WRC mainclass from 2027

[Fast Eddie WRC]

To the topic if private tuners can carry the championship - of course they can. Dakar/W2RC basically works like that. Dacia is Prodrive, which run their own team even before Renault entered, Toyota is Overdrive, Mini is X-Raid, and many of other cars without manufacturers' backing is there too. etc. etc. There always were and always will be bunch of privateers, full factory teams were really an exeption.

And as it was already mentioned in this thread, there were many attempts to build a rally car from private tuners, that ended on the need of manufacturer backed homologation.

But this is the DNA of rallying. The Manufacturer provided the car and the tuners ran it. Without the Manufacturer (homologated) car there was no car.

WRC and all rallying would have to change completely for cars to be built and run completely by private teams.

Rallying using all kinds of non-road car based vehicles just isn't the same.

[deephouse]

I think that M-Sport would do just fine if not the best, if there would be no manufacturer direct involvement. As mentioned. Manufacturer would provide a car, tuner would build the racing beast, and manufacturer would homologate it. No fancy tents and busses of people just walking up and down service park with no real impact on racing outcome.

[saco0o]

if it wasnt for the homologation thing, the FIA (and promoters, for obvious reasons) wanting MANUFACTURERS PAYING HUGE FEES to compete and the Need for it ''to be a road legal car to travel between stages", cheaper stuff like this
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/AqXOcluzkNQ would be EXCELLENT for entry levels and national championships (maybe even Rally2?) apparently it costs less than 100K, 400hp 4wd ICE - even cheaper if you build a less powerfull engine.
...AND, if you are a manufacturer, you could just switch the front and back bumpers for it to resemble you car. have a yaris fron grill and rear lights, well... "it is a toyota" ISH haha im half joking, ok? but at the same time ehhhh..... dodge did that in US when that championship was going on, for example.
brought a sticker, called it "dodge" and got thousand of eye-balls on your instagram posts about the car.
Its 2025, nothing makes sense anymore

[WRCStan]

mmm "without manufacture's backing" is a long shot, I think it's far from reality. nonetheless, we have m-sport example of a privateer not much backed by many and we all see how it is struggling...

Also from the championship's start in 2022 to now, there were 6, 4, 4 then 3 manufacturers competing, Toyota, Dacia and Ford; and that's across all categories. Neither Mini or the independent builders are there and there's no series-production requirement in T1/Ultimate. Maybe the small teams could carry the cup but once it moved to championship status and the fees had to be paid to a promoter, things changed. I don't know how the cup was, but the drivers championship has registration fees that WRC privateers don't have to pay because the manufacturers face the burden. Only 4 drivers competed all 5 rounds last year... I don't see what's worth copying.

[wyler]

Manufacturer would provide a car, tuner would build the racing beast, and manufacturer would homologate it. .

I'm confused... that's how it worked till now

[denkimi]

I think that M-Sport would do just fine if not the best, if there would be no manufacturer direct involvement. As mentioned. Manufacturer would provide a car, tuner would build the racing beast, and manufacturer would homologate it. No fancy tents and busses of people just walking up and down service park with no real impact on racing outcome.

The "manufacturer homologate it" is the issue here. From a sporting or technical view, there is no need for that. It exists only to make money for the FIA.

You can just create a set of technical rules, and everyone who conforms to those rules is allowed to start. Kinda like in every other technical sport.

[saco0o]

The "manufacturer homologate it" is the issue here. From a sporting or technical view, there is no need for that. It exists only to make money for the FIA.

You can just create a set of technical rules, and everyone who conforms to those rules is allowed to start. Kinda like in every other technical sport.

but you cant travel between stages on a generic hatchback, for example. the police can stop you and arrest the car because its not 'road legal'.
unless theres some kind of deal with EU and the overseas countries. that sounds like an expensive bribery :/

[Kenneth]

but you cant travel between stages on a generic hatchback

Of course you can. Being road legal have nothing to do with manufacturers, otherwise there wouldn't be any new car brands or one-off cars.