The 3 models and drivers who will star in the WRC in 2022

The 2022 World Rally Championship kicks off on Thursday 20 January with the race in Monte Carlo. The biggest change concerns the cars equipped with hybrid technology from this year and following the new Rally1 specifications.

Let’s take a look at the Ford, Hyundai, and Toyota guns and the teams’ drivers below.

Ford Puma Rally1

The Puma Rally1 ends the long journey of the Fiesta WRC as British racing team M-Sport and Ford celebrate 25 years of their WRC partnership. A partnership that has resulted in 7 World Championships, 1,500 wins in special stages of the sport and 268 consecutive placings within the points.

The drivers who will start with the M-Sport Ford WRT this year are:

• Craig Brin.
• Adrian Formo.
• Gus Greensmith.
• Sebastian Leb (in selected games).

Hyundai i20 Rally1

The Korean company’s new rally car keeps the same color with a few minor changes. From the time management decided last spring to remain in the WRC at least until the end of 2024, the racing team has engaged in a fierce road race for the design and extensive development testing of the new car.

The drivers who will race the Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT this year are:

• Ott Tanak.
• Thierry Neville.
• Oliver Solberg (in selected games).
• Danny Sordo (in select games).

Toyota Yaris Rally1

The new Yaris Rally1 follows the design of the new generation of Yaris production – and to be precise, the ‘hot’ GR Yaris. Its colourway maintains Gazoo’s classic philosophy in any form of competition it enters.

The drivers who will race the Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT this year are:

• Elfyn Evans.
• Calle Rovanpera.
• Sebastian Ozier (in selected games).
• Esapeka Lapi (in select games).

It is worth noting that Toyota Gazoo Racing will have a second team in the World Rally Championship of the year, called “Next Generation”, for which the Japanese Takamoto Katsuta will lead and regularly compete in the Manufacturers’ Championship.

The program of WRC matches for 2022 is as follows:

1. 20-23 January Monte Carlo Rally
2. 24-27 February Swedish Rally
3. 21-24 April Croatian Rally
4. 19-22 May Rally Portugal
5. 2nd-5th June Rally Sardinia (Italy)
6. 23-26 June Rally Safari (Kenya)
7. 14-17 July Rally Estonia
8. 4th-7th August Rally Finland
9. 18-21 August (to be announced)
10. 8-11 September Acropolis Rally (Greece)
11. 29 September – 2 October New Zealand Rally
12. 20-23 October Rally Catalonia (Spain)
13. November 10-13 Rally Japan