The FIA rally director, Andrew Wheatly, reveals that FIA is very close to decide the future of WRC which will be 70% similar to the current Rally1 cars and there are discussions with many manufacturers.
WRC entered to a new era this year as the current Rally1 cars are hybrid and have many differences with the WRC cars which used from 2017 to 2021. These new cars have a 100 kW hybrid unit and in combination with the 1.6-litre internal combustion engine can output 500 horsepower. Furthermore, they use sustainable fuel and the cockpit is very safe as there is a space frame chassis. The regulations of Rally1 cars will be applied by the end of 2024, but some manufacturers are interested in joining WRC if the series will switch to pure electrifying.
Last but not least, Hayden Paddon has developed a pure electrified Kona for rallying and had the support of Hyundai NZ whereas Toyota ran with a hydrogen-powered GR Yaris at Ypres Rally.
"I would say percentage-wise 70%", Wheatly said when he was asked for an update as to how close the FIA is with its plan for the future.
"We have done a lot of canvassing of manufacturers that are involved in WRC, we have spoken to some manufacturers that are involved in rally generally.
"We have also had some discussions with manufacturers that are not involved with WRC to try and understand the direction the automotive world is going in when we talk about vehicles that are relevant to WRC.
"There is a lot of feedback and opportunities, it is clear that nobody has a very fixed view or one view of what the future is going to look like.
"So what we are looking at, at the moment is to make a proposal to the World Motor Sport Council of a vision of what WRC is going to look like in the future to make sure we have a clear view.
"Absolutely, everybody is enthusiastic about the future because there are so many opportunities and possibilities.
"What we do know is that the core of a Rally1 car, which is the safety cell, the aerodynamics the suspension, the brakes, 75% of that car is not going to do anything different.
"We know those parts work really well. The bit that could change is either the fuel that goes into the engine or whether it’s an electric engine or a thermic engine.
"The flexibility that we have with the current format whether it’s from scaling to get the car competitive in an environment or whether its from the flexibility that the safety cell gives us, I think we have quite a few bases covered at the moment.
"Now it is a question of working out what the top hat looks like.
"If you look at the fossil-free fuelled hybrid car we have now, the electric Hyundai, and the hydrogen car from Toyota, the future is somewhere in that scope.
"The question is where?".
Source: Motorsport.com
Photo Credits: Toyota
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