I am not a steward but I would have made the same decision. This is not off-road rallying, so competitor must stay on the road. Off course, organisers could place hay bales on every such place but it's simpler for everyone if that's not needed.
The other thing is comparing with a Rally2 Car doing the WRC2 Championship.
Currently a Driver only has to raise budget for 7 Rounds.
To compete with the WRC27 Cars (as expected in 2027)...
On paper, maybe. But you could easily do the same with F1. Because the final regulations weren't set until end of 2025, things were changing every time.
Well you know when engine regulations were...
Barcelona tells a different story of how this season is going to pan out. The great Mercedes still has a gremlin with warm temperatures. A very rare thing to see Ferrari outsmart Mercedes with...
As if "cheaper" cars are not the solution (that was tried many times in the past, there were many regulation changes that "promised" cheaper cars)...
WRC mainclass from 2027