# 2006 World Rally Championship

The 2006 World Rally Championship was the 34th season in the FIA World Rally Championship. The season began on January 20 with the 74th Monte Carlo Rally where Finland's Marcus Grönholm, in a Ford Focus RS WRC, took the win ahead of France's Sébastien Loeb. After the Swedish Rally ended with the same top-two, Loeb and Kronos Citroën went on to win five rallies in a row. Despite an injury in a mountain-biking accident before the Rally of Turkey, forcing Loeb to miss last four rallies, he secured his third drivers' title, whereas Ford won their first manufacturers' title since 1979.

## Rule changes

In an attempt to cut costs, new regulations required mechanical front and rear differentials, while the central differential remained active. Active suspension and water injections were also prohibited. Cars entered by a manufacturer had to be equipped with the same engine for two rallies; further limitations were imposed on the changing of some parts, including suspension, steering, turbochargers and gearboxes.
For 2006 manufacturer is understood to mean a manufacturer, a team designated by a manufacturer, or a privateer team taking part with a single make of car.
Two categories were created to compete for the Manufacturer's championship:
Manufacturer 1 (M1)
* undertakes to take part in all the rallies of the Championship
* must enter only cars corresponding to the latest homologated version of a World Rally Car in conformity with the 2006 Appendix J
* must inform the FIA of the name of the first driver entered for the season at the time of registration for the Championship. No change of the first driver is authorised, except in a case of force majeure. The driver of the second car may be changed for each of the rallies in the Championship
* In order to score points in the Championship, a Manufacturer 1 must take part with two cars of the same make in the 16 rallies of the calendar
Manufacturer 2 (M2)
* undertakes to take part in 10 or more Championship rallies which it has nominated
* cannot enter World Rally Cars homologated during the year 2006 and cannot use parts homologated after 2 January 2006
* cannot enter a driver who has been classified among the first six in the final classification of the FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers in the last five years
* In order to score points in the Championship, a Manufacturer 2 must take part with two cars of the same make in 10 or more rallies it nominated on registering for the Championship. The Manufacturer can only score points in the events it nominated on registering

## Calendar

The 2006 championship was contested over sixteen rounds in Europe, Asia, the Americas and Oceania.
| Rd. | Start date | Finish date | Rally | Rally headquarters | Surface | Stages | Distance | Support class |
| 1 | 19 January | 22 January | 74th Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo | Monte Carlo | Mixed | 18 | 366.39 km | PWRC |
| 2 | 3 February | 5 February | 55th Uddeholm Swedish Rally | Karlstad, Värmland County | Snow | 19 | 349.02 km | JWRC |
| 3 | 3 March | 5 March | 3rd Corona Rally Mexico | León, Guanajuato | Gravel | 17 | 359.54 km | PWRC |
| 4 | 24 March | 26 March | 42nd RallyRACC Catalunya - Costa Daurada | Salou, Catalonia | Tarmac | 16 | 346.43 km | JWRC |
| 5 | 7 April | 9 April | 50th Tour de Corse - Rallye de France | Ajaccio, Corsica | Tarmac | 12 | 354.18 km | JWRC |
| 6 | 27 April | 30 April | 26th Rally Argentina | Carlos Paz, Córdoba | Gravel | 22 | 351.44 km | JWRC/PWRC |
| 7 | 19 May | 21 May | 3rd Rally d'Italia Sardinia | Olbia, Sardinia | Gravel | 18 | 344.90 km | JWRC |
| 8 | 2 June | 4 June | 53rd BP Ultimate Acropolis Rally of Greece | Athens | Gravel | 18 | 355.62 km | PWRC |
| 9 | 11 August | 13 August | 25th OMV ADAC Rallye Deutschland | Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate | Tarmac | 19 | 349.11 km | JWRC |
| 10 | 18 August | 20 August | 56th Neste Rally Finland | Jyväskylä, Central Finland | Gravel | 21 | 351.61 km | JWRC |
| 11 | 1 September | 3 September | 6th Rally Japan | Obihiro, Hokkaido | Gravel | 27 | 345.72 km | PWRC |
| 12 | 22 September | 24 September | 34th Cyprus Rally | Lemesos, Limassol District | Gravel | 22 | 322.51 km | PWRC |
| 13 | 13 October | 15 October | 7th Rally of Turkey | Kemer, Antalya Province | Gravel | 19 | 337.79 km | JWRC |
| 14 | 27 October | 29 October | 19th Telstra Rally Australia | Perth, Western Australia | Gravel | 26 | 348.51 km | PWRC |
| 15 | 17 November | 19 November | 37th Propecia Rally New Zealand | Hamilton, Waikato | Gravel | 17 | 354.21 km | PWRC |
| 16 | 1 December | 3 December | 62nd Wales Rally GB | Cardiff, Wales | Gravel | 17 | 355.92 km | JWRC |
| Sources: |||||||||

## Teams and drivers

Manufacturers 1 :
| Team | Manufacturer | Car | Tyre | No | Drivers | Co-Driver | Rounds |
| Kronos Total Citroën World Rally Team | Citroën | Xsara WRC | BF | 1 | Sébastien Loeb | Daniel Elena | 1–12$^†$ |
| Kronos Total Citroën World Rally Team | Citroën | Xsara WRC | BF | 1 | Colin McRae | Nicky Grist | 13 |
| Kronos Total Citroën World Rally Team | Citroën | Xsara WRC | BF | 1 | Xavier Pons | Carlos del Barrio | 14–16 |
| Kronos Total Citroën World Rally Team | Citroën | Xsara WRC | BF | 2 | Xavier Pons | Carlos del Barrio | 1–8 |
| Kronos Total Citroën World Rally Team | Citroën | Xsara WRC | BF | 2 | Daniel Sordo | Marc Martí | 9–16 |
| BP Ford World Rally Team | Ford | Focus RS WRC 06 | BF | 3 | Marcus Grönholm | Timo Rautiainen | All |
| BP Ford World Rally Team | Ford | Focus RS WRC 06 | BF | 4 | Mikko Hirvonen | Jarmo Lehtinen | All |
| Subaru World Rally Team | Subaru | Impreza WRC 2006 | P | 5 | Petter Solberg | Phil Mills | All |
| Subaru World Rally Team | Subaru | Impreza WRC 2006 | P | 6 | Stéphane Sarrazin | Stéphane Prévot | 1, 4–5, 9 |
| Subaru World Rally Team | Subaru | Impreza WRC 2006 | P | 6 | Chris Atkinson | Glenn Macneall | 2–3, 6–8, 10–16 |
| Manufacturers 2 |||||||||||
| OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team | Peugeot | 307 WRC | BF | 7 | Manfred Stohl | Ilka Minor | All |
| OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team | Peugeot | 307 WRC | BF | 8 | Henning Solberg | Cato Menkerud | 1–3, 6–8, 10, 12–16 |
| Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team | Ford | Focus RS WRC 04 Focus RS WRC 06 | BF | 9 | Matthew Wilson | Michael Orr | All |
| Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team | Ford | Focus RS WRC 04 Focus RS WRC 06 | BF | 10 | Pieter Tsjoen | Eddy Chevaillier | 1 |
| Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team | Ford | Focus RS WRC 04 Focus RS WRC 06 | BF | 10 | Kosti Katajamäki | Timo Alanne | 2, 7–8, 10, 13 |
| Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team | Ford | Focus RS WRC 04 Focus RS WRC 06 | BF | 10 | Luís Pérez Companc | Jose Maria Volta | 3, 6, 11–12, 14–15 |
| Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team | Ford | Focus RS WRC 04 Focus RS WRC 06 | BF | 10 | Jari-Matti Latvala | | 4–5, 9, 16 |
| Red Bull Škoda Team | Škoda | Fabia WRC | BF | 11 | Gilles Panizzi | Herve Panizzi | 1, 4 |
| Red Bull Škoda Team | Škoda | Fabia WRC | BF | 11 | Andreas Aigner | Klaus Wicha | 2 |
| Red Bull Škoda Team | Škoda | Fabia WRC | BF | 11 | Harri Rovanperä | Risto Pietilanien | 5, 7–8, 12–13, 16 |
| Red Bull Škoda Team | Škoda | Fabia WRC | BF | 11 | Mattias Ekström | | 9 |
| Red Bull Škoda Team | Škoda | Fabia WRC | BF | 12 | Andreas Aigner | Klaus Wicha | 1, 4–5, 7–9, 12–13, 16 |
| Red Bull Škoda Team | Škoda | Fabia WRC | BF | 12 | Mattias Ekström | | 2 |
| Major entries not registered as manufacturers |||||||||||
| Subaru World Rally Team | Subaru | Impreza WRC 2006 | P | 14 | Toshihiro Arai | Tony Sircombe | 11 |
| Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team | Ford | Focus RS WRC 04 | BF | 17 | Juan Pablo Raies | | 12 |
| Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team | Ford | Focus RS WRC 04 | BF | 19 | Andreas Mikkelsen | | 16 |
| Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team | Ford | Focus RS WRC 04 | BF | 23 | Luís Pérez Companc | | 2, 7 |
| Gianluigi Galli | Peugeot | 307 WRC | P | 25 | Gianluigi Galli | | 5–7, 10 |
| Astra Racing | Peugeot | 307 WRC | BF | 14 | Toni Gardemeister | Jakke Honkanen | 1, 4–5 |
| Astra Racing | Citroën | Xsara WRC | BF | 14 | Toni Gardemeister | Jakke Honkanen | 8–9, 12 |
| PH Sport | Citroën | Xsara WRC | BF | 15 | Janne Tuohino | | 2, 10 |
| Kronos Racing | Citroën | Xsara WRC | BF | 26 | Daniel Sordo | Marc Marti | 1–8 |
| Kronos Racing | Citroën | Xsara WRC | BF | 26 | Xavier Pons | Carlos del Barrio | 9–10, 12–13 |
| MMSP LTD | Mitsubishi | Lancer WRC 05 | PBF | 14 | Gianluigi Galli | Giovanni Bernacchini | 1–2 |
| MMSP LTD | Mitsubishi | Lancer WRC 05 | PBF | 15 | Daniel Carlsson | Bosse Holmstrand | 2, 10 |
| MMSP LTD | Mitsubishi | Lancer WRC 05 | PBF | 18 | Jussi Välimäki | | 7–8, 10 |
| MMSP LTD | Mitsubishi | Lancer WRC 05 | PBF | 22 | Juho Hänninen | | 10 |
| First Motorsport Škoda | Škoda | Fabia WRC | BF | 15 | François Duval | Patrick Pivato | 1, 4–5, 7–9, 13, 16 |
| Czech RT Škoda Kopecký | Škoda | Fabia WRC | BF | 18 | Jan Kopecký | Filip Schovanek | 1–2, 4–5, 7–10, 13, 16 |
| Rally Team Olsbergs | Subaru | Impreza WRC 2004 | PBF | 16 | Thomas Radstrom | Jorgen Skallman | 2 |
| Red Devil Atolye Kazaz | Subaru | Impreza WRC 2004/5 | PBF | 19 | Kristian Sohlberg | | 2, 7, 10 |
| Adapta AS | Subaru | Impreza WRC 2003/4 | PBF | 20 | Mads Østberg | | 2, 10, 16 |
| Subaru Rally Team Australia | Subaru | Impreza WRC 2005 | PBF | 16 | Chris Atkinson | Glenn Macneall | 1, 4–5, 9 |
| Valentino Rossi | Subaru | Impreza WRC 2005 | PBF | 46 | Valentino Rossi | | 15 |
| Tom Hogan Motors | Ford | Focus RS WRC | BF | 17 | Gareth MacHale | Paul Nagle | 1–4, 6–7, 9, 11, 16 |
| BSA | Peugeot | 307 WRC | BF | 19 | Alexandre Bengué | | 4–5 |
| Equipe de France FFSA | Peugeot | 307 WRC | BF | 20 | Nicolas Vouilloz | | 5 |
| Pieter Tsjoen | Ford | Focus RS WRC | | 22 | Pieter Tsjoen | Eddy Chevaillier | 9 |
| Olivier Burri | Peugeot | Peugeot 307 WRC | M | 63 | Olivier Burri | Christopher Hofmann | 1 |
| Philippe Roux | Peugeot | Peugeot 206 WRC | BF | 65 | Philippe Roux | Eric Jordan | 1, 5 |
| Riccardo Errani | Škoda | Škoda Octavia WRC | P | 66 | Riccardo Errani | Stefano Casadio | 1 |
| Austin MacHale | Ford | Ford Focus RS WRC | BF | 67 | Austin MacHale | Brian Murphy | 1 |
| Eamonn Boland | Ford | Ford Focus RS WRC | M | 68 | Eamonn Boland | Francis Regan | 1 |
| Jimmy Joge | Peugeot | Peugeot 206 WRC | | 19 | Jimmy Joge | Mattias Andersson | 2 |
| Thomas Schie | Ford | Ford Focus RS WRC | | 20 | Thomas Schie | | 2 |
| Thomas Schie | Ford | Ford Focus RS WRC | | 24 | Thomas Schie | | 10 |
| Anders Grondal | Subaru | Subaru Impreza WRC | | 62 | Anders Grondal | | 2 |
| Cersanit Rally Team | Subaru | Subaru Impreza WRC | | 71 | Michał Sołowow | | 2 |
| Fabio Frisiero | Toyota | Toyota Corolla WRC | | 80 | Fabio Frisiero | | 2 |
| Ricardo Trivino | Peugeot | Peugeot 206 WRC | | 16 | Ricardo Trivino | "Salom Checo" | 3 |