How will Rally1 hybrid be remembered?

Debate is rife in the World Rally Championship right now, thanks to yesterday’s FIA World Motorsport Council announcement of the championship’s proposed technical regulations for next year.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway from yesterday is the ditching of hybrid units in the WRC for 2025. Rally1 hybrid has had its fair share of critics, from those who questioned the road relevance of switching to hybrid rally cars before the regulations even came into force, to those who point out that having only eight full-time entries in this year’s WRC is a sign that the formula doesn’t work.

But there’s no doubt that the current crop of rallying thoroughbreds provide huge speed and a fantastic spectacle, particularly for those stage-side or lucky enough to be in the cockpit. There’s a reason you don’t see Rally1 drivers taking a Rally2 out for a spin in between WRC events – they just aren’t as fun.

This dichotomy poses an interesting question: How will the Rally1 hybrid-era of the WRC be remembered? If the current mood on social media is any indication of the formula’s popularity, then not fondly is likely the answer.

However, we rally fans are fickle creatures. Nostalgia is the great human weakness, and surely in the years and decades to come, Rally1 hybrid will be looked back upon in a far better light than it currently is.

Just take Group A regulations as an example. One mention of them is enough to make most enthusiast’s eyes light up. It’s the era of the mighty Lancia Delta Integrale, of those classic Mitsubishi vs. Subaru battles and where WRC legends like Carlos Sainz, Colin McRae and Tommi Mäkinen made their breakthroughs.

What is often overlooked is the fact that when Group A was introduced, the competitiveness of the world championship was at an all-time low. After the sudden demise of Group B, only Lancia was ready for the new regulations at the start of 1987, and dominated the championship for years as a result. WRC fans had to wait until 1992 to see a closely fought battle between three manufacturers (Lancia, Toyota and Ford), whereas Rally1 has delivered that right from its inception.

But despite the dearth of competition in the first half of its life, the Group A-era of the WRC is hailed as a golden age of the sport nearly three decades later. Could it be that history will repeat itself when it comes to the championship’s current offering?

If Rally1 hybrid is to achieve this legendary status, rather than becoming a mere footnote in the history of the sport, it has to achieve a good amount of memorable moments. So far, the category hasn’t done a bad job on that front.

Despite its difficult birth amid hang-ups about hybrid power and the chaos caused by a global pandemic, Rally1 delivered on the stages right from the get-go. The battle of the Sébs – Loeb vs Ogier – on the 2022 Monte Carlo Rally was one for the ages. Loeb’s brilliant drive to his 80th WRC victory will be forever connected to the debut of the Rally1 class.

In the same season, a huge piece of motorsport history was made, as Kalle Rovanperä became the youngest FIA world champion ever, sealing his first WRC title at the age of just 22 with his win on Rally New Zealand. That achievement may never be beaten, and will certainly never be forgotten, but neither will the equipment with which Rovanperä so convincingly beat all comers in 2022.

The competition in Rally1 has been extremely close, with Toyota, Hyundai and M-Sport Ford each taking wins in both full seasons of the class so far. While M-Sport may struggle to match that feat in 2024 given their inexperienced driver line-up, the margins between the cars are still very tight, and this year’s titanic struggle between Toyota’s GR Yaris and Hyundai’s i20 N looks like it could be one of the most evenly matched ever.

Battles are good, fans like them. Pick a side and ride the ups and downs of a season until a winner emerges. It’s what sport is all about, and if Rally1 can continue to produce close competition, then it’ll be talked about in rallying circles for decades to come.

And there’s another area where Rally1 excels too – the spectacle. The cars look mean, and they look fast. If David Richard’s famous instruction to Subaru engineers to build a car that “looked like it was doing 100 mph even when it was standing still” was the benchmark, then Rally1 has certainly hit it.

Then there’s the noise, which anyone who’s ever sat stage-side will never forget. The chirping of the turbos, the explosions of the anti-lag and the brutal roar of the 1.6-liter engine as it approaches 8,500rpm is a mechanical symphony. Yes, we should technically credit those noises to the previous generation of World Rally Cars, which used the same engine base, but let’s not apply too much logic here – this is about emotion.

Besides, the 2017-21 “WRC +” cars may have been the fastest rally cars of all time thanks to their complex aerodynamics, but Rally1 cars have given the drivers a greater challenge. Having a hybrid-assisted 500bhp on-tap, no of paddle shift, no center differential, less aero and less freedom to tinker with car setup means that these machines are much more of a handful than their predecessors. The steerers are earning their money even more now, and that’s a plus in my book.

So, while Rally1 hybrid has taken a beating over its short existence, there’s still plenty to love about the current top class of the WRC. And as time goes on, we’ll think less about the politics and car counts, and focus more on the epic battles and deep visceral impact these amazing machines had on those lucky enough to see them in action.

Will Rally1 hybrid be remembered as the greatest era in rallying history? No.

But will I gladly sit down in 20 years to watch a “best of Rally1” action video on YouTube while I should be doing something productive? Yes, all day long.