Transfers: the Fourmaux attraction
The Rally1 field is perhaps not as full as we would like, with only nine cars entered full-time in 2025, but there are some changes to note compared to the previous campaign. The transfer of the year is of course the arrival of Adrien Fourmaux at Hyundai, aboard a third i20 N registered for the full season. The Frenchman, covered by M-Sport and impressive in 2024 with five podiums on the Ford Puma, convinced the South Korean team to trust him within a factory program. The Frenchman will have the weapons in hand to compete with the best and, perhaps, achieve his first WRC victory.
In this WRC 2025 field, we also note the appearance of two new faces in Rally1. News… not really. Indeed, Sami Pajari is no longer a stranger to Rally1, having participated in three rallies in the premier category in 2024. The WRC2 champion has received the confidence of Toyota who will enter him for the full season… with a B team, but on the same Yaris as his teammates from the official team. Finally, Josh McErlean will discover Rally1 with M-Sport Ford, he who played three seasons in WRC2 without being really convincing….
WRC 2025 – All transfers
???????? Adrien Fourmaux : M-Sport Ford (2024) ➡️ Hyundai (2025)
???????? Sami Pajari : WRC2 (2024) ➡️ Toyota (2025)
???????? Josh McErlean : WRC2 (2024) ➡️ M-Sport Ford (2025)
Departures after 2024
???????? Esapekka Lappi: Hyundai (2024)
???????? Andreas Mikkelsen : Hyundai (2024)
Calendar: three new meetings
Not much new on the drivers side, certainly, but on the calendar side, get ready to discover new landscapes! In 2025, there will be no fewer than three new events on the WRC calendar, each more exotic than the last. After the series of historic Monte-Carlo / Sweden / Kenya rallies to start the championship, the WRC will travel to the Canary Islands. The Spanish archipelago, the traditional meeting place of the ERC, welcomes for the first time the world circus on what will certainly be the most beautiful asphalt rally of the year.
After the Canary Islands, a series of five European gravel rallies awaits the drivers (Portugal, Sardinia, Acropolis, Estonia, Finland), before a jump to South America in Chile. The WRC will then return to Central Europe and then Japan for the last two asphalt rallies of the year… but this season, a new event will close the championship, with the very first Rally of Saudi Arabia in the WRC. Like a little touch of Dakar to end the year…
WRC 2025 – The calendar
1. ???????? Monte-Carlo (Asphalt/Ice) – January 22 to 26, 2025
2. ???????? Sweden (Snow) – February 13 to 16, 2025
3. ???????? Safari Rally Kenya (Earth) – March 20 to 23, 2025
4. ???????? Canary Islands (Asphalt) – April 24 to 27, 2025
5. ???????? Portugal (Earth) – May 15 to 18, 2025
6. ???????? Sardinia (Earth) – June 5 to 8, 2025
7. ???????? Acropolis (Earth) – June 26 to 29, 2025
8. ???????? Estonia (Earth) – July 17 to 20, 2025
9. ???????? Finland (Earth) – July 31 to August 3, 2025
10. ???????? Paraguay (Earth) – August 28 to 31, 2025
11. ???????? Chili (Earth) – September 11 to 14, 2025
12. ???????? Europe centrale (Asphalt) – October 16 to 19, 2025
13. ???????? Japan (Asphalt) – November 6 to 9, 2025
14. ???????? Saudi Arabia (Earth) – November 27 to 30, 2025
Rules: hybrid is over!
In 2025, the WRC will experience a small revolution. If the cars will have essentially the same appearance as in previous seasons, with the Rally1 regulations, it is inside that the changes will be significant. Obviously, the main novelty of 2025 is… the removal of the hybrid system, which has caused so much debate since its introduction in 2022. Unreliable, too heavy, too expensive and not really interesting from a sporting point of view, this system has everything simply been removed to reduce costs and make the mounts more reliable. Thus, the Rally1s find themselves relieved of 80 kilograms, and their weight therefore increases from 1260 to 1180 kg.
In order to counterbalance this reduction and maintain a reasonable weight-power ratio, the air intake flange will be reduced by one millimeter and will go from 36 mm to 35 mm in order to slightly reduce the power of the thermal engine. Thus, the non-hybrid Rally1s will have a power-to-weight ratio similar to the hybrid Rally1s. The fuel used will always be 100% sustainable. Another new feature: tires. From 2025, Hankook will become the official manufacturer of the WRC instead of Pirelli. The South Korean firm, despite its little experience in rallying (present in ERC since 2023), will have the difficult task of supplying all categories until 2027, which will necessarily create an adaptation time for all crews.
In the Sporting Regulations this time, the big change of this year 2025 is the points scale, which has been modified again after having been criticized in 2024. That of last year receives some adjustments in order to restore the importance of victory. Thus, the winner of the rally will pocket 25 points (then 17, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1 for the first ten). The Saturday evening distribution is canceled and the prize pool for the Sunday stage – Super Sunday – will only be for the first five with 5 points for the first (then 4, 3, 2, 1). The Power Stage does not change and will always offer 5 points to the fastest driver on the last special stage of the rally. In total, a maximum of 35 points can be scored over a rally weekend.
ALSO READ > WRC 2025 Guide – Should we be worried about Hankook?
