M-Sport team principal Richard Millener has echoed Oliver Solberg’s request for a separate classification for Rally1 and Rally2 in next year’s World Rally Championship.
Toyota’s Swede told DirtFish he and his Rally1 colleagues were concerned at the potential speed of Rally2 cars running in preferential positions on the road on loose surface rounds of the WRC next season.
Millener said it was important to provide the rally watching public with clarity on the cars competing – and that means separate classifications for Rally1 and Rally2.
“Let’s make it simple,” Millener told DirtFish. “If you’re in this car, you’re fighting for this category, and that’s it. And if you’re in that car, you’re fighting for that category, and that’s it. Let’s build and promote a series that’s very, very easy to understand.
“When you look at the World Endurance Championship, the focus is on Hypercars and the cars in that class fighting to win the race. OK, the performance gap is bigger [between classes in WEC], but we don’t have GT3 or LMP cars in the discussion [for winning races]. Fundamentally, it’s easy to understand. Some people feel our sport’s not always the easiest to understand, so why make it more complicated than it needs to be?
“This is going to be a short-term issue – as the new cars come online the gaps will naturally widen. I simply don’t see the issue with us running class-based classifications. We know, on a few specific rallies, Rally2 cars will have a good road position and this is where the potential for confusion can come in.”
M-Sport’s 2027-specification Ford Fiesta will run in Rally1 under the WRC Kit Car regulations, with the British team having just finished its initial testing of the new car.
