About the WRC

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The FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) pits cars and drivers in a series of two, three or four-day events through some of the toughest, and most varied, conditions on the planet. The roads on this epic motorsport adventure range from the ice and snow of Scandinavia to the stifling heat of Jordan - over surfaces including packed ice, smooth asphalt and boulder-strewn rocky tracks.

Unsurprisingly, the series is widely regarded as the most challenging motorsport competition in the world. Established in its current format in 1973, in 2010 drivers and manufacturers will battle it out for the 38th annual drivers' and manufacturers' championship trophies on rallies spread across 13 countries.

The competition itself is deceptively simple. Each rally is split into a number (typically between 15 and 25) of 'special stages' which are run on closed roads. Drivers tackle these stages one car at a time in an effort to complete them in the shortest time. Competitors drive to and from each special stage on normal roads, observing normal traffic regulations. During the special stages, a co-driver, or navigator, reads pace notes to alert the driver to the conditions on the road ahead.

The cars competing at the top level of the sport are known as World Rally Cars, and are based on four-cylinder two-litre production cars. But while they might resemble the models found in a high street showroom, upgrades to the engine, transmission and suspension, mean a WRC car is a turbocharged, four-wheel drive monster that develops more than 300bhp and masses of torque. Regardless of the road surface, these machines can accelerate from a standing start to 100kph in around three seconds. Their top speed depends upon the gearing chosen for each rally, but 220kph is not unusual.

The WRC is regulated and controlled by the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the governing body for worldwide motorsport. Most WRC rallies follow the same basic itinerary: two days of reconnaissance on Tuesday and Wednesday, to enable the driver and co-driver to check the route, and 'shakedown' - in effect practice - on Thursday, followed by the competition itself on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Some events also include 'super special' stages - short and compact sprint tests which often feature two cars racing head-to-head.