The 2005 World Rally Championship was the 33rd season in the FIA World Rally Championship. The season began on January 21 with the Monte-Carlo Rally and ended on November 13 with the Rally Australia.
In the drivers' world championship, Citroën Total's Sébastien Loeb successfully defended his title, finishing a record 56 points ahead of Subaru's Petter Solberg and Peugeot's Marcus Grönholm. Loeb also set several other records during the season. He won ten world rallies, beating the previous record of six held by him (2004) and Didier Auriol (1992). He also took six consecutive wins, beating Timo Salonen's 20-year-old record of four. Peugeot's Markko Märtin retired after his co-driver Michael Park was fatally injured in their crash at the Wales Rally GB.
Citroën took the manufacturers' title for the third year in a row, well ahead of Subaru and Ford. PSA Peugeot Citroën still went ahead with their plan to withdraw both Citroën and Peugeot from the series at the end of the season – although Citroën's departure later became a sabbatical as they spent the following year developing a new car for 2007. More blows to manufacturer involvement in the series followed when Mitsubishi and Škoda announced the withdrawal of their factory teams. However, the 2006 season would see Citroën and Škoda continue as the semi-works teams Kronos Citroën and Red Bull Škoda Team, respectively.
The video game WRC: Rally Evolved was based on this season.
Regulation changes Drivers' and co-drivers' helmets are now required to be equipped with a HANS device.
Calendar The 2005 championship was contested over fourteen rounds in Europe, Asia, North America, South America and Oceania. Rd.Start dateFinish dateRallyRally headquartersSurfaceStagesDistanceSupport class121 January23 January 73rd Rallye Automobile Monte-CarloMonte CarloMixed15353.07 kmJWRC211 February13 February 54th Uddeholm Swedish RallyKarlstad, Värmland CountySnow20335.55 kmPWRC311 March13 March 2nd Corona Rally MexicoLeón, GuanajuatoGravel14355.97 kmJWRC47 April10 April 36th Propecia Rally New ZealandManukau, AucklandGravel20356.00 kmPWRC529 April1 May 2nd Supermag Rally Italia SardiniaOlbia, SardiniaGravel17349.08 kmJWRC613 May15 May 33rd Cyprus RallyLemesos, Limassol DistrictGravel18326.68 kmPWRC73 June5 June 6th Rally of TurkeyKemer, Antalya ProvinceGravel18351.03 kmPWRC823 June26 June 52nd Acropolis Rally of GreeceLamia, Central GreeceGravel19349.57 kmJWRC914 July17 July 25th Rally ArgentinaCarlos Paz, CórdobaGravel22340.82 kmPWRC104 August7 August 55th Neste Rally FinlandJyväskylä, Central FinlandGravel21355.59 kmJWRC1126 August28 August 24th OMV ADAC Rallye DeutschlandTrier, Rhineland-PalatinateTarmac19356.16 kmJWRC1215 September18 September 61st Wales Rally GBCardiff, WalesGravel17354.22 kmPWRC1330 September2 October 5th Rally JapanObihiro, HokkaidoGravel26350.18 kmPWRC1421 October23 October 49th Tour de Corse – Rallye de FranceAjaccio, CorsicaTarmac12341.68 kmJWRC1528 October30 October 41st RallyRACC Catalunya – Costa DauradaSalou, CataloniaTarmac15358.75 kmJWRC1610 November13 November 18th Telstra Rally AustraliaPerth, Western AustraliaGravel26355.39 kmPWRCSources:
Teams and drivers ManufacturersManufacturerCarTeamTyreNoDriversCo-DriversRoundsCitroënXsara WRC Citroën Total1 Sébastien Loeb Daniel ElenaAll2 François Duval Stéphane Prévot1–6 Sven Smeets9–16 Carlos Sainz Marc Marti7–8FordFocus RS WRC 04 Focus RS WRC 06 BP Ford World Rally Team3 Toni Gardemeister Jakke HonkanenAll4 Roman Kresta Jan Možný3–10 Henning Solberg Cato Menkerud2 Daniel Solà Xavier Amigò3 Mikko Hirvonen Jarmo Lehtinen1014 Roman Kresta Jan Tománek1–2, 11–16 Henning Solberg Cato Menkerud5–8, 10, 12 Daniel Solà Xavier Amigò11, 13–16 Antony Warmbold Damien Connolly115 Michael Orr2, 7, 9, 13-143, 6, 12, 15-16 Luís Pérez Companc Jose Maria Volta4, 916 Antony Warmbold Michael Orr5, 10174, 8SubaruImpreza WRC 04 Impreza WRC 05 Subaru World Rally Team5 Petter Solberg Phil MillsAll6 Stéphane Sarrazin Denis Giraudet2, 5, 8, 11–12, 14–15 Chris Atkinson Glenn Macneall3–10, 12–13, 16152, 111615 Stéphane Sarrazin Patrick Pivato117 Chris Atkinson Glenn Macneall14Peugeot307 WRC/307 WRC Evo2 Marlboro Peugeot Total7 Marcus Grönholm Timo RautiainenAll8 Markko Märtin Michael Park1–12 Daniel Carlsson Mattias Andersson13, 16 Nicolas Bernardi Jean-Marc Fortin14–15MitsubishiLancer WRC 05 Mitsubishi Motors Motor Sports9 Harri Rovanperä Risto PietiläinenAll10 Gilles Panizzi Hervé Panizzi1, 3, 6, 13–14 Gianluigi Galli Guido D'Amore2, 4-5, 7-12, 15–1618142513ŠkodaFabia WRC Škoda Motorsport11 Armin Schwarz Klaus Wicha1, 3–16 Mattias Ekström Stefan Bergman212 Alexandre Bengué Caroline Escudero-Bengué1, 11, 14–15 Janne Tuohino Mikko Markkula2, 4–8 Jani Paasonen Jani Vainikka3, 9–10 Colin McRae Nicky Grist12, 16 Mikko Hirvonen Jarmo Lehtinen1316 Jani Paasonen Jani Vainikka217 Janne Tuohino Mikko Markkula10 Jan Kopecký Filip Schovánek11, 14–1518 Jani Paasonen Jani Vainikka8 World Rally Car entries ineligible to score manufacturer pointsManufacturerCarTeamTyreDriversCo-DriversRoundsCitroënXsara WRC OMV World Rally Team Manfred Stohl Ilka Minor1, 4–6, 8–12, 16 Xavier Pons Carlos del Barrio8–12, 14–16 Juuso Pykälistö Mika Ovaskainen5FordFocus RS WRC 04 Stobart VK Ford Rally Team Mark Higgins Trevor Agnew5, 8, 12Focus RS WRC 02 Matthew Wilson Scott Martin12HyundaiHyundai Accent WRC3 Hyundai Assan Motorsports Serkan Yazici Can Okan7Hyundai Accent WRC Ali Deveci Mehmet Yazici7 Murat Akdilek Ozden Yilmaz7FordFocus RS WRC 03 M-Sport Mikko Hirvonen Jarmo Lehtinen2, 5, 8, 15Peugeot206 WRC Bozian Racing Daniel Carlsson Mattias Andersson6, 9 Marcos Ligato Ruben Garcia9 Xavier Pons Oriol Juliá Pascual5 Lucas Cruz3 Didier Auriol Denis Giraudet1 Ricardo Triviño Carlos del Barrio3 Claudio Busto9 Checo Salom15307 WRC Daniel Carlsson Mattias Andersson2206 WRC Xavier Pons Xavier Pons Oriol Juliá Pascual1ŠkodaFabia WRC Equipe de France FFSA Nicolas Vouilloz Patrick Pivato14–15Peugeot206 WRC Nicolas Bernardi Jean-Marc Fortin11–12ToyotaCorolla WRC Jari-Matti Latvala Jari-Matti Latvala Miikka Anttila2, 10FordFocus RS WRC 0312Peugeot206 WRC Štěpán Vojtěch Štěpán Vojtěch Michal Ernst11SubaruImpreza WRC 03 Eamonn Boland Eamonn Boland Francis Regan1FordFocus RS WRC 0315Peugeot307 WRC Sebastian Lindholm Sebastian Lindholm Tomi Tuominen10SubaruImpreza WRC 04 Rally Team Olsbergs Daniel Carlsson Mattias Andersson5, 7–8 Tobias Johansson Ola Fløene2 Kaj Lindström3, 5, 7–8ŠkodaOctavia WRC Riccardo Errani Riccardo Errani Stefano Casadio1, 5FordFocus WRC 02 Kristian Sohlberg Kristian Sohlberg Kaj Lindström2SubaruImpreza WRC 04 Timo Hantunen8, 10Peugeot206 WRC George Tracey George Tracey Maria Andersson2ToyotaCorolla WRC Giovanni Recordati Giovanni Recordati Freddy Delorme5, 6ŠkodaFabia WRC Nigel Heath Nigel Heath Steve Lancaster5SubaruImpreza WRC 017FordFocus WRC 02 Balázs Benik Balázs Benik Attila Vinoczai6SubaruImpreza WRC 04 Armodios Vovos Armodios Vovos "El-Em"7–8FordFocus WRC 01 Mehmet Besler Mehmet Besler Afsin Baydar7 Nejat Avci Nejat Avci Batuhan Memisyazici7Focus RS WRC 03 Ioannis Papadimitriou Ioannis Papadimitriou Allan Harryman8ŠkodaOctavia WRC Evo3 Yorgo Philippedes Yorgo Philippedes Marshall Clarke8SubaruImpreza WRC 03 Juan Pablo Raies Juan Pablo Raies Jorge Perez Companc9FordFocus WRC 00 Julian Reynolds Julian Reynolds Ieuan Thomas12ŠkodaFabia WRC Craig Middleton Craig Middleton Robin Hernaman12SubaruImpreza WRC 99 John Lloyd John Lloyd Pauline Gullick12SEATCórdoba WRC Evo3 Joan Ollé Joan Ollé Ramón Izquierdo15FordFocus WRC 01 Massimo Beltrami Massimo Beltrami Fabio Ceschino15SubaruImpreza WRC 03 Paddy White Paddy White Martin Brady15SubaruImpreza WRC 04 Kris Meeke Kris Meeke Glenn Patterson12Peugeot206 WRC Luca Rossetti Luca Rossetti Dario D'Esposito1
JWRC Entries No Entrant Driver Co-driver Car Rounds 31 Suzuki Sport Europe Per-Gunnar Andersson Jonas Andersson Suzuki Ignis S1600 1, 3, 5, 8 Suzuki Swift S1600 10–11, 15 32 Guy Wilks Phil Pugh 10–11, 15 Suzuki Ignis S1600 1, 3, 5, 8 33 Kosti Katajamäki Timo Alanne 1, 5, 8, 10–11, 14–15 36 Urmo Aava Kuldar Sikk 1, 5, 8, 10–11, 14–15 34 Fiat Abarth Motorsport Mirco Baldacci Giovanni Bernacchini Fiat Punto S1600 1, 5, 8, 10–11, 14–15 35 Kronos Racing Kris Meeke Chris Patterson Citroën C2 S1600 1, 5, 8 Glenn Patterson 10–11, 14–15 41 Daniel Sordo Marc Martí 1, 5, 10–11, 14–15 Oriol Julià 8 37 Errepi Racing Alan Scorcioni Domenico Scorcioni Suzuki Ignis S1600 15 Silvio Stefanelli 1, 5, 8, 14 Fiat Punto S1600 10 Toni Moreno 11 38 Power Car Team Luca Betti Giovanni Agnese Renault Clio S1600 1, 5, 8, 11, 14–15 Piercarlo Capalongo 10 39 Autorel Sport Luca Cecchettini Massimo Daddoveri Renault Clio S1600 1 Fiat Punto S1600 3, 5, 8, 11 Antonio Morassi 14–15 40 PH Sport Conrad Rautenbach Carl Williamson Citroën Saxo S1600 3 Citroën C2 S1600 5, 8, 10–11, 14–15 42 Trumf Rally Team Pavel Valoušek Pierangelo Scalvini Suzuki Ignis S1600 1, 3, 5, 10–11 Petr Starý 14–15 43 Jipocar Racing Martin Prokop Petr Gross Suzuki Ignis S1600 1, 5, 8, 10–11, 14–15
PWRC entries No Entrant Driver Co-driver Car Rounds 31 Subaru Team Arai Toshihiro Arai Tony Sircombe Subaru Impreza WRX STI 2, 4, 6–7, 13, 16 32 Ralliart Spain Xavier Pons Oriol Julià Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII 2, 4, 6–7 33 Autotek Motorsport Nasser Al-Attiyah Chris Patterson Subaru Impreza WRX STI 4, 6–7, 9, 12, 16 34 Advan-Piaa Rally Team Fumio Nutahara Satoshi Hayashi Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII 2, 4, 6–7, 13, 16 35 Team Proton Pert Malaysia Karamjit Singh John Bennie Proton Pert 4, 6–7, 12 36 Subaru Argentina Rally Team Marcos Ligato Rubén García Subaru Impreza WRX STI 4, 6–7, 12–13, 16 40 Gabriel Pozzo Daniel Stillo 4, 6–7, 9, 13, 16 44 Sebastián Beltran Edgardo Galindo 4, 6–7, 9, 13, 16 37 Top Run SRL Mark Higgins Trevor Agnew Subaru Impreza WRX STI 2, 4, 6–7, 9 Daniel Barritt 16 51 Brice Tirabassi Matthieu Baumel 4, 6–7, 9, 12–13 38 Motoring Club Fabio Frisiero Giovanni Agnese Subaru Impreza WRX STI 2, 6–7, 9, 12 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII 16 39 Millbrooks World Rally Team Joakim Roman Ragnar Spjuth Subaru Impreza WRX STI 2, 6–7, 9 Anders Wallbom 12 41 OMV World Rally Team Natalie Barratt Carl Williamson Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII 4, 6–7, 13 Kaj Lindström Subaru Impreza WRX STI 12, 16 42 Villagra Racing Federico Villagra Javier Villagra Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII 4, 6–7, 9, 13, 16 43 Kome Sport SRL Angelo Medeghini Barbara Capoferri Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII 2, 4, 6, 9 Subaru Impreza WRX STI 12, 16 45 Errani Team Group Riccardo Errani Stefano Casadio Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII 2, 6–7, 12–13, 16 47 Aba Ba Marcelo Recanate Víctor Federer Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI 4 Nalson Franco Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII 6 Mikael Johansson 7 48 Gerardo Rosselot Mujica Luis Rosselot Ricardo Rojas Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII 4, 6–7, 9, 13 49 Oman World Rally Team Hamed Al-Wahaibi David Senior Subaru Impreza WRX STI 4, 6–7, 12–13, 16 50 Syms Rally Team Aki Teiskonen Miika Teiskonen Subaru Impreza WRX STI 2, 4, 7, 12–13, 16
Results and standings Rally results The highest finishing competitor entered in each WRC class is listed below. Non-championship entries may have finished ahead of WRC competitors in individual rounds.