The complete WRC season preview

Okay, forget the last week or so. Forget the politics and the disappointments that have already overshadowed the start of the season. Let's focus on the positives - there are plenty of them.

Firstly, the Monte Carlo Rally is back in the World Rally Championship. After three years in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, the French Alps event celebrates its 80th running by returning to the WRC, providing a classic start to what's likely to be a classic battle for this year's title.

It really is likely to be an open race. We've already seen that the Ford and Citroen cars are pretty evenly matched under the current regulations that came into force last year. But, with Jari-Matti Latvala off the leash and with the full support of his number two Petter Solberg, we could see the Fiesta RS WRC driver seriously fighting Sebastien Loeb. We may even see the first Finnish world champion since Marcus Gronholm in 2002.

Imagine that, Loeb not winning the title...

There's no doubt that Loeb's in a strong position, with his main rival from last year, Sebastien Ogier, out of the way in a Volkswagen Motorsport-run Skoda Fabia S2000, and Mikko Hirvonen - the man who has finished second to Loeb in three of the past four campaigns - now in the same team as him.

But, as Loeb explains in this week's AUTOSPORT magazine, there's no arrangement between Loeb, Hirvonen and their employer. Loeb, by his own admission, will have to work for title number nine.

"If Mikko is faster than me, he is the number one," according to the big little fella from Alsace.

So, there you have it: we have a race on our hands.

Also, we have Solberg back in a factory seat - and a Ford one at that. There must have been some strange happenings at M-Sport, because there was definitely talk that the 2003 champion would only be walking back through its doors in the event of various folk moving upstairs - in the ultimate sense.

But he's back. Twelve years after he drove down the M6 from M-Sport's Cumbria base to Prodrive HQ at Banbury, 'Hollywood' is lighting up Cockermouth again. But this time he's under orders - and those orders are to help Latvala win the drivers' championship.

But surely this year we're going to see Solberg end a win drought that goes back to 2005. Imagine the hysteria!

Calendar-wise, New Zealand returns in place of Australia, GB moves forward by a couple of months, and it looks likely that we'll hop from Sardinia to Sicily for the Italian round of the series.

The big rule changes this year mean shakedown becomes a qualifying stage to decide day one running order, then the leaderboard runs in reversed order on days two and three to combat the tactical nonsense seen in recent years.

It's fastest from start to finish this year.

So forget the politics and just get your Sky Plus set - once the powers that be have decided where the TV coverage will be shown (currently Eurosport has confirmed it will broacast Monte Carlo only).

Oh dear...

THE KEY PLAYERS

Citroen Total World Rally Team (Citroen DS3 WRC)

Sebastien Loeb (F)
Co-driver: Daniel Elena (MC)
Age: 37
Debut: Rally Catalunya, 1999
Starts: 151
Wins: 67
Other podiums: 3
Stage wins: 808
Titles: 8 (2004, '05, '06, '07, '08, '09, '10, '11)
2011: WRC champion

All the superlatives have been used to describe Sebastien Loeb. He's the best, and there doesn't look to be a lot standing between him and title number nine. Or even number 10! Loeb's natural ability to find the limit of the car while staying just shy of his own red line is staggering. After a troubled season with a difficult-to-manage team-mate (Sebastien Ogier), Loeb's looking forward to a year with his mate Mikko Hirvonen in the number two DS3 WRC. Loeb will make a winning return on the Monte, probably lose Sweden to Hirvonen, and then be the big player in the remaining 11 rounds. As understated and accommodating as he ever was, he's a 67-time rally winner who's lost none of his speed.

Mikko Hirvonen (FIN)
Co-driver: Jarmo Lehtinen (FIN)
Age: 31
Debut: Rally Finland, 2002
Starts: 124
Wins: 14
Other podiums: 37
Stage wins: 212
2011: 2nd in WRC

Talking of accommodating, Hirvonen is one of the nicest fellas you will ever meet in the service park. But this year he's got to find a mean streak. It's a balancing act for Hirvonen, though, because he doesn't want to be too mean: Ogier tried that last year... The 2012 season could make or break the Finn. After years of fighting the French, he has raised the white flag and now replaced it with the tricouleur. Finally, we get to see Hirvonen and Loeb in the same machinery, and get a true view of who's the quickest on all manner of stages and surfaces. In all honesty, Hirvonen's up against it here. He's a foreigner coming into a team that's all about Loeb. But if anybody can make it, he can. And it's not like Finns can't succeed in French teams: Marcus Gronholm's two world titles with Peugeot are ample proof of that.

Ford World Rally Team (Ford Fiesta RS WRC)

Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN)
Co-driver: Miikka Anttila (FIN)
Age: 26
Debut: Rally GB, 2002
Starts: 105
Wins: 5
Other podiums: 20
Stage wins: 204
2011: 4th in WRC

Cometh the hour... We've seen Jari-Matti Latvala mature and develop into a well-rounded team player in recent seasons. He's stopped hurling Ford's half-million-euro rally cars down mountains and started finishing rallies and scoring points. And he's doing that very, very quickly. It was only a shocking start to last season that kept him out of the thick of the fight for the drivers' championship; Latvala was regularly the faster of Ford's two Finns - and it came as no surprise that he topped the charts for the number of fastest stage times at the end of the year. This really is a golden opportunity for Latvala. Ford has committed its backing to him as the undisputed team leader. He's got the speed, the ability, the mental agility and the hardware to go out and do it. Now he's just got to beat Loeb...

Petter Solberg (N)
Co-driver: Chris Patterson (GB)
Age: 37
Debut: Swedish Rally, 1998
Starts: 175
Wins: 13
Other podiums: 34
Stage wins: 808
Titles: 1 (2003)
2011: 5th in WRC

If it's advice on beating Loeb that Latvala wants, he's got a good team-mate in Petter Solberg. The Norwegian was the last man to beat the French superstar across the spread of a season (in 2003). And Solberg will be full of advice for Latvala. It's fantastic to see the former world champion back in a factory seat, where he belongs, but Solberg's is a difficult job this season. After three years of running his own squad and doing precisely what he wanted, he's got to toe the team line again in 2012. It's incredible to think it's been 12 years since Solberg walked out on Ford for Subaru, but those days are gone, water under the bridge and all that. Solberg has been taken back, not with open arms, but with a firm handshake and an acceptance of a way forward for the season ahead. But, all that said, Solberg is still one of the fastest rally drivers in the world - and more desperate than any of them to top the podium again.

Mini World Rally Team (Mini WRC)

Dani Sordo (E)
Co-driver: Carlos del Barrio (E)
Age: 28
Debut: Rally Catalunya, 2003
Starts: 90
Best finish: 2nd
Podiums: 25
Stage wins: 107
2011: 8th in WRC

Last year's stunning pair of podiums suddenly seems quite a long time ago after a troubled off-season for the Mini team. There's a feeling that Sordo could be supping from the poisoned chalice going into Monte Carlo; there hasn't been the budget for massive development work over the winter, but there have been steps made with the John Cooper Works WRC. The car will be quicker than it was last year, but what about the future? With an apparently souring relationship between Prodrive and BMW Motorsport in Munich, and an unclear programme of rallies ahead, it's hard to know what to expect from the Spaniard. On asphalt Sordo will figure somewhere in the battle towards the front of the field. But on round two in the snows of Sweden, and on the gravel that beckons beyond, who knows?

Kris Meeke (GB)
Co-driver: Paul Nagle (IRL)
Age: 32
Debut: Rally GB, 2002
Starts: 38
Best finish: 4th
Podiums: 0
Stage wins: 2
2011: 11th in WRC

The minister without portfolio; the player without his boots. A season on the bench beckons for the former IRC champion. It's amazing to think of the marketing coup being missed: having a fella from the same place as Paddy Hopkirk in a Mini on the Monte next week. Talk about an open goal... But Mini has put it over the bar. Incredible. And, beyond the whole Meeke/Mini/Monte thing, Britain and the WRC also looks to have missed out on watching one of the fastest up-and-coming drivers on the stages and probably the most articulate in the service park. Prodrive chief David Richards says Meeke will test and, on occasion, compete in this year's WRC - and DR is a man to make things happen. Let's hope so.

Notable extras

Volkswagen Motorsport (Skoda Fabia S2000)

Sebastien Ogier (F)
Co-driver: Julien Ingrassia (F)
Age: 28
Debut: Rally Mexico, 2008
Starts: 46
Wins: 5
Other podiums: 7
Stage wins: 107
2011: 3rd in WRC

There's a temptation to run a line about mighty and falling here, but that wouldn't be 100 per cent accurate. Admittedly, Ogier won't be adding to his tally of seven wins in 2012, but a year later he'll find himself in a team that looks set to become a powerhouse of the WRC. Volkswagen doesn't do things by half - witness its massive commitment to Dakar. And, once it's got a year of Skoda Fabia S2000-based learning out of the way this season, its Polo R WRC and Ogier will be a force to be reckoned with. In the meantime, Ogier will live life without a turbo, but don't be too sympathetic: the Fabia S2000 is still an exceptional rally car.

Citroen Junior World Rally Team (Citroen DS3 WRC)

Thierry Neuville (B)
Co-driver: Nicolas Gilsoul (B)
Age: 23
Debut: Rally Catalunya, 2009
Starts: 6
Best result: 12th
Podiums: 0
Stage wins: 0
2011: 3rd in IRC

Like his bespectacled world rallying predecessors Thomas Radstrom and Timo Salonen, Thierry Neuville has the look of an accountant to accompany his wicked turn of speed. He hit the IRC headlines last year when he won the Tour de Corse and Sanremo Rally with a Peugeot, and remains in the PSA family with a Citroen deal for the WRC this year. Neuville will tackle at least nine rounds of the championship, while also doing much of the endurance running and mundane testing involved with Citroen's WRC programme. The 23-year-old Belgian will be in for a tough season, however. While he has good IRC experience, he hasn't been seen in the WRC that often and there will be pressure on him to make the finish of rallies and show he has the speed to be a potential heir to Loeb.

Qatar World Rally Team (Citroen DS3 WRC)

Nasser Al-Attiyah (Q)
Co-driver: Giovanni Bernacchini (I)
Age: 41
Debut: Swedish Rally, 2004
Starts: 45
Best result: 8th
Podiums: 0
Stage wins: 0
2011: 7th in SWRC, Dakar winner, Middle-East champion

Nasser Al-Attiyah's Dakar disappointment won't last long, not with the Qatari's first season driving a Citroen DS3 WRC ahead of him... The former Production champion will realise his rallying dream this season, when he joins Mikko Hirvonen and Sebastien Loeb in the factory team. Al-Attiyah showed exceptional pace through the early part of last year's SWRC and really should have had the title sewn up by mid-season. Unfortunately, it didn't pan out that way, but what Al-Attiyah did emerge from last season with was a stack more experience of driving Super 2000 cars - all of which will stand him in good stead for his World Rally Car debut. Expect Al-Attiyah to be a regular point-scorer this season.

M-Sport Ford World Rally Team (Ford Fiesta RS WRC)

Evgeny Novikov (RU)
Co-driver: Denis Giraudet (F)
Age: 21
Debut: Rally GB, 2007
Starts: 23
Best result: 5th
Podiums: 0
Stage wins: 4
2011: 17th in WRC

The 21-year-old Russian will drive at least eight rounds of the championship with a Fiesta WRC - having tackled the last 2011 event for the official team in place of Khalid Al-Qassimi. Novikov has massive speed and commitment, but these have been followed all too often by some massive accidents. His co-driver Denis Giraudet is famed for calling his wife's name mid-crash; she was quite a popular topic of conversation in the car in 2011! If Giraudet can curb the shunts and contain the commitment, then Novikov could find himself on the podium. If not, expect more bent metal in Cockermouth.

Ott Tanak (EE)
Co-driver: Kuldar Sikk (EE)
Age: 24
Debut: Rally Portugal 2009
Starts: 17
Best result: 6th
Podiums: 0
Stage wins: 0
2011: 15th in WRC, 2nd in SWRC

Could and probably should have won the Super 2000 World Rally Championship last season, but in the end it didn't matter: he had a long-term M-Sport deal in the bag anyway. Rated as the next big star to come to the sport, Tanak doesn't do much talking, but is undoubtedly one of the fastest drivers around already. A former Pirelli Star Driver, the Estonian spent a good part of the 2010 season knocking lumps out of the yellow Mitsubishi he'd been gifted for six rallies, but at the same time proved devastatingly quick. He's learned since then and made a solid World Rally Car debut in the WRC on Rally GB last year, finishing sixth in a Fiesta on DMACKs. Mentored by Markko Martin, Tanak has a sensible, conservative and worldly-wise hand guiding him.

Czech Ford National Team (Ford Fiesta RS WRC)

Martin Prokop (CZ)
Co-driver: Zdenek Hruza (CZ)
Age: 29
Debut: Monte Carlo Rally, 2005
Starts: 67
Best result: 7th
Podiums: 0
Stage wins: 1
2011: 19th in WRC, 3rd in SWRC

After a season in a Group N Mitsubishi, this former Junior World Rally champion got to grips with four-wheel-drive rallying in a Fiesta last season and steps up to a full World Rally Car version for 10 rounds of this year's series. He will find it tough to compete at the sharp end, but the Czech should be on the lookout for points from pretty much every round he starts. He has benefited from a decent pre-season testing schedule.

Henning Solberg/M-Sport (Ford Fiesta RS WRC)

Henning Solberg (N)
Co-driver: Ilka Minor (A)
Age: 39
Debut: Swedish Rally, 1998
Starts: 108
Best finish: 3rd
Podiums: 6
Stage wins: 31
2011: 9th in WRC

One of the most amusing and entertaining members of the service park, Henning Solberg returns for seventh season in an M-Sport-prepared car. The Norwegian older brother of Petter ended last year on a high with third on Rally GB, and is capable of replicating that kind of performance on rallies such as Sweden. The precise details of Solberg's season have yet to be agreed but, for the first time this year, he will share Ford's hospitality with Petter. Two Solbergs under the same service park roof will make for plenty of theatre and possibly plenty of tears if one or the other wins this year.

Matthew Wilson/M-Sport (Ford Fiesta RS WRC)

Matthew Wilson (GB)
Co-driver: Scott Martin (GB)
Age: 24
Debut: Rally GB, 2004
Starts: 87
Best finish: 4th
Podiums: 0
Stage wins: 3
2011: 7th in WRC

Can it really be six years since a staggeringly nervous 18-year-old Cumbrian started the Monte with Ford? Since then, Wilson has tackled 85 rounds of the championship, finished 78 of them and scored points on 42. In the process, he has remained one of the most mature and grounded individuals in the sport. By his own admission, he's not about to knock Loeb off his perch, but if it's consistent points you want, Matt's the man. Without long-time backer Stobart - which sponsored him for the past six years - the precise programme for Wilson remains unclear. At least his making it to the start of this season offers parallels to the third most-famous Cumbrian (behind Matthew and his dad) William Wordsworth, who penned 'We are seven'.

Jari Ketomaa/M-Sport (Ford Fiesta RS WRC)

Jari Ketomaa (FIN)
Co-driver: Mika Stenberg (FIN)
Age: 28
Debut: Rally Finland, 2000
Starts: 16
Best finish: 7th
Podiums: 0
Stage wins: 1
2011: 1 appearance in WRC

Likeable Finn demonstrated his speed by leading his home round of the WRC last year, and has bagged a five-round WRC programme for this season. The upside will be driving a Ford Fiesta RS WRC; the downside might be driving it on DMACK tyres. The DMACKs are coming on tremendously, but the Chinese covers are still quite literally getting to grips with the WRC and its precise demands. Ketomaa's rivals will all be Michelin-shod. It will be interesting to see what the untested partnership is capable of - there could be a surprise sprung in Sweden, given his snow experience.

Mads Ostberg/M-Sport (Ford Fiesta RS WRC)

Mads Ostberg (N)
Co-driver: Jonas Andersson (S)
Age: 24
Debut: Swedish Rally, 2006
Starts: 41
Best finish: 2nd
Podiums: 2
Stage wins: 6
2011: 6th in WRC

Is he a potential Sweden winner? Absolutely. After last year's awesome showing, Ostberg should be expected to be right up there with Hirvonen, Solberg and Latvala next month. And, if he can dial himself into the Fiesta on gravel - something he found difficult due to the lack of testing time last year - he could threaten the podium pretty much anywhere. Not present on the season opener in Monte Carlo, while the trek to New Zealand is also likely to be vetoed on cost grounds, but otherwise this likeable young star will be a driver well worth watching.

THE TASK FACING THEM...

1. Monte Carlo Rally (MC)
Date: January 18-22
Surface: Asphalt
2011 winner: Bryan Bouffier/Xavier Panseri (Peugeot 207 S2000)

Back in the championship for the first time since 2008, this event remains one of the toughest of the season - if the weather plays ball. In the mid-2000s the Automobile Club de Monaco ran some of the most southerly-based routes in the Monte's history, and the upshot was a snow no-show with the event simply becoming another asphalt dash through the mountains. But, since the move back to Valence and the Ardeche stages, the challenge is most definitely back. And, don't forget, there's no superally. Probably for this event only, retirement truly means retirement.

2. Rally Sweden (S)
Date: February 9-12
Surface: Snow
2011 winner: Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen (Ford Fiesta RS WRC)

While this event remains based in Karlstad, the action is now found much further north on the roads around Hagfors, which makes the WRC's winter round much more likely to be wintry. After running a stage that crossed from Sweden to Norway last season, the organisers of the event have decided to run a full day on their neighbour's snowy roads this time around, which will certainly mean a huge amount to the legions of Norwegian fans - and to Mads Ostberg and the brothers Solberg. Here's hoping for major minuses on the temperature front, allied to massive snow falls just before the recce and blue skies to follow. The combination of those three and a full field of World Rally Cars makes for one of the best rounds of the year.

3. Rally Mexico (MEX)
Date: March 8-11
Surface: Gravel (smooth)
2011 winner: Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena (Citroen DS3 WRC)

After the snow comes the sun and the first hot, dusty gravel rally of the year. The super-compact route remains, with just about every competitive mile within an hour or so of the Leon service park. This is likely to be the first rally of the year where the shakedown qualifying session will be seriously battled over. It never rains in this part of Mexico, so running first on the road is a shocking place to be on this event. Another thing to look out for is the street stage that runs under and through Guanajuato in an amazing carnival atmosphere. And the moaning will start when the drivers lose power as the roads climb above the 2000-metre mark.

4. Rally Portugal (P)
Date: March 29-April 1
Surface: Gravel (smooth)
2011 winner: Sebastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (Citroen DS3 WRC)

5. Rally Argentina (RA)
Date: April 27-29
Surface: Gravel (smooth)
2011 winner: Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena (Citroen DS3 WRC)

Portugal will come close, but it's Argentina that takes the honour of the biggest crowd of the season. And this year there are more miles than anywhere else in the championship for those fans to see the competition - the route is around 100 miles longer than most other events, with a massive 41-mile stage likely to have a significant impact on the outcome of the rally. The roads here are awesome, super-quick in places and really technical in others. If it rains, those watersplashes fill up and it just gets tougher. The event remains centred on Villa Carlos Paz, a small town full of big steaks and even bigger bottles of Malbec.

6. Acropolis Rally (GR)
Date: May 25-27
Surface: Gravel (rough)
2011 winner: Sebastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (Citroen DS3 WRC)

The WRC's only genuinely tough car-breaker of an event - although those who contested this event in the 1970s and '80s would probably argue that the 2012 version is kids' play... With the event running a little earlier in the season, temperatures won't be quite as high as usual, but those television-sized rocks will still be standing on the line ready to catch out the unwary and relieve them of a wheel or two. The addition of night stages caused plenty of controversy last season, but also provided a fascinating talking point, not to mention riveting TV coverage.

7. Rally New Zealand (NZ)
Date: June 22-24
Surface: Gravel (smooth)
2011 winner: Jari-Matti Latvala/Miika Anttila (Ford Fiesta RS WRC)

Without a doubt some of the best roads in the world. The cambered gravel stages allow drivers to arrive at the apex a gear higher than they would normally, but get the wrong side of that camber and you'll be off and in the bushes in no time. The smooth gravel of the North Island is hugely sympathetic on the cars, with the Auckland-based event usually providing one of the smallest retirement lists of the season.

8. Rally Finland (FIN)

Date: August 2-5
Surface: Gravel (smooth)
2011 winner: Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena (Citroen DS3 WRC)

Talking of great roads... After NZ, the drivers will be in the fast-road mindset, but the stages looping around Jyvasykla take that to another level. It's mindblowing to see the cars attack blind brows on the limiter in staggering displays of commitment, followed by jaw-dropping 50-metre leaps. This year the event returns to its three-day format, which will mean a slightly more relaxed Friday and Saturday. And more time for the locals to drink their own bodyweight in pear cider, before falling off a wobbly ladder or asleep in a plate of paella.

9. Rallye Deutschland (D)
Date: August 24-26
Surface: Asphalt
2011 winner: Sebastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (Citroen DS3 WRC)

Three rallies in one. Running out of the historic town of Trier, complete with Black Gates installed by the Romans, this event treks up and down the Moselle valley, weaving its way through the vineyards and country lanes before taking to the tank tracks of the Baumholder military testing ground. A stone's throw from France, this is part one (or two if you count Monte Carlo) of Loeb's home tour. He was unbeaten here until last season, when he suffered a puncture and then the agony of watching his team-mate and arch-enemy Ogier relieve him of his 100 per cent record.

10. Rally Great Britain (GB)
Date: September 13-16
Surface: Asphalt
2011 winner: Jari-Matti Latvala/Miika Anttila (Ford Focus RS WRC)

In an effort to source some marketing shots without umbrellas in, the Welsh government was keen to move this event forward by a couple of months. The upshot will be a slightly warmer, but likely just as wet Rally GB. But if Wales does enjoy a rare Indian summer in 2012, the stages will change in nature quite significantly. Suddenly, preserving tyres will become priority number one on dry and abrasive roads further south, especially with higher speeds.

11. Rallye de France (F)
Date: October 4-7
Surface: Asphalt
2011 winner: Sebastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (Citroen DS3 WRC)

Welcome to Loeb town. This rally is firstly all about the eight-time world champion who was born next door to just about everybody around here, and secondly about the WRC. The crowds have been sensational around Strasbourg in the past couple of years and, while the stages aren't too dissimilar to those on Rallye Deutschland - they're only 50 miles or so west of them - they still provide a challenge.

12. Rallye d'Italia (I)
Date: October 18-21
Surface: Gravel (smooth)
2011 winner: Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena (Citroen DS3 WRC)

Precise details of Italy's round have still to be confirmed, but it's likely that Sicily will replace Sardinia in an event that will bear the name Targa Florio in deference to the island's most-celebrated motorsport event. If you've watched The Godfather boxset a few times, it would be fair to predict gravelly roads that are full of locals you wouldn't want to argue with.

13. Rally Catalunya (E)
Date: November 8-11
Surface: Asphalt
2011 winner: Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena (Citroen DS3 WRC)

The season draws to a close on the seafront in Salou. Quite what that will be like in the second week in November remains to be seen, but the stages will be as good as ever. The challenging mixture of Tarragona gravel and asphalt is expected to remain for 2012, as will the service park at the PortAventura theme park, south of Barcelona. This is always one of the best-organised rounds of the championship and richly deserves its opportunity to host what could be a thrilling finale.

We want to hear from you!

Let us know what you would like to see from us in the future.

Take our survey

- The Autosport.com Team

Read and post comments