20 Years Of The FIA P-WRC

The Uddeholm Swedish Rally in 2007 marked the 20th anniversary of the FIA’s principal rally championship for production cars.

The early 1980’s saw the introduction of the Group N car – the N standing for ‘National’ – and was originally a formula for showroom specification cars, simply as you would buy them from a dealer, which could be used in races and rallies with safety devices added.

Initially the cars were used in national championships all over Europe but with homologation application forms differing between countries, it was clear that cars in some countries were more competitive than others. So the homologation had to be standardized for all different models of Group N cars and by 1984 the FIA had prescribed an international standard. The Group N name continued but it was no longer ‘national’ in character.

1987 saw the inaugural FIA Group N Cup, won by Alessandro Fiorio in a Lancia Delta, and with interest in the formula quickly spreading from Europe to Japan, 1988 saw the first major Group N victory for a Japanese manufacturer through a Mazda 323 in the hands of Belgian driver Pascal Gaban.

Since then, the title was awarded to drivers competing with Renault, Nissan, Ford and Mitsubishi before the most successful driver in the Cup’s history, Uruguayan driver Gustavo Trelles, reinforced the Mitsubishi Lancer’s place in the history books after winning four Cup titles in a row.

From 2002 the formula became known as the FIA Production car World Rally Championship. Malaysian FIA Asia-Pacific Champion Karamjit Singh took the laurels that year driving a Pert from Malaysian manufacturer Proton, before the Subaru Impreza-powered Brits Martin Rowe (2003), Niall McShea (2004), Japanese Toshi Arai (2005) and Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah (2006) to successive crowns.

Under its Production car WRC name, the series has enjoyed record numbers of entries and media attention. This season sees over 30 drivers from 19 countries across the globe travel to four continents to tackle eight events of the 15-round WRC calendar. TV viewers in 218 territories can this year see the 2007 P-WRC Champion Toshi Arai tackle the FIA Production Car WRC’s 22nd season defending his title in a Subaru Impreza, amongst a field that includes no fewer than 11 other national and FIA regional champions.

Twenty years after its launch, the Production car WRC has become a league of champions – a true bridge between national series’ and the FIA World Rally Championship.