Except Sunninen, all this mentioned drivers were going through IRC/ERC and then moved to WRC. Same like lot of other drivers. And some drivers which were going directly to WRC needed to make step back (ERC/IRC or national championships) to re-start their careers (for example Paddon, Tänak, Evans, Mikkelsen)...
I looked through the top5 of the last 10 ERC seasons and the only names later seen in WRC or WRC2 were Hänninen, Breen and Lappi.
What about Hyubndai then? Is Neuville deciding factor 🤣
Silly Season 2026