Reigning World Rally champion Thierry Neuville has expressed concerns over how fast the next generation of top-level WRC cars will be, suggesting the proposed technical regulations for 2027 will mean factory drivers will be beaten by privateers in current Rally2 vehicles.
The core principles that will form the basis of proposed WRC technical regulations for 2027 were revealed by DirtFish last week. The replacement for current Rally1 vehicles is aimed at lowering costs, with Rally2-spec engines, transmission and brakes utilized along with double wishbone suspension and simpler aerodynamics.
Neuville has warned that given how much closer the proposed top-level car for 2027 is on paper to a current Rally2-spec vehicle, manufacturer entrants will find themselves beaten by local privateers entered into the WRC’s second tier due to road order dynamics.
“I’m very worried about running Rally2 cars as the new Rally1 cars,” said Neuville. “How are you going to handle the national championships? You will have [current] Rally2 cars who go faster than the new Rally1 cars.
“When you are starting second or third on the road and the other one is starting 45th, a privateer will go faster than the official driver.”
New Hyundai recruit Adrien Fourmaux echoed his team-mate’s concerns, even suggesting that entering with a Rally2 car into loose surface events would be a better strategy than starting high on the road in a car matching the proposed regulations.
“The only worry I’ve got with the regulation for Rally1 in 2027 is it’s quite close to the Rally2,” Fourmaux told DirtFish. “And then there will be some rallies where the Rally2 will be faster than the Rally1 in front of everybody involved.
“With the advantage to be a Rally2 car starting 40th overall – when you only have maybe 30 extra horsepower when you are in a Rally1 – on gravel I think it’s worth to be in a Rally2 and starting 40th than to be in a Rally1 starting first. That’s why for me we need also a bit more performance in the [proposed] Rally1.”
If such a scenario were to play out, Neuville is concerned that it would compromise the viability of manufacturer participation in the WRC.
“In the end I think it [rallying] will be customer racing and no more,” he said. “So I’m really worried about that.”
Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala had previously expressed concerns in March when the FIA’s WRC working group had suggested Rally2-plus spec vehicles to sit alongside hybrid-less Rally1s with simpler aerodynamics, suggesting it would compromise manufacturer investment in rallying’s top level.
Toyota's team principal feels Rally1 cars should be one second per kilometer faster than Rally2
When asked by DirtFish if the proposed regulations presented the same risk, Latvala agreed, suggesting performance of the proposed new cars would need to be improved relative to the specification detailed in last week’s outline.
“They are getting quite close to each other,” he said of the new top-level car relative to the current Rally2 formula. “I think this is the target: the FIA wants to bring them closer together to help the young drivers get into the sport. But for sure there needs to be a difference.
“We need to be careful that we still keep the difference between the cars. If they are too close, why buy the Rally1 if the Rally2 is that quick already? So then it won’t bring any privateers for the Rally1 cars. So there needs to be a difference.
“For me, Rally1 needs to be at least one second per kilometer faster than Rally2. Now [with current Rally1 cars] I think, depending on the situation we are in, it’s around two seconds per kilometer; sometimes it can be two and a half on Tarmac I think. But one second is the target.”
A vote on the proposed regulations takes place tomorrow, Wednesday December 11, at the final FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting of 2024 in Kigali, Rwanda.
