WRC mainclass from 2027

[deephouse]

It's not fair to blame the manufacturers for what governments are forcing them to do.

BTW, everybody here wants more manufacturers in WRC yet many unhappy to see doors being opened to them... it's bizarre.

EU made a decision to forbid selling ICE cars in 2035 (it's more than 10 years to hit that year). Manufacturers then almost immediately stop selling ICE cars, and on top of that bring only SUVs. Why? Why they don't start with one, two models and gradually making way for more and more. It's a receipt for disaster and now they need to live with that.

[saco0o]

i just saw a BYD Dolphin Mini here on my street and immediately thought of rally and rx. really cool model. its a hatchback, its small, but its also big, somehow....?
search it over there, on google idk.
im 100% in favor of allowing ev in these championship as long its not mandatory. privateers need to have space... a space they dont have right now with rally1s (imo)

[saco0o]

btw... any infos on why havent chinese manufacturers flocked motorsport yet? i dont believe in 'race on sunday sell on monday" but its no secret motorsport raise the aweareness and value of brands, eh? we keep seeing the same euro/us/japanese brands in f1, motogp, wec, rallying... NIO did fórmula e and its probably the only chinese brand i know... other than byd cuz they sell cars now down here in south america
but theres more than 100 chine car brands haha which is crazy

[deephouse]

btw... any infos on why havent chinese manufacturers flocked motorsport yet? i dont believe in 'race on sunday sell on monday" but its no secret motorsport raise the aweareness and value of brands, eh? we keep seeing the same euro/us/japanese brands in f1, motogp, wec, rallying... NIO did fórmula e and its probably the only chinese brand i know... other than byd cuz they sell cars now down here in south america
but theres more than 100 chine car brands haha which is crazy

They are aiming at having rally in China, it's their next goal, to bring it there, after USA. At least now on the paper. In WRC it was run two times in 1999 and 2016, but the last one was cancelled. It is still run in APRC (Asian-Pacific Rally Championship). It could be major step to bring rally there and maybe one less in Europe, since the brands here are ''dying''. But I think it will come either way sometime in the future. I mean some manufacturer. More and more chinese brands are present on the European market. It was some time ago, that it is interest of chinese brands for rallying, but don't know why they don't eat from their hands, since those who are here isn't show any real interest.

Before Hyundai there was Proton, we could say the most close to China (I exclude Japan out, because they have strong herritage in rallying). Proton did want to come to WRC, but it ended even before it started (Prodrive built ''Impreza''). Although they were very successful in S2000 I think, they should be aiming at coming back. They try with MEM Iriz R5, but don't know if it was this official manufacturer built car or just special tuner one.

[Mary Mary]

EU made a decision to forbid selling ICE cars in 2035 (it's more than 10 years to hit that year). Manufacturers then almost immediately stop selling ICE cars, and on top of that bring only SUVs. Why? Why they don't start with one, two models and gradually making way for more and more. It's a receipt for disaster and now they need to live with that.

Some national governments have their own layer of stronger restrictions, and some outside the EU such as UK and Norway have strong restrictions in place already that affect design, production and sales. Manufacturers were told 2030, then 2035, then that hybrid would be OK afterall, then that e-fuel will be ok afterall. It's not easy or cheap to change a production line and tooling, this would be done at platform level, thus many models or none at all. Some production lines electrified early, will not be changing back, but there is no more demand for what they now produce. The months and years ahead will not be fun for these workers and brands, we will read many bad news. Expect many bail outs from governments that caused this in the first place.

[Mary Mary]

btw... any infos on why havent chinese manufacturers flocked motorsport yet? i dont believe in 'race on sunday sell on monday" but its no secret motorsport raise the aweareness and value of brands, eh? we keep seeing the same euro/us/japanese brands in f1, motogp, wec, rallying... NIO did fórmula e and its probably the only chinese brand i know... other than byd cuz they sell cars now down here in south america
but theres more than 100 chine car brands haha which is crazy

Chinese do not do branding well due to having no intellectual property laws, and consumption does not form the basis of the Chinese economy. 100 car brands, but they are all needed to be cheap and practical. Does it work? Is it affordable?

Nor do they do much sport.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

To be honest, apart from being a general promo for the brand, it's hard to see what WRC and rallying in general provides for a manufacturer.

The days of showing how reliable, tough and fast a car is on all terrains doesn't seem to be what would sell a car to today's consumer. To most it's about price, value for money, size and onboard technology.

Also the Chinese have already got the jump on Europe's market for EVs with their low prices. Many European and US firms are now going for the premium end of the market and rallying doesn't equate with their image.

[saco0o]

https://www.euractiv.com/section/pol...-ribera-warns/

and europe is not planning to delay combustion engine ban (2035)

[saco0o]

found this on an ok rally fb page. more of the same but eh, its looking like this is it...?

This is the proposal made to the teams during the Japan rally that will be approved during the next FIA Motorsport Council on December 11: The 2027 technical regulation will open up to all types of engines and each manufacturer will be able to choose the one they prefer to develop their cars among:
•Combustion engine (powered by 100% synthetic fuels)
•Electric engine
•Hybrid engine (all forms of hybrid, including hydrogen).
The performance of each car will then be leveled by a torque meter that is already used in RallyX and that is working well.
A sort of balance of performance that becomes necessary in a championship made up of cars built in a totally different way.

[Kenneth]

Hope it is true. If we want more manufacturers, freedom of choice of powertrain is only a positive thing.

It makes no sense to force a purpose-made specific engine type instead of allowing to use an engine derived from road cars.