Autosportfoto

WRC legends honoured by FIA

Some of the biggest names in WRC history gathered in Paris on wednesday to be officially inducted into the FIA Hall of Fame.

The governing body of world motorsport honoured the 17 different world champions during a ceremony at the Automobile Club de France.

The list of inductees features the names of some of the greatest rally drivers ever to grace the WRC stages, including Björn Waldegård (1979), Walter Röhrl (1980, 1982), Ari Vatanen (1981), Hannu Mikkola (1983), Stig Blomqvist (1984), Timo Salonen (1985), Juha Kankkunen (1986, 1987, 1991, 1993), Miki Biasion (1988, 1989), Carlos Sainz (1990, 1992), Didier Auriol (1994), Colin McRae (1995), and Tommi Mäkinen (1996-1999).

The list of inductees from 2000 to the present day features Marcus Grönholm (2000, 2002), Richard Burns (2001), Petter Solberg (2003), Sébastien Loeb (2004-2012) and Sébastien Ogier (2013-2018).

Nine champions were joined by the families of four other title winners. Mathias Waldegård represented his late father Björn, and Juha Mikkola represented his father Hannu. Jim McRae attended the event on behalf of his late son Colin, while Jo Burns represented her late brother Richard.

Also taking centre stage during the celebrations was a collection of world championship-winning cars spanning various eras. The line-up included a Lancia Stratos, Renault Alpine, Peugeot 205 T16, Toyota Corolla WRC and a VW Polo R WRC.

The Hall of Fame gallery is located at the FIA Headquarters in both Paris and Geneva.

A dedicated website details the exceptional careers of the 33 Formula One World Champions that were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017, as well as the 17 rally champions. Click here to visit the website.

Zdroj: wrc.com