Believe it or not, the midpoint of the Rally1 car’s homologation period has been reached. A period that started in 2022 in Monte-Carlo and will extend till the end of 2026 (as approved in the last World Motorsport Council). The recent Rally Poland was the 33rd event contested by Rally1 cars, with a further 32 to 34 events still to be contested (depending on whether the coming seasons include 13 or 14 events).
C.Breen/P.Nagle, Ford Puma Rally1, 2022 Rallye Monte-Carlo, 3rd
So now is a good moment to review what the new category has delivered so far, compared with the previous one, known as WRC+ (2017-2021), and to try to identify opportunities for improvement for the coming years, now that the 2027 cars are under discussion.
Some of the goals set by FIA when the new category was introduced have been achieved: safety has improved, with the introduction of the new crash cell, while no electric incident with the hybrid system has been reported in stages.
However, other objectives have not been as clearly achieved. For instance, Rally1 cars were expected to have the same level of performance as WRC+ cars, in spite of the aero, suspension, and transmission trims. Has this been achieved?
K.Rovanperä/J.Halttunen, Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, 2023 Rally Finland, retired – image by Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Looking at the average speed that Rally1 cars have been able to achieve in the fastest stages, one could even say that Rally1 cars resulted more performant than WRC+ cars. The table below shows the 10 top fastest stages from 2017 to date, that is, both categories combined. Note that the top 8 speeds correspond to Rally1 cars, in the range of 138 to 143 km/h, while the fastest stage ever for a WRC+ car was set at 137.9 km/h by Tänak/Järveoja in Sweden 2017.
| FASTEST SPECIAL STAGES (2017-2024*) | |||||
| Special Stage | Event | Driver/Codriver | Car | Speed (km/h) | |
| 1 | Lankamaa 1 | Finland’23 | Rovanperä/Halttunen | Toyota Yaris Rally1 | 143.0 |
| 2 | Vindeln 2 | Sweden’22 | Neuville/Wydaeghe | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | 141.1 |
| 3 | Norrby 1 | Sweden’23 | Neuville/Wydaeghe | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | 141.0 |
| 4 | Vindeln 1 | Sweden’22 | Rovanperä/Halttunen | Toyota Yaris Rally1 | 140.7 |
| 5 | Lankamaa 2 | Finland’23 | Rovanperä/Halttunen | Toyota Yaris Rally1 | 139.9 |
| 6 | Norrby 2 | Sweden’23 | Rovanperä/Halttunen | Toyota Yaris Rally1 | 139.5 |
| 7 | Floda 2 | Sweden’23 | Neuville/Wydaeghe | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | 139.3 |
| 8 | Floda 1 | Sweden’23 | Breen/Fulton | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | 139.0 |
| 9 | Knon 1 | Sweden’17 | Tänak/Järveoja | Ford Fiesta WRC | 137.8 |
| 10 | Hof-Finnskog 2 | Sweden’20 | Evans/Martin | Toyota Yaris WRC | 135.4 |
| 10 | Västilä 2 | Finland’23 | Evans/Martin | Toyota Yaris Rally1 | 135.4 |
Source: ewrc-results.com
However, when looking at the average speed at the events regularly celebrated in that period (Monte-Carlo excluded, due to changing conditions), the trend is not so clear, as shown in the table below.
| Event | Winner average speed (km/h) | Average (km/h) | Diff. | ||||||||
| Year | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2017-21 | 2022-24 | (km/h) |
| Sweden | 115.4 | 109.5 | 113.5 | 124.3 | canc. | 121.5 | 125.9 | 117.6 | 115.7 | 121.0 | 5.3 |
| Portugal | 94.0 | 93.5 | 91.9 | canc. | 92.7 | 90.5 | 90.7 | 91.3 | 93.0 | 90.8 | -2.2 |
| Sardegna | 91.4 | 90.1 | 87.7 | 88.7 | 91.2 | 88.0 | 87.5 | 85.8 | 89.8 | 87.1 | -2.7 |
| Finland | 126.1 | 122.6 | 122.5 | canc. | 123.7 | 125.5 | 125.6 | tbd | 123.7 | 125.5 | 1.8 |
Source: ewrc-results.com
The winner average speed is higher in the Rally1 era in the fastest events (Sweden, Finland) but lower than for WRC+ cars in the slower events (Portugal, Sardegna).
A possible explanation for such differences could be found in the contribution of the hybrid boost (in the fast events) and the clumsier behaviour of Rally1 cars (in slow events).
O.Tänak/M.Järveoja, Hyundai i20 N Rally1, 2024 Rally Portugal, 2nd
In any case, Rally1 cars seem to be, at least, as performant as WRC+ cars, fulfilling the goal set by FIA.
Another goal was cost reduction. Rally1 cars should be cheaper than WRC+ cars, in spite of the added cost of the hybrid system. The cost was expected to be reduced by reducing technical parts (aero, suspension, transmission) and by reducing technical resources dedication. While there is no way to know whether the technical budget of teams has been reduced, we can only look at the number of new parts homologated by teams in each period, as shown in the table below.
Source: FIA. Included only jokers homologated in the first 2,5 years of each category
Aero modifications are usually homologated with a bodywork joker. The table shows that the total number of bodywork jokers used is very similar, while a total of 4 more jokers of any type has been used by Teams in the Rally1 period. In conclusion, technical development in the Rally1 era seems to be the same or even higher than in the previous period, and the cost reduction goal on this side would have not been satisfied.
J.Huttunen/M.Lukka, Ford Puma Rally1, 2022 Rally Finland, 9th – image by M-Sport World Rally Team
Finally, another goal of the new category was to increase the number of manufacturers and drivers taking part in the Championship with a top car. While no manufacturer has joined the Championship, what has happened with drivers?
The list of drivers who have debuted at the wheel of a top car in the Rally1 era includes Jari Huttunen in 2022, Gregoire Munster and Alberto Heller in 2023, and Martins Sesks in 2024 (to date). Compare it with the list in previous years, and the difference is significant, even without any debut in 2018:
2017: Esappeka Lappi, Teemu Suninen, Jourdan Serderidis, Armin Kremer
2019: Takamoto Katsuta, Gus Greensmith, Pontus Tidemand, Jane Tuohino, Jouni Virtanen
2020: Kalle Rovanperä, Pierre-Louis Loubet, Ole Christian Veiby
2021: Adrien Fourmaux, Oliver Solberg, Nil Solans, Armando Pereira
N.Solans/M.Martí, Hyundai i20 Coupé WRC, 2021 Rally Catalunya, 8th
The number of drivers who have debuted at the wheel of a Rally1 car is significantly smaller than those who did it at the wheel of the previous generation cars, showing that it is more difficult for drivers to debut at the wheel of a Rally1 car. Efforts are required to balance this situation, and the recent non-hybrid initiative that allowed Sesks to debut in Poland seems a good alternative.
In conclusion, while some of the goals set by FIA have been achieved (increased safety, similar performant cars), some others not: the cars are more expensive and complex, with technical development at the same (or higher) level than in the previous period, no new manufacturers have joined the Championship, and drivers find more difficulties to get a wheel in a top car. Changes are required for these goals to be fulfilled with the 2027 regulations, for the good of our sport.
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