FI A DETERMINED TO PUSH THROUGH WRC HYBRID FUTURE
Jean todt confirms alternative power from 2022 season
The World Rally Championship will introduce hybrid or electric regulations in time for the 2022 season.
FIA president Jean Todt confirmed the future regulations to Motorsport News during last week’s Monte Carlo Rally. Todt talked of his frustrations at the lack of progress in introducing any form of sustainable technology to the WRC and lay the blame for that firmly at the door of the manufacturers.
“Myself, I’m completely in favour of taking into account the evolution of motoring for rallying,” he said. “And clearly it is a big frustration for me not to see that rallying has engaged on at least some hybrids and some new technology.
“The reason is, I am told by people who are there to run the business, is that manufacturers don’t want [it]. They don’t want to change the regulation. They don’t want… it’s always the reason. For me, this is completely no position; when I go to motor shows in Frankfurt, Paris, China, Japan, Geneva, I only see new technologies. For me it’s frustrating to see in an FIA world event they don’t want new technologies.
“But now, finally the manufacturers say we need some hybrids. The technical people at the FIA, with the input of the manufacturers, [are] working to implement it in 2022. The reason this didn’t happen earlier is because they did not want it.”
FIA rally director Yves Matton added further detail, involving specific regulation change. The current five-year homologation cycle runs from 2017-2021.
Matton said: “We know very well what our timeframe is, it will be in 2019 when we release the regulations and this gives [the manufacturers] more than enough time [to be ready].”
M-sport Ford team principal Rich Millener said the manufacturers were ready and waiting to see the regulations for the future.
“There will be some form of hybrid [in 2022], that’s a must,” said Millener. “It’s the only way some of the [current] manufacturers will stay in the sport and it’s the only way for us to attract new manufacturers. It’s so important to get those regulations out this year. If we can have those in the middle of this season then that gives the sport six months to go to possible new manufacturers to say: ‘This is what we’ve got, do you want it?’”
Millener admitted the process of bringing a hybrid solution to the WRC had taken longer than it might have.
“The manufacturers all want this,” he said. “We all know we want it, but the problem is agreeing what we want; everybody is putting forward the ideas for the best solution that will suit their own product and that’s understandable. The FIA needs to take those views away and come back and tells us what we’re going to do. We need to know, for example, will there be common [Fia-supplied] parts and, if so, what will they be?
“The main argument seems to be between low voltage and high voltage hybrid systems – but how do we integrate those systems and what do we use as a base? Will there be some kind of standardised system across the cars? We’re in limbo right now, so we need some direction – we need to know will we as M-sport need some outside assistance with this? When we moved from the 2015-2017 specification cars, the work was all still mechanical. OK, there were different strategies and technologies involved, but we could do that work ourselves with the help we get from Ford.”
While the WRC is still basking in the glory of the current generation of World Rally Cars, Millener said 2022 is the right time for change.
He added: “I think the timing is just about right: the regs come at some point this year, we start designing the car early next year and we then have one season to test the car in 2021. The end of the five-year cycle is the right time to do this. The current cars will have done their job by then. It looks like we’re going to have another really competitive season again this year and for the two following, but then it’s time for a change.”
The key challenges facing a hybrid and electric solution for the WRC revolve around the roaming nature of the discipline. The average loop on a WRC round involves the cars being away from service for around 170 miles with 50 of those being competitive and running in ‘stage’ mode. An allelectric solution is unlikely, even though PSA Group CEO Carlos Tavares has admitted to MN that a full electric solution would be the most sellable option for the French firm. There’s also discussion of synthetic fuels, but the feeling is that this doesn’t go far enough.