Open Drivers' Champion: Emil Lindholm Open Co-drivers' Champion: Reeta Hämäläinen Teams' Champion: Toksport WRT Junior Drivers' Champion: Emil Lindholm Junior Co-drivers' Champion: James Fulton Masters Drivers' Champion: Mauro Miele Masters Co-drivers' Champion: Laurent Magat
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2021
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2023
Parent series: World Rally Championship Support series: WRC3
The 2022 FIA WRC2 Championship was the tenth season of WRC2, a rallying championship for organised and governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile as the second-highest tier of international rallying. The category was open to cars entered by teams and complying with Group Rally2.[1][2] The championship began in January 2022 with the Rallye Monte-Carlo and concluded in November 2022 with Rally Japan, and ran in support of the 2022 World Rally Championship.
Andreas Mikkelsen and Torstein Eriksen were the defending 2021 drivers' and co-drivers' champions. Movisport were the defending teams' champions.
The headquarters of the Monte Carlo Rally moved from Gap, Hautes-Alpes to Monaco alone. The rally was previously headquartered solely in Monaco in 2006.[20]Rally Sweden returned to the championship after a one-year absence. Because of a lack of snow, the organisers moved the rally headquarters for the first time in WRC history.[21] It relocated from Torsby, Värmland northwards to Umeå in Västerbotten County.[22] The rally was initially scheduled to cover 303.74 km (188.7 mi) in nineteen special stages, but it was reduced to seventeen in a total of 264.81 km (164.5 mi) due to reindeer movements.[23][5]Rally Italia Sardegna relocated its rally base back to Alghero following a one-off headquarter in Olbia for the 2021 event.[24]
Calendar changes
Rally New Zealand returned to the championship for the first time since 2012.[25] The rally had also secured a spot in the calendar in 2020, but the event was not held in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[26]Rally Japan took the final spot in the calendar. It was scheduled as the final round in 2020 and 2021, before being called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[27][28]Rally Mexico had contracts to hold the WRC event in 2022 and 2023, but the rally was not included on the calendar.[29] A national event was held in the bid of a 2023 return.[30]Rally Chile found itself in a similar situation to Mexico as their contract with WRC Promoter GmbH lasted till 2022. Chile had previously hosted the event in 2019.[31]Rally GB was bidding for a 2022 return as the event was planned to hold in Northern Ireland, but the proposal was ultimately failed.[32]
Entries
The following teams and crews were officially entered into the 2022 WRC2:
The following titles were contested within the WRC2 category in 2022:[1]
Open Championship for Drivers
Open Championship for Co-Drivers
Championship for Teams
Junior Championship for Drivers
Junior Championship for Co-Drivers
Masters Cup for Drivers
Masters Cup for Co-Drivers
In a change to 2021 rules, drivers could enter the Open and Junior championships independently instead of having to enter through a team. Teams wishing to compete in the championship for teams followed the same rules. For WRC2 Junior championships, drivers must have been born on or after 1 January 1992 with no extra registration necessary. Juniors must not have previously won WRC2 or WRC3, or ever been nominated to score points in the WRC Manufacturers' Championship. The Masters Cup will run alongside the open championship for drivers born on or before 1 January 1972 and who have registered to compete in the cup.
For the Open and Junior Driver and Co-Driver championships, points will be considered from the best 6 of 7 rounds entered. For Teams and the Masters Cup, points from the best 5 of 6 rallies entered in Europe will count, plus bonus points from a seventh round entered outside Europe.[1]
Points are awarded to the top ten classified finishers in each event. Power Stage points are also awarded in the drivers' and co-drivers' championships, with three points awarded to the first-place finisher on the stage, two to second place, and one to third. A team has to enter two cars to score points in an event. Drivers and teams must nominate a scoring rally when they enter the event and the best six scores from seven nominated rallies will count towards the final classification. Registered drivers are able to enter additional rallies with Priority 2 status without scoring points.[1]
^"Support Championships". WRC - World Rally Championship. Archived from the original on 2021-04-27. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
^ ab"Lindholm claims WRC2 crown as Munster grabs surprise victory in Japan". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 13 November 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
^"Itinerary Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo 2022". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
^ ab"Itinerary Rally Sweden 2022". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
^"Itinerary Croatia Rally 2022". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
^"Itinerary Vodafone Rally de Portugal 2022". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
^"Itinerary Rally Italia Sardegna 2022". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
^"Itinerary Safari Rally Kenya 2022". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
^"Itinerary Rally Estonia 2022". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
^"Itinerary Secto Rally Finland 2022". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
^"Itinerary Ardeca Ypres Rally 2022". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
^"Itinerary Acropolis Rally 2022". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
^"Itinerary Repco Rally New Zealand 2022". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
^"Itinerary RallyRACC Catalunya 2022". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
^"Itinerary FORUM8 Rally Japan 2022". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
^"Nine events named in partial 2022 WRC Calendar". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 8 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
^"WRC roars into hybrid era with expanded 2022 calendar". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 15 October 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
^"Belgium added to 2022 FIA World Rally Championship". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 18 October 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
^"Monaco base for new-look Rallye Monte-Carlo". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 24 July 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
^"Lack of snow forces Rally Sweden move up north". matraxlubricants.com. 9 April 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
^"Rally Sweden moves north to Umea". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 8 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
^"Reindeer movements erase Saturday Sweden test". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 17 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
^"Olibia suburb test to launch Sardinia event". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 2 February 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
^Howard, Tom (16 October 2021). "New Zealand secures spot on 2022 WRC calendar". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
^"New Zealand's 2020 WRC return off". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 4 June 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
^Klein, Jamie (19 August 2020). "Belgium gets WRC round for the first time after Rally Japan axed". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
^"Pandemic Forces Cancellation of Japan's WRC Fixture". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 7 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
^Muñoz, Jesús (9 October 2020). "El Rally de México no estará en el WRC 2021, pero volverá en 2022 y 2023" [Rally Mexico will not be in the 2021 WRC, but will return in 2022 and 2023]. soymotor.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 April 2021.
^Evans, David (10 February 2022). "Rally Mexico to host nations rally in WRC return bid". dirtfish.com. DirtFish. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
^Evans, David (29 November 2019). "WRC's 2020 Rally Chile cancelled due to political and social unrest". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 31 December 2019. Rally Chile's Felipe Horta said: 'The decision was to wait a year to take the world championship. We have talked with the FIA and the WRC [Promoter] in Germany, where they have fortunately understood very favourably what is happening and are allowing us to cancel the 2020 date and resume the contract we have established for three years.'
^Howard, Tom (18 January 2020). "UK misses out on 2022 WRC round as Northern Ireland plans collapse". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
^ abSmith, Luke (5 February 2021). "Mazepin set to race under neutral flag after CAS ruling extends to F1". motorsport.com. Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
^ ab"FIA announces World Motor Sport Council decisions in relation to the situation in Ukraine". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 1 March 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.