Who earns money as a WRC driver?

[ShiftingGears]

Everything I've read in this forum suggests that most of the drivers have to pay to compete...why? I'm assuming Loeb and Gronholm make money, but who else?

[MJW]

A few others - but this should be respected as private business.

[wroom]

A few others - but this should be respected as private business.

Why's that? What's the harm in speculating who gets paid and who pays? We speculate half the time who gets hired and who gets fired.

[jonkka]

As long as tax information is public, as it is in Finland, I see nothing wrong in the question. If it is not and the parties involved want it to remain that way, then their privacy should be respected. In addition, the question here was "who gets paid for driving" and not "how much".

[Jarek Z]

Everything I've read in this forum suggests that most of the drivers have to pay to compete...why?

Because competing in 16 rounds of World Rally Championship and buying a WRC car has become so expensive that manufacturers and sponsors don't want to pay for it anymore. Loeb and Gronholm earn money of course, but most of the other drivers pay their bosses big money from their own pockets (or pockets of their families) in order to drive. This has become absolutely ridiculous in recent years. You have to drive 200 km/h among the trees in dark forests and nobody pays you for that. It wasn't like that 10 or even 5 years ago. I personally think that WRC is falling down...

[Lousada]

What is paid and what is paying? Henning gets paid to drive but also pays for his drive. I'm sure it's the same with a few other drivers.

[Corny]

Henning is paid by his sponsor, isn't he?

[Glee]

Henning is paid by his sponsor, isn't he?

Yes.

Previous year he has lived on his wife, but this year he get a small salary (approx 100.000$ compared to his brothers 10.000.000$)

[BTCC2]

Id say payed drivers are:

Sebastien Loeb
Dani Sordo
Marcus Gronholm
Mikko Hirvonen (Sponsorship)
Petter Solberg
Chris Atkinson
and Matthew Wilson, well he wont have to pay!

[WRXedUSA]

A few others - but this should be respected as private business.

Ha ha ha!

So much of a secret, all the top drivers move to Monaco!