The World Rally Championship was introduced in 1973, but for the first 4 seasons there was no driver's title, only constructor's. Through the years many great drivers emerged on one hand, while on the other hand a lot of manufacturers were involved. The most successful manufacturer is Lancia with 10 titles (which holds the record for most consecutive championships, 6) and second comes Citroen with 8 titles, among 12 car manufacturers that have won a title.
About the drivers, Kankkunen is considered one of the greatest, having won 4 titles and equally great driver is Makinen, who also won 4 titles, but he did it in a row. Other significant drivers are Rorhl, Vatanen, Blomqvist, Sainz, etc.
Around 2000 the competition was very high, with Makinen, Gronholm, Burns, Solberg and McRae fighting for the crown. But all that changed, when Loeb started racing with Citroen, consisting of an invincible combination. From 2004 and on, the Frenchman razed the opponents and managed to achieve the unthinkable, to win 9 consecutive championships, setting an unprecedented record.
The only one who could prevent Loeb from continuing winning was.... Loeb himself, as he eventually retired from the championship, in order to compete in other forms of racing, such as the "Dakar" race.
But Ogier took over from where Loeb left off. The new king of rallying has conquered all seasons since 2013, that is since Loeb stopped racing. That means Ogier has already won 6 championships and has became the second most successful driver of WRC, behind Loeb. The difference between those two French drivers, is that Ogier has raced for Volkswagen (which where the first titles for the German manufacturer) and Ford, whereas Loeb raced only for Citroen.
Hopefully in the future we will enjoy a higher level of competence among contestants and that other drivers will get the chance to win a title.
*Image by wikipedia.org
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