WRC drivers select permanent numbers for first time

The FIA confirmed the WRC would follow Formula 1’s lead and allow drivers to carry permanent numbers at the October meeting of the World Motor Sport Council.

Priority 1 drivers revealed their numbers in Birmingham.

The only full-time driver not participating was Sebastien Ogier, who retains the number one reserved for the World Rally champion.

Ogier's Citroen teammate Esapekka Lappi will carry #4 in his first season with the French manufacturer, while Hyundai's lead driver Thierry Neuville will compete with the #11.

Fellow Hyundai driver Andreas Mikkelsen has selected #89 - the year of his and co-driver Anders Jaeger's birth - while Kris Meeke will run with #5 when he returns to the championship with Toyota, having allowed his daughter to choose his number.

Sebastien Loeb, who will contest a part-time campaign with Hyundai in 2019 but is currently competing at the Dakar Rally, did not have a number assigned to him at the unveiling, but subsequently revealed he will use #19.