WRC3 was created as part of a wholesale restructuring of the World Rally Championship's support categories ahead of the 2013 season. The existing Production car World Rally Championship was discontinued, and its two-wheel-drive field was absorbed into a new WRC3 championship using cars from the Group R classes — specifically R1, R2, and R3 machines with two-wheel drive and production-based engines.
Drivers and teams had flexibility in how they engaged with the championship: they could nominate up to six rallies (from 2017, up to seven), with only their best results from those nominated rounds counting toward their final points tally. This gave privateer competitors an accessible way to participate in the World Rally Championship without the cost of a full-season campaign.
The FIA announced the discontinuation of WRC3 after 2018, with a stated intent to make all WRC support championships four-wheel-drive based, leaving only the Junior WRC as an exception.
The 2019 season saw an experiment with two Rally2-car support championships — WRC 2 Pro for manufacturer and professional crews and WRC 2 for privateers — that effectively replaced the two-wheel-drive WRC3 format. However, the structure proved difficult to communicate, and a further reorganization was implemented from 2020.
Under the revised arrangement, the WRC3 name was revived in 2020 to describe a privateer-only Rally2 championship with strict entry eligibility criteria. Budget restrictions and rules defining the line between professional and privateer drivers were introduced to protect the category's character. Manufacturer teams and professional-grade entries were excluded; only genuine privateers could compete. In 2021, eligibility criteria were tightened further to clarify the distinction.
A dedicated Junior WRC format was embedded within WRC3 in 2022, organized by M-Sport using Ford Fiesta Rally3 cars on an arrive-and-drive basis. This arrangement was replaced by the restoration of the standalone FIA Junior WRC in 2023.
From 2022, WRC3 transitioned to Group Rally3 cars, distinguishing it from WRC2 — which remained the Rally2 class championship — and giving the category a clear technical identity of its own. Championship titles are awarded to drivers and co-drivers; a team championship existed initially but was removed from 2023, leaving a single WRC3 title per discipline.
There are no eligibility restrictions on entry; any crew with a Rally3 car may participate. Crews may nominate up to seven rounds (from 2024), with the best results from a subset of those counting toward the points tally. This maintains the flexible privateer-friendly structure that has characterized the championship since its founding.
WRC3 occupies a defined position in the FIA's rally pyramid — a system the organization has consistently promoted since 2019 to align competition tiers with corresponding car classes. Rally3 cars sit below the Rally2 cars of WRC2 and the Rally1 hybrid machines of the top WRC tier, providing a logical and cost-proportionate progression pathway for developing drivers. WRC3 complements Junior WRC as a pathway for talent at the entry level of the World Rally Championship umbrella.