2015 Virtual Rally Championship season

The 2015 Virtual Rally Championship season is the first season of the Virtual Rally Championship, an auto racing championship recognised by F1 Fanatic (F1F) as the highest class of international rallying. Teams and drivers contest fifteen rallies across six of the worlds seven continents, competing for the F1F Virtual Rally Championships for Drivers, Co-drivers and Manufacturers.

Calendar

The Calendar was confirmed late in December 2014 by series CEO Bradley Downton.

Rnd.	Dates	Rally name	Rally headquarters	Surface
1	January	Michigan Rally USA	Traverse City, Grand Traverse County	Tarmac
2	February	Rally Canada	Edmonton, Alberta	Snow/Gravel
3	February	Rali Bulgaria	Sofia, Sofia City Province	Snow/Tarmac
4	March	Rally Sweden	Stockholm, Stockholm County	Snow
5	April	Rally România †	Sibiu, Sibiu County	Tarmac
6	May	Rally do Brasil	Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais	Tarmac/Gravel
7	June	Rally New Zealand	Dunedin, Otago	Gravel
8	July	Nippon Rally	Sapporo, Hokkaido	Tarmac/Gravel
9	July	Rally Kazakhstan	Almaty, Almaty Region	Gravel
10	August	Rallye Cote d'Ivoire †	Abidjan, Lagunes	Gravel
11	September	Rallye Espana	Malaga, Andalusia	Tarmac
12	September	Rallye de France	Bordeaux, Gironde	Tarmac/Gravel
13	October	Rally GB	Southampton, Hampshire	Tarmac/Gravel
14	November	Ralli Russia	Saint Petersburg	Snow
15	December	Rallye Switzerland †	Samedan, Maloja	Snow

Notes
† - Rallies will be run without 'Re-Rally' rules, meaning retired competitors will not be able to restart the event the next day.

Teams and drivers

The following teams and drivers are scheduled to compete in the Virtual Rally Championship in 2015:

Virtual Rally Car entries eligible to score manufacturer points
Constructor	Team	Tyre	No.	Drivers	Co-drivers	Rounds
Renault (Renault Clio VRC)	Renault Sport Total	BF	0	Michel Foulin	Serge Bernard	1–6
			2	Samuel Melendez	Cipriano Asturias	1–6
	Renault Sport Elf		11	Aubert Lambert	Philippe Leblanc	1–6
Vauxhall (Vauxhall Corsa VRC)	Vauxhall Virtual Rally Team	C	3	Finley Thomson	Les Small	1–6
			4	Albert Foster	Craig Thorburn	1–6
Volvo (Volvo V40 VRC)	Valvoline Volvo VRC Team	C	5	Maximilian Sörensson	Edvin Oliversson	1–6
			6	Marcus Seppänen	Joonas Nikula	1–6
	Ikea Racing	C	15	Sebastian Stefánsson	Robin Jonasson	1–6
	Telenor Haugland Motorsport	BF	23	Edvard Kristiansen	Pontus Naess	1–6
Seat (Seat Ibiza VRC)	Seat Repsol Telefonica Virtual Rally Team	BF	7	Eustaquio González	Casimiro Alvarado	1–3, 5–6
				Anders Neilsen	Fredrik Linnerup	4
			8	Cornelis Dirkx	Bert van Amstel	1–6
Abarth (Abarth Punto Evo VRC)	Abarth & C. Spa	C	9	Rossendo Werner	Giorgino Ardovini	1–5
				Matthias Kyrkos	Ferruccio Adriatico	6
			10	Ari Järvinen	Topias Linna	1–6
	Abarth & C. Spa II	C	19	Matthias Kyrkos	Ferruccio Adriatico	2–5
Major entries ineligible to score manufacturer points
Constructor	Team	Tyre	No.	Drivers	Co-drivers	Rounds
Citroën (Citroën DS3 VRC)	Kris Sørensen	BF	12	Kris Sørensen	Klara Sørensen	4
	Stef Xylander	BF	24	Stef Xylander	Ortwin Schröder	1–6
	Hughes Motorsport	BF	35	Alfie Hughes	Freddie Layton	1–6
			64	Éamon O'Brian	Ralph McNiall	1–6
Renault (Renault Clio VRC)	Maréchal Rallye	C	21	Dmitriy Yakovlev	Isaak Kozlov	1–6
Seat (Seat Ibiza VRC)	Seat Repsol Telefonica Virtual Rally Team	BF	27	Lyle Reynolds	David Burris	2
			63	Bruno Rios	Rafael Azevedo	6
			83	Eustaquio González	Casimiro Alvarado	4
Honda (Honda Civic VRC)	Radu Ardelean	C	31	Radu Ardelean	Kyrylo Pasternack	1–6
	Fuji TV Racing	BF	58	Shichirou Hisakawa	Shiori Matsumoto	1–5

Rules and regulations

Running Order

The running order for each rally depends on the surface, as shown below.

Surface	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4
Tarmac	Championship Order	Championship Order	Day 2 Order	Day 3 Order
Gravel
Snow			Reverse Day 2 Order	Reverse Day 3 Order

In the event of a mixed surface rally, the primary surface will be used to decide the running order. Gravel surfaces get quicker with each car through, while Snow surfaces get slower. Tarmac surfaces don't change.

Re-Rally

If a competitor retires from a stage they will get the chance to re-join the rally the following day, albeit with a 3 minute time penalty for each stage missed. Throughout the season there will be one Tarmac, one Snow and one Gravel rally that does not run the Re-Rally rules, meaning a retirement is a retirement for good.

Co-driver stages

Each rally will feature four co-driver stages, one on each day of the event. For these stages the driver and co-driver must swap places. The four stage times for the co-driver's will be added together to give a cumulative time, and points will be awarded in accordance with the points system in the co-drivers' Championship. These times will also go towards the overall rally time for the drivers.

Power stage

The power stage will be the final stage of each rally where additional points are on offer. While there is a point up for grabs per standard stage win, the power stage offers points for the top five fastest times on that stage, from five points for first down to one for fifth.

Rally summaries

Round 1 - 1st Michigan Rally USA

Round	Rally name
1	Michigan Rally USA (TBC-TBC January) - Results and report

Stages	(23)1a 19	Length	(TBC)1b TBC	Stages	(4)1a 0	Length	(TBC)1b 0km

Drivers' Podium finishers	Co-drivers' Podium finishers

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time	Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time
1	8	Cornelis Dirkx Bert van Amstel	Seat Repsol Telefonica Virtual Rally Team (Seat Ibiza VRC)	3:02:26.4	No co-driver stages were completed
2	5	Maximilian Sörensson Edvin Oliversson	Valvoline Volvo VRC Team (Volva V40 VRC)	3:02:45.4
3	2	Samuel Melendez Cipriano Asturias	Renault Sport Total (Renault Clio VRC)	3:02:55.0

Power Stage Top 5
Pos.	Driver / Co-driver	Time	Diff.	Points
1	Sebastian Stefánsson Robin Jonasson	2:14.3		5
2	Eustaquio González Casimiro Alvarado	2:14.4	+0.1	4
3	Stef Xylander Ortwin Schröder	2:14.6	+0.3	3
4	Michel Foulin Serge Bernard	2:14.7	+0.4	2
5	Samuel Melendez Cipriano Asturias	2:15.1	+0.8	1

Cornelis Dirkx won the first ever round of the VRC in the USA, despite three mistakes on three different stages that cost him over two minutes cumulatively. Maximilian Sörensson finished in the runner-up spot after winning the first ever stage but lost over a minute in two consecutive stages on day two, while Samuel Melendez made it three different manufacturers on the podium by taking third. All four co-driver stages were cancelled for different reasons, meaning the USA round of the co-drivers' Championship was cancelled.

Sörensson led after the opening stage but Dirkx quickly asserted his authority with a fastest time on SS2 to lead the rally overnight after SS3 - a re-run of SS2 and the planned first co-driver stage - was cancelled due to overcrowding.

Dirkx led for most of the morning loop on day two until a mistake on SS6 cost him half a minute, with Stef Xylander inheriting the lead. SS9 - the planned second co-driver stage - was cancelled after a guardrail was damaged beyond repair following Dmitriy Yakovlev's crash on the first run through the stage as SS6. Dirkx closed the gap to Xylander over the afternoon but at the end of the day Xylander led by 3.1 from Michel Foulin with Sörensson just 0.6 further back and Dirkx only 7.2 off the lead.

On SS12 it looked like Dirkx would re-take the lead, but another mistake in the penultimate split undid all his hard work, though Xylander didn't keep the lead for long. A mistake himself on SS13 handed it to Sörensson, though he too threw it away with a mistake of his own just two stages later on SS15, handing the lead to Melendez, who became the third different overnight leader. SS16 - and the planned re-run as SS18 the following day - were cancelled due to subsidence on the stage, meaning all four co-driver stages were cancelled for the rally.

Dirkx charged on the final morning with a stage win on the mammoth Brevort Lake stage to take back a lead he wouldn't relinquish again, and Melendez fell to third behind Sörensson on the stage after. Understandably wanting to protect their podiums, none of the top three featured highly on the Power Stage, with Sebastian Stefánsson winning to ensure some points after a miserable rally.

Notes

• ^1 - The Michigan Rally USA was shortened after a number of stages were cancelled.

Round 2 - 1st Rally Canada

Round	Rally name
2	Rally Canada (TBC-TBC February) - Results and report

Stages	18	Length	TBC	Stages	4	Length	TBC

Drivers' Podium finishers	Co-drivers' Podium finishers

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time	Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time
1	15	Sebastian Stefánsson Robin Jonasson	Ikea Racing (Volvo V40 VRC)	4:16:54.0	1	5	Edvin Oliversson Maximilian Sörensson	Valvoline Volvo VRC Team (Volvo V40 VRC)	45:33.9
2	27	Lyle Reynolds David Burris	Seat Repsol Telefonica Virtual Rally Team (Seat Ibiza VRC)	4:16:56.1	2	10	Topias Linna Ari Järvinen	Abarth & C. Spa (Abarth Punto Evo VRC)	45:44.9
3	5	Maximilian Sörensson Edvin Oliversson	Valvoline Volvo VRC Team (Volvo V40 VRC)	4:16:58.1	3	21	Isaak Kozlov Dmitriy Yakovlev	Maréchal Rallye (Renault Clio VRC)	45:46.3

Power Stage Top 5
Pos.	Driver / Co-driver	Time	Diff.	Points
1	Sebastian Stefánsson Robin Jonasson	4:25.6		5
2	Lyle Reynolds David Burris	4:27.1	+0.5	4
3	Samuel Melendez Cipriano Asturias	4:27.5	+0.9	3
4	Cornelis Dirkx Bet van Amstel	4:28.7	+3.1	2
5	Maximilian Sörensson Edvin Oliversson	4:28.8	+3.2	1

Round 3 - 1st Rali Bulgaria

Round	Rally name
3	Rali Bulgaria (TBC-TBC February) - Results and report

Stages	19	Length	TBC	Stages	4	Length	TBC

Drivers' Podium finishers	Co-drivers' Podium finishers

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time	Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time
1	23	Evard Kristiansen Pontus Naess	Telenor Haugland Motorsport (Volvo V40 VRC)	4:33:58.7	1	23	Pontus Naess Evard Kristiansen	Telenor Haugland Motorsport (Volvo V40 VRC)	1:07:48.2
2	31	Radu Ardelean Kyrylo Pasternack	Radu Ardelean (Honda Civic VRC)	4:34:16.1	2	11	Philippe Leblanc Aubert Lambert	Renault Sport Elf (Renault Clio VRC)	1:08:26.9
3	24	Stef Xylander Ortwin Schröder	Stef Xylander (Citroën DS3 VRC)	4:34:17.4	3	6	Joonas Nikula Marcus Seppänen	Valvoline Volvo VRC Team (Volvo V40 VRC)	1:08:27.6

Power Stage Top 5
Pos.	Driver / Co-driver	Time	Diff.	Points
1	Marcus Seppänen Joonas Nikula	18:20.2		5
2	Dmitriy Yakovlev Isaak Kozlov	18:25.5	+5.3	4
3	Alfie Hughes Freddie Layton	18:26.2	+6.0	3
4	Sebastian Stefánsson Robin Jonasson	18:26.8	+6.6	2
5	Stef Xylander Ortwin Schröder	18:28.2	+8.0	1

Round 4 - 1st Rally Sweden

Round	Rally name
4	Rally Sweden (TBC-TBC March) - Results and report

Stages	19	Length	TBC	Stages	4	Length	TBC

Drivers' Podium finishers	Co-drivers' Podium finishers

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time	Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time
1	7	Anders Neilsen Fredrik Linnerup	Seat Repsol Telefonica Virtual Rally Team (Seat Ibiza VRC)	3:48:33.0	1	12	Klara Sørensen Kris Sørensen	Sørensen Racing (Citroën DS3 VRC)	51:36.9
2	23	Evard Kristiansen Pontus Naess	Telenor Haugland Motorsport (Volvo V40 VRC)	3:48:33.8	2	6	Joonas Nikula Marcus Seppänen	Valvoline Volvo VRC Team (Volvo V40 VRC)	51:37.1
3	10	Ari Järvinen Topias Linna	Abarth & C. Spa (Abarth Punto Evo VRC)	3:49:04.4	3	23	Pontus Naess Evard Kristiansen	Telenor Haugland Motorsport (Volvo V40 VRC)	51:37.9

Power Stage Top 5
Pos.	Driver / Co-driver	Time	Diff.	Points
1	Maximilian Sörensson Edvin Oliversson	5:45.2		5
2	Anders Neilsen Fredrik Linnerup	5:48.1	+2.9	4
3	Kris Sørensen Klara Sørensen	5:50.5	+5.3	3
4	Evard Kristiansen Pontus Naess	5:50.8	+5.6	2
5	Sebastian Stefánsson Robin Jonasson	5:51.3	+6.1	1

Round 5 - 1st Rally România

Round	Rally name
5	Rally România (TBC-TBC April) - Results and report

Stages	11	Length	TBC	Stages	3	Length	TBC

Drivers' Podium finishers	Co-drivers' Podium finishers

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time	Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time
1	24	Stef Xylander Ortwin Schröder	Stef Xylander (Citroën DS3 VRC)	3:11:12.6	1	23	Pontus Naess Evard Kristiansen	Telenor Haugland Motorsport (Volvo V40 VRC)	46:36.3
2	2	Samuel Melendez Cipriano Asturias	Renault Sport Total (Renault Clio VRC)	3:12:01.4	2	2	Cipriano Asturias Samuel Melendez	Renault Sport Elf (Renault Clio VRC)	46:45.9
3	7	Eustaquio González Casimiro Alvarado	Seat Repsol Telefonica Virtual Rally Team (Seat Ibiza VRC)	3:12:26.5	3	7	Casimiro Alvarado Eustaquio González	Seat Repsol Telefonica Virtual Rally Team (Seat Ibiza VRC)	46:48.0

Power Stage Top 5
Pos.	Driver / Co-driver	Time	Diff.	Points
1	Matthias Kyrkos Ferruccio Adriatico	4:08.0		5
2	Michel Foulin Serge Bernard	4:08.9	+0.9	4
3	Edvard Kristiansen Pontus Naess	4:10.3	+2.3	3
4	Stef Xylander Ortwin Schröder	4:11.7	+3.7	2
5	Eustaquio González Casimiro Alvarado	4:12.0	+4.0	1

Round 6 - 1st Rally do Brasil

Round	Rally name
6	Rally do Brasil (TBC-TBC April) - Results and report

Stages	17	Length	TBC	Stages	4	Length	TBC

Drivers' Podium finishers	Co-drivers' Podium finishers

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time	Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time
1	8	Cornelis Dirkx Bert van Amstel	Seat Repsol Telefonica Virtual Rally Team (Seat Ibiza VRC)	4:04:13.3	1	3	Les Small Finley Thomson	Vauxhall Virtual Rally Team (Vauxhall Corsa VRC)	1:22:15.7
2	3	Finley Thomson Les Small	Vauxhall Virtual Rally Team (Vauxhall Corsa VRC)	4:04:19.5	2	2	Cipriano Asturias Samuel Melendez	Renault Sport Total (Renault Clio VRC)	1:22:17.0
3	9	Matthias Kyrkos Ferruccio Adriatico	Abarth & C. Spa (Abarth Punto Evo VRC)	4:04:35.1	3	35	Freddie Layton Alfie Hughes	Hughes Motorsport (Citroën DS3 VRC)	1:22:29.8

Power Stage Top 5
Pos.	Driver / Co-driver	Time	Diff.	Points
1	Stef Xylander Ortwin Schröder	5:41.0		5
2	Maximilian Sörensson Edvin Oliversson	5:41.4	+0.4	4
3	Matthias Kyrkos Ferruccio Adriatico	5:45.5	+4.5	3
4	Michel Foulin Serge Bernard	5:45.6	+4.6	2
5	Marcus Seppänen Joonas Nikula	5:45.7	+4.7	0.5
	Eustaquio González Casimiro Alvarado			0.5

Results and standings

Drivers' standings

Points are awarded to the top ten classified finishers using the following structure:

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th
Points	25	18	15	12	10	8	6	4	2	1

1 point is also awarded per stage win, apart from on the 'Power Stage', where the top five drivers are awarded points on the scoring system of 5-4-3-2-1.

Pos Driver USA CAN BUL SWE ROM BRA NZL JAP KAZ COI ESP FRA GBR RUS SWI Points 1 Edvard Kristiansen Pontus Naess 9 41 13 24 54 181 80 2 Cornelis Dirkx Bert van Amstel 17 64 Ret 9 Ret 14 75 3 Stef Xylander Ortwin Schröder 55 132 33 12 15 177 72 4 Maximilian Sörensson Edvin Oliversson 21 34 Ret4 711 Ret 74 69 3 Sebastian Stefánsson Robin Jonasson 125 19 43 84 11 9 64 6 Samuel Melendez Cipriano Asturias 32 173 14 14 21 44 55 7 Marcus Seppänen Joonas Nikula 41 152 87 61 82 51 52 8 Eustaquio González Casimiro Alvarado 86 7 9 13 32 60.5 43.5 9 Matthias Kyrkos Ferruccio Adriatico 8 13 20 45 34 40 10 Finley Thomson Les Small 61 10 10 19 6 22.5 39.5 11 Michel Foulin Serge Bernard 75 20 61 Ret 76 112 34 12 Anders Neilsen Fredrik Linnerup 18 33 13 Dmitriy Yakovlev Isaak Kozlov 18 51 117 4 Ret 14 30 14 Lyle Reynolds David Burris 25 23 15 Ari Järvinen Topias Linna 10 18 7 31 16 15 23 16 Aubert Lambert Philippe Leblanc 17 Ret 51 5 Ret Ret1 22 17 Radu Ardelean Kyrylo Pasternack 19 121 2 11 14 16 19 18 Alfie Hughes Freddie Layton 13 11 123 16 9 101 7 19 Éamon O'Brian Ralph McNiall 15 9 15 15 12 8 6 20 Kris Sørensen Klara Sørensen 104 5 21 Albert Foster Craig Thorburn 16 14 16 18 10 13 1 22 Rossendo Werner Giorgino Ardovini 11 16 Ret 17 15 0 23 Shichirou Hisakawa Shiori Matsumoto 14 19 17 21 13 0 Pos Driver USA CAN BUL SWE ROM BRA NZL JAP KAZ COI ESP FRA GBR RUS SWI Points

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Purple Did not finish (Ret) Black Excluded (EX) White Did not start (DNS) Blank Withdrew entry before the event (WD) Notes: 1 2 3 etc – Indicate number of points won on stages (stage wins & Power Stage)

Co-drivers' standings

Points are awarded to the top ten classified finishers using the following structure:

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th
Points	25	18	15	12	10	8	6	4	2	1

1 point is also awarded per stage win.

Pos Driver USA CAN BUL SWE ROM BRA NZL JAP KAZ COI ESP FRA GBR RUS SWI Points 1 Pontus Naess Edvard Kristiansen C 14 12 3 42 2 Joonas Nikula Marcus Seppänen C 71 3 2 40 3 Edvin Oliversson Maximilian Sörensson C 11 Ret 41 39 4 Topias Linna Ari Järvinen C 2 5 5 38 5 Klara Sørensen Kris Sørensen 11 26 6 Isaak Kozlov Dmitriy Yakovlev C 31 18 6 24 7 Philippe Leblanc Aubert Lambert C Ret 21 9 21 8 Kyrylo Pasternack Radu Ardelean C 41 11 10 14 9 Robin Jonasson Sebastian Stefánsson C 5 121 162 13 10 Bert van Amstel Cornelis Dirkx C 13 4 17 12 11 Freddie Layton Alfie Hughes C 15 6 11 8 12 David Burris Lyle Reynolds 6 8 13 Les Small Finley Thomson C 11 9 7 8 14 Casimiro Alvarado Eustaquio González C 9 7 15 8 15 Ferruccio Adriatico Matthias Kyrkos 8 14 21 4 16 Serge Bernard Michel Foulin C 18 8 Ret 4 17 Fredrik Linnerup Anders Neilsen 8 4 18 Ralph McNiall Éamon O'Brian C 12 10 12 1 19 Ortwin Schröder Stef Xylander C 10 16 19 1 18 Cipriano Asturias Samuel Melendez C 19 13 13 0 19 Craig Thorburn Albert Foster C 16 15 14 0 20 Shiori Matsumoto Shichirou Hisakawa C 20 17 20 0 21 Giorgino Ardovini Rossendo Werner C 17 Ret 18 0 Pos Driver USA CAN BUL SWE ROM BRA NZL JAP KAZ COI ESP FRA GBR RUS SWI Points

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Purple Did not finish (Ret) Black Excluded (EX) White Did not start (DNS) Blank Withdrew entry before the event (WD) Notes: 1 2 3 etc – Indicate number of points won on stages (stage wins)

Manufacturers' standings

Points are awarded to the top ten classified finishers using the following structure:

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th
Points	25	18	15	12	10	8	6	4	2	1

Pos Manufacturer No. USA CAN BUL SWE ROM BRA NZL JAP KAZ COI ESP FRA GBR RUS SWI Points D C D C D C D C D C D C D C D C D C D C D C D C D C D C D C 1 Valvoline Volvo VRC Team 5 2 C 2 1 Ret Ret 6 3 168 6 4 C 9 4 6 3 5 1 2 Seat Repsol Telefonica Virtual Rally Team 7 7 C 5 6 7 6 1 6 128 8 1 C 4 8 Ret 4 8 11 3 Telenor Haugland Motorsport 23 8 C 3 9 1 1 2 2 107 4 Abarth & C. Spa 9 10 C 10 11 Ret Ret 10 12 70 10 9 C 12 2 5 5 3 4 5 Ikea Racing 15 11 C 1 3 2 9 7 10 67 6 Renault Sport Elf 11 13 C Ret Ret 3 2 4 7 51 7 Renault Sport Total 0 6 C 13 12 4 7 Ret Ret 49 2 3 C 11 13 10 10 9 8 8 Vauxhall Virtual Rally Team 3 5 C 7 7 8 8 12 5 47 4 12 C 8 10 11 12 11 9 9 Abarth & C. Spa II 19 6 5 9 11 13 13 20 Pos Manufacturer No. D C D C D C D C D C D C D C D C D C D C D C D C D C D C D C Points USA CAN BUL SWE ROM BRA NZL JAP KAZ COI ESP FRA GBR RUS SWI

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Purple Did not finish (Ret) Black Excluded (EX) White Did not start (DNS) Blank Withdrew entry before the event (WD)