Photo Credit: M-Sport January 2017 is poised to be a great month. Not only is the sequel to Trainspotting hitting the big screen, but the 2017 World Rally Championship bursts into life on the legendary Rallye Monte-Carlo. Much like Danny Boyle's hopeful box office triumph, the 2017 WRC features more or less the same protagonists as years gone by, but they're reformed with new faces, returns and switches adding to the fire that was already sure to explode with the all new technical regulations reminiscent to the days of Group B. Here are 5 reasons the 2017 World Rally Championship is more than likely to go down as a classic, and certainly one of the most entertaining seasons we've witnessed in a long time. 1. New era of carsPhoto Credit: Citroen Racing Increased power up to 380nhp thanks to a larger 36mm restrictor, the return of active differential and incredible freedom for aero developments for the engineers and the 2017 breed of World Rally Cars are not just the most exciting we've seen in years but the most revolutionary too. But if you're anything like me you won't have taken in the facts I just laid out for you because well... just look at Citroen's all new C3 WRC! It's simply breathtaking. These new beasts are very exciting, and better still to rank up the excitement levels, they are a genuine unkown. Nobody knows whether it's Citroen, Hyundai, M-Sport or Toyota who has done the job until Sebastien Ogier lights up all four tyres and speeds away into the French Alps in his Fiesta RS WRC in mid-January. And if that doesn't excite you you probably best stop reading this piece. I expect most of the teams will have done an equally job, with Toyota the biggest question mark given they are a fresh team entering the sport. But don't expect these cars to remain the same, development will be key this year as the teams continue to understand and compare these 2017 machines. 2. Driver market shake-upPhoto Credit: M-Sport There was always going to be a different look to the 2017 WRC squad picture in Monte-Carlo thanks to the return of Toyota to the world's toughest motorsport, but the sudden withdrawal of Volkswagen from the WRC at the start of November created an absolute s**tstorm of rumours and speculation which has created a very different look to the line-up for 2017. Hyundai are the only team to compete full-time last year that have retained the same drivers as 2016, with M-Sport plumping for 2 new men. And one of those is quadruple World Champion Sebastien Ogier, who was crucial to how this year's driver market played out after VW's departure. In the end, the performance of the Fiesta RS WRC and the desire to work with M-Sport chief Malcolm Wilson ultiamtely saw the Frenchman sign for the Cumbrian squad, with Estonian Ott Tanak joining him as number 2 after an impressive season this year for the DMACK World Rally Team. Birthday boy Elfyn Evans (28th December) is widely tipped to replace Tanak for DMACK. As said above, Hyundai have stuck with Thierry Neuville, Dani Sordo and Hayden Paddon to pilot their all new i20 Coupe WRC in 2017 which looks like one of if not the strongest line-up on paper, particularly for the manufacturers title. Citroen have technically stuck with the same men that drove a DS3 in their bit-part 2016 season, with Ulsterman Kris Meeke leading the line for the French team. He will be joined by Craig Breen and Stephane Lefebvre with Khalid Al-Qassimi also making the odd appearnce in a C3. Toyota Gazoo Racing have gone for an all Finnish affair, with Jari-Matti Latvala looking to bounce back from a tragic 2016 season as the Japanese firm's lead driver. He's joined by experienced head Juho Hanninen and WRC2 Champion Esapekka Lappi who has signed as the team's test driver, but will get rally outings this year in the all new Yaris WRC. Mads Ostberg finds himself without a works drive but has confirmed he will compete in the 2017 WRC, most likely under his private Adapta Motorsport team. 2016 M-Sport man Eric Camilli looks to be without a drive as it stands, and may well find himself demoted to WRC2 with the British team like Elfyn Evans was this season. The biggest loss from the class of 2017 however is Andreas Mikkelsen, who came third in this year's championship, taking 2 wins for Volkswagen Motorsport. The Norwegian has been unable to find a full time drive next season and will therefore concentrate on staying match fit and securing a deal that allows him a good shot at the 2018 championship title. Mikkelsen will be in Monte-Carlo though, securing a guest drive with Skoda Motorsport to drive a Fabia R5 in WRC2. 3. The return of a giantPhoto Credit: Toyota Gazoo Racing One of the biggest names in the WRC's history is back: Toyota. The Japanese marque have a prominent history in the WRC and were at their peak in the '90s, with Carlos Sainz, Juha Kankkunen and Didier Auriol all clinching titles for the firm between 1990-1994. Toyota bowed out of the WRC in 1999 with the Corolla WRC, and did it in style taking the 1999 Manufacturers title. For the new era in 2017 however they are back with the Yaris WRC, built and run by Tommi Makinen's squad in Finland. Expectations from the outside aren't massive, but internally they are massive as Toyota is there to win, so Makinen's Finnish trio will need to deliver, as will the Yaris itself. It's a shame VW have left as with Toyota's return the WRC would be up to 5 different manufacturers, something we haven't seen since 2005. But as it is we have 4 which is a strong number that we had since 2014, so the future of the sport is looking bright. And a new team's inclusion always adds intrigue, especially when it's a manufacturer as big as Toyota. The last two teams to have entered the WRC - VW and Hyundai - hit the ground running with wins in their first season. Can Toyota do the same? 4. British hopePhoto Credit: Citroen Racing Britain has a strong motorsport pedigree, but when it comes to rallying, despite the pool of talent we have at national level we haven't really captivated the picture of the sport in ways we have in other disciplines. Of course, this was well and truly not the case in the '90s and early 2000s with the most iconic driver of all time Colin McRae and 2001 Champ Richard Burns. But after those glory days, the British flag was flown by Matthew Wilson, who, let's be honest, isn't exactly a world beater. No podium finishes to his name let alone rally wins, you got the sense he only ever got to drive an M-Sport car because his dad runs the firm. That may be a little harsh, but was never the creme de la creme. Now though, we have Kris Meeke, who certainly is the best of the best. And could 2017 prove that once and for all? Many are tipping the Northern Irishman to go all the way this year in the C3 WRC he has spent an entire year testing and developing, but whether he wins the world title or not, he's all but guaranteed to be in the fight for it. And we haven't had that situation for 13 years. To further bolster the national pride, Welshman Elfyn Evans could well return to the series and Irishman Craig Breen is in essence an adopted Brit, coming so close to the UK and competing with British co-driver Scott Martin. And I think it's pretty apparent that a strong British presence increases interest in this country. 5. Quality of the fieldPhoto Credit: Hyundai Motorsport Looking through the 2017 contenders is actually a mouth-watering prospect, because there are so many exciting and talented names charging into this new era of the World Rally Championship. Each team has a proven rally winner, with Hyundai boasting a complete squad full of WRC winners, and although Ogier is pretty much accepeted as the best out there, a new era and a new team for the world champion could very well shake things up.
Vying to take his crown off him: Thierry Neuville, Kris Meeke and Jari-Matti Latvala. They must be the most realistic contenders, all leading their respective teams, but why not throw young hotshots Hayden Paddon and Ott Tanak into that equation too. Dani Sordo must also not be discounted, neither can Citroen's latets recruits in Craig Breen and Stephane Lefebvre who could be dark horses. As could young Finn Esapekka Lappi in his part-time campaign. The point is, I don't think we've had such a talented and closely matched pool of drivers for quite some time, and so whoever winds up as the 2017 World Rally Champion can be extremely proud of themselves and deserving of that accolade. We didn't see 6 different winners last year for no reason, and could so easily have been 7 or 8. I'm just sad we won't get to see another potential title contnender in Andreas Mikkelsen in 2017. Of course, all the pre-season hype could well be dampened if Ogier goes into supreme mode and runs away with the championship like he has done the last four years, but firstly I have genuine hope and suspicion even if he does win it, he won't dominate it. A proper title fight is something we've been bereft of since 2011 in all honesty, and what was significant about 2011 I hear you ask? A new set of technical regulations is what, and we are in that same situation again now. I expect 2017 to be close, but I'll be incredibly surprised if Sebastien Ogier doesn't claim Ford's first drivers championship since Ari Vatanen back in 1981. But if he does do it it won't be boring, because he will have done it in a different car with a different team, and if that's achieved I genuinely believe Seb Ogier will be claiming a huge stake as to calling himself the best rally driver the world has ever seen.
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January 2018
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