I remember the time, the place and the moment that the legend of the 2017 World Rally Car was fixed.
The Hilton Hotel, Helsinki Airport, July 31, 2016. We were in the bar. A matter of hours after Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle had scored arguably the biggest win of their careers, the majority of the factory drivers and co-drivers had reconvened for a secondary, more beer-based debrief. A moment to reflect on their life in the skies and between the trees for the last three days.
A couple of pints in, somebody raised the spectre of the inbound 2017 World Rally Car. A quick reminder… the air restrictor for the turbo had gone up from 33 to 36mm, while the weight of the car’s had gone down by 25kg. Power was up from 300 to knocking on the door of 400bhp and the downforce was going to be insane, courtesy of wild-looking aero.
At that point and in every sense, the thought of doing what they’d just done in a 2017-specification car was a sobering one.
One voice ventured: “I can’t imagine going between the trees at that speed.”
That prompted: “And all that downforce…”
There was no denying the spectacle of the 2017, so-called WRC+ cars in the World Rally Championship
Let’s rewind to the top of the 1980s, to Audi’s revolution and a re-think of everything the sport knew. Let’s got back to the moment Hannu Mikkola first tested something with forced induction and four-wheel drive. The Finn had seen the future. The game had changed. Group B had arrived.
Appreciation of the formula which ruled world rallying for four years in the mid-80s is worldwide. Four decades on, the merest mention of the category still sends fans of a certain age weak at the knees.
Matias Henkola is one such fan. Barely old enough to have lived the love live, he’s more than made up for it since – his development of Audi’s already astonishing quattro S1 E2 is a thing of both beauty and wonder.
The man behind Secto Automotive is, however, keenly aware of a more contemporary incarnation of rallying’s very own supercar years.
“I think the WRC-plus cars, the cars which came from 2017… I think these cars can be the new Group B cars,” Henkola told DirtFish.
Having driven three events in a Citroën C3 WRC, Henkola speaks from a point of authority.
“I’ve seen the reaction to the Audi and to the Citroën,” he added. “It’s the same: people see these cars and they can’t help but to smile. These plus [cars] are super, super nice to drive and to watch. For me, we have a lot of events to remember Group B, but now maybe the time is here to figure out a way to bring some of the more modern World Rally Cars to life.
“I would like to investigate the possibility of bringing some events together to give some drivers the chance to use these cars again. When you look at series like the World Endurance Championship, they have the ability to bring successful drivers in below the pro-level. Why not do this for our world? I think it’s important that we don’t put a big emphasis on the competition side – if drivers still want to compete they can go down the road for Rally2. For me, this should be about drivers coming and enjoying themselves.
“If we went somewhere like Secto Rally [Finland], for example, the drivers could do Harju stage on the Thursday night as a kind of shakedown – as a way just to help to calm the nerves a little bit. After this, relax a little bit and take no competition on Friday. No stress, maybe go to the stages and watch, enjoy the event. Then drive the stages on Saturday and Sunday, enjoy the weekend.
Henkola is a man with a plan
“We could provide a whole package, with hospitality, catering, support from the engineering and management side – it’s a good way to allow people to use some of these amazing cars.”
There’s already service park support for a masters-style series using 1.6-liter-engined World Rally Cars from the start of 2011 to the end of 2021 – potentially utilizing a calendar consisting both WRC and European Rally Championship events in the style of the FIA’s R-GT series which ran from 2015 until 2022.
Those concerned voices from a decade ago soon silenced themselves and the now fabled ’17 car’ is now, as Henkola rightly says, a huge crowd-pleaser.
DirtFish says…
Why not?
Anything which brings cars like the DS3 WRC or M-Sport’s sensational, Red Bull-liveried Ford Fiesta WRC back to the stages is an absolute winner for me. Matias is absolutely right, those cars were awesome to watch.
None of this is to decry what’s going on at the front of the field. The commitment and speed from Elfyn Evans and his fellow championship frontrunners is beyond question, the spectacle actually beyond belief at times.
M-Sport's 2017-specification Ford Fiesta WRC brings drama and action from every angle
This is about offering a specific service to a specific client-base. There are drivers out there who want to understand and experience what this sport was about through a halcyon age. Why wouldn’t we deliver on that? Bringing them and their cars into the service park and out onto the stages can only add to the spectacle and the appreciation of our sport.
The thinking behind R-GT was solid back in the day. Who, I ask, could ever forget the spectacle of François Delecour, flat-chat in a Porsche 911 997 GT3? It assaulted every sense on every corner in the very best fashion possible. It was extraordinary and provided a fine mid-field lift among the entirely worthy, if slightly less spectacular career cars.
Sadly, support faded and the series folded. This is a different prospect. These cars have presence and command an audience even as they’re being reversed out of service.
Much as I love an Abarth 124, it never dropped a jaw standing still in the way a 2017 car does.
