Peugeot 206 WRC is a World Rally Car

World Rally Car

World Rally Car is a term used to describe racing automobiles built to the specification set by the FIA, the international motorsports governing body, and used to compete in the outright class of the World Rally Championship...

 based on the Peugeot 206

Peugeot 206

The Peugeot 206 is a supermini car, manufactured by the French automaker Peugeot from 1998 to 2010.Even though the 206 has finished production in most markets as of 2010, in Europe since 2009, it is available the 206+, with a back and especially a front design that resembles the Peugeot 207.-The...

. It was used by Peugeot Sport

Peugeot Sport

Peugeot Sport is the department of French carmaker Peugeot responsible for motorsport activities.-Beginnings in rallying:Peugeot Sport was formed in 1981 under the name of Peugeot Talbot Sport, after Jean Todt, a World Rally Championship co-driver for Talbot driver Guy Fréquelin, was asked by...

, Peugeot's factory team, in the World Rally Championship

World Rally Championship

The World Rally Championship is a rallying series organised by the FIA, culminating with a champion driver and manufacturer. The driver's world championship and manufacturer's world championship are separate championships, but based on the same point system. The series currently consists of 13...

 from 1999 to 2003. The car brought Peugeot the manufacturers' world title three years in a row from 2000 to 2002. Marcus Grönholm

Marcus Grönholm

Marcus "Bosse" Grönholm is a Finnish former rally driver. Driving for Peugeot, he won the World Rally Championship in 2000 and 2002. After Peugeot withdrew from the World Rally Championship, Grönholm moved to Ford for the 2006 season and placed second in the drivers' world championship, losing the...

 won the drivers' title in 2000 and 2002.

History

In 1999, Peugeot Sport

Peugeot Sport

Peugeot Sport is the department of French carmaker Peugeot responsible for motorsport activities.-Beginnings in rallying:Peugeot Sport was formed in 1981 under the name of Peugeot Talbot Sport, after Jean Todt, a World Rally Championship co-driver for Talbot driver Guy Fréquelin, was asked by...

 unveiled the 206 WRC, and it competed for the first time in that year's World Rally Championship

World Rally Championship

The World Rally Championship is a rallying series organised by the FIA, culminating with a champion driver and manufacturer. The driver's world championship and manufacturer's world championship are separate championships, but based on the same point system. The series currently consists of 13...

, with French

French people

The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...

 tarmac veteran and long-time marque stalwart Gilles Panizzi

Gilles Panizzi

Gilles Panizzi is a French rally driver on the World Rally Championship circuit.Gilles was born in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, Alpes-Maritimes...

 narrowly failing, against a resurgent reigning champion in Mitsubishi

Mitsubishi

The Mitsubishi Group , Mitsubishi Group of Companies, or Mitsubishi Companies is a Japanese multinational conglomerate company that consists of a range of autonomous businesses which share the Mitsubishi brand, trademark and legacy...

's Tommi Mäkinen

Tommi Mäkinen

"Turbo" Tommi Antero Mäkinen , tied with Juha Kankkunen and behind Sébastien Loeb , and fifth in wins .He is a four-time World Rally Champion, a series he first won, and then successfully defended, continuously throughout 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999, on all occasions driving the Ralliart Mitsubishi...

, to win the Rallye Sanremo

Rallye Sanremo

Rallye Sanremo is a rally competition held in Sanremo, Italy. Except for the 1995 event, the event was part of the FIA World Rally Championship schedule from the 1973 season to the 2003 season. Currently, it is a round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge and the Italian national rally...

. The car was soon a success, however, and won both the manufacturers' and drivers' championships in 2000, Peugeot's first such accolades since their withdrawal from the WRC after Group B

Group B

Group B was a set of regulations introduced in 1982 for competition vehicles in sportscar racing and rallying regulated by the FIA. The Group B regulations fostered some of the quickest, most powerful and sophisticated rally cars ever built. However, a series of major accidents, some fatal, were...

 was banned after the 1986 season

1986 World Rally Championship season

The 1986 World Rally Championship season was the 14th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile World Rally Championship . The season consisted of 13 rallies, including all twelve venues of the previous season as well as the addition of the Olympus Rally...

, and achieved in the hands of Panizzi, Francois Delecour

François Delecour

François Delecour is a rally driver.In the employ of Ford Motor Company as a driver of the factory-fettled Ford Escort RS Cosworth, he finished as runner-up in drivers' standings in the 1993 World Rally Championship season. He was still driving for Ford by January 1994, when he won the...

 and Mäkinen's successor as drivers' world champion, Marcus Grönholm

Marcus Grönholm

Marcus "Bosse" Grönholm is a Finnish former rally driver. Driving for Peugeot, he won the World Rally Championship in 2000 and 2002. After Peugeot withdrew from the World Rally Championship, Grönholm moved to Ford for the 2006 season and placed second in the drivers' world championship, losing the...

.

For 2001, Grönholm competed alongside two refugees of SEAT

SEAT

SEAT, S.A. is a Spanish automobile manufacturer founded on May 9, 1950 by the Instituto Nacional de Industria , a state-owned industrial holding company....

's exit from the championship at the end of 2000; compatriot Harri Rovanperä

Harri Rovanperä

Harri "Rovis" Rovanperä is a Finnish rally driver who competed in the World Rally Championship from 1993 to 2006. He drove for SEAT , Peugeot , Mitsubishi and Red Bull Škoda Team...

 and the French 1994 world champion, Didier Auriol

Didier Auriol

Didier Auriol is a French rally driver.Born in Montpellier, and initially an ambulance driver, Auriol made his name as a French rally driver in the World Rally Championship throughout the 1990s. He became World Rally Champion in 1994, the first from his country to do so...

. Rovanperä and Auriol each contributed single wins, on Swedish Rally

Swedish Rally

The Uddeholm Swedish Rally , formerly the Swedish Rally, is an automobile rally competition held in Värmland, Sweden in early February. First held in 1950, when it was called the Rally to the Midnight Sun with start and finish at separate locations, seventeen years later both start and finish...

 and Rally Catalunya

Rally Catalunya

The Rally Catalunya is a rally competition on the World Rally Championship schedule. Now held on the wide, smooth and sweeping asphalt roads around the town of Salou, Catalonia, Spain, it was previously held around the region of Costa Brava...

 respectively (the former to be a sole career win for the Finn, and the latter victory helped by assorted problems for the blisteringly quick debuting Citroën Xsara WRCs), before Auriol left the team at the end of the season. Grönholm, meanwhile, suffered sufficient reliability woes in the first half of the year such that he could manage no higher than fourth overall in the series, although Peugeot did fend off Ford

BP Ford World Rally Team

The Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team, also known as the Ford Motor Co. Team prior to 2005, is Ford Motor Company's full factory World Rally Championship team. In its current form, it has been a competitor since the 1997 season, when Ford Motor Company's motorsport arm selected the Malcolm Wilson...

, with a 1-2 result by the two Finns on the season-ending Rally of Great Britain to successfully defend the constructors' championship title.

In 2002, Grönholm – despite now being paired in the factory line-up with defending 2001 champion from Subaru

Subaru World Rally Team

The Subaru World Rally Team was Subaru's World Rally Championship team. It used a distinctive blue with yellow color scheme that is a throwback to the sponsorship deal with State Express 555, a BAT cigarette brand popular in Asia. 555 logos were found on Subaru cars from 1993 to 2003...

, the Briton

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 Richard Burns

Richard Burns

Richard Alexander Burns was an English rally driver. He was born in Reading, Berkshire. He was the 2001 World Rally Champion, having previously finished runner-up in the series in 1999 and 2000. He also helped Mitsubishi to the world manufacturers' title in 1998, and Peugeot in 2002...

 – led Peugeot to a repeat of the WRC title double aboard his 206 WRC. His dominance that year was compared to Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher is a German Formula One racing driver for the Mercedes GP team. Famous for his eleven-year spell with Ferrari, Schumacher is a seven-time World Champion and is widely regarded as the greatest F1 driver of all time...

's dominance of Formula One

Formula One

Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...

. In summary, Peugeot won two drivers' championships, in 2000 and 2002, and three manufacturers' titles in a row between 2000 and 2002. However, by 2003 the 206 WRC was beginning to show its age and was less effective against the competition, notably the newer Xsara WRC and the Subaru Impreza WRC, so it was retired from competition at the end of the season, to be replaced with the 307 WRC, albeit, unlike its predecessor, based not on the production version's hatchback, but its coupé cabriolet body style.

The Peugeot 206 WRC was awarded the Autosport

Autosport

Autosport is a weekly magazine covering motorsport, published in the United Kingdom every Thursday by Haymarket Consumer Media. It was first published on 25 August 1950 by Gregor Grant, immediately prior to the Silverstone International Trophy meeting of that year...

 "Rally Car of the Year" in 2002, preceded by the Ford Focus WRC

Ford Focus WRC

The Ford Focus RS WRC is a car built for the Ford World Rally Team by Ford and M-Sport and based on the Ford Focus Climate 2-litre production hatchback, developed to compete in the World Rally Championship. The RS stands for Rallye Sport and the WRC for World Rally Car, the car's FIA specification...

 and followed by the Citroën Xsara WRC. Peugeot GB created a Peugeot 206 rally championship aimed at young drivers. The championship was created to help young drivers develop their careers. The cars were built by Vic Lee Racing

Vic Lee Racing

Vic Lee Racing formerly Vic Lee Motorsport was a UK auto racing team, most famous for running BMWs and Peugeots in the British Touring Car Championship, and most infamous for the drug-related convictions of its owner Vic Lee....

 and drivers such as Tom Boardman

Tom Boardman (racing driver)

Tom Boardman is a British auto racing driver. His greatest achievement to date is winning the 2005 SEAT Cupra Championship for the Triple R team which he runs with father, John, who was previously a rallycross driver in the 1970s.-Early years:Tom first started driving cars at a very young age on...

, Luke Pinder

Luke Pinder

Luke Pinder is a 27 year old British rally driver from Shipley, West Yorkshire. Pinder has been involved with motorsports since the age of 13 having started competing in Autograss and moving to rallying when he passed his driving test at the age of 17....

 and Garry Jennings all drove in the championship.

WRC victories

No.	Event	Season	Driver	Co-driver
1	Sweden 49th International Swedish Rally Swedish Rally The Uddeholm Swedish Rally , formerly the Swedish Rally, is an automobile rally competition held in Värmland, Sweden in early February. First held in 1950, when it was called the Rally to the Midnight Sun with start and finish at separate locations, seventeen years later both start and finish...	2000	Finland Marcus Grönholm Marcus Grönholm Marcus "Bosse" Grönholm is a Finnish former rally driver. Driving for Peugeot, he won the World Rally Championship in 2000 and 2002. After Peugeot withdrew from the World Rally Championship, Grönholm moved to Ford for the 2006 season and placed second in the drivers' world championship, losing the...	Finland Timo Rautiainen
2	New Zealand 30th Rally New Zealand Rally New Zealand The Rally New Zealand was first held in Taupo in 1969, and was subsequently staged in Canterbury, before moving back to the North Island in 1971.The rally was included as a round of the World Championship in 1977...	2000	Finland Marcus Grönholm Marcus Grönholm Marcus "Bosse" Grönholm is a Finnish former rally driver. Driving for Peugeot, he won the World Rally Championship in 2000 and 2002. After Peugeot withdrew from the World Rally Championship, Grönholm moved to Ford for the 2006 season and placed second in the drivers' world championship, losing the...	Finland Timo Rautiainen
3	Finland 50th Neste Rally Finland Rally Finland The Neste Oil Rally Finland is a rally event driven in the Jyväskylä area in Central Finland. It is the biggest annually organised public event in the Nordic countries, gathering over 500,000 spectators every year....	2000	Finland Marcus Grönholm Marcus Grönholm Marcus "Bosse" Grönholm is a Finnish former rally driver. Driving for Peugeot, he won the World Rally Championship in 2000 and 2002. After Peugeot withdrew from the World Rally Championship, Grönholm moved to Ford for the 2006 season and placed second in the drivers' world championship, losing the...	Finland Timo Rautiainen
4	France 44ème V-Rally Tour de Corse Tour de Corse The Tour de Corse - Rallye de France is a rally first held in 1956 on the island of Corsica. It was part of the World Rally Championship from the inaugural 1973 season to 2008. The name "Tour de Corse" refers to the fact that in the early days it was run around the island; nowadays it only features...	2000	France Gilles Panizzi Gilles Panizzi Gilles Panizzi is a French rally driver on the World Rally Championship circuit.Gilles was born in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, Alpes-Maritimes...	France Hervé Panizzi
5	Italy 42º Rallye Sanremo Rallye Sanremo Rallye Sanremo is a rally competition held in Sanremo, Italy. Except for the 1995 event, the event was part of the FIA World Rally Championship schedule from the 1973 season to the 2003 season. Currently, it is a round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge and the Italian national rally...	2000	France Gilles Panizzi Gilles Panizzi Gilles Panizzi is a French rally driver on the World Rally Championship circuit.Gilles was born in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, Alpes-Maritimes...	France Hervé Panizzi
6	Australia 13th Telstra Rally Australia Rally Australia Rally Australia is an automobile rally event which was held in and around Perth, Western Australia from 1988 until 2006, when that state's tourism commission severed its collaboration with the event. The rally was part of the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship in 1988 and the World Rally Championship...	2000	Finland Marcus Grönholm Marcus Grönholm Marcus "Bosse" Grönholm is a Finnish former rally driver. Driving for Peugeot, he won the World Rally Championship in 2000 and 2002. After Peugeot withdrew from the World Rally Championship, Grönholm moved to Ford for the 2006 season and placed second in the drivers' world championship, losing the...	Finland Timo Rautiainen
7	Sweden 50th International Swedish Rally Swedish Rally The Uddeholm Swedish Rally , formerly the Swedish Rally, is an automobile rally competition held in Värmland, Sweden in early February. First held in 1950, when it was called the Rally to the Midnight Sun with start and finish at separate locations, seventeen years later both start and finish...	2001	Finland Harri Rovanperä Harri Rovanperä Harri "Rovis" Rovanperä is a Finnish rally driver who competed in the World Rally Championship from 1993 to 2006. He drove for SEAT , Peugeot , Mitsubishi and Red Bull Škoda Team...	Finland Risto Pietiläinen
8	Spain 37. Rallye Catalunya - Costa Brava 2001	2001	France Didier Auriol Didier Auriol Didier Auriol is a French rally driver.Born in Montpellier, and initially an ambulance driver, Auriol made his name as a French rally driver in the World Rally Championship throughout the 1990s. He became World Rally Champion in 1994, the first from his country to do so...	France Dennis Giraudet
9	Finland 51st Neste Rally Finland Rally Finland The Neste Oil Rally Finland is a rally event driven in the Jyväskylä area in Central Finland. It is the biggest annually organised public event in the Nordic countries, gathering over 500,000 spectators every year....	2001	Finland Marcus Grönholm Marcus Grönholm Marcus "Bosse" Grönholm is a Finnish former rally driver. Driving for Peugeot, he won the World Rally Championship in 2000 and 2002. After Peugeot withdrew from the World Rally Championship, Grönholm moved to Ford for the 2006 season and placed second in the drivers' world championship, losing the...	Finland Timo Rautiainen
10	Italy 43º Rallye Sanremo Rallye Sanremo Rallye Sanremo is a rally competition held in Sanremo, Italy. Except for the 1995 event, the event was part of the FIA World Rally Championship schedule from the 1973 season to the 2003 season. Currently, it is a round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge and the Italian national rally...	2001	France Gilles Panizzi Gilles Panizzi Gilles Panizzi is a French rally driver on the World Rally Championship circuit.Gilles was born in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, Alpes-Maritimes...	France Hervé Panizzi
11	Australia 14th Telstra Rally Australia Rally Australia Rally Australia is an automobile rally event which was held in and around Perth, Western Australia from 1988 until 2006, when that state's tourism commission severed its collaboration with the event. The rally was part of the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship in 1988 and the World Rally Championship...	2001	Finland Marcus Grönholm Marcus Grönholm Marcus "Bosse" Grönholm is a Finnish former rally driver. Driving for Peugeot, he won the World Rally Championship in 2000 and 2002. After Peugeot withdrew from the World Rally Championship, Grönholm moved to Ford for the 2006 season and placed second in the drivers' world championship, losing the...	Finland Timo Rautiainen
12	United Kingdom 57th Network Q Rally of Great Britain	2001	Finland Marcus Grönholm Marcus Grönholm Marcus "Bosse" Grönholm is a Finnish former rally driver. Driving for Peugeot, he won the World Rally Championship in 2000 and 2002. After Peugeot withdrew from the World Rally Championship, Grönholm moved to Ford for the 2006 season and placed second in the drivers' world championship, losing the...	Finland Timo Rautiainen
13	Sweden 51st International Swedish Rally Swedish Rally The Uddeholm Swedish Rally , formerly the Swedish Rally, is an automobile rally competition held in Värmland, Sweden in early February. First held in 1950, when it was called the Rally to the Midnight Sun with start and finish at separate locations, seventeen years later both start and finish...	2002	Finland Marcus Grönholm Marcus Grönholm Marcus "Bosse" Grönholm is a Finnish former rally driver. Driving for Peugeot, he won the World Rally Championship in 2000 and 2002. After Peugeot withdrew from the World Rally Championship, Grönholm moved to Ford for the 2006 season and placed second in the drivers' world championship, losing the...	Finland Timo Rautiainen
14	France 46ème V-Rally Tour de Corse Tour de Corse The Tour de Corse - Rallye de France is a rally first held in 1956 on the island of Corsica. It was part of the World Rally Championship from the inaugural 1973 season to 2008. The name "Tour de Corse" refers to the fact that in the early days it was run around the island; nowadays it only features...	2002	France Gilles Panizzi Gilles Panizzi Gilles Panizzi is a French rally driver on the World Rally Championship circuit.Gilles was born in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, Alpes-Maritimes...	France Hervé Panizzi
15	Spain 38º Rallye Catalunya - Costa Brava	2002	France Gilles Panizzi Gilles Panizzi Gilles Panizzi is a French rally driver on the World Rally Championship circuit.Gilles was born in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, Alpes-Maritimes...	France Hervé Panizzi
16	Cyprus 30th Cyprus Rally Cyprus Rally The Cyprus Rally is a rallying competition held yearly in Cyprus since 1970. The event is run by the Cyprus Automobile Association and is based in the city of Limassol . It is run on the winding roads of the nearby mountains of Troödos. It was part of the FIA's World Rally Championship from 2000...	2002	Finland Marcus Grönholm Marcus Grönholm Marcus "Bosse" Grönholm is a Finnish former rally driver. Driving for Peugeot, he won the World Rally Championship in 2000 and 2002. After Peugeot withdrew from the World Rally Championship, Grönholm moved to Ford for the 2006 season and placed second in the drivers' world championship, losing the...	Finland Timo Rautiainen
17	Finland 52nd Neste Rally Finland Rally Finland The Neste Oil Rally Finland is a rally event driven in the Jyväskylä area in Central Finland. It is the biggest annually organised public event in the Nordic countries, gathering over 500,000 spectators every year....	2002	Finland Marcus Grönholm Marcus Grönholm Marcus "Bosse" Grönholm is a Finnish former rally driver. Driving for Peugeot, he won the World Rally Championship in 2000 and 2002. After Peugeot withdrew from the World Rally Championship, Grönholm moved to Ford for the 2006 season and placed second in the drivers' world championship, losing the...	Finland Timo Rautiainen
18	Italy 44º Rallye Sanremo Rallye Sanremo Rallye Sanremo is a rally competition held in Sanremo, Italy. Except for the 1995 event, the event was part of the FIA World Rally Championship schedule from the 1973 season to the 2003 season. Currently, it is a round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge and the Italian national rally...	2002	France Gilles Panizzi Gilles Panizzi Gilles Panizzi is a French rally driver on the World Rally Championship circuit.Gilles was born in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, Alpes-Maritimes...	France Hervé Panizzi
19	New Zealand 32nd Propecia Rally New Zealand Rally New Zealand The Rally New Zealand was first held in Taupo in 1969, and was subsequently staged in Canterbury, before moving back to the North Island in 1971.The rally was included as a round of the World Championship in 1977...	2002	Finland Marcus Grönholm Marcus Grönholm Marcus "Bosse" Grönholm is a Finnish former rally driver. Driving for Peugeot, he won the World Rally Championship in 2000 and 2002. After Peugeot withdrew from the World Rally Championship, Grönholm moved to Ford for the 2006 season and placed second in the drivers' world championship, losing the...	Finland Timo Rautiainen
20	Australia 14th Telstra Rally Australia Rally Australia Rally Australia is an automobile rally event which was held in and around Perth, Western Australia from 1988 until 2006, when that state's tourism commission severed its collaboration with the event. The rally was part of the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship in 1988 and the World Rally Championship...	2002	Finland Marcus Grönholm Marcus Grönholm Marcus "Bosse" Grönholm is a Finnish former rally driver. Driving for Peugeot, he won the World Rally Championship in 2000 and 2002. After Peugeot withdrew from the World Rally Championship, Grönholm moved to Ford for the 2006 season and placed second in the drivers' world championship, losing the...	Finland Timo Rautiainen
21	Sweden 52nd International Swedish Rally Swedish Rally The Uddeholm Swedish Rally , formerly the Swedish Rally, is an automobile rally competition held in Värmland, Sweden in early February. First held in 1950, when it was called the Rally to the Midnight Sun with start and finish at separate locations, seventeen years later both start and finish...	2003	Finland Marcus Grönholm Marcus Grönholm Marcus "Bosse" Grönholm is a Finnish former rally driver. Driving for Peugeot, he won the World Rally Championship in 2000 and 2002. After Peugeot withdrew from the World Rally Championship, Grönholm moved to Ford for the 2006 season and placed second in the drivers' world championship, losing the...	Finland Timo Rautiainen
22	New Zealand 33rd Propecia Rally New Zealand Rally New Zealand The Rally New Zealand was first held in Taupo in 1969, and was subsequently staged in Canterbury, before moving back to the North Island in 1971.The rally was included as a round of the World Championship in 1977...	2003	Finland Marcus Grönholm Marcus Grönholm Marcus "Bosse" Grönholm is a Finnish former rally driver. Driving for Peugeot, he won the World Rally Championship in 2000 and 2002. After Peugeot withdrew from the World Rally Championship, Grönholm moved to Ford for the 2006 season and placed second in the drivers' world championship, losing the...	Finland Timo Rautiainen
23	Argentina 23º Rally Argentina Rally Argentina The Rally Argentina is an Argentine rally competition that has been both a round of the World Rally Championship and also the Intercontinental Rally Challenge. The rally is also a round of the South American Rally Championship and the Argentine Rally Championship...	2003	Finland Marcus Grönholm Marcus Grönholm Marcus "Bosse" Grönholm is a Finnish former rally driver. Driving for Peugeot, he won the World Rally Championship in 2000 and 2002. After Peugeot withdrew from the World Rally Championship, Grönholm moved to Ford for the 2006 season and placed second in the drivers' world championship, losing the...	Finland Timo Rautiainen
24	Spain 39º Rallye Catalunya - Costa Brava	2003	France Gilles Panizzi Gilles Panizzi Gilles Panizzi is a French rally driver on the World Rally Championship circuit.Gilles was born in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, Alpes-Maritimes...	France Hervé Panizzi