The 2014 World Rally Championship-2 was the second season of the World Rally Championship-2, an auto racing championship recognized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, running in support of the World Rally Championship. It was created when the Group R class of rally car was introduced in 2013.The Championship was open to cars complying with R4, R5, Super 2000 and Group N regulations. The Championship is composed by thirteen Rallies, and Drivers and Teams must nominate a maximum of seven event. The best six results were counted towards the championship.
Former Formula One driver Robert Kubica did not return to defend his 2013 title as he joined the sport's premier category.
The Title went to Nasser Al-Attiyah finishing six the last event, winning the championship by three points over Jari Ketomaa (who won the event). Lorenzo Bertelli finished the championship in third position.
The calendar is identical to that used by the World Rally Championship. The 2014 calendar was announced at a meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Croatia on 27 September 2013. The season was contested over thirteen rounds in Europe, North and South America and Australia.
Rally Australia and Rally New Zealand abandoned the event-sharing arrangement established in 2008 that saw each event host a round of the championship every other year. After hosting an event in 2013, Rally Australia remained on the calendar throughout 2014 and 2015 before the arrangement is due to be renegotiated.
The Rallye Monte Carlo relocated its base from Valence in the French province of Rhône-Alpes to the town of Gap in the neighbouring province of Hautes-Alpes.
The 2014 calendar saw the Rally of Poland return to the championship for the first time since 2009. The event also crossed the border into Lithuania for one day of competition. Its inclusion came at the expense of the Acropolis Rally, which was removed after struggling with its financial obligations to the championship. The Acropolis Rally later moved to the European Rally Championship for the 2014 season. The rallies of Brazil and China had also been considered for inclusion on the WRC calendar before the FIA approved of the Rally of Poland.
Reigning World Rally Championship-3 champion Sébastien Chardonnet moved up to the WRC-2.
Jari Ketomaa took part in his first full season of competition, having made regular guest appearances in a variety of WRC championships for the past decade.
Kristian Sohlberg returned to the World Rally Championship after a six-year absence. Sohlberg drove a Ford Fiesta R5 prepared by M-Sport and run by Autotek Motorsport. He last competed at World level in the now-defunct Production World Rally Championship in 2007.
After losing his seat with the M-Sport World Rally Team in 2013, Ott Tänak alternated between contesting the WRC-2 season and competing in the WRC at rallies which are not nominated for points.
All competitors registered in the Championships–WRC, WRC-2, WRC-3 and the Junior WRC—were obliged to use a colour-coded windscreen sticker to distinguish its category.
Drivers were no longer assigned permanent numbers, except upon request.
Notes:
^1 – The Monte Carlo Rally was shortened when a competitor stopped on Stage 14, blocking traffic and forcing organisers to abandon the stage.
Points are awarded to the top 10 classified finishers.
