Breaking news
WRC
One more manufacturer could sign up to WRC's new rules
One more manufacturer could sign up to the World Rally Championship’s new hybrid era during the initial three-year rules cycle, according to FIA rally director Yves Matton.
Jason Craig
Published: Mar 20, 2021, 2:56 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
From 2022 onwards, the 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engine used by the current generation of World Rally Car will be carried over and paired to an electric motor supplied by Compact Dynamics.
The hybrid element was outsourced to the German company, after it won an invitation to tender in March of last year, in an attempt to cap costs and ensure parity across the WRC’s service park.
The new rules were intended to be more attractive to prospective manufacturers but Matton admits a new marque won't join for the 2022 campaign, citing the COVID-19 health pandemic and the associated economic upheaval as a principal reason.
“The Rally1 regulations were written with a view to making the new regulations as accessible as possible," Matton told Motorsport.com.
"This is one of the key pillars of development: sustainability, safety, accessibility.
“There is no doubt that the pandemic has forced many people to adjust their plans – but we are confident that the regulations are designed to enable more manufacturers around the globe to consider this as a great way to develop a brand.
"There could be one more manufacturer before the end of the next homologation cycle, but it won’t be in 2022."
Read Also:
- Breen crash "hasn't affected" Hyundai's Rally Croatia plans
- Toyota aiming to test new hybrid WRC car in the summer
Two of the WRC’s teams have publicly committed to staying in the series until the end of 2024, at which point the latest set of regulations come before the WRC’s stakeholders and FIA for review.
After returning to the top flight of rallying back in 2017, Toyota Gazoo Racing has given its full support to the upcoming hybrid era, while M-Sport is set to continue its long association with Ford in the series.
Both are hard at work developing their new Rally1 cars, which adopt elements of the transmission and suspension found on Rally2 machines.
Hyundai Motorsport has yet to make its intentions clear, although team principal Andrea Adamo said recently that he is “optimistic” about the manufacturer committing to the new rules – comments that have been welcomed by Matton.
“Hyundai is a key part of the World Rally Championship now – they’ve established themselves as strong competitors and they are a valuable part of the World Rally Championship story,” Matton pointed out.
“I am also confident that we will be able to secure all three manufacturers for 2022.
“Introducing the hybrid car was key to getting the manufacturers’ commitment for 2022. We will communicate more about this in the near future."
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Solberg focused on WRC2 title despite impressive WRC debut
Next article UK "definitely has its place" on future WRC schedules
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jason Craig
Ogier wants to stay with Toyota after full-time WRC career ends
WRC
WRC
Ogier wants to stay with Toyota after full-time WRC career ends
Toyota completes first full test of 2022 Rally1 WRC car
WRC
WRC
Toyota completes first full test of 2022 Rally1 WRC car
WRC reveals new format for 70th anniversary Rally Finland
WRC
WRC
Rally Finland
WRC reveals new format for 70th anniversary Rally Finland
Latest news
Colton Herta “maybe underestimated the difference” from IndyCar – F2 boss
FIA F2
F2 FIA F2 3 h
Colton Herta “maybe underestimated the difference” from IndyCar – F2 boss
WEC Barcelona: Genesis secures maiden series pole from Toyota
WEC
WEC WEC
Barcelona
4 h
WEC Barcelona: Genesis secures maiden series pole from Toyota
Five-time IndyCar champion, first-time Indy NXT driver: Alex Palou tops IMS road course test
Indy NXT
IndL Indy NXT 5 h
Five-time IndyCar champion, first-time Indy NXT driver: Alex Palou tops IMS road course test
Gabriel Bortoleto on Kimi Antonelli and Isack Hadjar's F1 success: 'Let's see where we are in 20 years'
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
6 h
Gabriel Bortoleto on Kimi Antonelli and Isack Hadjar's F1 success: 'Let's see where we are in 20 years'
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe