The sensation caused by the abandonment of hybrid propulsion by Rally1 cars starting from 2025 still echoes in the air, yet several signs suggest that the time to say goodbye to the World Rally Championship is not coming at all for the electric motor supplied by Compact Dynamics .
Last February 28, the FIA made it official that, starting from next year, the Rally1 cars will return to having an exclusively thermal engine, abandoning the use of electric power and returning to running completely with the 1.6 turbo petrol which they are still equipped with today and a sustainable fuel.
In addition to this measure, it was decided to reduce the aerodynamics of the Rally1s, instead increasing that of the Rally2s with the precise intention of bringing the two categories closer in performance from next year, thus increasing the number of manufacturers capable of fighting for the top positions in the general ranking.
The intention was to have a group of manufacturers on almost the same performance level, adding Skoda Motorsport and Citroen Racing to Toyota Gazoo Racing, Hyundai Motorsport and M-Sport Ford. This measure was designed to overcome the absence of manufacturers intending to enter the WRC, thus increasing the starting pool with those already racing in the World Championship.
During the Safari Rally race weekend, held a couple of weeks ago in Kenya, the manufacturers drafted a letter to be delivered to the FIA, explaining how it is very complicated to create new cars, different from the current Rally1 cars, in just 6-7 months. The costs would be too high, the expenditure of resources equally huge and, probably, insufficient to present competitive cars at the start of next season.
Problems of timing, costs, but not only. At the beginning of the year we had already tried to make a possible picture of the future, a sort of reasoning on what the WRC should have done to relaunch itself and not remain stagnant, stagnant in the valley in which it finds itself and from which it has not yet embarked on a convincing exit.
For months it has been clear that the Rally2 class is on a razor's edge. The car market, over the last few years and in view of the next ones, is already giving important indications. Considering the car platforms and engines, it seems clear that, for example, the current Skoda Fabia and Citroen C3 are increasingly on the margins of the projects of their respective manufacturers.
The trend is to create turbocharged engines of increasingly smaller displacement, while today the Rally2 (but also the Rally1) are equipped with engines that are ending their life on the automotive market. The Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 is using a 1.6 turbo with 289 horsepower, while the road versions have 1.0 turbocharged engines with 80, 95 and 110 horsepower, excluding the single sports version, the Monte-arlo DSG 1.5 TSI with 150 horsepower.
The Hyundai i20 N Rally2 is using a final batch of engines purchased a few years ago from the Alzenau-based sports division for the TCR and Rally2 cars. Today, those engines have already been discontinued, with Hyundai having embraced engine downsizing like almost all other companies.
Engines, but not only. We also talked about platforms and car segments. It has been clear for some time that the automotive market is moving towards SUVs, mini SUVs and crossovers. The manufacturers that currently race in the WRC2 with the Rally2 are struggling to sell the car models that are used in racing (even the less advanced versions) and that is where things could change soon.
It should come as no surprise if Skoda chose to end production of the Fabia without replacing it or turning it into a mini SUV. The same goes for Hyundai and Citroen with their respective models.
The uncertainty about future steps, combined with the certainty linked to the immediate future of Rally2 – which will see them disappear from year to year – could lead the FIA to retrace its steps and recover the regulation which is currently destined for retirement at the end year. A rehabilitation of the hybrid and the current aerodynamics for Rally1, with the knowledge that the convergence between Rally1 and Rally2 cannot be carried out.
This is a more than plausible scenario. We will have to wait a few more days to find out the developments of this story. The WRC Commission meeting will be held on April 25th and then we could know what awaits us in 2025 and 2026. All this while waiting for that regulatory revolution which in past years has brought WEC back and F1 back into vogue.
Common sense choices will be needed, rather than dictated by the needs of engineers, foresight will be needed rather than the protagonism of certain actors. An attractive plan, which can finally convince the manufacturers to embrace the project of an exceptional category, which has now been disused for too many years.
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