ELECTRIFIED FUTURE FOR THE WRC TO GAIN SOME CLARITY
FIA ready to present solutions to leading manufacturers and teams
Key aspects of the hybrid future of the World Rally Championship are being discussed this week, with decisions set to be announced on the specification of the 2022 World Rally Cars on October 1.
The FIA’S technical working group is meeting to decide on the supplier of the common components which will be fitted to cars from 2022.
That supplier will be announced next month. Despite some teams feeling there remains a shortage of information on the new generation of cars, FIA rally director Yves Matton insisted the governing body remained on target.
“We are following the plan,” Matton told Motorsport News. “At the end of December we will have technical regulations fixed and announced at that month’s World Motor Sport Council meeting. I know some people say we are not, but we are 100 per cent following the timeline we introduced nine months ago.
“We made a study with the companies able to provide the kind of hybrid equipment we need, we have feedback from those companies – and there are several of them – and now the manufacturers will receive a complete study to decide which kind of hybrid we will use. The formal decision will be made on October 1.”
Matton confirmed new manufacturers were looking at the 2022 regulations, with one following them closely.
“Just because they are following, it doesn’t mean they come,” added Matton. “It’s a long process to bring a new manufacturer, but the main thing is that we know they don’t come without hybrid.”
Asked about the cost implications for manufacturers potentially developing new cars, Matton said: “We are working to keep the cost of the car at the current level, as close as possible. With the manufacturers we are working to see what we can do with the cars and not to spend any money on engineering which is not giving back any return on investment in terms of marketing.”
The 2022 World Rally Cars will retain the current engine, but different shapes and sizes of cars could be permitted via new scaling regulations.
In an effort to ease in world rallying’s biggest technical change since the arrival of four-wheel drive, Matton has conceded that testing limitations will have to be revised.
“We [have] not worked on the sporting regulations yet,” said Matton. “From what we did in the past, we will need extra days to work on the car.”
One of the primary concerns for the teams is the restrictions which mean they can not test the new cars outside of Europe.
One team insider told MN: “What about Mexico? I’m not sure we’re looking forward to going to Mexico with the heat and the altitude in the mountains and running with a 50kg battery for the first time when we start the rally. There are still a few questions we need answering and we need them answering quickly.
“The teams are doing a lot of preparation and investigation work for the FIA on this, but the time is moving very quickly. The year 2022 will be here very soon.”
On the specific question of Mexico, Matton said: “I’m not sure there is only altitude in Mexico… OK, it’s not perfect to test [at altitude in Europe], but sometimes you cannot claim to constrain the budget and then go to Mexico to develop a car. Maybe you can’t do this [testing] job to 100 per cent in Europe, but the ratio between the expense and what you really need has to be efficient.”