The 2008 World Rally Championship was the 36th season of the FIA World Rally Championship. The season consisted of 15 rallies and began on 24 January, with the 2008 Monte Carlo Rally.
Frenchman Sébastien Loeb successfully retained the Drivers' World Championship, his and co-driver Daniel Elena's record-breaking fifth consecutive title, all of them attained driving Citroëns. In addition, Citroën secured their fourth Manufacturers' title, and their first since 2005, from 2006 and 2007 victors, Ford.
Rule changes
The running order for the first day is governed by championship position, with the championship leader running first on the road. For every other day of a rally, the order is decided by the previous end of day classification (with the leader on classification running first). The term 'leg' has been replaced by 'day' in order to sound more understandable. Extra 10-minute service prior to the finish podium has been added, intended to allow the service park to remain an attraction until the end of the event.[1]
With the switch to Pirelli tyres, tyre mousse (along with all anti-deflation devices) has been banned, and fewer compounds are available. Also the teams aren't allowed to modify tyres by themselves (e.g. by making additional cuts) anymore.[2][3] At the first event of the season, the available tires were the soft slick DS tire (Pirelli PZero[4]), the WX snow tire without studs, and the WX snow tire with studs (both variants of Pirelli Sottozero[4]).[5] The same snow tyres were used in Sweden as well. Later on loose surface tyres were introduced: Pirelli Scorpion, available in two variants – hard compound for abrasive surfaces, such as roads in Mexico or Greece, and soft one, for more muddy stages as seen on Welsh event.[4] Tire walls have been strengthened in order to endure long, rough gravel stages often full of sharp rocks. The tread on Scorpions is asymmetric and directional, as it has proven more efficient during the tests.[4]
Calendar
The 2008 season includes 15 rallies, which is one less than the 2007 season. Rally Norway, Rally Portugal and Rally Ireland were dropped from the calendar for 2008. Rally of Turkey returned to the schedule, and Jordan Rally is part of the calendar for the first time. Rally Australia was planned to make a return after being absent in 2007, but the organizers submitted a request to the FIA to delay the event's return to the schedule until 2009.[6]
The events also part of the Production World Rally Championship are Sweden, Argentina, Greece, Turkey, Finland, New Zealand, Japan and Britain.[7] The seven rallies also on the Junior World Rally Championship schedule are Mexico, Jordan, Italy, Finland, Germany, Spain and France.[8]
Teams and drivers
The teams and drivers for the 2008 season are as follows:
Team |
Constructor |
Car |
Tyre |
No |
Drivers |
Co-driver |
Rounds |
Citroën Total World Rally Team |
Citroën |
C4 WRC |
P
|
1 |
Sébastien Loeb |
Daniel Elena |
All |
2 |
Daniel Sordo |
Marc Marti |
All |
BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team |
Ford |
Focus RS WRC 07/08 |
P
|
3 |
Mikko Hirvonen |
Jarmo Lehtinen |
All |
4 |
Jari-Matti Latvala |
Miikka Anttila |
1–11, 14–15 |
François Duval |
Patrick Pivato |
12–13 |
19 |
Khalid Al Qassimi |
Michael Orr |
1–2, 5–7, 9–10, 12–13, 15 |
Subaru World Rally Team |
Subaru |
Impreza WRC 2007/8 |
P
|
5 |
Petter Solberg |
Phil Mills |
All |
6 |
Chris Atkinson |
Stéphane Prévot |
All |
14 |
Brice Tirabassi |
Fabrice Gordon |
12–13 |
Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team |
Ford |
Focus RS WRC 07 |
P
|
7 |
Gianluigi Galli |
Giovanni Bernacchini |
1–10 |
François Duval |
Patrick Pivato |
11, 14 |
Denis Giraudet |
15 |
Matthew Wilson |
Scott Martin |
12–13 |
8 |
François Duval |
Eddy Chevaillier |
1 |
Patrick Pivato |
7 |
Henning Solberg |
Cato Menkerud |
2, 4–5, 7–9 |
Matthew Wilson |
Scott Martin |
3, 6, 11, 14–15 |
Jari-Matti Latvala |
Miikka Anttila |
12–13 |
14 |
Henning Solberg |
Cato Menkerud |
1, 10, 13, 15 |
16 |
Matthew Wilson |
Scott Martin |
1, 4–5, 7–10 |
20 |
Barry Clark |
Paul Nagle |
13, 15 |
46 |
Valentino Rossi |
Carlo Cassina |
15 |
Focus RS WRC 04/05 |
23 |
Steve Perez |
Paul Spooner |
15 |
24 |
Dave Weston, Jr |
Aled Davies |
15 |
Munchi's Ford World Rally Team |
Ford |
Focus RS WRC 07 |
P
|
9 |
Federico Villagra |
Jorge Pérez Companc |
3–9, 11–12, 14 |
10 |
Henning Solberg |
Cato Menkerud |
3, 6, 11–12, 14 |
Luís Pérez Companc |
Jose Maria Volta |
4, 9 |
Barry Clark |
Jose Diaz |
5 |
Paul Nagle |
8 |
Armodios Vovos |
Loris Meletopoulos |
7 |
Suzuki World Rally Team |
Suzuki |
SX4 WRC |
P
|
11 |
Toni Gardemeister |
Tomi Tuominen |
All |
12 |
Per-Gunnar Andersson |
Jonas Andersson |
All |
Major entries by teams not registered as manufacturers |
PH Sport |
Citroën |
C4 WRC |
P
|
15 |
Urmo Aava |
Kuldar Sikk |
2, 5–13, 15 |
16 |
Conrad Rautenbach |
David Senior |
3–15 |
17 |
Sébastien Ogier |
Julien Ingrassia |
15 |
Xsara WRC |
21 |
Conrad Rautenbach |
David Senior |
1–2 |
Triviño Racing |
Peugeot |
206 WRC |
P
|
15 |
Ricardo Triviño |
Sergio Salom |
3 |
Team Rallye Cuoq |
Peugeot |
307 WRC |
P
|
18 |
Jean-Marie Cuoq |
Philippe Janvier |
1 |
Adapta World Rally Team |
Subaru |
Impreza WRC 2007 |
P
|
18 |
Mads Østberg |
Ole Kristian Unnerud |
2, 6–7, 9–10, 12–13, 15 |
Ramsport |
Ford |
Focus RS WRC 06 |
P
|
20 |
Matti Rantanen |
Jan Lönegren |
9 |
23 |
Andreas Mikkelsen |
Ola Fløene |
2, 8–10, 12–13 |
Maria Andersson |
6 |
Van Merksteijn Motorsport |
Focus RS WRC 06/07 |
22 |
Peter van Merksteijn Jr. |
Eddy Chevaillier |
10, 12 |
24 |
Peter van Merksteijn Sr. |
Hilco van Beek |
2, 6, 10 |
Erwin Berkhof |
12 |
Ipatec Racing |
Focus RS WRC 06 |
61 |
René Kuipers |
Erwin Mombaerts |
10 |
64 |
Dennis Kuipers |
Kees Hagman |
10 |
- – indicates a car running with varying numbers during the season
J-WRC entries
No |
Drivers |
Co-driver |
Car |
Rounds |
31 |
Martin Prokop |
Jan Tománek |
Citroën C2 S1600 |
3, 6, 9–10, 12–13 |
32 |
Jaan Mölder |
Frédéric Miclotte |
Suzuki Swift S1600 |
3, 5–6, 9, 12–13 |
33 |
Aaron Burkart |
Michael Kölbach |
Citroën C2 S1600 |
3, 6, 9–10, 12–13 |
34 |
Andrea Cortinovis |
Giancarla Guzzi |
Renault Clio S1600 |
5–6, 9–10, 12–13 |
35 |
Michał Kościuszko |
Maciek Szczepaniak |
Suzuki Swift S1600 |
3, 5–6, 9, 12–13 |
36 |
Vilius Rožukas |
Andrius Šošas |
Citroën C2 S1600 |
5–6 |
37 |
Simone Bertolotti |
Daniele Vernuccio |
Renault Clio R3 |
5–6, 9–10, 12–13 |
38 |
Francesco Fanari |
Massimiliano Bosi |
Citroën C2 R2 |
3, 5–6, 10 |
Dario Andrian |
9 |
Daniele Benedetti |
12 |
39 |
Stefano Albertini |
Piercarlo Capolongo |
Renault Clio R3 |
5–6, 9–10, 12–13 |
40 |
Miloš Komljenović |
Aleksandar Jeremić |
Renault Clio R3 |
3, 5–6, 9 |
Kris Meeke |
Chris Patterson |
12 |
Arnaud Augoyard |
Nicolas Baudin |
13 |
41 |
Patrik Sandell |
Emil Axelsson |
Renault Clio S1600 |
3, 5–6, 9, 12–13 |
42 |
Sébastien Ogier |
Julien Ingrassia |
Citroën C2 S1600 |
3, 5–6, 10, 12–13 |
43 |
Florian Niegel |
Andre Kachel |
Suzuki Swift S1600 |
5–6, 10, 12–13 |
Suzuki Swift Sport |
9 |
44 |
Hans Weijs, Jr. |
Hans van Goor |
Citroën C2 R2 |
5–6, 9–10, 12–13 |
45 |
Kevin Abbring |
Erwin Mombaerts |
Renault Clio R3 |
5, 9, 13 |
Bjorn Degandt |
6, 10, 12 |
46 |
Shaun Gallagher |
Michael Morrissey |
Citroën C2 S1600 |
3, 5–6, 10 |
Paul Kiely |
9, 12 |
47 |
Gilles Schammel |
Renaud Jamoul |
Renault Clio R3 |
5–6, 9–10, 12–13 |
48 |
Alessandro Bettega |
Simone Scattolin |
Renault Clio R3 |
5–6, 9–10, 12–13 |
Additional guest entries |
59 |
Kalle Pinomäki |
Matti Kaskinen |
Suzuki Swift S1600 |
9 |
59 |
Sergio Perez Donosti |
Oriol Julià |
Citroën C2 S1600 |
12 |
59 |
Pierre Campana |
Samuel Teissier |
Renault Clio R3 |
13 |
60 |
Pierre Marché |
Julien Giroux |
Suzuki Swift S1600 |
13 |
P-WRC entries
No |
Drivers |
Co-driver |
Car |
Rounds |
31 |
Toshihiro Arai |
Glenn MacNeall |
Subaru Impreza WRX STI |
2, 4, 7–8, 11, 14 |
32 |
Mirco Baldacci |
Giovanni Agnese |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX |
4, 7–8, 11, 14–15 |
33 |
Martin Prokop |
Jan Tománek |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX |
2, 4, 7–8, 11, 15 |
34 |
Gianluca Linari |
Roberto Mometti |
Subaru Impreza WRX STI |
2 |
Gianni Melani |
4 |
Paolo Gregoriani |
7 |
Barbara Perugini |
8 |
Franco Giusti |
11 |
Matteo Braga |
14 |
35 |
Evgeny Novikov |
Dmitry Chumak |
Subaru Impreza WRX STI |
4 |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX |
7 |
Evgeny Kalachev |
8 |
Dale Moscatt |
11, 14–15 |
36 |
Eyvind Brynildsen |
Denis Giraudet |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX |
2, 9, 14 |
Maria Andersson |
7–8 |
Glenn MacNeall |
15 |
37 |
Spyros Pavlides |
Denis Giraudet |
Subaru Impreza WRX STI |
4, 7, 11 |
Steve Lancaster |
15 |
Oscar Svedlund |
Björn Nilsson |
9 |
Yasunori Hagiwara |
Koichi Kato |
14 |
38 |
Amjad Farrah |
Nicola Arena |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX |
4, 7–8 |
Patrik Flodin |
Göran Bergsten |
9 |
Stewart Taylor |
Warwick Searle |
11 |
Darren Gass |
Neil Shanks |
15 |
39 |
Nasser Al-Attiyah |
Chris Patterson |
Subaru Impreza WRX STI |
2, 4, 7–8, 11, 15 |
40 |
Stefano Marrini |
Matteo Braga |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX |
2, 4 |
Tiziana Sandroni |
14 |
Loris Baldacci |
Rudy Pollet |
7, 15 |
Riccardo Errani |
Stefano Casadio |
8 |
41 |
Andreas Aigner |
Klaus Wicha |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX |
2, 4, 7–8, 11, 15 |
42 |
Bernardo Sousa |
Carlos Magalhães |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX |
2, 4 |
Jorge Carvalho |
7–8, 11, 15 |
43 |
Evgeny Vertunov |
Georgiy Troshkin |
Subaru Impreza WRX STI |
2, 7–9, 11, 14 |
44 |
Gábor Mayer |
Robert Tagai |
Subaru Impreza WRX STI |
4, 7–8 |
Liu Chao Dong |
Anthony McLoughlin |
11 |
Patrik Flodin |
Göran Bergsten |
15 |
Tapio Suominen |
Pasi Hedman |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX |
9 |
45 |
Jussi Tiippana |
Marko Salminen |
Subaru Impreza WRX STI |
2 |
Andrej Jereb |
Miran Kacin |
4, 7 |
Francesco Trevisin |
Alessandro Biordi |
8 |
Teemu Arminen |
Tuomo Nikkola |
9, 15 |
46 |
Jari Ketomaa |
Miika Teiskonen |
Subaru Impreza WRX STI |
2, 4, 7, 9, 11, 15 |
47 |
Fabio Frisiero |
Simone Scattolin |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX |
2, 9 |
Giorgio Bacco |
Silvio Stefanelli |
Subaru Impreza WRX STI |
4, 8 |
Fabio Pizzol |
11 |
Jaromír Tarabus |
Daniel Trunkát |
Fiat Abarth Grande Punto S2000 |
15 |
48 |
Evgeny Aksakov |
Aleksander Kornilov |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX |
2, 4, 7–9, 15 |
49 |
Simone Campedelli |
Danilo Fappani |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX |
2, 4, 7–9, 15 |
50 |
Armindo Araújo |
Miguel Ramalho |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX |
2, 7–8, 11, 14–15 |
51 |
Subhan Aksa |
Hendrik Mboi |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII |
2, 4 |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX |
7, 9, 11, 14 |
52 |
Juho Hänninen |
Mikko Markkula |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX |
2, 7, 9, 11, 14–15 |
53 |
Uwe Nittel |
Detlef Ruf |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX |
2, 4 |
Michael Wenzel |
7–8 |
Giovanni Manfrinato |
Carlo Pisano |
9, 15 |
54 |
Travis Pastrana |
Derek Ringer |
Subaru Impreza WRX STI |
4, 7 |
Jussi Tiippana |
Marko Salminen |
9 |
Ken Block |
Alex Gelsomino |
11 |
Hiroshi Yanagisawa |
Osamu Yoda |
14 |
Mark Higgins |
Rory Kennedy |
15 |
55 |
Patrik Sandell |
Emil Axelsson |
Peugeot 207 S2000 |
2, 4, 7–8, 15 |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX |
11 |
56 |
Fumio Nutahara |
Daniel Barritt |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX |
4, 7, 9, 11, 15 |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X |
14 |
57 |
Martin Rauam |
Silver Kütt |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX |
4, 7–8, 11, 14 |
Egon Kaur |
Simo Koskinen |
Subaru Impreza WRX STI |
15 |
58 |
Naren Kumar |
Nicky Beech |
Subaru Impreza WRX STI |
7–9, 11, 14 |
Gaurav Gill |
15 |
Additional guest entries |
59 |
Patrik Flodin |
Göran Bergsten |
Subaru Impreza WRX STI |
2 |
60 |
Oscar Svedlund |
Björn Nilsson |
Subaru Impreza WRX STI |
2 |
59 |
Marcos Ligato |
Rubén García |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX |
4 |
60 |
Sebastián Beltran |
Ricardo Rojas |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX |
4 |
59 |
Panayiotis Hatzitsopanis |
Andreas Andrikopoulos |
Subaru Impreza WRX STI |
7 |
60 |
Lambros Athanassoulas |
Nikolaos Zakheos |
Subaru Impreza WRX STI |
7 |
159 |
Juha Salo |
Mika Stenberg |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX |
9 |
160 |
Jussi Välimäki |
Teppo Leino |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX |
9 |
59 |
Hayden Paddon |
John Kennard |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX |
11 |
60 |
Chris West |
Garry Cowan |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX |
11 |
59 |
Katsuhiko Taguchi |
Mark Stacey |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X |
14 |
60 |
Takuma Kamada |
Naoki Kase |
Subaru Impreza WRX STI |
14 |
59 |
David Higgins |
Ieuan Thomas |
Subaru Impreza WRX STI |
15 |
60 |
Guy Wilks |
Phil Pugh |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX |
15 |
Events
The Rally Finland is notable this year for having dropped its famous Ouninpohja stage. This has been done for safety reasons, however this is likely to be a huge disappointment for race fans.[9]
Colour |
Rally Surface |
Gold |
Gravel |
Silver |
Tarmac |
Blue |
Snow/Ice |
Bronze |
Mixed Surface |
|
Standings
Drivers' championship
|
Colour |
Result |
Gold |
Winner |
Silver |
2nd place |
Bronze |
3rd place |
Green |
Points finish |
Blue |
Non-points finish |
Non-classified finish (NC) |
Purple |
Retired (Ret) |
Black |
Excluded (EX) |
Disqualified (DSQ) |
White |
Did not start (DNS) |
Blank |
Withdrew entry before the event (WD) |
|
Manufacturers' championship
|
Colour |
Result |
Gold |
Winner |
Silver |
2nd place |
Bronze |
3rd place |
Green |
Points finish |
Blue |
Non-points finish |
Non-classified finish (NC) |
Purple |
Retired (Ret) |
Black |
Excluded (EX) |
Disqualified (DSQ) |
White |
Did not start (DNS) |
Blank |
Withdrew entry before the event (WD) |
|
Junior championship
Production championship
Points table:[10]
References
External links