In autumn rallies, the eyes are often firmly on the future. Which driver drives in which team and with which contract? Right now, the market is in a state of ferment, because confirmation Kalle Rovanperän the future address has not been received.
Will Rovanperä continue with Toyota or will there be a shock transfer to Hyundai? The question is of course interesting, but when the perspective is moved further away, it loses its meaning.
A more pertinent question would be: will Kalle Rovanperä rally anywhere in the future?
The World Series is at a crossroads where decisions have to be made. That is, policies that please current car manufacturers and attract new ones.
Answers are sought for three questions of fate. The stake is the existence of the entire series.
1. Which cars will be driven from 2027?
At the time of writing this article, the World Rally Championship has not even confirmed which cars will be used in the championships from the 2025 season onwards.
Rally1 hybrids, which are powered by both a combustion engine and an electric motor, are being driven in the main class of the World Cup rallies for the second year now. The teams, i.e. Toyota, Hyundai and M-Sport, are responsible for the development of their own cars, with the exception of the hybrid unit. It is supplied to all teams by an external German company.
Rally Director of the International Federation of Motor Sports (FIA). Andrew Whateley evaluate In an interview with Autosport, that the extension contract with the German company will be concluded by the end of the month. The current model would therefore continue in the 2025 and 2026 season.
Toyota’s team manager also believes in the continuation of hybrids Jari-Matti Latvalawhen he spoke about the topic to Urheilu before the World Rally Championship in Greece.
The prolongation of the decisions speaks to the fact that there are many opinions both at the FIA, the promoter of the World Championship, and at the current car manufacturers. The chase is linked to an even more important decision, i.e. what will happen in the World Rally Championship starting from the 2027 season.
What speaks the most is what will move cars in the future. Fossil fuels are being phased out, but from the point of view of rallying, for example, hydrogen technology is too much in its infancy. On the other hand, you won’t get through entire World Cup rallies with electricity alone.
A representative of the World Series promoter Peter Thulin according to all the background forces of the World Series have a common vision of the future. It is a combination of an internal combustion engine that uses fossil-free fuel and an electric motor – that is, a hybrid. In the same interview with Autosport, Andrew Whateley emphasized that it is only a matter of how much the share of the electric motor will increase from the current one.
The rally bosses’ comments about the consensus raise a counter question: why hasn’t anything been decided then? If the answer is an obvious old familiar, all the bangs should be put into how to sell the idea to car manufacturers as an attractive option this time.
This would have a decisive meaning for what kind of answer to the next question of fate is given.
2. How to bring in new stables?
President of the FIA Mohammed bin Sulayem reported the rally website last week In an interview with Dirt Fish, that Subaru might join the World Series starting in 2027. The FIA’s number one boss said that he had “good discussions” with Toyota Akio Toyoda with.
Rumors of Subaru’s return have been swirling for years, but rarely have they come from such an influential mouth. Then why did bin Sulayem make his statement? The FIA at least benefits from the fact that there would be optimism around the World Series and faith in the arrival of new manufacturers.
It has been quiet lately. The Rally1 rules were dragged out for too long, and new manufacturers could no longer realistically be expected for the incoming 2022 season.
It was different when the rules were changed last time. Before the start of the 2017 season, it seemed for a while that up to five manufacturers would be participating in the series at the same time. However, Volkswagen ended its World Cup team due to an emissions cheating scandal unrelated to rallying.
It is worth learning from recent history. The rules to be renewed for the 2027 season must be exciting enough to attract new manufacturers. In addition, the decision must be made soon – I think at the beginning of 2024 at the latest.
The design, construction and development of the cars must be done during the years 2025–2026. Before that, the new car manufacturer must make a decision on participation at the group level.
For that, the decision-makers of the World Rally Championship have to convince both new and existing manufacturers of the greatness of the new era of the series.
The crux of the problem lies in the dilemma of the entire automotive industry. The entire industry is currently looking for its direction, because there is no motive power solution that would allow increasing the number of cars without increasing emissions. Reducing consumption, on the other hand, is a curse word for car manufacturers, because it would destroy business.
So there are no easy answers. On top of all that, there would be a third question of destiny.
3. How will the shape of the World Cup rallies be changed?
The discussion about the costs of the World Series often revolves around the price of the rally cars, but in the end it doesn’t matter if the physical car in the top class costs a million or a little less.
Most of the teams’ expenses come from everything related to touring the World Series. In the World Cup, you drive around the ball, but moving people and equipment from one continent to another is an expensive endeavor.
Event Director of the World Series promoter Simon Larkin laid out In an interview with Dirt Fish several future changes that will be launched already this month. Decisions can be expected in October.
According to Larkin, rally days could be shortened by reducing the focus on service parking. Remote maintenance could replace one long day of maintenance, when the entire car hose returns to one place in the middle of the day.
It is hoped that shortening the rally weeks and days will save money, but also make the competition more intense from the spectators’ point of view.
The rally has undeniably sailed against the current by the standards of the fast-paced social media era: following one rally from start to finish requires three and a half days of performance from morning to night. Condensation is probably a well-founded wish.
The three questions of fate can also be summed up in the same way.
If the rally deciders want to ensure the future of the World Series, they must be able to answer one question.
Why is the World Rally Championship needed?
However, there is no joy in the answer if it is not acted upon immediately.
You can also listen to more about this topic on Areena on Wednesday, September 20. from Urheilu’s podcast to be published, where Henri Haapamäki covered the phenomena of the World Series and other topics for the rest of the season.