The 2017 FIA WRC3 Championship was the fifth season of WRC3, a rallying championship recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, running in support of the World Rally Championship. It was created when the Group R class of rally car was introduced in 2013.[1]

Drivers and teams had to nominate a maximum of seven events, the best six results counted towards the championship.[2]

Simone Tempestini did not return to defend the 2016 title as he competed in the 2017 WRC2 Championship.[3] Nil Solans won the title with a Ford Fiesta R2T.[4]

Calendar

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Nations that hosted a rally in 2017 are highlighted in green, with rally headquarters marked by a red dot.

The season was contested over thirteen rounds in Europe, the Americas and Oceania.[5][6]

Round Dates Rally name Rally headquarters Rally details
Start Finish Surface Stages Distance
1 19 January 22 January   Monte Carlo Rally Gap, Hautes-Alpes, France Mixed[N 1] 15[N 2] 355.96 km
2 9 February 12 February   Rally Sweden Torsby, Värmland Snow 17[N 3] 305.83 km
3 9 March 12 March   Rally Mexico León, Guanajuato Gravel 17[N 4] 231.25 km
4 7 April 9 April   Tour de Corse Bastia, Haute-Corse Tarmac 10 316.76 km
5 27 April 30 April   Rally Argentina Villa Carlos Paz, Córdoba Gravel 18 356.49 km
6 18 May 21 May   Rally de Portugal Matosinhos, Porto Gravel 19 349.17 km
7 8 June 11 June   Rally Italia Sardegna Alghero, Sardinia Gravel 19 312.66 km
8 29 June 2 July   Rally Poland Mikołajki, Warmia-Masuria Gravel 22[N 5] 338.34 km
9 27 July 30 July   Rally Finland Jyväskylä, Keski-Suomi Gravel 25 315.62 km
10 17 August 20 August   Rallye Deutschland Saarbrücken, Saarland Tarmac 21 309.17 km
11 6 October 8 October   Rally Catalunya Salou, Tarragona Mixed[N 6] 19 312.02 km
12 26 October 29 October   Wales Rally GB Deeside, Flintshire Gravel 20 306.13 km
13 17 November 19 November   Rally Australia Coffs Harbour, New South Wales Gravel 19[N 7] 287.68 km
Source:[5][6][15][16]

Calendar changes

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The FIA re-organised the calendar for the 2017 season to include a greater variation in surfaces between events, bringing the Tour de Corse forward from October to April.[5][17] The decision was made after concerns were expressed about the 2016 calendar, which originally contained six consecutive gravel events followed by four tarmac rallies.[18]

The Rally of China was removed from the calendar.[6] The event had been included on the 2016 calendar before storm damage to the proposed route forced its cancellation.[18] The round was removed from the 2017 calendar to give event organisers more time to prepare for a future bid to rejoin the calendar.[19] Similarly, the FIA put the Rallies of Argentina and Poland on notice regarding safety concerns, threatening to rescind their World Championship status for the 2017 season unless safety standards were improved in 2016,[20][21][22] with drivers citing a lack of safety marshalls and expressing concerns over spectators getting too close to the cars as the main areas to be addressed.[23] Both events were subsequently included on the calendar.[5][6]

The Rallies of Sweden and Germany changed their headquarters. The Rally of Sweden stayed within Värmland County, but relocated from Karlstad to Torsby.[5] The Rally of Germany moved from Trier in Rhineland-Palatine to Saarbrücken in the neighbouring state of Saarland.[16]

Route changes

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The Rallye Monte-Carlo introduced a heavily revised itinerary, with eighty-five percent of the route used in 2016 being revised for the 2017 event,[24] which saw the competitive distance increase from 337.59 km to 382.65 km and included the Col de Turini as part of the Power Stage.[24] Rally Sweden adjusted its route to remove the emphasis on purpose-built stages that had filled out the event itinerary in previous years. The new route raised the average speed of the rally and introduced more competitive mileage in Hedmark County in neighbouring Norway.[25]

Rally Mexico also featured route revisions, with the eighty-kilometre Guanajuato stage—the longest in the championship in 2016—removed from the schedule;[26] however, the addition of new stages and further changes to existing ones meant that the overall competitive distance of the 2017 rally was only six kilometres shorter than the route used in the 2016 event. The rally started in Mexico City with a spectator-friendly stage before moving to its traditional headquarters in León.[27] The Tour de Corse shortened its route by seventy-four kilometres, from 390.92 km in 2016 down to 316.76 km in 2017, with most of the changes coming from shortening each of the individual stages used in 2016.[28] Rally Portugal shortened its route by twenty kilometres, reintroducing stages that had not been used for several years and reconfiguring stages from the 2016 event.[29] Rally Poland also revised its route, introducing a series of brand-new stages close to the Russian border. The changes saw the crews compete on a wider ranges of surfaces—including tarmac and cobblestones—within individual stages, although the rally was still officially classified as a gravel surface event.[30]

Following the cancellation of stages in Rally Sweden when the front-running cars exceeded the maximum average speed mandated by the FIA,[10] Rally Finland was forced to revise its route to find ways of keeping the average stage speed down—with some estimates predicting that the 2017 generation of cars could exceed 140 km/h (87.0 mph)—to avoid stage cancellations.[31] This was achieved by installing artificial chicanes into all but two of the stages, which proved to be controversial as drivers complained that they were too narrow and thus had the potential to damage cars, and were poorly-positioned with little regulatory oversight from rally organisers.[32] With Rallye Deutschland moving to a new headquarters, the rally routed was revised. The vineyard and military proving ground stages in the Baumholder region were retained, but the final leg of the route was changed to introduce high-speed stages based on country lanes.[16]

Rally Catalunya introduced several new and returning stages to its route, focusing on the tarmac legs of the event.[33] Organisers of the Wales Rally GB retained the event route used in 2016, but revised the itinerary to increase its difficulty, with the route featuring earlier start times, later finishes and the reintroduction of night stages.[34] Rally Australia underwent route revisions, introducing a new loop of stages north of the rally headquarters in Coffs Harbour. The new stages were designed to be faster and more technical than in previous events.[35]

Teams and drivers

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Entrant Car Class Tyre Drivers Co-drivers Rounds
  Renault Sport Racing Team Renault Clio RS R3T R3 M   Cédric Althaus   Jessica Bayard 1
  Charles Martin   Mathieu Duval 1
  Renault Sport Racing Team 2   Surhayen Pernía   Rogelio Peñate 1
  Luca Panzani   Federico Grilli 1
  Vieffecorse Peugeot 208 R2 R2 D   Enrico Brazzoli   Maurizio Barone 1, 4, 6, 10, 12
  Enrico Ghietti 7
  CHL Sport Auto Peugeot 208 R2 R2 M   Raphaël Astier   Frédéric Vauclare 1, 4, 6, 8, 10–12
  Relly Team GB Ford Fiesta R2 R2 M   Louise Cook   Stefan Davis 2, 4
  BPS Racing Citroën DS3 R3T R3 M   Loïc Astier   Loïc Declerck 4
  Go+Cars Atlas Ward Citroën DS3 R3T R3 M   Jakub Brzeziński   Szymon Marciniak 4
  Robert Hundla 6–9
  Name Rua Racing Citroën DS3 R3T R3 M   Francisco Name   Armando Zapata 6–8
  M-Sport Ford Fiesta R2T R2 D   Nil Solans   Miquel Ibáñez 4, 6–11
  Terry Folb   Christopher Guieu 4, 7–11
  Nicolas Ciamin   Thibault de la Haye 4, 6–11
  Robert Duggan   Gerard Conway 4
  Tom Woodburn 7–8
  William Wagner   Kévin Parent 4
  Dillon van Way   Dai Roberts 4, 7–10
  Dennis Rådström   Johan Johansson 4, 7–9, 11
  Sebastian Careaga   Claudio Bustos 4
  Rodrigo Sanjuan 7–10
  Emil Lindholm   Tomi Tuominen 8–9
  ADAC Sachsen Ford Fiesta R2T R2 D   Julius Tannert   Jürgen Heigl 4, 7–11
  Cueks Racing Ford Fiesta R2T R2 D   Miko-Ove Niinemäe   Martin Valter 4, 7–8
Source:[36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46]
Key
Icon Class
R2 Classification
within Group R
R3

Season report

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The season started with the Rallye Monte Carlo. In the category, there were six entries, including four by Renault Sport. The rally was won from start to end by Raphaël Astier, winning by more than nine minutes over the rest of the crews. The podium was completed by Renault's Luca Panzani and Charles Martin.[47]

Louise Cook was the sole entrant for Rally Sweden in the category. She had to retire after losing the bumper of her car before the Colin's Crest jump during the second pass over the Vargåsen stage.[48] She was able to re-assemble the car, but an homologation problem in the spare seat brackets, made her unable to start the final leg of the rally, leaving the category with no winner.[49]

After there were no entries in Rally Mexico, the action continued Tour de Corse, which also featured the first round of the Junior WRC championship. Raphaël Astier lead the event from start to finish, winning the event by almost a minute and a half from Junior entrant Nil Solans. The podium was completed by local Nicolas Ciamin, who claimed to that position after a driveshaft problem prevented fellow Frenchman Terry Folb the means to finish in the podium.[50]

Results and standings

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Season summary

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Round Event name Winning driver Winning co-driver Winning entry Winning car Winning time Report
1   Rallye Monte Carlo   Raphaël Astier   Frédéric Vauclare   CHL Sport Auto Peugeot 208 R2 4:39:55.8 Report
2   Rally Sweden No WRC3 finishers Report
3   Rally Mexico No WRC3 entries Report
4   Tour de Corse   Raphaël Astier   Frédéric Vauclare   CHL Sport Auto Peugeot 208 R2 3:52:18.7 Report
5   Rally Argentina No WRC3 entries Report
6   Rally de Portugal   Francisco Name   Armando Zapata   Name-Rua Racing Team Citroën DS3 R3T 4:37:20.7 Report
7   Rally Italia Sardegna   Nil Solans   Miquel Ibáñez   M-Sport Ford Fiesta R2T 4:00:07.8 Report
8   Rally Poland   Nil Solans   Miquel Ibáñez   M-Sport Ford Fiesta R2T 3:17:47.0 Report
9   Rally Finland   Nicolas Ciamin   Thibault de la Haye   M-Sport Ford Fiesta R2T 2:57:23.4 Report
10   Rallye Deutschland   Julius Tannert   Jürgen Heigl   ADAC Sachsen Ford Fiesta R2T 3:30:54.4 Report
11   Rally Catalunya   Nil Solans   Miquel Ibáñez   M-Sport Ford Fiesta R2T 3:29:02.3 Report
12   Wales Rally GB   Raphaël Astier   Frédéric Vauclare   CHL Sport Auto Peugeot 208 R2 3:45:26.7 Report
13   Rally Australia No WRC3 entries Report

FIA WRC3 Championship for Drivers

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Points are awarded to the top ten classified finishers.

Position  1st   2nd   3rd   4th   5th   6th   7th   8th   9th   10th 
Points 25 18 15 12 10 8 6 4 2 1
Pos. Driver MON
 
SWE
 
MEX
 
FRA
 
ARG
 
POR
 
ITA
 
POL
 
FIN
 
GER
 
ESP
 
GBR
 
AUS
 
Drops Points
1   Nil Solans 2 2 1 1 2 3 1 15 129
2   Raphaël Astier 1 1 Ret 11 2 2 1 0 111
3   Nicolas Ciamin 3 Ret 2 4 1 5 6 0 88
4   Julius Tannert 5 3 6 4 1 4 0 82
5   Dennis Rådström 6 5 2 3 5 0 61
6   Terry Folb 4 4 5 Ret 6 3 0 57
7   Enrico Brazzoli Ret 3 8 4 2 0 49
8   Francisco Name 1 DNS 8 0 29
9   Dillon Van Way 9 7 7 5 WD 0 24
10   Luca Panzani 2 0 18
11   Jakub Brzeziński 10 Ret Ret 3 WD 0 16
12   Charles Martin 3 0 15
13   Robert Duggan 7 6 WD 0 14
14   Surhayen Pernía 4 0 12
15   Sebastian Careaga 8 9 9 WD WD 0 8
16   Emil Lindholm 10 Ret 0 1
Pos. Driver MON
 
SWE
 
MEX
 
FRA
 
ARG
 
POR
 
ITA
 
POL
 
FIN
 
GER
 
ESP
 
GBR
 
AUS
 
Drops Points
Key
Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green Points finish
Blue Non-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple Did not finish (Ret)
Black Excluded (EX)
Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
Cancelled (C)
Blank Withdrew entry from
the event (WD)

FIA WRC3 Championship for Co-Drivers

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Pos. Co-driver MON
 
SWE
 
MEX
 
FRA
 
ARG
 
POR
 
ITA
 
POL
 
FIN
 
GER
 
ESP
 
GBR
 
AUS
 
Drops Points
1   Miquel Ibáñez 2 2 1 1 2 3 1 15 129
2   Frédéric Vauclare 1 1 Ret 11 2 2 1 0 111
3   Thibault de la Haye 3 Ret 2 4 1 5 6 0 88
4   Jürgen Heigl 5 3 6 4 1 4 0 82
5   Johan Johansson 6 5 2 3 5 0 61
6   Christopher Guieu 4 4 5 Ret 6 3 0 57
7   Maurizio Barone Ret 3 4 2 0 45
8   Armando Zapata 1 DNS 8 0 29
9   Dai Roberts 9 7 7 5 WD 0 24
10   Federico Grilli 2 0 18
11   Robert Hundla Ret Ret 3 WD 0 15
12   Mathieu Duval 3 0 15
13   Rogelio Peñate 4 0 12
14   Tom Woodburn 6 WD 0 8
15   Gerard Conway 7 0 6
16   Claudio Bustos 8 0 4
17   Enrico Ghietti 8 0 4
18   Rodrigo Sanjuan 9 9 WD WD 0 4
19   Szymon Marciniak 10 0 1
20   Tomi Tuominen 10 Ret 0 1
Pos. Co-driver MON
 
SWE
 
MEX
 
FRA
 
ARG
 
POR
 
ITA
 
POL
 
FIN
 
GER
 
ESP
 
GBR
 
AUS
 
Drops Points
Key
Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green Points finish
Blue Non-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple Did not finish (Ret)
Black Excluded (EX)
Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
Cancelled (C)
Blank Withdrew entry from
the event (WD)

FIA WRC3 Championship for Teams

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Pos. Team MON
 
SWE
 
MEX
 
FRA
 
ARG
 
POR
 
ITA
 
POL
 
FIN
 
GER
 
ESP
 
GBR
 
AUS
 
Points
1   ADAC Sachsen 1 1 2 1 1 1 143
2   Go+Cars Atlas Ward 2 Ret Ret 1 WD 43
3   Name-Rua Racing Team 1 DNS 3 40
4   Renault Sport Racing Team 2 1 25
5   Renault Sport Racing Team 2 18
6   Cueks Racing 3 Ret WD 15
Pos. Team MON
 
SWE
 
MEX
 
FRA
 
ARG
 
POR
 
ITA
 
POL
 
FIN
 
GER
 
ESP
 
GBR
 
AUS
 
Points
Key
Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green Points finish
Blue Non-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple Did not finish (Ret)
Black Excluded (EX)
Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
Cancelled (C)
Blank Withdrew entry from
the event (WD)

Notes

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  1. ^ Rallye Monte Carlo was run on a tarmac and snow surface.
  2. ^ Rallye Monte Carlo was shortened when the first stage was cancelled due to a fatal accident involving a spectator.[7][8] The sixteenth stage was later cancelled owing to overcrowding of spectators.[9]
  3. ^ Rally Sweden was shortened when the second pass over the Knon stage was cancelled on the advice of the FIA as the leading drivers exceeded the maximum average stage speed of 130 km/h (80.8 mph) during the first run through the stage.[10]
  4. ^ Rally Mexico had its route shortened when a highway accident prevented the cars being transported to León in time for the start of the first stages.[11]
  5. ^ The sixth stage of Rally Poland was cancelled after heavy rains in the region created large puddles of standing water on the stage which was subsequently deemed too dangerous.[12]
  6. ^ Rally Catalunya was run on a tarmac and gravel surface.
  7. ^ Rally Australia had its route shortened after a bridge in the Newry stage was found to be damaged, making the second pass over the stage impossible to complete.[13] The penultimate stage, Pilbara Reverse 2, was also cancelled after heavy rain made conditions unsafe.[14]

References

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  1. ^ "2013 FIA World Rally Championship Sporting Regulations" (PDF). fia.com. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 17 December 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  2. ^ "The WRC Lowdown: Support Championships". wrc.com. 10 January 2017. Archived from the original on 13 January 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  3. ^ "Tempestini:Corsica challenge was tough". WRC.com. WRC.com. 4 October 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  4. ^ "Nil Solans WRC-3 champion". WRC.com. WRC.com. 20 August 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  5. ^ a b c d e "2017 WRC dates confirmed". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 28 September 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  6. ^ a b c d "FIA Announces World Motorsport Council Decisions". FIA.com. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 30 November 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  7. ^ Benyon, Jack; Evans, David (19 January 2017). "Hayden Paddon crash halts Monte Carlo Rally's opening stage". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  8. ^ "Spectator dies in tragic start to Monte Carlo Rally". speedcafe.com. 20 January 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  9. ^ "Sebastien Ogier lands first victory of new WRC era". speedcafe.com. 22 January 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  10. ^ a b Benyon, Jack (11 February 2017). "Rally Sweden stage cancelled due to high speed of 2017 WRC cars". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  11. ^ "WRC stars left carless in Mexico". speedcafe.com. 11 March 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  12. ^ "Rally Poland — Day 1". 2017 World Rally Championship season. July 2017. WRC Promoter GmbH.
  13. ^ "Neuville in command after stage cancellation". Speedcafe. 18 November 2017. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  14. ^ Howard, Tom (19 November 2017). "Heavy rain cancels penultimate Rally Aus stage". Speedcafe. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  15. ^ Evans, David; Beer, Matt (28 September 2016). "World Rally Championship only confirms partial 2017 calendar". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  16. ^ a b c Evans, David (17 August 2017). "WRC crews say new Rally Germany route 'really boring'". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  17. ^ Evans, David (20 September 2016). "Tour of Corsica set to get April slot in 2017 WRC schedule". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  18. ^ a b "Rally China cancelled due to weather damage". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  19. ^ Lomas, Gordon (17 December 2016). "WRC: More at stake than Aus v NZ for 2018". speedcafe.com. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  20. ^ Evans, David (2 March 2016). "FIA taking hard line on WRC Rally Argentina safety". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  21. ^ Evans, David. "Rally Argentina under FIA observation after 2015 safety failings". autosport.com. 20 April 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
  22. ^ Evans, David (30 June 2016). "Rally Poland under pressure to prove safety to ensure WRC future". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  23. ^ Evans, David (15 December 2016). "WRC drivers want Rally Poland safety improvements for 2017". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  24. ^ a b "Rallye Monte Carlo preview". 2017 World Rally Championship season. January 2017. WRC Promoter GmbH.
  25. ^ "Rally Sweden — Day 1". 2017 World Rally Championship season. February 2017. WRC Promoter GmbH.
  26. ^ Evans, David (31 December 2016). "Mexico drops World Rally Championship's longest stage for 2017". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  27. ^ Evans, David (25 January 2017). "Rally Mexico adds stage around Bond film venue in Mexico City". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  28. ^ "Corsica route 2017". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  29. ^ "Rally Portugal review — Day 3". 2017 World Rally Championship season. May 2017. WRC Promoter GmbH.
  30. ^ "Rally Poland — Day 2". 2017 World Rally Championship season. July 2017. WRC Promoter GmbH.
  31. ^ Evans, David (4 April 2017). "Rally Finland set to slow its stages for 2017 World Rally Cars". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  32. ^ "Drivers slam 'stupid' Rally Finland chicanes". speedcafe.com. 28 July 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  33. ^ "Rally Catalunya preview". 2017 World Rally Championship season. September 2017. WRC Promoter GmbH.
  34. ^ Evans, David (24 May 2017). "Rally GB announces 2017 itinerary including return of night stages". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  35. ^ "Organisers confirm new stages for Rally Australia". speedcafe.com. 7 July 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  36. ^ "Rallye Montecarlo Entry List" (PDF). acm.mc. Automobile Club Montecarlo. 2 January 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 January 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  37. ^ "Rally Sweden Entry List" (PDF). rallysweden.com. Rally Sweden. 16 January 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 December 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  38. ^ "FIA Monte Entry List". FIA.com. FIA. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  39. ^ "Tour de Corse Entry List" (PDF). tourdecorse.com. tourdecorse.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 March 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  40. ^ "Rally Portugal Entry List" (PDF). rallyportugal.py. rallyportugal.pt. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 July 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  41. ^ "Rally Italia Entry List" (PDF). rallylink.it. Rallylink. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 July 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  42. ^ "Rally Poland Entry List" (PDF). rajdpolski.pl. rajdpolski.pl. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  43. ^ "Rally Finland Entry List" (PDF). nesterallyfinland.fi. nesterallyfinland.fi. Retrieved 30 June 2017.[permanent dead link]
  44. ^ "Rallye Deutschalnd Entry List" (PDF). adac-rallye-deutschland.de. adac-rallye-deutschland.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 July 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
  45. ^ "Rally Spain Entry List" (PDF). rallyracc.com. 19 September 2017. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  46. ^ "Wales Rally GB Entry List" (PDF). walesrallygb.com. 6 October 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 October 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  47. ^ "WRC-3 Monte Results". EWRC-Results.com. Shacki. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  48. ^ Louise, Cook. "Cook loose bumper". Twitter.com. Twitter.com. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  49. ^ Louise, Cook. "Cook Homologation problem". Facebook.com. Facebook.com. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  50. ^ "Junior WRC in Corsica: Solans claims opener". WRC.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
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