WRC future

[scn]

b) Obviously you are not following EV cars much. Yes lithium batteries need certain temperature range to work best.... which is why the whole difficulty of efficient EV design is battery temperature control (and aerodynamics). Since Tesla S introduction 9 years ago integrated fluid-based battery temperature management has become standard on EVs. Basically no single non-basic EV today does not have it.
Those work at +55 and at -20 as well. For too high temperature it's only a question of cooling sizing, bigger radiator and bigger water pump... for too low it's a question of how much electricity you use to warm up the battery. If effiiency/range is not a big concern (like in a rally car) this is not a problem. Certainly not compared to current cars with white-hot turbos and red-hot exhausts on full ALS running trough the length of the car (guess what makes the car go +55 on Acropolis)

c) Sure, that's just a technicality though. Check out what forces F1 crash structure can take and what size it is.

I like watching steam engines too... or sailboat racing for that matter. Don't have a problem watching EV rally car.

55 degrees is normal in any car without insulation in Greece in summer, even with its engine out of operation. With exhaust working the temperatures are higher.
I know about the temperature control stuff, this is why I said about "a solution". However, this is extra weight and extra weight is murder to the drivability and endurance, especially in places like Greece, Turkey and Cyprus.
Regarding roll-cages, I would first like to see the cost of the technical solution before saying "just a technicality". And, mainly, the cost for lower categories.
My main concern is not WRC. It is the lower categories. Lower categories are already far too expensive for young drivers and this is the main reason the sport is slowly dying all around the world. I am afraid that electric cars will accelerate the decline.

I also like sailing and actually I am into it. And what I love most is the combination of the effort, the view of the wild sea and the noise from the wind and the sails when I am out there with 6 or 7 on Beaufort scale. If suddenly someone put earplugs on me so that I could not listen to the noise, I would not regard it sailing but a very bad joke. It is the same with rallying. If someone made me wear earplugs while driving my rally car or spectating, I would feel that one of the most important ingredients of the whole procedure is missing. Try it for yourself. Next time you go to watch WRC or drive your rally car, wear earplugs.

And finally, my opinion about cars is the one that Walter Rohrl has expressed: The most important thing in driving a car is that it has low weight. If someone hasn't driven a 680 kg car, even if mediocre in every other sector, I don't expect him to have any understanding of what Rorhl said. However, Rohrl spoke the truth.

EDIT. Resembling a Gr2 or Gr4 rally car with a steam engine?! Have you ever been in one? This is not a rhetorical question, I am actually asking to find out the level of experience, because to me the biggest mistake I have made in this life is when I sold my Gr2 to go to more modern cars.

[AnttiL]

Maybe the new tubular frames of the cars can be designed to a lower weight in order to compensate the weight of the batteries?

[denkimi]

The current cars are such an epic success that we are now down to 2 manus, maybe 1,5 next year.

Before the current cars we had also just 2 manufacturers + m-sport.

[rage82]

Before the current cars we had also just 2 manufacturers + m-sport.

I think we have 3 Manus + M-sport: Citroen, VW and Hyundai.

Sent from my Redmi Note 5 using Tapatalk

[AnttiL]

Yeh, except for 2016 when Citroen took a year off to develop the C3...and Meeke won two rallies

[RS]

Paddon in action with the Kona

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFMwLKqYtMU

Looks good to me in terms of speed and handling. The problem is the noise, but then I don’t like fake noise either.

[pantealex]

Getting worse and worse..
This news is like a spit in the face for a team like M-Sport..
There are no new manus for 22' and no way that any new manu will join before 25', because why would someone develop a hundreds of thousands worth car for 2 years only..

Yes an no.

2022Hybrids will be too old technic if used until 2027... Manus will go away...

[AndyRAC]

It will be history repeating; 3-4 manufacturers, if we're lucky - and that is par for the course. For all the good intentions the WRCar formula brought, apart from the early years, it hasn't been what you'd hoped. And in it's final year, we have 3*; Hyundai, Toyota & M-Sport - as opposed to 1997; Subaru, Mitsubishi, Ford & Toyota with a mid/late season debut.

How many will we see next year - the usual 3? And how many extra will join? Matton doesn't really fill me with confidence.

[Francis44]

Yes an no.

2022Hybrids will be too old technic if used until 2027... Manus will go away...

Such nonsense......

You do know several teams have commited to F1 until 2025, with hybrid technologic, right?!
And do you know aswell most are sure beyond 2025 hybrid PU's will continue (they want it more hybridisation, but combustion focused nonetheless). So if its good enough for F1 I really dont see how it cannot be for WRC.

[AnttiL]

Manufacturers likely would like to have their own input in developing the hybrid element, and maybe the role of the hybrid element will be increased. Also shortening the cycle would open the door for moving to electric cars, if the world is ready for that and manufacturers are interested. Meanwhile, they can still just extend the homologation cycle (like they did with the current cars, which were supposed to run only for three years initially)