M-Sport team principal Richard Millener confirmed to DirtFish that the team will develop a Rally2 WRC Kit for the Ford Fiesta Rally2 in 2027.
On Tuesday the FIA unveiled the Rally2 WRC Kit designed to lift the performance of Rally2 cars and therefore match next season’s all-new WRC27 machines.
That means front fenders, a front bumper and a rear aerodynamic device can be applied to any Rally2 car homologated before December 31 2026, at a maximum cost of €7500.
The cars will be eligible for competition in both 2027 and 2028 and any manufacturer homologating a kit must enter at least two cars in all rounds of the World Rally Championship.
Toyota is the only current competitor developing an all-new car, although new entries from Project Rally One and WRT Rally1 Spain are also coming.
M-Sport has previously expressed interest in building a brand-new car but only for the 2028 season. For now, it will take advantage of the FIA’s new regulation and introduce a Kit for its existing Fiesta Rally2.
Millener told DirtFish: “It’s clear that only Toyota have a new car for next year at the moment. I think it’s important we try to reflect something that allows other manufacturers to be in that top category. And I think this is the FIA’s perception of how we can put something in place that effectively means there is a slightly different car that is comparable with the 2027 car and puts a nice divide in between the Rally2 as it stands right now.
“If we allow Rally2 to just exist with no changes and no forcefulness to push people into new regulations, it will never come,” he added. “And then we’ll all stand there going, well, no one’s committing.
“I think in some ways, FIA basically said to manufacturers: we’ll give you some leeway, but you need to commit to the new regulations. That for me is the most positive thing from this; if you want to be involved in rally, you need to come to the party, so it’s quite a good step.”
Millener is confident the Fiesta in its current form is still competitive, but the opportunity to develop a kit also puts all other aspects of the car under scrutiny.
“Going into next year, as a top category car with this kit, it’s a good opportunity to just fine-tune some of the small bits,” he explained.
“For example, the splash valve and the protection that we had in Kenya this year, with the very extreme conditions, showed that there’s still advances to be made…in terms of just protecting alternators and belts, things like that.
“Working on little bits just to make it more and more bulletproof as we go along is something we’re constantly doing when we’re running Romet [Jürgenson] in the championship [this year], but when you’re now doing this new kit, you just start to have a quick look at everything.
“But on the flip side, our goal is to have a new car as soon as possible. It’s a new regulation, so to develop one-and-a-half cars effectively in such a short period of time is challenging. So, it’s a fine-balancing act.”
Toyota will be the only manufacturer to have cars in both categories, but it has no plans to develop a kit for its existing GR Yaris Rally2 model.
Technical director Tom Fowler told DirtFish: “Our Rally2 car is already a dominant feature of WRC2, and WRC2 is a very popular category at the moment. Into next season I’m pretty sure that’s not going to change.
“So our plan going into next season is to compete at the top level in the 2027 car, at the same time as still providing our customers the opportunities in WRC2.”
DirtFish has approached fellow Rally2 manufacturers Škoda, Stellantis and Hyundai for comment.
