FACTBOOK 2019 WRC FACTBOOK 2019 / PROGRADE PHOTO OF THE YEAR WRC FACTBOOK 2019 / INTRO WRC FACTBOOK 2019 The 2018 WRC season will be remembered as the most exciting and dramatic in a generation. It is 15 years since a drivers’ title fight of similar magnitude and a compelling season-long battle involving three drivers was finally resolved on the last morning of the season in Australia. It was a similar story in the manufacturers’ championship. All four teams won rallies and three made the long journey Down Under still with an opportunity to claim the crown. Following a similarly enthralling and unpredictable 2017 cam- paign, when new-era World Rally Cars headlined a raft of major changes to the championship, it is clear our sport is in the midst of an unforgettable period in its history. Away from the close competition, the WRC has grown in stature. The year opened with a major launch at Birmingham’s Autosport International show and finished with a glamorous end of season gala in Sydney and with the cars showcased once more in front of Milan’s iconic cathedral in the Piazza del Duomo. Our pioneering WRC+ All Live channel revolutionised the way in which fans could enjoy the sport as it happened. Every special stage from each round was streamed live, featuring stunning onboard and helicopter footage. It was supplemented by expert analysis and reactions from across the service park – adding up to more than 325 hours of live coverage. Our traditional TV coverage thrived too. The WRC’s global audi- ence and the number of broadcast hours continue their positive trend of the last years. Plenty of successes to celebrate - but we don’t stop here. After the big success of 2018’s new Rally Turkey in Marmaris, we continue working on the WRC’s global footprint, returning old favourites or bringing new adventures to the series. We welcome Chile onto the 2019 calendar for the first time and are working hard to return Kenya and Japan. It’s an exciting future we can all look forward to. WRC PROGRADE PHOTO OF THE YEAR WRC FACTBOOK 2019 / PURE DEVELOPMENT WRC FACTBOOK 2019 / PURE DEVELOPMENT PURE DEVELOP- MENT Over the past six years, the WRC enjoyed a sound growth trend in popularity from fans. With new TV technology and fantastic helicopter and drone footage, the WRC is growing its broadcast hours and TV audience year on year. The WRC service park con- tains a host of activities, including the teams’ hospitality areas, merchandising booths, partner stands, live entertainment and big screens – it is the true central HUB of a rally. TV BROADCAST TIME 2013 – 5916:39 hrs 2018 – 14208:22 hrs +140% TV AUDIENCE 2013 – 607 million 2018 – 825 million +36% ON-SITE SPECTATORS 2013 – 3.3 million 2018 – 4.1 million +24% SOCIAL MEDIA COMMUNITY 2013 – 1.13 million 2018 – 3.9 million +200% ONLINE VIDEO VIEWS 2013 – 6.5 million 2018 – 23.0 million +253% ONLINE IMPRESSIONS 2013 – 499 million 2018 – 1.3 billion +225% 4 +5 WRC FACTBOOK 2019 / KEY FACTS WRC FACTBOOK 2019 / KEY FACTS KEY 15+ 825+ FACTS BILLION MILLION 2018 ONLINE IMPRESSIONS CUMULATIVE TV AUDIENCE Total TV audience for the 2018 season again exceeded 800 million viewers according to research from independent analyst Nielsen Sports. The intense title fight in both the drivers’ and manufacturers’ series boosted figures up to the last day of the season. Signifi- cant year-on-year increases at the final two rounds in Spain and Australia carried the annual figure to more than 825 million. 4.1 An audience of 100 million viewed the glamorous opening of the new season at Rallye Monte-Carlo. It is the fourth consecutive year in which the TV audience from the Principality of Monaco MILLION topped 100 million. Audiences from rallies in Spain and Australia moved closer to SPECTATORS ATTENDED the Monte-Carlo figure, the epic title fights boosting their viewer 13 WRC RALLIES numbers in the region of 90 million viewers each for the first time. While Europe headed the leading TV markets, there was fast growing development in Asia with Japan featuring in the top 10 countries. Turkey, which hosted a WRC round for the first time since 2010, went straight to the top 10 countries for audience. 14,208+ 155 2018 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONS BROADCAST HOURS TV MARKETS SÉBASTIEN OGIER & JULIEN INGRASSIA 6 7 WRC FACTBOOK 2019 / HIGHLIGHTS WRC FACTBOOK 2019 / HIGHLIGHTS THIERRY NEUVILLE - ONE TO FORGET THRILLING The man to beat for the bulk of the season, Thierry Neuville headed Down Under with only a three-point deficit to Ogier but was confident he could win his first world title. SEASON However, the Hyundai man’s challenge unra- velled almost straight away. Damaging a wheel in the Sherwood test meant Neuville tumbled down the order at the end of day one, and 2018 struggled with a less favourable road position on day two. He decided to go for broke on Sunday in a last- ditch attempt to secure the points he needed. But the gamble didn’t pay off. Clouting a bank and losing a rear wheel brought his rally and title charge to a sudden end. “Voila!” was the dejected Belgian‘s summary as he retired his car at the side of the road. Neuville in Australia OTT TÄNAK – THE FASTEST DRIVER IN THE 2018 WRC It’s an opinion few would argue with and is backed up by statistics. He won more special stages than anyone and led for more stages than any other driver. Ogier in Wales After a season in the shadow of Sébastien Ogier at M-Sport Ford, Tänak’s switch to Toyota Ga- zoo Racing enabled the Estonian to emerge not only as the Japanese manufacturer’s number SÉBASTIEN OGIER – one driver, but also as a title contender. THE TOUGHEST TRIUMPH YET His campaign was one of highs and lows. Poor returns from Sweden, Mexico, Portugal and Six of the best for Sébastien, placing him three world titles behind Ogier trailed the Hyundai i20 pilot by 23 points heading to Britain Italy were offset by victory in Argentina and his namesake and fellow Frenchman Loeb. But 2018 was different. with three rounds remaining. He slumped to third in the stan- a terrific hat-trick of wins in Finland, Germany It was the first one finalised in the pressure-cooker atmosphere dings, in the unusual position of being the hunter rather than the and Turkey to gatecrash the title scrap bet- of a final round decider. hunted. His fighting instincts were unearthed. A scrapping fifth ween Ogier and Thierry Neuville. A little more British win preceded second in Spain after another tense final day luck and a touch more guile could have seen Three wins in the opening four rallies lifted the M-Sport Ford man finale and it all came down to Australia – with Seb back on top but him achieve what few would have thought and co-driver Julien Ingrassia 17 points clear of Thierry Neuville. chased by Neuville and Ott Tänak. possible at the start of the year. But Co-Drivera purple Miikkapatch Anttilafor the Belgian,celebrating combined Toyota´s with a Portuguese treewin root in whichSweden damaged Ogier’s steering and sent his Fiesta into He won or led each of the last six rounds and Tänak in Turkey a ditch, transformed the year. many will place him at the top of their favou- rites list for 2019. 8 9 WRC FACTBOOK 2019 / ALL LIVE WRC FACTBOOK 2019 / ALL LIVE ALL LIVE A TV REVOLUTION 2018 was when WRC truly went live. Not just some of it. All of it. WRC+, the championship´s own OTT channel on plus.wrc.com, WRC+ All Live proved ground-breaking and transformed the way the championship was broadcast. For the first time, every special stage from each round was stre- amed live and available to fans via whatever means they chose. It added up to more than 25 hours’ live coverage from each rally. Viewers rode with the stars via stunning onboard footage and enjoyed amazing eye-in-the-sky helicopter coverage. When the stage ended, expert studio analysis and reaction from the service park enhanced what they had watched. There were great moments on the stages and equally captivating drama off them. Some of the best moments came as viewers sha- red the frustrations of first Thierry Neuville and then Sébastien Ogier as they battled to repair their stricken cars and save their title ambitions roadside in Turkey. LIVE STAGES All Live was a genuine game-changer for fans. NEVER MISS ANY LIVE RALLY ACTION TOP 10 MARKETS WRC+ LIVE MAPS USA, GB, France, Finland, Italy, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Estonia. TRACK THE DRIVERS’ PERFORMANCE DURING THE RALLY ONBOARD ACTION BE THRILLED BY EXCLUSIVE PERSPECTIVES AND AUTHENTIC SOUND FROM THE COCKPIT FULL HIGHLIGHTS DISCOVER THE FULL RALLY ACTION FROM SPECTACULAR ANGLES COMMENTATOR AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH 10 11 WRC FACTBOOK 2019 / HIGHLIGHTS WRC FACTBOOK 2019 / HIGHLIGHTS THIERRY TOPS STUNNING AVERAGE SARDINIA WINNING SHOOTOUT MARGIN* »IT IS WIDELY ACKNOWLEDGED THAT 0.7SEC IS THE FASTEST REACTION TIME OF A DRIVER AT THE 20 Min 46.3 sec WHEEL OF A CAR« That time between a driver’s brain processing the need to a react and the driver doing so is all that separated Thierry Neuville and 4 Min 45.8 sec Sébastien Ogier after an electrifying duel in Italy in June. Neuville trailed his title rival by 0.8sec ahead of Rally Italia Sar- degna’s closing 6.96km Power Stage from Sassari to Argentiera.