This time I don’t get it. I just don’t. Andrew Wheatley’s departure from the FIA is a major blow for the World Rally Championship and for the sport as a whole.
I’ve known this guy for as long as I’ve been in the sport and I’m not sure I’ve met somebody with rallying so close to their heart. Did that make him an excellent strategist or the perfect decision-maker? Not necessarily, but it was an absolute given for his role as the FIA’s category manager.
Wheatley’s passion for the sport has never dimmed. It never will.
Why did he leave? I don’t know. It’s fair to say when we chatted in Japan, jumping ship wasn’t a topic of conversation we covered. If there was a criticism of AW, it was that he took his time to come to a conclusion on a topic. He wouldn’t be rushed.
The 2027 regulations for the WRC were a case in point. But amid talk of hybrid this or hydrogen that, Wheatley listened, considered, listened again and then shaped and guided proposed regulations which could well be the saviour of the WRC.
As a legacy, that’s not a bad one.
And Wheatley’s story won’t end here. There’s always a class to be won on the Cambrian, but bigger than that, there must always be a place for people of his caliber in our sport. He knows the WRC inside-out and from every angle – don’t forget he’d already enjoyed a superb career at M-Sport before joining the governing body.
You might have gathered, I’m deeply disappointed at Wheatley’s departure. Conversations with him – even mid-hysteria with an unfolding WRC situation – were always considered and eminently sensible in their conclusion.
In an organization which appears increasingly complex and difficult to fathom, Andrew’s voice delivered reassurance and generated confidence.
Our sport’s governance is weaker without him.
