The 2016 FIA WRC3 Championship was the fourth season of
WRC3, a
rallying championship organised and governed by the
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, ran in support of the
World Rally Championship. It was created when the
Group R class of rally car was introduced in
2013. The Championship was composed of fourteen rallies, and drivers and teams had to nominate a maximum of six events. The best five results counted towards the championship.[1]
The calendar was announced in November 2015 by the
FIA.[2] The season was scheduled to expand with one rally in comparison to the
2015 championship, contested over fourteen rounds in Europe, the Americas, Oceania and Asia,[3][4] but the Chinese round was ultimately cancelled.
^1 – Rally Sweden was shortened due to warm weather conditions turning frozen roads into soft, muddy gravel and making the studded tyres unsafe to use.[5]
^3 – The route of Rally Australia was shortened following concerns over dust reducing visibility in forest stages.
Calendar changes
Rally Australia was moved from its September date to November to become the final round of the championship.[4]
The calendar was to be expanded to fourteen rounds in 2016,[7] with the inclusion of the
Rally of China,
seventeen years after its only appearance as a round of the WRC.[8][9]
The 2016 FIA WRC3 Championship was the fourth season of
WRC3, a
rallying championship organised and governed by the
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, ran in support of the
World Rally Championship. It was created when the
Group R class of rally car was introduced in
2013. The Championship was composed of fourteen rallies, and drivers and teams had to nominate a maximum of six events. The best five results counted towards the championship.[1]
The calendar was announced in November 2015 by the
FIA.[2] The season was scheduled to expand with one rally in comparison to the
2015 championship, contested over fourteen rounds in Europe, the Americas, Oceania and Asia,[3][4] but the Chinese round was ultimately cancelled.
^1 – Rally Sweden was shortened due to warm weather conditions turning frozen roads into soft, muddy gravel and making the studded tyres unsafe to use.[5]
^3 – The route of Rally Australia was shortened following concerns over dust reducing visibility in forest stages.
Calendar changes
Rally Australia was moved from its September date to November to become the final round of the championship.[4]
The calendar was to be expanded to fourteen rounds in 2016,[7] with the inclusion of the
Rally of China,
seventeen years after its only appearance as a round of the WRC.[8][9]