën DS3 R5 R5 4, 6, 8–12 ACI Team Italia Hyundai i20 R5 R5 Fabio Andolfi 4, 6–10 11–12 R5 Łukasz Pieniążek Printsport Škoda Fabia R5 12Source: Key Icon Class R4 Classification R5 S Super 2000
Crews that are ineligible for the WRC2 title Car Class Tyre Rounds Škoda Motorsport Škoda Fabia R5 R5 Andreas Mikkelsen Anders Jæger 1, 4, 6 Ole Christian Veiby Stig Rune Skjærmoen 12 Jan Kopecký Pavel Dresler 1, 4, 10 Škoda Motorsport II 7, 11 Juuso Nordgren Tapio Suominen 11–12 TGS Worldwide 9 Škoda Fabia R5 R5 Armin Kremer Pirmin Winklhofer 1 Marijan Griebel Stefan Kopczyk 10 Tagai Racing Technology Škoda Fabia R5 R5 Quentin Gilbert Renaud Jamoul 6, 8–10 D-Max Racing Ford Fiesta R5 1 Andrea Crugnola Michele Ferrara 1 Gemini Clinic Rally Team Ford Fiesta R5 R5 Bryan Bouffier Denis Giraudet 1, 4 Rhys Yates Alex Lee 11–12 BRC Racing Team Ford Fiesta R5 R5 Simone Scattolin 1 Sébastien Loeb Racing R5 Quentin Giordano Thomas Roux 1 Printsport Škoda Fabia R5 R5 Ole Christian Veiby Jari Huttunen 9 Anders Grøndal Rally Team Ford Fiesta R5 R5 Anders Grøndal 2 Adapta Motorsport AS Ford Fiesta R5 R5 Eyvind Brynildsen 2 12 Škoda Fabia R5 Bernhard ten Brinke 10 Hyundai i20 R5 Tom Cave 9 Styllex Motorsport Ford Fiesta R5 12 Škoda Fabia R5 Martin Koči 4 Edwin Schilt 10 C-Rally Ford Fiesta R5 R5 Ireneusz Pleskot 2, 8 Stuart Loudon 12 Russian Performance Motorsport Ford Fiesta R5 R5 Alexey Lukyanuk 2 Tommi Mäkinen Racing Ford Fiesta R5 R5 Takamoto Katsuta Hiroki Arai 2, 6–7, 9, 11 Orlen Team Škoda Fabia R5 R5 Hubert Ptaszek 3, 5–6, 8 M-Sport World Rally Team Ford Fiesta R5 R5 Pedro Heller 3, 5–6, 8, 12 Kalle Rovanperä Jonne Halttunen 12–13 Matt Edwards Patrick Walsh 12 Saintéloc Racing Citroën DS3 R5 R5 Yohan Rossel Easy Rally Citroën DS3 R5 R5 Laurent Pellier 4 Saba Competitión Škoda Fabia R5 R5 Gustavo Saba 5 Juan Carlos Alonso 5 Ford Fiesta R5 Cristian García 11 Drive DMACK Trophy Team Ford Fiesta R5 R5 Max Vatanen 6, 12 Osian Pryce 8–9 Jon Armstrong 10–11 R5 Miguel Campos António Costa 6 FF-Sport Ford Fiesta R5 R5 Wojciech Chuchała 8 Škoda Fabia R5 David Bogie 12 Tehase Auto Škoda Fabia R5 R5 Raul Jeets 8–9, 12 S.A. Motorsport Italia Srl Škoda Fabia R5 R5 Umberto Scandola 9 Toksport World Rally Team Škoda Fabia R5 R5 Orhan Avcioğlu 11–12 Source: Key Icon Class R4 Classification R5 S Super 2000
Regulation changes Sporting regulations The format of the series will change to include three events nominated by the FIA that will be compulsory for all crews competing for points. This represents a change from previous years, where competitors were free to enter as many rounds of the championship as they wished, nominating individual rounds to count as their points-scoring events. The change was introduced to address concerns over the potential for an anticlimactic championship, where the championship could be resolved without the leading crews directly competing against one another. The Rallies of Portugal, Germany and Great Britain are the compulsory events for 2017.
Season report
The championship started with Andreas Mikkelsen, in a one-off outing with Škoda Motorsport after losing his WRC drive because of the Volkswagen Motorsport withdrawal from the sport, winning the Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo by more than 3 minutes from teammate Jan Kopecký. Mikkelsen won 10 out of 15 stages, and led from start to end. The podium was completed by Monte veteran and previous winner Bryan Bouffier. Eric Camilli finished fourth in his first outing with the M-Sport World Rally Team after being demoted from the team's WRC drivers line up.
Ole Christian Veiby was the early leader of the Rally Sweden, winning the first two stages of the rally, but a push by Pontus Tidemand in which he won five of the remaining six stages of the leg 1, made him the Leader of the rally, a position he would maintain for the rest of the legs. Tidemand's victory give Škoda Motorsport the second victory of the season in a row. The Podium was completed by M-Sport World Rally Team's Teemu Suninen and Veiby.
Rally Mexico was a two-way fight between Camilli and Tidemand. By the end of Leg 2, Tidemand was on top by just 2 seconds. Nevertheless, Camilli choose wet tires for the last leg, and could not match the times of Tidemand, thus the Sweden won his second rally in a row, and give Škoda Motorsport the third out of three win in the season. The podium was completed by local and former Production World Rally Champion Benito Guerra.
Andreas Mikkelsen returned to the Škoda Motorsport's team for the Tour de Corse, and dominated the event, leading from start to finish. Teemu Suninen finished second, taking the position after his teammate Eric Camilli hit trouble in the first leg. The podium was completed by local Yohan Rossel. Mikkelsen's win was his second in as many outings.
Pontus Tidemand won the Rally Argentina by more than 10 minutes from local Juan Carlos Alonso to continue Škoda Motorsport's winning streak. Tidemand found a trouble-free weekend in one of the roughest events of the year were only five WRC-2 Crews finished the event. Benito Guerra completed the podium.
Mikkelsen returned for the Rally de Portugal and looked set to take another dominant win, only to roll his car on the very last stage of the rally whilst holding a 3 minute lead. This subsequently handed Tidemand his fourth win from six rallies, with the podium being completed by Teemu Suninen and reigning Junior WRC champion Simone Tempestini.
Results and standings
Season summary
RoundEvent nameWinning driverWinning co-driver1 4:09:36.3Report2 Pontus Tidemand Škoda Motorsport Škoda Fabia R5 2:45:14.7Report3 Rally Mexico Pontus Tidemand Jonas Andersson Škoda Motorsport Škoda Fabia R5 3:32:56.5Report4 Tour de Corse Škoda Fabia R5 3:31:04.1Report5 Rally Argentina Pontus Tidemand Jonas Andersson Škoda Motorsport Škoda Fabia R5 3:55:42.7Report6 Rally de Portugal Pontus Tidemand Jonas Andersson Škoda Motorsport Škoda Fabia R5 3:54:17.6Report7 Rally Italia Sardegna Jan Kopecký Pavel Dresler Škoda Fabia R5 3:36:36.5Report8 Rally Poland Ole Christian Veiby Printsport Škoda Fabia R5 2:53:39.3Report9 Rally Finland Jari Huttunen Antti Linnaketo Printsport Škoda Fabia R5 2:39:30.9Report10 Rallye Deutschland Eric Camilli Benjamin Veillas Ford Fiesta R5 3:08:16.0Report11 Teemu Suninen Mikko Markkula M-Sport World Rally Team Ford Fiesta R5 3:09:43.8Report12 Wales Rally GB Pontus Tidemand Jonas Andersson Škoda Motorsport Škoda Fabia R5 3:07:12.2Report13 Rally Australia Kalle Rovanperä Jonne Halttunen Kalle Rovanperä Ford Fiesta R5 3:09:01.1Report
FIA WRC2 Championship for Drivers
Points are awarded to the top ten classified finishers.
Position 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th Points 25 18 15 12 10 8 6 4 2 1
Driver MON SWE MEX FRA ARG POR ITA POL FIN GER ESP GBR AUS Drops Points 1 Pontus Tidemand 1 1 1 1 2 3 1 15 143 2 Eric Camilli 4 4 2 8 7 1 2 4 91 3 Teemu Suninen 2 2 2 7 1 13 0 85 4 Jan Kopecký 2 7 1 2 2 0 85 5 Ole Christian Veiby 3 5 2 1 WD DNS 16 68 6 Benito Guerra 3 3 11 4 9 3 WD 0 59 7 Simone Tempestini 4 3 10 5 6 5 20 0 56 8 Quentin Gilbert 5 Ret 3 2 4 0 55 9 Andreas Mikkelsen 1 1 Ret 0 50 10 Ret 6 10 5 7 5 8 0 39 11 Gus Greensmith 5 6 7 8 Ret 13 6 0 36 12 Tom Cave 3 3 0 30 13 Łukasz Pieniążek 10 5 6 11 12 6 9 0 29 14 Yohan Rossel 3 16 4 15 WD 0 27 15 Kalle Rovanperä 15 1 0 25 16 Jari Huttunen 1 0 25 17 Juuso Nordgren 9 4 5 0 24 18 Emil Bergkvist 6 6 9 Ret 10 Ret 0 19 19 Juan Carlos Alonso 2 0 18 20 Pedro Heller 4 Ret 8 9 18 0 18 21 Takamoto Katsuta 9 12 3 Ret 14 0 17 22 Bryan Bouffier 3 Ret 0 15 23 Osian Pryce Ret 4 0 12 24 Gustavo Saba 4 0 12 25 Miguel Campos 4 0 12 26 David Bogie 4 0 12 27 Hubert Ptaszek Ret 5 9 Ret 0 12 28 Yoann Bonato Ret Ret 15 5 13 10 11 0 11 29 Raul Jeets Ret 6 12 0 8 30 Wojciech Chuchała 6 0 8 31 Hiroki Arai 7 Ret Ret Ret Ret 0 6 32 Andrea Crugnola 7 0 6 33 Cristian García 7 0 6 34 Matt Edwards 7 0 6 35 Fabio Andolfi WD 13 Ret 8 Ret WD 12 10 0 5 36 Orhan Avcioglu 8 14 0 4 37 Eyvind Brynildsen 8 Ret 0 4 38 Marijan Griebel 8 4 39 Jon Armstrong 14 9 0 2 40 Jarosław Kołtun 10 Ret 0 1 41 Umberto Scandola 10 0 1 — Alexey Lukyanuk 11 — — — Max Vatanen 12 WD — — — Armin Kremer Ret — — — Ret — — — Quentin Giordano Ret — — — Anders Grøndal Ret — — — Martin Koči Ret — — — Laurent Pellier Ret — — — Max Rendina WD — — — Radik Shaymiev WD — — Driver MON SWE MEX FRA ARG POR ITA POL FIN GER ESP GBR AUS Drops Points
FIA WRC2 Championship for Co-Drivers
Co-driver MON SWE MEX FRA ARG POR ITA POL FIN GER ESP GBR AUS Drops Points 1 Jonas Andersson 1 1 1 1 2 3 1 15 143 2 Benjamin Veillas 4 4 2 8 7 1 2 4 91 3 Mikko Markkula 2 2 2 7 1 13 0 85 4 Pavel Dresler 2 7 1 2 2 0 85 5 3 5 2 1 WD 16 0 68 6 Giovanni Bernacchini 4 3 10 5 6 5 20 0 56 7 Renaud Jamoul 5 Ret 3 2 4 0 55 8 Anders Jæger 1 1 Ret 0 50 9 Daniel Cué 3 11 4 9 3 0 44 10 Vincent Landais Ret 6 10 5 7 5 8 0 39 11 Craig Parry 5 6 7 8 Ret 13 6 0 36 12 James Morgan 3 3 0 30 13 Przemysław Mazur 10 5 6 12 12 6 9 0 29 14 Benoît Fulcrand 3 16 4 15 WD 0 27 15 Jonne Halttunen 15 1 0 25 16 Antti Linnaketo 1 0 25 17 Tapio Suominen 4 5 0 22 18 Matias Mercadal 2 0 18 19 Pablo Olmos 4 Ret 8 9 18 0 18 20 Joakim Sjöberg 6 6 9 Ret 0 18 21 Marko Salminen 9 12 3 Ret 14 0 17 22 Denis Giraudet 3 Ret 0 15 23 Borja Rozada 3 WD 0 15 24 Dale Furniss Ret 4 0 12 25 Fernando Mussano 4 0 12 26 António Costa 4 0 12 27 Kevin Rae 4 0 12 28 Maciej Szczepaniak Ret 5 9 Ret 0 12 29 Benjamin Boulloud Ret Ret 15 5 13 10 11 0 11 30 Kuldar Sikk Ret 6 12 0 8 31 Sebastian Rozwadowski 6 0 8 32 Michele Ferrara 7 10 0 7 33 Glenn MacNeall 7 Ret Ret Ret Ret 0 6 34 Pablo Marcos 7 0 6 35 Patrick Walsh 7 0 6 36 Manuel Fenoli WD 13 Ret 8 Ret WD 0 4 37 Burcin Korkmaz 8 14 0 4 38 Anders Fredriksson 8 Ret 0 4 39 Noel O'Sullivan 14 9 0 2 40 Mikael Korhonen 9 0 2 41 Simone Scattolin 12 10 0 1 42 Ireneusz Pleskot 10 Ret 0 1 43 Ola Fløene 10 Ret 0 1 — Alexey Arnautov 11 — — — Jacques-Julien Renucci 12 — — — Pirmin Winklhofer Ret — — — Simone Scattolin Ret — — — Thomas Roux Ret — — — Roger Eilertsen Ret — — — Lukáš Kostka Ret — — — Benoit Neyret-Gigot Ret — — — Emanuele Inglesi WD — — — Maxim Tsvetkov WD — — Co-driver MON SWE MEX FRA ARG POR ITA POL FIN GER ESP GBR AUS Drops Points
FIA WRC2 Championship for Teams