CAN WRC2 REALLY THREATEN THE SPORT’S BIG LEAGUE?
Let’s not beat about the bush here, talk of WRC2 in 2023 being better than the real thing is nonsense so the answer to the question above is an emphatic no.
While they might become big stars in the future, Adrien Fourmaux, Gus Greensmith and Oliver Solberg didn’t do enough – or didn’t have enough budget – to secure more Rally1 seat time this season. That they’ve dropped back to Rally2 level is simply a case of not having workable alternatives.
WRC2 will be great, it will serve up myriad winners and it will showcase future World champions. But these are things it’s pretty much always done.
The difference this year is there are probably one or two more potential winners, although those fortunate enough to be Skoda Fabia RS Rally2-powered will probably have the upper hand, given the whopping amount of Czech koruna Skoda bosses have splashed out on design, testing and development of their new WRC2 challenger.
Where WRC2 falls down is the risk that all the best drivers won’t do battle against each other enough to make it a genuine title fight.
The rules are clear in allowing drivers to count their best five scores from six nominated events in Europe. They can also count the points scored on one nominated event outside Europe, which in theory provides seven scoring opportunities.
What those events are is down to the driver or their team to decide. The only requirement is they must state on the entry form for each individual rally if it’s one of their scoring events. So, while some drivers have announced their intended programmes for the season ahead, they are free to chop and change up to the point of entries closing.
To give some examples, Emil Lindholm won’t begin his title defence until next month’s Rally Sweden, while Greensmith’s WRC2 return doesn’t start until Rally Mexico in March.
Nevertheless, the ex-Rally1 drivers aside, there’s plenty of reason to get excited about WRC2 in 2023 with Chris Ingram doing everything possible, including launching a crowdfunding scheme, to secure the cash for a title bid. Alejandro Cachon is a young Spaniard with big potential and Czech Erik Cais has the chance to deliver with a truly competitive car under him once again. ■