The WRC has given itself two more years to introduce what will be the new technical regulation, which will define the cars that will reign supreme in the World Rally Championship, replacing the current hybrid Rally1s. The recent step back decided by the FIA, which provides for the extension of the current regulation until the end of 2026, has given it more time to decide which path to take to restore prestige to a category that has been in free fall for too many years now.
2027 seems far away but, in reality, time is running out. The promoters of the WRC have declared that they want to retain the manufacturers that currently race in the top class of the World Championship, therefore Toyota, Hyundai and Ford, aiming to attract a fourth manufacturer from the first season of the new regulations.
It takes time to build a racing car. Design, construction, testing and development before homologation are all fundamental phases that cannot be skipped. For this reason, the goal is to have the new regulation from the International Automobile Federation, so as to be able to propose it to any interested manufacturers.
The situation in this sense is evolving, but there is a question that has continued to hover over the WRC for some time now and which depends on the marketing strategies of the manufacturers themselves: what will be the platforms – or rather, the car segment – chosen for the next generation of Rally1?
The answer is provided by the market today. The clearest case and the one we will consider more carefully is that of Hyundai. The Korean manufacturer has decided to say goodbye to petrol engines, thus putting the engines of the N range out of production (the 2.0 turbo petrol with 280 HP of the i30 and the 1.6 with 204 HP of the i20 N, the car that forms the basis of the current Rally1).
Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1
Photo by: Tomasz Kaliński
This exit from the European market was also decided due to the increasingly stringent regulations on emissions, combined with the decision to focus more decisively on electric also for the sporty N brand. The first of these is the Ioniq 5 N, which offers two electric motors that together unleash up to 650 horsepower.
Another manufacturer has already said goodbye to what was the basis of its WRC for years, namely Ford with the Fiesta. M-Sport, since the current regulation was introduced (in 2022), has been racing with a car that resembles the Fiesta only in terms of ground clearance, but offers a body (front and rear) from the Ford Puma, a car it has decided to focus on in the European market for some time now. Only Toyota, to date, is racing with a Yaris that does not yet seem to be on the twilight of its existence. But, as is often said in these cases, one swallow does not make a summer.
Another problem that arises and that will be difficult to solve in a short time if not with a clear decision and, why not, maybe “open” is related to the engine. The 1.6 turbos in use today are disappearing, a problem that grips Rally1 cars but also Rally2, just think of the decisions taken by Hyundai and Skoda above all.
Joshua McErlean, James Fulton, Toksport WRT 2 Skoda Fabia Evo Rally2
Photo by: McKlein / Motorsport Images
This will also be a focal point to focus on and find an intelligent solution. When uncertainty reigns supreme, the idea of leaving manufacturers free to create engines of different extractions (thermal, hybrid, etc.) that can converge in some key characteristics so as not to have to intervene massively with cuts imposed by the regulation to equalize performance.
Coming back to car platforms, it is clear that SUVs, mini SUVs and crossovers have been dominating the market for years now. This could lead the FIA to decide to create a regulation that allows manufacturers to race with those segments.
However, if it is believed that this cannot be done due to issues related to ground clearance, a high centre of gravity and other implications also linked to vehicle dynamics, then the solution that M-Sport is using could be the best.
The Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid only has the appearance of a road car. A tailor-made body, made to measure, created specifically to represent a car to be pushed into the market, but which could not exist without a tubular chassis and the possibility of making a real sew-on cut.
In this way, every unknown is eliminated, every wall represented by the size of the cars that are depopulating the automotive market, leading them to be protagonists also in racing without having the obstacles that would be generated by their size and their measurements.
Continuing to focus on this solution could be the best way to keep the current manufacturers and attract others, perhaps even those that do not have a pedigree in the world of rallying but that see interesting marketing opportunities through a platform that features races on dirt, snow, ice and asphalt, but the one off the track. The one of everyday life.
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