The WRC wants to announce its plans for the future of the championship as early as the end of 2022 – Talks with the brands have been held beforehand
The new Rally1 regulations in the World Rally Championship (WRC) are not even a whole season old and already the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) wants to set the course for the future of the championship. At the end of 2022, the first cornerstones are to be announced as to how the WRC will be structured from 2024 onwards. Intensive talks have been held with manufacturers to this end.
The new hybrid cars, which celebrated their debut in the 2022 season, will remain a fixed part of the WRC until 2024, but the FIA wants to provide clarity about the next three to five years soon. The WRC is to become more sustainable, which is why hybrid drives are already being used. In addition to the electric motor, the cars have a combustion engine that is only fuelled by sustainable sprint.
The new rules were meant to lure new manufacturers into the series, but this has not been successful so far. Toyota as well as Hyundai have remained faithful to the WRC and Ford, together with M-Sport, has increased its commitment a little. However, another brand has not joined the WRC despite the introduction of Rally1 cars. That is set to change in the future.
Too few manufacturers in the series
The new FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem already declared when he took office that “two and a half manufacturers” in the WRC are not enough and announced an offensive. That is why the framework conditions for the cars from 2025 onwards are already being fine-tuned. There is interest, however, many manufacturers want to use purely electric vehicles.
Potential entrants include Alpine, Skoda and also the Stellantis Group. “In September we want to get all the data together to develop a course of what we want the next three to five years to look like. That’s our timetable and our current partners are playing into that.”
Toyota, Hyundai and Ford are all gaining vital experience with the new Rally1 car in the 2022 WRC season, so Wheatley says they are already in a position to think about the medium-term future. He says: “If we assume that the safety cell, gearbox, suspension and brakes will remain, we can look at where we can make improvements. ”
Solutions as early as September?
When the WRC starts in New Zealand in September, the first results should be available, which could then be confirmed by the World Motor Sport Council at the end of the year, explains the FIA Rally Director. However, there will be no revolution, as Wheatley had already confirmed that up to 80 per cent of the Rally 1 regulations will be adopted.
Wheatley also warns against looking only at the top category. He says that in order to attract new manufacturers to the sport, the FIA needs to look at the entire rally pyramid. “We can’t just focus on Rally1, Rally2 and Rally3,” he says. “We need to show that it’s not only a great way for manufacturers to sell the brand, but also to create a commercial entity.” Customer racing in particular, he says, is a lucrative division.