WRC 2014: all change in a bid to stop Ogier

The transition from one era to another was pretty immediate. There was no time to wonder who might pick up Sebastien Loeb's mantle as World Rallying's benchmark.

The storming run to the 2008 Junior title, leading an icy Rally GB on his World Rally Car debut that year, rattling Loeb when they were Citroen team-mates in 2010-11... all the evidence was there that Sebastien Ogier had the potential to step straight into Loeb's shoes.

The only question mark was whether Volkswagen, in its first season back with the Polo R WRC, would be ready to beat the established machinery of Citroen and Ford. And that answer didn't take long to come either. That full year of preparation for Ogier and VW had clearly been used wisely.

With nine wins from 13 rallies, Ogier's 2013 crown was as dominant as Loeb at his most commanding.

There is no reason why it won't be business as usual for Ogier when the new season starts in Monte Carlo this weekend. He heads an unchanged VW line-up, joined again by Jari-Matti Latvala and Andreas Mikkelsen.

Latvala's deficit to Ogier in 2013 was in confidence and experience with the Polo. The gap did narrow as the season progressed, but not enough to suggest he will be a consistent match for the team leader. For Mikkelsen, yet to complete a full season at the WRC's top level, sensibly building pace remains the priority.

Meanwhile in VW's wake everything has changed...

HYUNDAI: The unknown quantity

Thierry Neuville and the brand new Hyundai i20 WRC are the WRC's curveball for the Monte and the rest of the 2014 season.

The Belgian is one of only two drivers who has the raw speed to challenge Ogier. He may not have won in 2013, but he came close on several occasions and beating all his true factory rivals to second in the championship in M-Sport's Ford Fiesta was a remarkable achievement.

But the downside is the car. Nobody knows what to expect from the i20. At least there is zero expectation from the watching world.

Neuville is Hyundai's sole full-season driver, with Dani Sordo, Juho Hanninen and Chris Atkinson - three men with both experience and points to prove - rotating in the second car.

CITROEN: A fresh start

Taking the sensible approach of selecting known quantities Mikko Hirvonen and Dani Sordo for life after Loeb didn't work out for Citroen, which all too often found itself beaten not just by the VWs, but by Neuville - a man formerly on the French firm's books - in the M-Sport Fiesta.

So now Citroen is rolling the dice with Kris Meeke and Mads Ostberg.

Northern Irishman Meeke's dream has come true. Now he just has to deliver. And that means staying on the road.

Ostberg will find Citroen's DS3 a different, and some say, more difficult beast to tame than his previous Fiesta, so a sensible start this weekend would serve him well.

He has been upbeat about the car so far, but the jury is out on where Ostberg himself ranks after Neuville gained the upper hand at M-Sport last year.

M-SPORT: All eyes on Kubica

Last year Malcolm Wilson signed up every promising young charger he could get his hands on, and it worked out pretty well.

This year, he's taken a different but equally leftfield route and lured the most exciting prospect in rallying: Robert Kubica.

The ex-Formula 1 man's ultimate potential on the stages remains a tantalising unknown. The WRC2 title and Janner Rally win promise much, but we have yet to see Kubica head to head with the WRC's top talents over a season.

Is he the man who will challenge Ogier for future titles? We're about to find out.

Wilson has also brought Mikko Hirvonen back into the fold and promoted M-Sport protege Elfyn Evans from WRC2.

This is the acid test for Hirvonen. He tried the red of Citroen and it didn't suit him. Back in blue, what can he do?

He's fast running out of chances, but he's always been at his fastest when he's been in a team with Malcolm Wilson.

Look up baptism of fire and you'll find a picture of 25-year-old Welshman Evans nosing his Fiesta RS WRC over the Monte start ramp. His is a long-term deal and there are no early expectations of a talented driver in at the deep end.

WHAT ELSE IS NEW?

Running order shake-up: The WRC's shortlived qualifying concept is dropped as the question of how to decide rally running orders continues to entangle the sport.

The FIA wanted a return to the system of drivers taking to the stages in championship order on day one, and rally position order on days two and three. Last time that was employed, it led to some thrilling finishes as the leaders were pegged back by having to sweep stages clear each morning.

But those last-gasp showdowns only came after plenty of tactical slowing (as drivers tried to avoid leading at the end of legs so they could get better starting positions) and a deafening amount of moaning.

The eventual compromise solution of championship order for day one, rally order for day two and leading rally order reversed for day three should please all parties.

Calendar tweak: Just one minor alteration to the schedule for 2014. The classic Acropolis Rally is out, not a great surprise given Greece's financial plight, although the event lives on in the European Rally Championship.

Its place is taken by Rally Poland, not a coincidence amid the excitement over Kubica's burgeoning rally career.

It will be warmly welcomed, with its fast stages very popular indeed with drivers when it last appeared in the WRC in 2009.

2014 WRC CALENDAR

January 14-19    Monte Carlo Rally, Monaco
February 5-8     Rally Sweden
March 6-9        Rally Mexico
April 3-6        Rally Portugal
May 8-11         Rally Argentina
June 6-8         Rally Italy
June 27-29       Rally Poland
August 1-3       Rally Finland
August 22-24     Rally Germany
September 12-14  Rally Australia
October 3-5      Rally France
October 24-26    Rally Spain
November 14-16   Rally GB

2014 WRC driver line-up:

Volkswagen
Sebastien Ogier, Jari-Matti Latvala, Andreas Mikkelsen

Citroen
Mads Ostberg, Kris Meeke, Khalid Al-Qassimi*

M-Sport Ford
Mikko Hirvonen, Elfyn Evans, Robert Kubica

Hyundai
Thierry Neuville, Dani Sordo*, Juho Hanninen*, Chris Atkinson*

* Partial programme

This week's AUTOSPORT magazine - available in shops and online from Thursday - features a comprehensive Monte Carlo Rally 2014 supplement