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The 2006 World Rally Championship was the 34th season in the FIA World Rally Championship. The season began on January 20 with the 74th Monte Carlo Rally where Finland's Marcus Grönholm, in a Ford Focus RS WRC, took the win ahead of France's Sébastien Loeb. After the Swedish Rally ended with the same top-two, Loeb and Kronos Citroën went on to win five rallies in a row. Despite an injury in a mountain-biking accident before the Rally of Turkey, forcing Loeb to miss last four rallies, he secured his third drivers' title, whereas Ford won their first manufacturers' title since 1979.
Rule changes
In an attempt to cut costs, new regulations required mechanical front and rear differentials, while the central differential remained active. Active suspension and water injections were also prohibited. Cars entered by a manufacturer had to be equipped with the same engine for two rallies; further limitations were imposed on the changing of some parts, including suspension, steering, turbochargers and gearboxes.
For 2006 manufacturer is understood to mean a manufacturer, a team designated by a manufacturer, or a privateer team taking part with a single make of car.
Two categories were created to compete for the Manufacturer's championship:
Manufacturer 1 (M1)
- undertakes to take part in all the rallies of the Championship
- must enter only cars corresponding to the latest homologated version of a World Rally Car in conformity with the 2006 Appendix J
- must inform the FIA of the name of the first driver entered for the season at the time of registration for the Championship. No change of the first driver is authorised, except in a case of force majeure. The driver of the second car may be changed for each of the rallies in the Championship
- In order to score points in the Championship, a Manufacturer 1 must take part with two cars of the same make in the 16 rallies of the calendar
Manufacturer 2 (M2)
- undertakes to take part in 10 or more Championship rallies which it has nominated
- cannot enter World Rally Cars homologated during the year 2006 and cannot use parts homologated after 2 January 2006
- cannot enter a driver who has been classified among the first six in the final classification of the FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers in the last five years
- In order to score points in the Championship, a Manufacturer 2 must take part with two cars of the same make in 10 or more rallies it nominated on registering for the Championship. The Manufacturer can only score points in the events it nominated on registering
Calendar
The 2006 championship was contested over sixteen rounds in Europe, Asia, the Americas and Oceania.
Round | Rally | Surface | Dates | Support classes |
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1 | Monte Carlo Rally | Tarmac / Snow | 20–22 January | Production WRC |
2 | Swedish Rally | Snow | 3–5 February | Junior WRC |
3 | Rally Mexico | Gravel | 3–5 March | Production WRC |
4 | Rally Catalunya | Tarmac | 24–26 March | Junior WRC |
5 | Tour de Corse | Tarmac | 7–9 April | Junior WRC |
6 | Rally Argentina | Gravel | 28–30 April | Junior WRC & Production WRC |
7 | Rally d'Italia Sardegna | Gravel | 19–21 May | Junior WRC |
8 | Acropolis Rally | Gravel | 2–4 June | Production WRC |
9 | Rallye Deutschland | Tarmac | 11–13 August | Junior WRC |
10 | Rally Finland | Gravel | 17–20 August | Junior WRC |
11 | Rally Japan | Gravel | 1–3 September | Production WRC |
12 | Cyprus Rally | Gravel | 22–24 September | Production WRC |
13 | Rally of Turkey | Gravel | 13–15 October | Junior WRC |
14 | Rally Australia | Gravel | 26–29 October | Production WRC |
15 | Rally New Zealand | Gravel | 17–19 November | Production WRC |
16 | Wales Rally GB | Gravel | 1–3 December | Junior WRC |
Teams and drivers
Notes
This is the first season without Carlos Sainz since 1986.
† Sebastien Loeb broke his arm before Rally Turkey and missed the remainder of the season.[1]
JWRC entries
No | Entrant | Drivers | Co-driver | Car | Rounds |
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32 | PH Sport | Kris Meeke | Glenn Patterson | Citroën C2 S1600 | 4–5, 9–10, 13, 16 |
42 | Julien Pressac | Gilles De Turckheim | 4–5, 7 | ||
Jacques Boyere | 9–10, 13 | ||||
55 | Brice Tirabassi | Jacques-Julien Renucci | 4, 5, 7 | ||
Fabrice Gordon | 9 | ||||
Fabio Fiandino | Sabrina de Castelli | Citroën C2 R2 | 10, 13 | ||
33 | Suzuki Sport Europe | Urmo Aava | Kuldar Sikk | Suzuki Swift S1600 | 2, 5, 7, 10, 13, 16 |
35 | Per-Gunnar Andersson | Jonas Andersson | 2, 6–7, 10, 13, 16 | ||
37 | Pavel Valoušek | Pierangelo Scalvini | 2, 5, 7 | ||
Zdeněk Hrůza | 9–10, 13 | ||||
43 | Jaan Mölder | Katrin Becker | 16 | ||
48 | Guy Wilks | Phil Pugh | 2, 6–7, 10, 13, 16 | ||
36 | Autorel Sport | Luca Betti | Piercarlo Capolongo | Renault Clio S1600 | 4–5, 7, 9, 13, 16 |
39 | Barroso Sport | Conrad Rautenbach | David Senior | Renault Clio S1600 | 4–5, 7, 9–10, 13 |
41 | Renault Sport | Patrik Sandell | Emil Axelsson | Renault Clio S1600 | 2, 6–7, 10, 13, 16 |
51 | Fatih Kara | Cerm Bakancocuklari | 4–5, 7, 9, 13, 16 | ||
52 | Bernd Casier | Frédéric Miclotte | 4–5, 7, 9, 13, 16 | ||
43 | M-Sport | Jaan Mölder | Katrin Becker | Ford Fiesta S1600 | 2, 6 |
JM Engineering | Suzuki Ignis S1600 | 7, 10, 13 | |||
44 | Suzuki Shell Helix | Michał Kościuszko | Jaroslaw Baran | Suzuki Ignis S1600 | 2, 4, 7, 9–10, 13 |
45 | Styllex Tuning Motorsport | Jozef Béreš | Petr Starý | Suzuki Ignis S1600 | 2, 4–5, 10, 13, 16 |
46 | Power Car Team | Andrea Cortinovis | Massimiliano Bosi | Renault Clio RS | 2, 4, 7, 10, 16 |
Flavio Zanella | 13 | ||||
47 | Hawk Racing Club | Filippo Bordignon | James Bardini | Opel Astra OPC | 2, 10, 13 |
Justin Bardini | 4, 7, 16 | ||||
49 | Jipocar Czech National Team | Martin Prokop | Jan Tománek | Citroën C2 S1600 | 2, 4, 7, 9–10, 13 |
50 | Clio Junior Team | Kalle Pinomäki | Mikko Markkula | Renault Clio S1600 | 10 |
Renault Clio RS | 2, 4–5, 9 | ||||
Egon Kaur | Avo Kristov | 16 | |||
53 | Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team | Barry Clark | Scott Martin | Ford Fiesta ST | 4–5, 7, 9–10, 16 |
54 | OMV Rally Team | Aaron Burkart | Jörg Bastuck | Citroën C2 S1600 | 4 |
Tanja Geilhausen | 5, 7, 9, 13, 16 | ||||
Additional guest entries | |||||
59 | Suzuki Sweden | Peter Zachrisson | Jan Svanström | Suzuki Ignis S1600 | 2 |
60 | Johan Karlsson Motorsport | Johan Karlsson | Mattias Gustavsson | Peugeot 206 RC | 2 |
59 | Equipe de France FFSA | Yoann Bonato | Benjamin Boulloud | Renault Clio S1600 | 5 |
59 | Motor Stars | Matti Rantanen | Jan Lönegren | Honda Civic Type-R | 10 |
59 | Dealer Team Suzuki | James Wozencroft | Robert Fagg | Suzuki Ignis S1600 | 16 |
60 | Tom Walster Rally Sport | Tom Walster | Paul Williams | Ford Fiesta ST | 16 |
PWRC entries
No | Entrant | Drivers | Co-driver | Car | Rounds |
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31 | Subaru Team Arai | Toshihiro Arai | Tony Sircombe | Subaru Impreza WRX STI | 3, 6, 8, 12, 14–15 |
32 | Tango Rally Team | Marcos Ligato | Rubén Garcia | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | 3, 6, 8, 11, 14–15 |
34 | Sebastián Beltran | Ricardo Rojas | 3, 6, 8, 11, 14–15 | ||
35 | Gabriel Pozzo | Daniel Stillo | 3, 6, 8, 11, 14–15 | ||
33 | Advan-Piaa Rally Team | Fumio Nutahara | Daniel Barritt | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | 1, 3, 11–12, 14–15 |
37 | Mitsubishi Paris West Team | Mirco Baldacci | Giovanni Agnese | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | 3, 6, 8, 11, 14–15 |
37 | Motoring Club | Jari-Matti Latvala | Miikka Anttila | Subaru Impreza WRX STI | 1, 3, 8, 11, 14–15 |
38 | Syms Rally Team | Leszek Kuzaj | Maciek Szczepaniak | Subaru Impreza WRX STI | 3, 6, 8, 11, 14–15 |
45 | Aki Teiskonen | Miika Teiskonen | 6, 8, 11–12, 14–15 | ||
39 | QMMF | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Chris Patterson | Subaru Impreza WRX STI | 1, 3, 6, 8, 12, 15 |
40 | Errani Team Group | Stefano Marrini | Tiziana Sandroni | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII | 1, 6, 11 |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | 8, 14 | ||||
Simone Campedelli | Danilo Fappani | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII | 12 | ||
41 | Subaru Team Quasys | Takuma Kamada | Hakaru Ichino | Subaru Impreza WRX STI | 6, 8 |
Denis Giraudet | 11, 15 | ||||
Khalid Al Qassimi | Nicky Beech | 12 | |||
Dean Herridge | Bill Hayes | 14 | |||
42 | Subaru Rally Team Russia | Sergey Uspenskiy | Dmitry Eremeev | Subaru Impreza WRX STI | 3, 6, 8, 14 |
Alexander Dorosinskiy | 15 | ||||
Loris Baldacci | Dario D'Esposito | 11 | |||
43 | OMV CEE World Rally Team | Andrej Jereb | Miran Kacin | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | 8 |
Jasen Popov | Dilian Popov | 14 | |||
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII | 1 | ||||
Štěpán Vojtěch | Michal Ernst | 3 | |||
Aaron Burkart | Tanja Geilhausen | 12 | |||
Natalie Barratt | Dale Moscatt | 15 | |||
44 | Mellors Eliot Motorsport | David Higgins | Ross Butler | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII | 1 |
Ieuan Thomas | 8 | ||||
46 | PSM Motorsport | Nigel Heath | Steve Lancaster | Subaru Impreza WRX STI | 6, 8, 11–12, 14 |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | 15 | ||||
Additional guest entries | |||||
59 | Subaru Rally Team USA | Travis Pastrana | Christian Edstrom | Subaru Impreza WRX STI | 3 |
60 | Francisco Name | Francisco Name | Armando Zapata | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII | 3 |
59 | ALALamias Team | Panayiotis Hatzitsopanis | Nikolaos Petropoulos | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII | 8 |
60 | Eko Racing Team | Dimitris Nassoulas | Mihalis Patrikoussis | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII | 8 |
59 | Andreas Tsouloftas | Andreas Tsouloftas | Savvas Laos | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | 12 |
60 | Spyros Pavlides | Spyros Pavlides | Theodoros Vassiliades | Subaru Impreza WRX STI | 12 |
59 | Richard Mason Motorsport | Richard Mason | Sara Mason | Subaru Impreza WRX STI | 15 |
60 | Winger Subaru/Subaru NZ | Chris West | Garry Cowan | Subaru Impreza WRX STI | 15 |
Results and standings
Drivers' championship
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- Sébastien Loeb secured the drivers' championship title in Australia.
Manufacturers' championship
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- Ford secured the manufacturers' championship in New Zealand.
JWRC Drivers' championship
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PWRC Drivers' championship
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Events
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References
- ↑ Archived 2010-12-31 at the Wayback Machine Max Rally, accessed 8/5/2010
External links
- FIA World Rally Championship 2006 at ewrc-results.com