The technical regulations for next season’s World Rally Championship have not yet been finalised, but in late February, the WRC working group submitted its proposals to the International Automobile Federation (FIA), the WRC Promoter, and WRC teams.
Should the proposals be accepted, the main class Rally1 cars will no longer feature hybrid units in the future. In addition, aerodynamic parts will be reduced in the cars, which will include, among other changes, a smaller rear wing. Power will be further reduced with a smaller air restrictor.
This week, Toyota has conducted tests in Croatia in preparation for the next WRC round. Video material from Elfyn Evans‘ tests, who was driving on Thursday, revealed interesting details.
A smaller rear wing was fitted to Toyota’s Rally1 car during the test day. In fact, the rear wing closely resembled that of Toyota’s Rally2 car.
It was also notable that the air intakes for the hybrid unit were blocked. This was highlighted by the WRCWings.tech site, specialised in rally car aerodynamics, on the messaging service X.
If the embed does not appear above, you can view it here.
Below, for comparison, is a photo of Sami Pajari’s Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 car and its rear wing.
During the test, Evans’ car also featured a so-called pitot tube on its roof, which can measure the speed of airflow.
View the video of Evans’ test below. The video shows how the car alternates between having a larger and a smaller rear wing.
If the embed does not appear above, you can view the video here.
Teams face a significant amount of development work this year if the rule changes are approved. According to the latest information, the World Motor Sport Council is expected to make decisions in June, just seven months before the start of the 2025 season.
For instance, Hyundai team principal Cyril Abiteboul has stated that the timetable is too tight.
In addition to Toyota driver Evans, M-Sport Ford’s French driver Adrien Fourmaux was also in action on Thursday in Croatia. No solutions indicative of next year were seen in the Ford Puma Rally1 car at this stage.
View the video of Fourmaux’s test below.
If the embed does not appear above, you can view the video here.
Croatia Rally is scheduled for 18-21 April.
