The WRC awards separate titles to drivers, co-drivers, and manufacturers. Any crew entering a WRC rally may score points in the drivers' and co-drivers' championships regardless of car class. Manufacturers must register and compete with the highest-specification cars at every round to be eligible for the manufacturers' championship. Below the top class, WRC2 and WRC3 provide championships for Rally2 and Rally3 cars respectively, contested on the same events and stages. Junior WRC runs as an arrive-and-drive one-make series for drivers under 29, using Ford Fiesta Rally3 cars provided by M-Sport. A WRC Masters Cup for drivers and co-drivers aged over 50 was introduced in 2023.
Rallies follow a standard structure: reconnaissance on Tuesday and Wednesday allows crews to create or update pace notes; a shakedown stage on Thursday permits setup practice; competitive stages run from Thursday evening or Friday morning through to Sunday's Power Stage, which is televised live and carries additional championship points for the five fastest crews. Cars start stages at two-minute intervals and are held overnight in parc fermé between competition days.
The WRC was formed from well-established international rallies, nine of which had previously comprised the International Championship for Manufacturers from 1970 to 1972. Alpine-Renault won the inaugural 1973 manufacturers' championship with the Alpine A110. Lancia dominated 1974, 1975, and 1976 with the Ferrari V6-powered Lancia Stratos HF, the first car designed specifically for rallying.
The first drivers' world championship was not awarded until 1979, although the 1977 and 1978 seasons included an FIA Cup for Drivers, won by Italy's Sandro Munari and Finland's Markku Alén respectively. Sweden's Björn Waldegård became the first official drivers' world champion, edging Finland's Hannu Mikkola by a single point. Fiat won the manufacturers' title with the Fiat 131 Abarth in 1977, 1978, and 1980; Ford's Escort RS1800 took 1979, and Talbot's Sunbeam Lotus won 1981. Walter Röhrl and Ari Vatanen succeeded Waldegård as drivers' champions.
The introduction of Group B regulations in 1982 allowed almost unlimited engine power and prompted manufacturers to develop extraordinary four-wheel-drive machinery. Audi led the charge with its Quattro, taking the manufacturers' title in 1982 and 1984 and the drivers' title in 1983 (Hannu Mikkola) and 1984 (Stig Blomqvist). Lancia won the 1983 manufacturers' title with the rear-drive Lancia 037, the last rear-wheel-drive car to win a world rally championship. Audi's Michèle Mouton came within a point of the 1982 drivers' title. Walter Röhrl and then Ari Vatanen in the Peugeot 205 T16 and Juha Kankkunen continued as champions, but Group B's era ended after fatal accidents at the 1986 Tour de Corse — where Henri Toivonen and his co-driver Sergio Cresto died when their Lancia Delta S4 plunged down a cliff — and at the Rally Portugal, where three spectators were killed. FISA banned Group B with immediate effect and the class never returned.
Group A regulations became the WRC standard from 1987. Lancia adapted fastest and its Delta HF won six consecutive manufacturers' titles from 1987 to 1992. Juha Kankkunen and Miki Biasion each took two drivers' titles during this period. The 1990s brought Japanese manufacturers to the fore: Carlos Sainz won with Toyota in 1990 and 1992; Kankkunen won a record fourth title for Toyota in 1993; Didier Auriol brought further success in 1994. Colin McRae won Subaru the 1995 drivers' title, and Subaru took the manufacturers' title three consecutive times. Tommi Mäkinen drove a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution to four straight drivers' championships from 1996 to 1999.
World Rally Car regulations introduced in 1997 as an extension of Group A brought new flexibility in car development. Peugeot made a successful return in 2000, with Marcus Grönholm winning the drivers' title in his first full season and Peugeot taking the manufacturers' crown. Richard Burns won for Subaru in 2001, then Grönholm and Peugeot reclaimed both titles in 2002.
From 2004, Sébastien Loeb dominated the championship in a Citroën to an extent without precedent in rallying: he won nine consecutive drivers' titles through 2012, surpassing Mäkinen's record of four. Citroën also took multiple manufacturers' titles during this era. Volkswagen entered in 2013 and Sébastien Ogier won six consecutive championships for VW and then M-Sport. Ott Tänak broke French dominance with the 2019 title for Toyota, followed by Hyundai taking the manufacturers' championship that year and in 2020. Ogier won again in 2020 and 2021 for Toyota.
Beginning in 2022, Rally1 regulations replaced World Rally Cars as the manufacturers' championship class, introducing hybrid powertrains alongside cost-reduction measures including centrally developed safety structures and simplified suspension. The hybrid system proved difficult to repair in service and was dropped for the 2025 season. Toyota, Ford, and Hyundai have been the three manufacturers active in the Rally1 era, with Toyota winning the manufacturers' championship in 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025. Kalle Rovanperä won the drivers' championship in 2022 and 2023, Thierry Neuville in 2024.
Twenty-one manufacturers have won WRC events, including Citroën, Ford, Lancia, Toyota, Peugeot, Subaru, Volkswagen, Mitsubishi, Audi, Fiat, Hyundai, Datsun/Nissan, Renault-Alpine, and Talbot. Lancia leads all manufacturers with ten championship titles. Sébastien Loeb's nine consecutive drivers' championships from 2004 to 2012 is the most dominant title run in the history of the championship. The Power Stage, introduced in 2011, awards bonus points to the five fastest crews on the final stage of each rally and is timed to the thousandth of a second.
Pirelli was exclusive tyre supplier from 2008 to 2010, Michelin from 2011 to 2020, Pirelli again from 2021 to 2024, and Hankook from 2025. Commercial rights to the WRC are held by WRC Promoter GmbH, jointly owned by Red Bull Media House and KW25 Beteiligungs GmbH.