Summarize

So Dakar is over, now what? 

Well, never fear — the motorsport year has just started and there is so much still to come.

Starting with the Monte Carlo rally this weekend and the arrival of a thrilling new World Rally Championship era where dynamic new-look World Rally Cars will echo through the mountains of the French Alps as four of the world’s biggest carmakers begin the fight for supremacy in motorsport’s toughest championship for production-based cars.

The 13-round series spans four continents in an 11-month global tour, encompassing extreme temperatures from a scorching 35°C in Sardinia to a bone-chilling -25°C in the harsh Swedish winter.

Much is new for 2017, nothing less conclusive as the return of Toyota, the world’s carmaker following a 17-year absence to join multiple champion Citroën, M-Sport Ford and 2016 runners-up Hyundai all running more aggressive, louder and moodier lightweight new World Rally Cars.

Featuring more aggressive bumpers and extended door sills for increased and increased safety: more, larger aero devices including a huge spoiler and diffuser at the rear and a front splitter and a bigger turbo restrictor for increased 280kW outputs; an active central differential, the new cars will be faster, more exciting and far more spectacular on stage.

But perhaps the biggest news of all is world champion Sébastien Ogier’s signing for M-Sport to carry #1 on the doors of his Fiesta WRC.alongside rising stars Ott Tänak and Elfyn Evans. Toyota has opted for an all-Finnish line-up of Jari-Matti Latvala, Juho Hänninen and Esapekka Lappi, while Citroën has chosen the youth of Craig Breen and Stéphane Lefebvre to join lead driver Kris Meek and  Hyundai continues with Thierry Neuville, Hayden Paddon and Dani Sordo.

At another level, Abarth returns to the WRC at Monte Carlo with its 124 Spyder in the FIA GT class, where three of the new cars will take on a fleet of Porsche 911s further back in the running order…

WRC 2017 comprises the same 13 demanding rounds as in 2016, but the order has been given a reshuffle with Corsica in April, while Monte-Carlo opens the season this next weekend and ends in Australia. Rally Sweden changes to a central location at Torsby and ADAC Rallye Deutschland moves to a new base at Bostalsee in northern Saarland.

But the action starts at Monte Carlo this weekend and www.motorsportmedia.co.za will keep you posted throughout.