Last week’s biggest shock came when the International Automobile Federation (FIA) announced new point rules for the WRC season. From now on, points for the actual rally are distributed based on Saturday evening’s results, with additional points available for the seven fastest from Sunday’s special stages.
Other decisions were also made about the future of the WRC series. One of these was that the current Rally1 hybrid cars are very likely to compete in the main class until the end of 2026.
Behind this direction, another major news was revealed. According to Dirtfish, the centerpiece was that Hyundai Motorsport has committed to staying in the WRC for the next three years.
Reportedly, last Thursday, there was also discussion about the option of moving to use Rally2 cars in the main class from the 2025 season onwards. However, manufacturers in the main class were against this.
Ditching the Rally1 cars would be a severe blow, especially for M-Sport, which is not an official factory team but still receives support from Ford. The American manufacturer’s support could disappear entirely if hybrid technology were not utilized in the cars.
Last week’s decisions mean that the cycle of Rally1 cars will eventually become five years. It is yet undecided what kind of technology will be used in the WRC cars from 2027 onwards.
