After the Swedish rally, the FIA announced that from 2025 the regulations will change again in the World Rally Championship (WRC). True, it should come in handy.
The FIA has announced that there will be no hybrid cars in the WRC from 2025.
From 2022 In the season’s World Rally Championship, the cars had to be hybrids. It was supposed to mark a new era for the WRC, and ultimately it was also about reducing air pollution. However, it did not work.
The popularity of the WRC has been declining recently, and one of the reasons for this is the decrease in the number of competitive drivers. Ford (otherwise known as M Sport) has only been a shadow of itself in recent years when it comes to the days when Sebastian Ogier could win titles with the team’s cars.
Abandoning hybrid systems could be a good sign for the M Sport team. in 2024 in the season, the composition of this team consists of Adrien Fourmaux and Gregoire Munster. With all due respect to these talented riders, this line-up shows the team’s non-existent ambition and shrinking budget.
Cars will be cheaper in 2025, which is always a good thing – more money can be spent elsewhere. True, from 2026, similar to the “Formula-1” championship, the WRC will get to know a completely new regulation.
Another and perhaps even decisive argument is stagnation. If the WRC were to continue with hybrid cars, it would create an unpleasant stagnation. Currently, the Rally 2 and Rally 1 classes are as separated as ever. Younger racers don’t get a chance to experience what high class cars are all about.
Lancia and Subaru are also promising a return to the rally. It would be insanely difficult for these manufacturers to “fit in” to the era of hybrid cars, and now the way is open. The WRC knows they need to raise their profile, and the legacy brands can contribute to that. After all, the championship needs more competition.
In this situation, the survey of WRC fans, which was created by the FIA (International Automobile Federation) itself, helped. In it, the fans expressed their opinion and it is clear that they were listened to.
So far, there have been various considerations. Perhaps even everything was going towards the fact that the elite “Rally 1” class might not remain. Finally, another solution was found – Rally 1 with the elite Neuville, Tanak, Evans should remain, like the strongest teams.
The WRC Championship is still in a transitional year, and the first step in the right direction has already been taken.
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