The eagerly anticipated 2025 FIA World Rally Championship season bursts into life when Rallye Monte-Carlo gets underway for the 93rd time from January 22-26.Exciting tweaks to the technical regulations, an expanded calendar, a new official tyre supplier and a revamped points-scoring system are just some of what’s in store during the upcoming title chase, which will be contested by factory teams from Hyundai, M-Sport Ford and Toyota. 

A capacity 70-car entry, out of 92 registrations, including 47 FIA priority crews, has been assembled to compete on the 2025 FIA WRC season opener, made possible as always thanks to the hundreds of volunteer marshals and officials among more than two thousand people mobilised who ensure the safe and successful running of the event. 

While Rallye Monte-Carlo is a Tarmac event in name, it’s rarely a Tarmac event in nature due to its reputation for wintry weather conditions. Ice and even snow often add to the tough task in hand, as do the inconsistent grip levels that are frequently experienced on the mountain roads.

Having taken over from Pirelli as the FIA WRC’s official tyre supplier, Hankook Tire will be providing the spec rubber for all the competitors. It is anticipated that overall grip levels will be slightly lower than in recent years, which will be just one of the many challenges that the drivers will have to adapt to in 2025.

For Rallye Monte-Carlo, the company is providing its Ventus Z215 soft and super soft tyre with the i*Cept SR20 snow tyre also available with or without studs fitted. Hankook will unleash its Dynapro tyre for the gravel rounds later in the year.

Lighter, simpler and more affordable Rally1 cars will take to the stages as the WRC’s flagship category, utilising 100 per cent sustainable fuel as they have since 2022, but without the plug-in hybrid units deployed over the past three years.

As part of the rule change, the minimum weight of the cars has been lowered from 1260 kilograms to 1180 kilograms. To maintain an equivalent power-to-weight ratio between the 2024 and 2025 Rally1 cars, the air restrictor size has been reduced from 36mm to 35mm.

The allocation of championship points has been modified for 2025 to place a greater emphasis on winning events outright, while ensuring there’s still plenty to fight for on the Sunday of each rally. Points will now be allocated on a sliding scale of 25-17-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1 to the top 10 classified finishers.

A separate Sunday allocation of 5-4-3-2-1 will reward the top five according to the results of the final leg, while the fastest quintet on the Power Stage will score 5-4-3-2-1 points. Having been able to bank a maximum of 30 points in 2024, a driver winning the rally, topping the Super Sunday order and going quickest on the Power Stage can now secure 35 points.

Contested over 14 rounds compared to the previous 13, the WRC visits the Spanish island of Gran Canaria, Paraguay and Saudi Arabia for the first time. EKO Acropolis Rally Greece returns to the late June slot it last occupied in 2005, while Delfi Rally Estonia is back after running as part of the FIA European Rally Championship last season.

Rally del Paraguay’s inclusion means two rallies in South America for the first time since 2019. The all-new Rally Saudi Arabia becomes the deciding round with Forum8 Rally Japan now the penultimate event of the year.

In a key personnel change for 2025, Nicolas Klinger is promoted to the role of FIA WRC Safety Delegate following Michèle Mouton’s decision to retire following more than a decade of incredible service. Klinger’s Deputy Safety Delegate role is filled by Priit Priimägi from Estonia.

MONACO LAUNCH FOR 2025 FIA WRC SEASON

The 2025 FIA World Rally Championship is being launched this Sunday (January 19) in Monaco’s Casino Square. The ceremony will be inaugurated FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem alongside WRC Promoter CEO Jona Siebel and representatives of the Automobile Club de Monaco. 

The event will officially introduce Hankook as the exclusive official WRC tyre supplier, marking the beginning of a new chapter for the sport. The event will culminate with the introduction of Rally1 manufacturers and their participating crews, followed by a formal drinks reception at the Café de Paris for invited guests.

THE ROUTE IN SHORT

With the city of Gap the event’s home for the second season in a row following a two-year stint based back on the harbourside in Monaco, the 93rd Rallye Monte-Carlo will challenge the stars of the FIA World Rally Championship over 343.80 kilometres. Following the traditional ceremonial start in Monaco’s Casino Square, proceedings intensify with three timed tests run after dark on Thursday January 23 totalling 54.16 timed kilometres.

Located in the departments of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Hautes-Alpes, the opening trio of stages include the 21.18 kilometres of Faucon-du-Caire/Bréziers – the longest of the first night – and Avançon/Notre-Dame-du-Laus, which is set to get under way at 21:06 local time over a distance of 13.97 kilometres.

The rally restarts from Gap on Friday January 24 with the departments of Hautes-Alpes and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence hosting the action. Three repeated stages and a midday service halt in Gap are included on the itinerary, which covers a competitive distance of 107.34 kilometres. The day-opening Saint-Maurice/Aubessagne test is the leg’s longest at 18.68 kilometres.

Saturday’s (January 25) route is centred on the Drôme department with two loops of three new stages and 131.40 timed kilometres on offer. At 27.00 kilometres, the double-use La Motte-Chalancon/Saint-Nazaire stage is the rally’s longest.

The deciding leg on Sunday January 26 marks the departure from Gap for the journey south to the finish in Monaco. It consists of 50.90 kilometres divided between three stages. The La Bollène-Vésubie/Peïra-Cava Power Stage, which climbs the iconic Col de Turini, is due to begin at 12h15.

RALLYE MONTE-CARLO DATA 

Stage distance: 343.80 km
Total distance: 1629.37 km
Number of stages: 18


RALLY1 CONTENDERS

Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team
Thierry Neuville defends his world title carrying the coveted #1 on his Hyundai i20 N Rally1, his 12th consecutive season with the Korean manufacturer. The Belgian is joined for a fifth year by Estonia’s Ott Tänak and the team’s French newcomer, Adrien Fourmaux.
 
M-Sport Ford World Rally Team
GrĂ©goire Munster will be the M-Sport Ford World Rally Team’s most experienced driver when he embarks on his second full season at Rally1 level. Josh McErlean, a product of the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy, steps up from FIA WRC2 to pilot the second Ford Puma Rally1.
 
Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team
SĂ©bastien Ogier, the winner of the WRC title eight times, has won Rallye Monte-Carlo on a record nine occasions. While Ogier is planning a partial event schedule for the fourth year in 2025, double champion Kalle Rovanperä returns for a full season after he went part time in 2024. Elfyn Evans, Takamoto Katsuta and FIA WRC2 champion Sami Pajari complete the Toyota’s five-strong factory line-up in GR Yaris Rally1 cars.

SUPPORTING CATEGORIES
 
The popularity of the Rally2-based FIA WRC2 category is highlighted by a 24-car entry headed by Nikolay Gryazin (Ĺ koda Fabia RS Rally2) and Yohan Rossel (PH-Sport CitroĂ«n C3 Rally2), who finished third and fourth respectively in last year’s standings.
 
LĂ©o Rossel graduates to FIA WRC2 as the French Tarmac champion and will partner his older brother Yohan at PH Sport, while Charles Munster, younger brother of M-Sport Ford World Rally Team driver GrĂ©goire, is entered in a Hyundai i20 N Rally2.
 
Former winner François Delecour’s 17-year-old son Eliott Delecour makes his WRC debut on Rallye Monte-Carlo, as does French federation-supported Sarah Rumeau, who is embarking on an FIA WRC2 campaign with Sarrazin Motorsport – Iron Lynx.
 
After claiming top FIA WRC3 honours on Rallye Monte-Carlo 12 months ago, Jan ÄŚernĂ˝ returns in FIA WRC2 with his opposition including Eric Camilli, Gus Greensmith and Roberto DaprĂ .
 
Oliver Solberg is the top seed in the RC2 category on his first appearance in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 but hasn’t nominated the event as one of his scoring rounds.
 
Diego DomĂ­nguez starts the defence of his FIA WRC3 title on Rallye Monte-Carlo with FIA ERC3 champion Filip Kohn stepping up to FIA WRC2. Rachele Somaschini is also stepping up from the FIA European Rally Championship and will use her participation to raise awareness of cystic fibrosis, the genetic disorder she suffers from.
 
Eamonn Boland is the leading FIA WRC Masters Cup seed, the Irishman competing alongside Michael Joe “MJ” Morrissey, the 2024 FIA WRC Masters Cup champion co-driver.

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