The WRC working group, under the auspices of the FIA, recently unveiled significant regulatory updates for the championship. One of the most notable changes is the discontinuation of hybrid units starting from the next season.
Future Rally1 cars are aimed to be priced at €400,000 to encourage new manufacturers to join. The 2025-26 seasons will serve as a “transitional period” as current Rally1 cars are adapted to fit the new regulations. Additionally, a WRC kit will be available for Rally2 cars, aiming to intensify the competition.
Peter Thul, the senior director for sport at WRC Promoter, hopes the changes will invigorate the somewhat listless premier class. However, the challenges are significant.
“Let’s say the challenge at the moment is that the automotive world is changing. One year ago it was electric or nothing. Now it goes a little bit also to the fact that we have still a lot of combustion engines for the next decades,” Thul tells RallyJournal.com.
“Therefore, we need sustainable fuel. And our sport is the ideal platform to develop that fuel in rally cars. The guidelines are a good idea, and we will bring all our inputs to make it even better for the future.”
Currently, the WRC’s premier class features only three manufacturers, with only Hyundai and Toyota operating as full-fledged factory teams. M-Sport Ford, on the other hand, operates with private team status.
“We are in constant dialogue with them. We have to respect their opinions because at the end they invest their money in the sport. They let the cars on the stage. We have huge respect for that,” Thul emphasizes.
“I understand that the proper direction is accepted, but there are a lot of things to be discussed and now the next weeks will be crucial to develop everything properly so that everybody feels fine with that.”
Rumors of new manufacturers entering the WRC have been circulating in the media. Thul remains cautiously optimistic but keeps details under wraps.
“I cannot talk about names, but you can imagine since two years we are visiting them. And now even some who were excluded to run these combustion engines are thinking about it. But one thing is clear. The price tag of these current cars is way too high,” Thul summarizes.
“If we can lower the cost, we have a chance to attract manufacturers. But on the other hand, it’s not only about manufacturers, it’s about more cars. So, all the ideas also have this upgrade category to allow privateers to buy a car and to put it under reasonable costs into a rally.”
According to Thul, the current issue with Rally1 cars isn’t just the purchase price.
“At the moment the hybrid is really complex. You need high voltage engineers, etc. So, in the past, you could buy as a privateer a car from the factory and compete,” Thul recalls.
However, Thul’s memory falters on one point.
“But I remember one day there was Tommi Mäkinen driving with the Lancia Delta and I think he even won the Thousand Lakes Rally with a private set-up Lancia Delta Integrale from Italy.”
Mäkinen competed with a Lancia Delta Integrale in the gravel roads of Central Finland in 1989 and 1993. The first attempt ended due to a transmission failure, and the second time he finished fourth. Mäkinen drove a Lancia Delta in Rally FInland in 1987-88, but both attempts ended in retirements.
Regardless, Thul is confident that as early as the transitional years of 2025-26, the WRC may gain new momentum in the premier class through the WRC kit available for Rally2 cars.
“It could be that maybe Skoda is running a privateer, supporting them with an upgrade kit, or Citroen will do that. This is at the moment pure speculation, but this opens the chance to get them into the sport,” Thul states.
“We need more cars. From the manufacturer side, the commitment of Toyota, Hyundai is huge. Ford also. And if one more would come, then that would be ideal.”
