The 2001 World Rally Championship was the 29th season of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC). In a tightly contested year, Subaru's Richard Burns took his first and only drivers' world title, beating Ford's Colin McRae, Mitsubishi's Tommi Mäkinen and the defending champion Marcus Grönholm of Peugeot. Peugeot successfully defended their manufacturers' title.^[1]

Calendar

The 2001 championship was contested over fourteen rounds in Europe, Africa, South America and Oceania.

Round	Dates	Race
1	19–21 January	Monte Carlo Rally
2	9–11 February	Swedish Rally
3	8–11 March	Rally Portugal
4	23–25 March	Rally Catalunya
5	3–6 May	Rally Argentina
6	1–3 June	Cyprus Rally
7	15–17 June	Acropolis Rally
8	20–22 July	Safari Rally
9	24–26 August	Rally Finland
10	21–23 September	Rally New Zealand
11	4–7 October	Rallye Sanremo
12	19–21 October	Tour de Corse
13	1–4 November	Rally Australia
14	23–25 November	Rally of Great Britain

Teams and drivers

Manufacturer teams
Team	Manufacturer	Car	Tyre	No	Drivers	Co-drivers	Rounds
Peugeot Total	Peugeot	206 WRC	M	1	Marcus Grönholm	Timo Rautiainen	All
				2	Didier Auriol	Denis Giraudet	All
				16	Harri Rovanperä	Risto Pietiläinen	2–3, 5–10, 13–14
					Gilles Panizzi	Hervé Panizzi	1, 4, 11–12
				22			9, 13–14
				29	Harri Rovanperä	Risto Pietiläinen	11–12
Ford Motor Co Ltd	Ford	Focus RS WRC 01	P	3	Carlos Sainz	Luis Moya	All
				4	Colin McRae	Nicky Grist	All
				17	François Delecour	Daniel Grataloup	1–13
					Mark Higgins	Bryan Thomas	14
				21	Paolo Andreucci	Alessandro Giusti	11
				24	Rui Madeira	Fernando Prata	3
555 Subaru World Rally Team	Subaru	Impreza WRC 2001	P	5	Richard Burns	Robert Reid	All
				6	Petter Solberg	Phil Mills	2–14
					Markko Märtin	Michael Park	1
				18			4, 7, 9, 11–12, 14
					Petter Solberg	Phil Mills	1
					Toshihiro Arai	Glenn MacNeall	5–6, 8, 10, 13
				21			3, 7, 11–12, 14
				29	Neil Wearden	Trevor Agnew	14
Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart	Mitsubishi	Lancer Evo 6.5 Lancer Evo WRC	M	7	Tommi Mäkinen	Risto Mannisenmäki	1–12
						Timo Hantunen	13
						Kaj Lindström	14
				8	Freddy Loix	Sven Smeets	All
				19	Thomas Rådström	Tina Thörner	2
					Katsuhiko Taguchi	Derek Ringer	6
					Toni Gardemeister	Paavo Lukander	9–10
Hyundai World Rally Team	Hyundai	Accent WRC Accent WRC2	M	9	Piero Liatti	Carlo Cassina	1, 4, 11–12
					Kenneth Eriksson	Staffan Parmander	2–3, 5–7, 9–10, 13–14
				10	Alister McRae	David Senior	1–7, 9–14
				19	Piero Liatti	Carlo Cassina	6, 14
				20	Juha Kankkunen	Juha Repo	9
				43	Thomas Kolberg	Werner Seigerud	2
				45	Kristian Kolberg	Anders Dawidson	2
Škoda Motorsport	Škoda	Octavia WRC Evo2	M	11	Armin Schwarz	Manfred Hiemer	1–9, 11–12, 14
				12	Bruno Thiry	Stéphane Prévot	1–8, 11–12, 14
						Georges Biar	9
				20	Roman Kresta	Jan Tománek	8, 11, 14
				21	Stig Blomqvist	Ana Goñi	9
Citroën Sport	Citroën	Xsara WRC	M	14	Philippe Bugalski	Jean-Paul Chiaroni	4, 7, 11–12
				15	Jesús Puras	Marc Martí	4, 11–12
					Thomas Rådström	Tina Thörner	7
				20	Sébastien Loeb	Daniel Elena	11

Non Manufacturer Entries

Major entries not registered as manufacturers
Team	Manufacturer	Car	Tyre	Drivers	Co-drivers	Rounds
H.F. Grifone SRL	Peugeot	206 WRC	M	Toni Gardemeister	Paavo Lukander	1–2
				Gilles Panizzi	Hervé Panizzi	3, 6–7
				Neil Wearden	Trevor Agnew	6, 9–10, 12
				Jean-Pierre Richelmi	Thierry Barjou	7
Bozian Racing				Ioannis Papadimitriou	Chris Patterson	2–3, 6–7
Peugeot Esso Silver Team SG				Adruzilo Lopes	Luís Lisboa	3–4
Peugeot Bastos Racing			M	Kris Princen	Dany Colebunders	3–4, 6
				Simon Jean-Joseph	Jacques Boyere	4, 6–7, 11
				Grégoire de Mévius		14
Peugeot Sport Finland				Sebastian Lindholm	Timo Hantunen	9
Peugeot Sport Austria				Raphael Sperrer	Per Carlsson	9
F.P.F. Sport				Renato Travaglia	Flavio Zanella	11
H.F. Grifone SRL	Toyota	Corolla WRC	M	Piero Longhi	Lucio Baggio	1, 11
				Pier Lorenzo Zanchi	Dario D'Esposito	1
				Tapio Laukkanen	Kaj Lindström	2–3
				Juuso Pykälistö	Esko Mertsalmi	9
Toyota Castrol Team			P	Olivier Burri	Jean-Philippe Patthey	1
			M	Pasi Hagström	Tero Gardemeister	2–3, 6–7, 9, 11, 13
				Henrik Lundgaard	Jens-Christian Anker	2–3, 6–7, 11, 13
				Daniel Carlsson	Benny Melander	2–3, 9, 11
				Pedro Chaves	Sérgio Paiva	3
				Antony Warmbold	Gemma Price	3, 9
				Jouni Ahvenlammi	Teppo Leino	9
				Neal Bates	Coral Taylor	13
Shell Norway Motorsport			M	Henning Solberg	Ola Fløene	2–3
					Cato Menkerud	9
LPM Racing				Janne Tuohino	Petri Vihavainen	2, 4, 9, 13
				Juha Kangas	Mika Ovaskainen	9
Toyota Team Saudi Arabia				Abdullah Bakhashab	Bobby Willis	2–3, 6–7, 11, 13
Mocne Rally				Leszek Kuzaj	Maciek Baran	3
Escudería Bengala			M	Luís Climent	Álex Romaní	4
Top Run SRL				Domenico Caldarola	Paolo Cecchini	11
Procar Rally Team	Subaru	Impreza WRC		Tobia Cavallini	Bernardo Serra	1
				Armodios Vovos	Loris Meletopoulos	7
				Ioannis Papadimitriou	Chris Patterson	11
				Diego Oldrati	Danilo Fappani	11
Styllex Tuning Prosport			M	Tomáš Hrdinka	Petr Gross	2
Oman Arab World Rally Team				Hamed Al-Wahaibi	Tony Sircombe	2–3, 6–7, 9, 11, 13
F.Dor Rally Team				Frédéric Dor	Didier Breton	2–3, 6, 8
World Rally HIRE				Nigel Heath	Steve Lancaster	2–3, 6–7, 11, 14
Subaru Benelux			P	Mark Breijer	Hans van Goor	4, 11, 14
Promotor World Rally Team				Achim Mörtl	Stefan Eichhorner	4, 9, 11–13
Subaru Rally Team Australia				Peter 'Possum' Bourne	Craig Vincent	10
					Mark Stacey	13
Shell Norway Motorsport			M	Henning Solberg	Cato Menkerud	14
Papadimitriou Team		Impreza 555		Ioannis Papadimitriou	Allan Harryman	14
Blue Rose Team	Ford	Focus RS WRC	P	Jani Paasonen	Arto Kapanen	2, 9
				Markku Alén	Ilkka Riipinen	9
Marlboro Ford Mobil 1 Team			M	Janusz Kulig	Jarosław Baran	2–3
Jolly Club				Roman Kresta	Jan Tománek	7
Carlos Sainz Junior Team				Txus Jaio	Lucas Cruz	14
SEAT Sport	SEAT	Córdoba WRC		Marc Blázquez	Jordi Mercader	3–6
			P	Salvador Cañellas	Alberto Sanchís	4
			M	Matthias Kahle	Peter Göbel	7
			P	Gwyndaf Evans	Chris Patterson	14

Super 1600 Championship entries

No	Entrant	Drivers	Co-driver	Car	Rounds
50	Top Run SRL	Manfred Stohl	Ilka Minor	Fiat Punto S1600	4, 7, 11–12, 14
			Peter Müller		9
56		Giandomenico Basso	Flavio Guglielmini		4, 7, 9, 11–12, 14
51	Ford Motor Co Ltd	Patrick Magaud	Guylène Brun	Ford Puma S1600	4, 7, 9, 11–12, 14
55		Niall McShea	Michael Orr		4, 7
59		Benoît Rousselot	Gilles Mondésir		4, 7, 9, 11–12, 14
71		François Duval	Jean-Marc Fortin		4, 7, 9, 11–12, 14
52	R&D Motorsport	Andrea Dallavilla	Danilo Fappani	Fiat Punto S1600	4
			Massimo Chiapponi		7
			Giovanni Bernacchini		9, 11–12, 14
64		Massimo Macaluso	Antonio Celot		4, 7, 9, 11–12, 14
53	Citroën Sport	Sébastien Loeb	Daniel Elena	Citroën Saxo S1600	4, 7, 9, 12, 14
55		Niall McShea	Michael Orr		9, 11–12, 14
54	Peugeot Bastos Racing	Larry Cols	Yasmine Gerard	Peugeot 206 S1600	4, 7, 9, 11–12
			Dany Colebunders		14
57	Team Gamma	Cédric Robert	Marie-Pierre Billoux	Peugeot 206 S1600	4, 7, 9, 11–12
			Gérald Bedon		14
69		Nicolas Bernardi	Delphine Cavalier		4, 7, 11–12
			Jean-Claude Grau		9
			Bruno Brissart		14
58	Pronto Racing	Sergio Vallejo	Diego Vallejo	Fiat Punto S1600	4, 7, 9, 11–12, 14
67		Albert Llovera	Marc Corral		4, 7, 9, 11–12, 14
60	Rally Team Henny	Cyril Henny	Aurore Brand	Citroën Saxo S1600	4, 7
61	H.F. Grifone SRL	Corrado Fontana	Renzo Casazza	Peugeot 206 S1600	4, 7, 9, 11–12, 14
62	ST Motors	Jussi Välimäki	Jakke Honkanen	Peugeot 206 S1600	4, 7, 9, 11–12, 14
63	Zeta Racing	Martin Stenshorne	Clive Jenkins	Ford Puma S1600	4, 7, 9, 11–12, 14
65	Astra Racing	Alejandro Galanti	Daniel Muzio	Ford Puma S1600	4
			Fernando Zuleta		7, 9
			Xavier Amigó		11–12, 14
68	Hawk Racing Club	Massimo Ceccato	Mitia Dotta	Fiat Punto S1600	4, 7, 9, 11–12, 14
73		Christian Chemin	Matteo Alberto Bacchin		4, 7, 9, 11–12
			Simone Scattolin		14
72	Saladin Rallying	Saladin Mazlan	Timothy Sturla	Fiat Punto S1600	4
				Ford Puma S1600	7, 9, 11–12
				Citroën Saxo S1600	14

Results and standings

Scoring system

Points were awarded to the top six classified finishers in each event.

Drivers' championship

Pos. Driver MON SWE POR ESP ARG CYP GRE KEN FIN NZL ITA FRA AUS GBR  Pts  1 Richard Burns Ret 16 4 7 2 2 Ret Ret 2 1 Ret 4 2 3 44 2 Colin McRae Ret 9 Ret Ret 1 1 1 Ret 3 2 8 11 5 Ret 42 3 Tommi Mäkinen 1 Ret 1 3 4 Ret 4 1 Ret 8 Ret Ret 6 Ret 41 4 Marcus Grönholm Ret Ret 3 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 1 5 7 Ret 1 1 36 5 Harri Rovanperä 1 Ret Ret Ret 3 2 4 3 11 7 4 2 36 6 Carlos Sainz 2 3 2 5 3 3 Ret Ret 6 4 4 Ret 8 Ret 33 7 Didier Auriol Ret Ret 8 1 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 6 3 3 3 7 23 8 Gilles Panizzi Ret 12 2 Ret Ret 14 1 2 9 Ret 22 9 François Delecour 3 5 5 6 7 Ret 5 4 Ret 12 6 10 Ret 15 10 Petter Solberg Ret 6 Ret Ret 5 Ret 2 Ret 7 7 9 5 7 Ret 11 11 Jesús Puras Ret Ret Ret 1 10 12 Armin Schwarz 4 Ret Ret Ret Ret 9 7 3 15 Ret Ret 5 9 13 Freddy Loix 6 13 Ret 4 6 5 9 5 10 11 12 12 11 Ret 9 14 Sébastien Loeb 15 Ret 15 19 28 2 13 Ret 6 15 Thomas Rådström 2 Ret Ret 6 16 Toni Gardemeister 5 4 Ret 15 5 17 Alister McRae 7 Ret 6 11 9 7 15 13 9 Ret 9 10 4 4 18 Toshihiro Arai Ret 8 4 Ret Ret 14 Ret Ret Ret 10 3 19 Markko Märtin Ret 12 Ret Ret Ret 5 Ret 6 Ret 3 20 Renato Travaglia 5 2 21 Philippe Bugalski 14 Ret 8 6 Ret Ret 1 22 Kenneth Eriksson 8 7 Ret Ret Ret 12 10 12 6 1 23 Pasi Hagström Ret 10 6 Ret 9 Ret 16 1 24 Gabriel Pozzo 12 Ret 18 10 13 13 6 26 18 23 18 1 Pos. Driver MON SWE POR ESP ARG CYP GRE KEN FIN NZL ITA FRA AUS GBR  Pts

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)

Manufacturers' championship

Pos. Manufacturer No. MON SWE POR ESP ARG CYP GRE KEN FIN NZL ITA FRA AUS GBR Points 1 Peugeot Total 1 Ret Ret 3 (Ret) Ret Ret Ret Ret 1 4 (7) (Ret) 1 1 106 2 Ret Ret 7 1 Ret Ret Ret 5 2 2 16 2 2 4 1 1 3 2 2 Ford Motor Co 3 2 2 2 5 3 3 Ret Ret 5 3 3 Ret 7 Ret 86 4 Ret 5 Ret Ret 1 1 1 Ret 3 2 4 7 4 Ret 3 Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart 7 1 Ret 1 3 4 Ret 3 1 Ret 7 Ret Ret 5 Ret 69 8 4 Ret 4 6 4 5 4 6 8 9 Ret 19 1 Ret 10 4 555 Subaru World Rally Team 5 Ret 7 4 6 2 2 Ret Ret 2 1 Ret 3 2 3 66 6 Ret 3 Ret Ret 5 Ret 2 Ret 6 6 5 4 6 Ret 18 (5) 5 Škoda Motorsport 11 3 Ret Ret Ret Ret 7 4 3 8 Ret Ret 5 17 12 6 6 Ret 7 Ret 6 6 Ret 9 7 Ret 8 6 Hyundai World Rally Team 9 Ret 4 6 Ret Ret Ret Ret 7 9 Ret 5 10 6 17 10 5 Ret 5 8 7 5 7 8 Ret 6 8 4 20 Ret Pos. Manufacturer No. MON SWE POR ESP ARG CYP GRE KEN FIN NZL ITA FRA AUS GBR 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)

JWRC Drivers' championship

Pos. Driver ESP GRE FIN ITA FRA GBR  Pts  1 Sébastien Loeb 1 1 1 1 1 50 2 Andrea Dallavilla 5 2 2 1 2 Ret 30 3 Niall McShea Ret Ret Ret 4 4 2 12 4 Larry Cols Ret Ret 4 3 11 3 11 5 Giandomenico Basso 2 Ret Ret Ret 3 Ret 10 6 Martin Stenshorne 4 3 Ret 8 6 Ret 8 7 François Duval Ret Ret Ret 2 Ret Ret 6 8 Corrado Fontana 3 Ret 5 7 Ret Ret 6 9 Jussi Välimäki Ret 7 3 Ret 12 Ret 4 10 Alejandro Galanti Ret Ret 6 12 10 4 4 11 Patrick Magaud Ret 5 Ret 5 Ret 4 12 Cédric Robert 7 4 Ret Ret Ret Ret 3 13 Sergio Vallejo Ret Ret Ret 6 5 Ret 3 14 Saladin Mazlan Ret 8 Ret 11 Ret 5 2 15 Massimo Ceccato Ret 6 Ret Ret 9 6 2 16 Christian Chemin 6 Ret Ret Ret Ret 8 1 Pos. Driver ESP GRE FIN ITA FRA GBR Pts

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)

Events

Rally name	Start-end date	Podium drivers (Finishing time)	Podium cars
Monte Carlo Rally	19 January–21 January	Tommi Mäkinen (4h:38m:04.3s) Carlos Sainz (4h:39m:05.1s) François Delecour (4h:40m:09.6s)	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 6.5 Ford Focus RS WRC 01 Ford Focus RS WRC 01
Swedish Rally	9 February–11 February	Harri Rovanperä (3h:27m:01.1s) Thomas Rådström (3h:27m:29.0s) Carlos Sainz (3h:27m:38.1s)	Peugeot 206 WRC Mitsubishi Carisma GT Evo 6.5 Ford Focus RS WRC 01
Rally Portugal	8 March–11 March	Tommi Mäkinen (3h:46m:42.1s) Carlos Sainz (3h:46m:50.7s) Marcus Grönholm (3h:49m:37.7s)	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 6.5 Ford Focus RS WRC 01 Peugeot 206 WRC
Rally Catalunya	23 March–25 March	Didier Auriol (3h:40m:54.7s) Gilles Panizzi (3h:41m:17.9s) Tommi Mäkinen (3h:41m:56.1s)	Peugeot 206 WRC Peugeot 206 WRC Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 6.5
Rally Argentina	3 May–6 May	Colin McRae (4h:18m:25.3s) Richard Burns (4h:18m:52.2s) Carlos Sainz (4h:20m:11.7s)	Ford Focus RS WRC 01 Subaru Impreza WRC2001 Ford Focus RS WRC 01
Cyprus Rally	1 June–3 June	Colin McRae (5h:07m:32.7s) Richard Burns (5h:07m:49.1s) Carlos Sainz (5h:07m:59.2s)	Ford Focus RS WRC 01 Subaru Impreza WRC2001 Ford Focus RS WRC 01
Acropolis Rally	15 June–17 June	Colin McRae (4h:19m:01.9s) Petter Solberg (4h:19m:50.9s) Harri Rovanperä (4h:20m:37.6s)	Ford Focus RS WRC 01 Subaru Impreza WRC2001 Peugeot 206 WRC
Safari Rally	20 July–22 July	Tommi Mäkinen (8h:58m:37s) Harri Rovanperä (9h:11m:14s) Armin Schwarz (9h:16m:12s)	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 6.5 Peugeot 206 WRC Škoda Octavia WRC
Rally Finland	24 August–26 August	Marcus Grönholm (3h:23m:12.8s) Richard Burns (3h:23m:37.8s) Colin McRae (3h:23m:45.1s)	Peugeot 206 WRC Subaru Impreza WRC2001 Ford Focus RS WRC 01
Rally New Zealand	21 September–23 September	Richard Burns (3h:47m:28.0s) Colin McRae (3h:48m:12.6s) Harri Rovanperä (3h:48m:18.1s)	Subaru Impreza WRC2001 Ford Focus RS WRC 01 Peugeot 206 WRC
Rallye Sanremo	5 October–7 October	Gilles Panizzi (4h:05m:49.5s) Sébastien Loeb (4h:06m:00.9s) Didier Auriol (4h:06m:44.4s)	Peugeot 206 WRC Citroen Xsara WRC Peugeot 206 WRC
Tour de Corse	19 October–21 October	Jesús Puras (3h:58m:35.5s) Gilles Panizzi (3h:58m:53.0s) Didier Auriol (3h:59m:47.4s)	Citroen Xsara WRC Peugeot 206 WRC Peugeot 206 WRC
Rally Australia	1 November–4 November	Marcus Grönholm (3h:17m:01.3s) Richard Burns (3h:17m:41.7s) Didier Auriol (3h:18m:21.4s)	Peugeot 206 WRC Subaru Impreza WRC2001 Peugeot 206 WRC
Rally of Great Britain	22 November–25 November	Marcus Grönholm (3h:23m:44.8s) Harri Rovanperä (3h:26m:11.9s) Richard Burns (3h:27m:00.2s)	Peugeot 206 WRC Peugeot 206 WRC Subaru Impreza WRC2001