What is the WRC? All you need to know - guide

redbull.com:

With its youngest-ever champion at the wheel, new events and a new sprint format, World Rally is heading into a new era of competition. The future of WRC is looking bright, so here’s everything you need to know about the World Rally Championship…Having dominated the WRC for the past two seasons, defending champion Kalle Rovanperä is back in action but competing in a limited programme. He’s been rallying since his early teens and wants to enjoy a more relaxed year.

“I want to make use of the time and do what I want to do,” he said. “It’s a time for my personal things out of motorsport. There are trips to take.

I want to visit places where I want to go.”That throws the World Rally Drivers’ Championship open to another driver to (potentially) claim the crown. Toyota team-mate is in a championship-winning car and Hyundai lead driver are both contenders. M-Sport’s Adrian Fourmaux, and could also be in the running to claim the championship crown.

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There are three teams, Toyota Gazoo Racing are the defending champions fielding Evans and Takamoto Katsuta as full-time drivers with world champions Rovanperä and Ogier doing partial programmes. Tänak returns to Hyundai where he and stalwart driver Neuville are joined by part-timers Esapekka Lappi, Dani Sordo and Andreas Mikkelsen. At M-Sport, Fourmaux is teamed with rookie Grégoire Munster where they’ll be racing the Ford Puma Rally1.The 130kW hybrid unit, combined with the 1.6-litre turbocharged engine, gives a current Rally1