Of the 20 drivers who have won the World Rally Championship (WRC) since its inception in 1973, four are no longer with us.
Richard Burns (champion in 2001) died of cancer in 2005 at the age of 34; Colin McRae (champion in 1995) died in a 2007 helicopter crash when he was 39 years old; Björn Waldegård (champion in 1979) was a victim of cancer in 2014, aged 70; and Hannu Mikkola (champion in 1983) died last year, another victim of cancer, aged 78.
The 20 World Champions are Sébastien Loeb (nine titles), Sébastien Ogier (eight), Juha Kankkunen and Tommi Mäkinen (four each), Walter Röhrl, Massimo Biasion, Carlos Sainz and Marcus Grönholm (two each), and Sandro Munari, Markku Alén, Björn Waldegård, Ari Vatanen, Hannu Mikkola, Stig Blomqvist, Timo Salonen, Didier Auriol, Colin McRae, Richard Burns, Petter Solberg and Ott Tänak - all with one title.
From 1973 to 1976, titles were awarded only to manufacturers. The first Drivers' World Champion was Sandro Munari in 1977 (in that year and the following year it was still called the FIA Drivers' Cup) at the wheel of a Fiat 131 Abarth.