Since the inception of the WRC Drivers’ Championship, French drivers have won it more times than any other country, with 16 collective titles. But going into 1994 – the topic of this week’s WRC+ Focus, the maiden title remained elusive.

It was not that the French were strangers to WRC podiums. Guy Fréquelin finished second in 1981, Michèle Mouton recorded the same result a year later. By 1994, François Delecour and Didier Auriol had also joined the ranks of French people to finish a WRC season among the top three drivers. In fact, Auriol had achieved the feat on no less than four occasions, finishing second in 1990, before a run of three consecutive third-placed finishes.

It would be fair to suggest then, that entering the 1994 season, Auriol’s patience may well have been beginning to wear thin, even more so following a retirement on the season-opening Rallye Monte-Carlo.

But what would unravel, was one of the most intriguing seasons in WRC history with no less than seven different winners, including a maiden win for a future legend of the sport, Tommi Mäkinen. Sit back, relax and soak in this week’s WRC+ Focus.

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