Inaugurated in 1973, the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) is regarded as the premium class event in rally sport. The rally was broadcast in over 15 countries in 2014. Each of the 13 rallies is divided into between 15 to 25 stages, ranging from rocky mountain passes to snow-covered slopes.

The rally involves practice runs and note taking on Tuesday and Wednesday, with a shakedown on Thursday involving a final test of the rally cars and then the actual rally which is held from Friday to Sunday.

Sébastien Ogier: “A rally is like Formula One in a forest.” Born in 1983 in France, the qualified ski instructor Sébastien Ogier won the Junior World Rally Championship in 2008 in a Citroën C2 S1600. He drove from 2009 for Citroën Racing in the World Rally Championship in a C4 World Rally Car. In 2011 he became an official driver on the Citroën Total World Rally Team, coming third in the World Championship in his Citroën DS3 WRC. His team mate was the seven-time World Rally Champion Sébastien Loeb.

Ogier has been driving for Volkswagen Motorsport with a VW Polo R WRC since 2013. He became World Champion for the first time with the Volkswagen team in 2013 and built on his success in the next two years. His co-driver has been Julien Ingrassia since 2006.