<P> The World Rally Championship (WRC) is a rallying series administrated by Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body . The series currently consists of 13 three - day events driven on surfaces that range from gravel and tarmac to snow and ice . Each rally is split into 15--25 special stages, which are run against the clock on closed roads . The WRC was formed from well - known and popular international rallies, most of which had previously been part of the European Rally Championship and / or the International Championship for Manufacturers; the series was first contested in 1973 . The drivers' championship was first awarded in 1977 and 1978 as an FIA Cup for Drivers title, to Sandro Munari and Markku Alén, respectively . The first official world champion in rallying was Björn Waldegård in 1979 . </P> <P> Each season normally consists of 12 to 16 rallies driven on surfaces ranging from gravel and tarmac to snow and ice . Points from these events are calculated towards the drivers' and manufacturers' world championships . The driver's championship and manufacturer's championship are separate championships, but are based on the same point system . In the current points system, points are awarded at the end of each rally to the top ten WRC (overall), junior and production car drivers that qualify as follows: 25, 18, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1 . Despite how many drivers are in one team, constructors can only nominate two drivers to score points for the team as well as scoring for themselves . </P> <P> Sébastien Loeb holds the record for the most drivers' championships, winning nine during his career . He also holds the record for the most championships won in a row; he won nine consecutive titles from 2004 to 2012 . is second Sébastien Ogier with five championships won consecutively from 2013 to 2017 . France have won the most titles with 15 championships each between 3 drivers . Finland are second with 14 championships between 7 different drivers . Citroën cars have won the most drivers' championships with nine titles, all of them with Loeb . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Td> Podiums </Td> <Td> The number of times the champion finished in the top three in a rally </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Margin </Td> <Td> The margin of points by which the champion defeated the runner - up (s) </Td> </Tr> </Table>

Who has won the most world rally championships