As the 2022 World Rally Championship (WRC) gets underway, could this be the year that Britain finally comes out on top, for the first time in over two decades? The last British winner was Richard Burns, who won driving for Subaru back in 2001. Since then, the championship has been dominated by France, with Sebastien Loeb taking the top spot in nine consecutive years up to 2012, at which point Sebastien Ogier stepped in and proceeded to win eight times in nine years.
But will this year be different? As the 13-round season gets underway, there are changes in the air. Both Ogier and Loeb will be competing, but not in every race, which means the championship will finally go to someone else for only the second time since 2004. In addition, the championship is adopting new eco-friendly hybrid power, leaving everybody, including the drivers and sponsors, unsure of how things will pan out. One thing we do know is that this year’s British drivers are a talented crop, and they’re driving some of the fastest cars that will be competing in the 2022 championship.
Who are the British drivers?
One of the British competitors with a chance to win this year is Welsh driver Elfyn Evans, who is no stranger to the podium, having been runner-up to his Toyota teammate Sebastien Ogier for the past two seasons. Fans may be pinning their hopes on the 33-year-old driver, but Evans himself has told the BBC that with all the new changes to the cars, there’s no telling who will bring home the trophy this season.
Gus Greensmith is also one to watch, for those hoping for a British win. The 24-year-old Englishman may lack the experience of some of the other competitors, but he has had 58 WRC starts in his career and will be driving the new M-Sport Ford in this year’s championship, which could give him the edge he needs to secure a podium finish, or even a win.
Another highly rated British driver in this year’s championship will be Northern Ireland’s Josh McErlean. After a number of outings in WRC3 last season, 22-year-old McErlean secured his first podium finish in a World Rally Championship at Rally RACC Catalunya in October 2021 under some pretty challenging conditions.
How has the tournament changed this year?
In 2022, the new more sustainable WRC will have drivers competing in brand-new hybrid Rally1 cars with 100kW electric motors combined with 1.6-liter turbocharged petrol engines. The cars will be more environmentally friendly but also faster, with an additional 500hp. Everyone is keen to see how these changes will impact the sport, the championship and who ends up on the podiums this season.
How’s it going so far?
Sebastien Loeb started strong with his 80th WRC win at the first rally of the season at Monte Carlo, with Ogier in second place. However, as we’ve said, neither of them is planning to make it to every race in the 13-round tournament. Third place was taken by Ireland’s Craig Breen. At this point, however, it’s still anybody’s championship. Watch this space.
