Haven’t you ever watched the and wondered just how those drivers manage to go so fast on dirt roads that are barely wide enough to fit their cars? How do they not ricochet off the rocky outcrops that surround them? How do they not just launch off the side of that sheer drop? Well, in WRC 8 you can answer those questions for yourself. Albeit without the risks, which is always appreciated.This is KT Racing’s fourth bite of the WRC cherry, and certainly its best yet. The realism and authenticity of this licenced rally game is incredible, easily rivalling the simulation of Codemasters’ series, while remaining accessible for players of most levels. I won’t sugar coat it, WRC 8 really does replicate those real-life locations, complete with those uncomfortably narrow and dangerous roads, and it isn’t an easy ride.

• How Much Do World Rally Drivers Earning

However, its difficulty levels do help, as they’re quite balanced and will fit most players’ abilities at some point. It means that slower, more cautious players can still compete against the AI’s times.Having said that, WRC 8 throws you right in at the deep end. As with the, it gives you a quick rally stage to see how you drive, at the end advising which driving aids might work for your play style. This opening drive comes without the aid of a co-driver’s directions however, which automatically makes it way tougher than it ought to be. After that, jumping into the career I chose to start in the Junior series (you can also now choose to start in WRC 2, if you want to get a head start on getting to that all important WRC placement), which threw me into one of the new “extreme conditions” events. This saw me driving an already severely damaged car at night, in a storm, to see just how far I could drive it. It’s a strange new addition, alongside other similar events such as manufacturer tryouts, but they are normally optional in career mode.Career is where KT Racing has really put in the work, elevating its latest game above its.

Before diving into events, you find yourself looking down over the offices of your team, ready to manage everything from R&D to crew recruitment and rest. There’s a hint of Football Manager about it, as you read emails (you will have to respond to some, especially when they’re asking you to pay for repairs between rallies) and schedule events between official rallies. Here, you will have to decide whether you want to try out for a manufacturer, do some training or simply let your team rest.

This is important, as you will have to rotate crew members as they become fatigued, but allowing them to rest between rallies will restore their stamina more quickly.Recruitment and R&D will help with things like crew stamina and morale, though. Your performance will see you level up, which earns points to put into the R&D tree, leading to things like extra crew spaces and opening a spot for a physio and other things to keep your team healthier for longer. You can choose how you want your progress to go, whether you want to prioritise your people or your earnings. Or perhaps you’d rather your mechanics worked faster on repairs. There are tonnes of options here, including ones that actually upgrade your car once you reach the WRC proper. It all takes WRC 8 in a new, better direction. It feels slightly more involved, but never overwhelming, and it rarely takes more than a couple of minutes to sort these things out, before you’re back behind the wheel.Behind the wheel is where you really want to be and KT Racing knows this, which is why WRC 8 feels so good to drive.

Listening to your co-driver’s instructions and reacting in real-time always provides a feeling of exhilaration in rally games, but the realism provided by the licenced locations here is something else. The snow and ice of Sweden provides an early career challenge, its slippery surfaces are, ironically, a baptism of fire for new drivers.

Battling the elements is half the challenge for rally drivers, whether it’s sliding around on the Swedish ice, cutting through the soggy mud of Wales or navigating the treacherously narrow, dusty Italian stages. It’s never easy, never anything less than nerve wracking, but it always feels good to drive.It looks good, too. The previous games have looked decent enough, but lacked the visual fidelity of the rival DiRT games. Somebody in the financial department at publisher Bigben Interactive must have been given the green light to throw a bit of extra money at WRC 8’s production values, because it’s quite the step up. The problem was never the cars, which have always been faithfully reproduced down to the smallest detail, instead it’s environmental detail and lighting effects that have improved an awful lot in this year’s game. That extreme conditions event I mentioned earlier?

How Much Do World Rally Drivers Earning

The darkness pierced by the car’s high beams, highlighting individual raindrops and offering the smallest glimpse of the road ahead, it all looks marvellous. There are so many incidental details too, even down to the drone camera flying around, though roadside fans still look rather basic on the rare moments you see them close-up.I have to commend KT Racing on fixing many of the problems from previous games and improving the overall World Rally Championship experience. Most of the improvements are small, but they add up to WRC 8 being one of the best rally games around.

The FIA World Rally Championship, or WRC, is the top level of international rally competition. Competitors will drive across all terrains and in all weathers, with the winner being crowned World Rally Champion in November.It's a gruelling contest, featuring regular crashes and an ever-present risk to participants. Unlike the controlled environment of circuit racing, rallying embraces uncertainty – drivers are expected to encounter and cope with changing surfaces, dangerous weather, and even animals on the course.This real-world driving is what keeps fans and spectators interested, though.

The fact that a course can be icy in the morning, gravelly at lunchtime and muddy in the evening presents a constant challenge for teams. Tyre choices are crucial, but so too is communication – rallying involves both a driver and co-driver, who effectively share the life-threatening stress of driving a car at 140mph through dense woodland, gently shifting snow drifts or arid desert. The roundsThe championship covers pretty much the entire year, with. Each round is held in a different country, though the names don't necessarily correspond with the host state: the French rally is the Tour de Corse in Corsica, for example. At each rally there'll be a service park, which usually takes the form of a large paved area where teams can set up their workshops. In the Tour de Corse this is at Bastia airport; at Wales Rally GB it's a carpark in Deeside.

The stagesEach round is divided into stages, which are sections of road, track or pathway that have been closed for the competition. The cars set off at different times – at no point will the cars be competing directly, as they would be on a track. While it's not uncommon for cars to pass each other en route, normally if one of them has broken down or crashed, the objective of the staggered starts is to prevent this from happening as much as possible.There are usually between 15 and 25 stages in each round.

These stages, which can be up to 15 miles long, will be geographically disparate, connected by public roads – WRC cars must be road-legal, and drivers must abide by traffic laws and regulations when travelling between stages. If you're spectating at a World Rally Championship event, for example Wales Rally GB, it's not uncommon to meet competing cars on the dual carriageway. There are also Power Stages at the end of each rally, offering more points for the winners, and Super Special Stages, which are orchestrated to be spectator-friendly and often take place in arenas. Points are awarded as such, from 1st to 10th: 25 18 15 12 10 8 6 4 2 1.

The crewsTimed down to a 10th of a second, the co-driver will guide the driver through the stage using detailed pace notes. The 'crew' is this unison, two people navigating the rally stage at immensely high speed. To do this, the co-driver uses pace notes, detailed outline of the stage ahead. Each WRC co-driver has their own form of notation, usually incorporating a variety of written instructions and diagrams. The team creates pace notes as part of the 'recce' process, which is held during the week before the competitive part of the rally.At the WRC level, the crews will often have worked together for many years. Their bond, inside and outside the car, is similar to that of other sportspeople who work in pairs. The carsOstensibly based on road cars, the vehicles used in WRC are lighter, more powerful and somewhat safer than the kind of machines you can buy in a dealership.

Strict rules limit the power of the cars, as well as mandating the use of roll cages and full-harness seatbelts. The new cars are certainly exciting. A leap in maximum power from 300bhp to 380bhp, as well as a slight change in turbo regulations, mean that the cars will be more brutish than they have been for years. A slight relaxation of rules concerning aerodynamics mean that the new cars should have more downforce. All of this should mean better rallying and more people engaged with the sport.

The teamsThe FIA (motorsport's FIFA) have made the new cars more powerful than before, but in doing so have placed more restrictions on who can drive them. Whereas previously, private teams could enter 'gentleman drivers' who are rubbish but rich enough to pay for a seat, WRC drivers now need to have demonstrated their competence. With 380bhp, speeds well into three figures and spectators usually a few feet away from the track, this change is understandable. The fansWRC events take place in the countryside and is generally very accessible. Apart from in certain places like the Super Special Stages, where you may have an allocated seat, spectators are given open access to the courses and are generally expected to look after themselves.On a rally stage, there's usually no barrier between you and the cars.

Fans are reminded to keep off the stage, rather than physically prevented – expect to get splattered with mud or pelted with gravel if you stand too close to the track. Fans root for drivers and teams, and with support events like WRC2, WRC3 and local championships taking place on the same stages, many nations and and cities are represented in some way at each rally round. This year, Wales Rally GB will become part of the British Rally Championship. And with several of the rounds happening within easy reach of the UK, the 2018 World Rally Championship is a superb opportunity to witness some world-class motorsport.For all the latest news, advice and reviews from Telegraph Cars, sign up to our weekly newsletter by entering your email.