EACH NEW WRC SEASON IS ACCOMPANIED BY UPDATES TO THE RULES AND REGULATIONS THAT GOVERN THE SPORT. THIS YEAR IS NO EXCEPTION, SO HERE'S OUR SUMMARY OF THE FIA-SANCTIONED CHANGES THAT WILL BE INTRODUCED IN 2017.

1) Start order reshuffle 

Arguably the most important change concerns the order in which drivers will tackle stages in 2017. 

In 2016, leading drivers started in championship order for days one and two before switching to a reverse event classification on day three. 

This year, drivers will start in championship order for day one only. 

On days two and three, P1 drivers [see below] will start in the reverse order of rally classification at the end of the previous day. This group will be followed by any P1 drivers re-starting under Rally 2 regulations, and then the rest of the field in straight classification order.

The day one start order of the season-opening Rallye Monte-Carlo will be based on the 2016 championship classification. 

2) A more valuable Power Stage 

First introduced in 2011, the Power Stage offers bonus championship points to the fastest drivers through Sunday lunchtime’s rally-closing live TV stage. 

Up to now, the three fastest drivers have been awarded points on a 3-2-1 basis. This year there's more to play for. The stage winner will be rewarded with five points, with the five fastest drivers taking points on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis. 

3) Manufacturer nominations 

Manufacturers previously nominated two drivers per rally to score points. In 2017 they will instead nominate three, with the top two finishers scoring manufacturer points.

Also, manufacturers are no longer required to nominate one lead driver at the start of the season.

4) New driver definitions 

The FIA has changed some of the priority class definitions that apply to championship drivers. You'll see these on every rally entry list. Here's what they mean in 2017: 

P1: Drivers of World Rally Cars either entered by a manufacturer [i.e 2017-spec] or entered in the WRC Trophy [for earlier-spec cars]

P2: Drivers entered by a competitor eligible to score points in the WRC 2 Championship

P3: Drivers entered by a competitor eligible to score points in the WRC 3 and/or Junior WRC Championships

AFTER THREE SEASONS AS A CITROËN-BASED COMPETITION, NEXT YEAR'S JUNIOR WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP WILL BE FORD-POWERED, WITH DRIVERS AT THE WHEEL OF R2-SPEC FIESTAS SHOD WITH DMACK TYRES.

First held in 2001, when it was known as the Super 1600 Drivers' Championship, the FIA category for up-and-coming talent has launched the careers of many top-level drivers. Sébastien Loeb, Sébastien Ogier, Craig Breen, Dani Sordo and Stéphane Lefebvre are all former Champions. 

Open to drivers born after 1 January 1988, the 2017 championship will follow an arrive-and-drive format and competitors will drive identical one-litre Ford Fiesta R2s built and maintained by M-Sport in Poland.

The Junior WRC will be contested over six WRC rounds, – starting in Corsica, then Italy, Poland, Finland and Germany before finishing in Spain. Points will be awarded to the top-ten finishers according to the usual WRC points system and an additional point will be awarded for each fastest stage time.

DMACK will supply upgraded versions of its Grippa range of gravel and asphalt tyres to Junior WRC competitors and will award the top prize of a seven-round WRC 2 campaign in 2018 at the wheel of a Ford Fiesta R5. The prize has been broken down into four parts to give drivers more chances of success. 

The competitor with the most points after the Tour de Corse and Rally Italia Sardegna will secure two prize drives. The same is on offer for the winner of Rally Poland and Rally Finland combined, and also for ADAC Rallye Deutschland and RACC Rally España combined. A seventh prize drive will be awarded to the overall championship winner.

The Junior WRC's £150,000 entry fee includes Priority Entry, DMACK tyres, fuel, service facilities and rally car rental. Entries are now open with the initial selection date taking place on 3 February 2017. 

THE ENTRY LIST FOR THE RALLYE MONTE-CARLO REVEALS THAT ELFYN EVANS WILL RETURN TO TOP-LEVEL WRC COMPETITION AFTER A 12-MONTH ABSENCE.

The Welshman will drive one of three M-Sport World Rally Team Ford Fiesta WRCs at the season-opener, which starts on 19 January. 

Evans was part of M-Sport's manufacturer squad in 2014 and 2015, but was dropped to the WRC 2 category last year and claimed three class wins in a Fiesta R5.   

This year, Evans's car will use DMACK tyres, while his team-mates Sébastien Ogier and Ott Tänak will use Michelins. 

Defending champion Ogier tops the Monte entries in his number one Fiesta, with Tänak and new co-driver Martin Järveoja carrying number two and Evans three. 

Hyundai's trio of Hayden Paddon, Thierry Neuville and Dani Sordo are seeded fourth, fifth and sixth respectively in their i20 Coupe WRCs. 

Citroën Total Abu Dhabi drivers Kris Meeke and Stéphane Lefebvre have numbers seven and eight on their new C3 WRCs. After an appearance at November's Rally du Var, co-driver Gabin Moreau will be back alongside Lefebvre for the first time in the WRC since he was injured five months ago at ADAC Rallye Deutschland. 

Craig Breen will drive a 2016-spec DS 3 WRC on the Monte but is expected to take the team's second manufacturer-registered C3 in Sweden. 

The Yaris WRCs of Toyota Gazoo Racing drivers Jari-Matti Latvala and Juho Hanninen are seeded 10th and 11th. 

Jordan Serderidis is the sole entrant in the new WRC Trophy for pre-2017 World Rally Cars. The Greek will drive a Citroën DS 3 WRC, having stepped-up from the R5-spec car he campaigned in 2016. 

There are 12 entries in WRC 2, headed by former VW team member Andreas Mikkelsen who will make a one-off appearance in a Skoda Fabia R5. 

Frenchman Eric Camilli is another 2016 manufacturer driver to find himself in WRC 2. After one season in the M-Sport World Rally Team's main squad, he returns to the category he contested in 2015. 

Six drivers are registered in WRC 3 and four in the FIA's RGT-class, including a trio of Abarth 124 cars for François Delecour, Fabio Andolfi and Gabriele Noberasco. 

Other notable entries include Kevin Abbring (Hyundai i20) Pontus Tidemand (Skoda Fabia) and last year's Junior WRC champion Simone Tempestini (Citroen DS 3). All will drive R5-spec cars in the RC2 category but are not registered to score points in WRC 2. 

CITROËN TOTAL ABU DHABI WORLD RALLY TEAM DRIVER KRIS MEEKE HAS PREDICTED THAT DRIVER SKILL WILL BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER NEXT SEASON AS COMPETITORS AIM TO EXTRACT THE MAXIMUM PERFORMANCE FROM THEIR 2017-SPECIFICATION WORLD RALLY CARS.

Meeke was speaking at the launch of the French manufacturer's new C3 WRC challenger in Abu Dhabi today. The car has been built to the FIA's new and exciting technical regulations that allow greater aerodynamic freedom, more engine power and the re-introduction of active centre differentials.

The cars are expected to be more spectacular on the stages than their predecessors and Meeke believes the most successful driver at the end of the season will be the person that has been able to tame their car the most.

"The 2017 car is an exciting machine, it’s quite a big step from 2016," the three-time world rally winner said. "We know the regulation changes but when you drive them in anger, they’re a different beast; you really have to be on your game, every metre, to keep on top of them. 

"For me, the human element will come to the front even more in 2017, because in places it’s going to be difficult to extract the potential of these cars. At times they are so, so fast."

Meeke has led the development of Citroën's C3 WRC and he's excited about how the car will perform when Rallye Monte-Carlo gets underway next month (19-22 January).

But the Ulsterman, who recently completed a Rallye Monte-Carlo test (see video below), is aware that a successful programme of pre-season testing isn't a guarantee that the C3 WRC will have the measure of its rivals from M-Sport, Hyundai and Toyota when the competitive action gets underway.

He said: "We’ve been pushing hard in testing but you can never really tell until you get to competition and go up against other drivers and cars. I’m happy that we’ve done good work but there’s still always that thought in your mind, that we don’t know where we are in reference with our rivals."

Team boss Yves Matton stated at the car's launch that he expects the C3 WRC to be a winner in 2017 and, if that prediction is borne out, he said a lot of the credit will go to Meeke and his skills in developing new cars.

He said: "We needed a leader, who had plenty of technical experience and knowledge in terms of development. Kris has been developing racing cars for the PSA Group for more than ten years. He is a trained engineer and that means he has been able to provide detailed analysis at certain points. He is undoubtedly one of the main reasons we were able to stick to the schedule and meet our goals with the C3 WRC."

While Meeke will lead Citroën's WRC charge next season, the team also confirmed in Abu Dhabi that it will run two C3s in Monte Carlo, Sweden and Mexico next season, before expanding the line-up to three or four cars from May onwards. 

In Monte Carlo specifically, Meeke will be joined in a C3 WRC by Stephane Lefebvre, while Craig Breen will drive a DS 3 WRC. The Frenchman and Irishman will both be in latest-specification C3s by mid-season, along with Citroën Racing’s fourth driver, Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi.