The FIA’s World Motor Sport Council met on Monday to confirm more detail on next year’s World Rally Championship.
As expected, Rally1 cars will remain the headline act in 2027, but they will be divided into two groups. Cars designed to the WRC27 regulations – such as Toyota’s as-yet-unnamed entrant and the new constructor-based entries from Project Rally One and WRT Rally1 Spain – will sit in the category of WRC Cars.
M-Sport’s recently tested 2027-specification Ford Fiesta will also be known as a Rally1 car, but it will sit in the category of WRC Kit Cars, alongside any other existing Rally2 manufacturer which elects to up-spec its car with the FIA’s €7500 kit.
As previously reported by DirtFish, all Rally1 cars will run a 33mm turbo restrictor rather than the 32mm version in place for Rally2.
For the first time in championship history, next year’s WRC will run a Constructors’ Championship rather than Manufacturers’. This will only be open to Rally1 constructors participating in every one of the 15 rounds.
The WRC Teams’ Championship will be contested over seven nominated events, including a compulsory overseas round and the final event of the season. Again, this will only be open to Rally1 cars.
The WRC2, WRC3 and WRC Masters series will remain in place for next year.
Outside of the WRC, the governing body also ratified an additional level at the base of its rallying pyramid, with the new Rally6 class to sit below Rally5. Priced at between €35,000 and €47,000, the new category can utilize either a standard 140bhp 1600cc turbo or two-liter non-turbo engine with certain parts remaining in production form, including a h-pattern gearbox and brakes. Non-adjustable suspension and safety equipment will be added.
This compares favorably to a Rally5 which comes with a sequential gearbox, LSD and around 180bhp for €50,000.
Mirroring the regulatory shift in the World Rally Championship, the World Rally-Raid Championship will include bespoke FIA-designed safety cells and provision for alternative powertrain technology in a decade-long lifecycle.
The technical changes, labelled the Ultimate 2030 roadmap, will be phased in across the next three years before being mandated for the factory drivers in the 2030 World Rally-Raid Championship. Chassis development, validation and crash testing begins next season with technical regulations finalized in 2028.
The new cars, which will retain four-wheel drive, front-engined configuration, will then compete in an experimental category in 2029.
The FIA introduced spaceframe cars to the WRC in time for the 2022 arrival of Rally1. The tubular chassis concept remains at the heart of the WRC’s next homologation cycle, starting next season.
W2RC’s second-tier has also been refined with the Challenger 2029 roadmap, which is aimed at reducing costs, improving reliability and further defining the category as a development towards the Ultimate class.
Again, changes to Challenger vehicles will be phased from next season before being implemented for point-scoring in 2029. The changes include reinforced safety structures, closed bodywork and more variety in terms of engine choice.
The organizers of Dakar, next year’s W2RC series opener, are still working on plans for the January marathon, with a move from Saudi Arabia back to Africa – with a European prologue – believed to be on the cards for 2027.
