It’s time for WRC to weigh up electric cars, says VW chief

He helped guide Volkswagen to 43 World Rally Championship wins in four years and 52 starts. He was one of the world’s finest co-drivers and has now masterminded the fastest ever fuel-free run up Pikes Peak. There’s not much Sven Smeets doesn’t know about rallying and batteries.

So, when the Belgian (above) says it’s time for change in the World Rally Championship, he’s worth listening to.

And Sven says it’s time for change.

The current World Rally Car rules run until the end of next season, with a further three-year cycle the most likely outcome from 2020 onwards. Do that, and it’ll be ’23 before the WRC catches up with the rest of the world and embraces alternative energy.

“The WRC needs something to connect to the next generation,” Smeets told Autosport. “But if you ask me what does the future look like, it’s not a straightforward answer. It would be very difficult to say you have to make an electric car for the WRC now because today’s not the right time.

But something has to be done.

“Maybe the answer is to have a two-year cycle next. That would give the current manufacturers another three years [with the current World Rally Car] including next season, but it’s also enough time to make a change in the regulations. You have to respect the current manufacturers, but what’s needed is something attracting new teams as well.”

Volkswagen Motorsport director

Smeets was team manager at Citroen when the French firm was one of just two manufacturers (alongside Ford) supporting the series. Avoiding a return to such a scenario is vital, he reckons.

“The championship today is sitting in a very good position,” said Smeets. “And when you’re there you can have this idea of why should we change something? But the next thing to think about is how many manufacturers are knocking on the door to enter. I don’t know, but I can imagine there are not so many. By sitting in a good position, you are also in a very dangerous position in case somebody says: ‘We’re going to go and do something else…’

“You can’t say that 10 years from now the current four manufacturers will still be there. It’s really time to talk about it and put a road map in the technical regulations for what is the next step. Waiting until 2022 to make these decisions wouldn’t be good.”