WRC main class in 2025

[AndyRAC]

I don’t think you will see Audi back in WRC anytime soon, electric or not.
Competing with Hyundai and Toyota is not where they see their position in the market place, if the VW group returns I would think it would be Skoda or SEAT (Cupra) that is the brand to do so.
I hope that I am proved wrong, I would love to see Audi back, but I don’t see it happening.

Correct; they're a 'Premium' brand, and the WRC is not where their competitors are racing. Saying that, I don't think F1 is a good fit for them either.....

I'm not overly optimistic in any new manufacturers joining in the near future; what exactly is in the WRC for them that they can't get elsewhere?

[bandit12]

I would like to see that 🙂

[er88]

https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/your-...c-drivers-5-1/
After Sainz in WRC polls, it’s now Tanak who won.
Clearly zero value to these polls...

Lol, Estonians spamming Dirtfish

[typhoon]

Is it so difficult to write down some kind of regulations taking inspiration from the FIA WEC, so that it will accomodate both Hybrid and Electric future's top-class rally cars?

[Eli]

Here we go again: https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/the-c...ack-six-years/

[Norm75]

Correct; they're a 'Premium' brand, and the WRC is not where their competitors are racing. Saying that, I don't think F1 is a good fit for them either.....

I'm not overly optimistic in any new manufacturers joining in the near future; what exactly is in the WRC for them that they can't get elsewhere?

Audi won’t join. Wrc just doesn’t have the roi for them to bother. It’s a shame, but rallying is becoming irrelevant and dare I say it a bit boring.
We are back to where we are about 15 years ago. Two manufacturers (and m sport) and it has all become a bit predictable. I love rallying but it doesn’t grip my attention like it once did.
For me it was the spectacle of watching cars you could go out and buy, from multiple manufacturers, with many drivers and not just a handful of cars and drivers as it is now.
I lost interest in the late 2000’s when it was just Ford and Citroen, and Loeb winning everything. I am losing interest again and don’t watch it avidly as I have been. It took 4 manufacturers and a decent amount of drivers to piquet my interest again about a decade ago but it just isn’t doing it for me right now.

And that is me speaking as a 47 year old, that has been interested in rallying for 40 of those years. Unfortunate the sad passing of Ken Block, but the way I see it is Audi were more than happy to throw some money in Ken’s direction and let him do some YouTube videos throwing an Audi around (or Ford, or Subaru) and he would get more interest generated through one video than they would get from running a factory team for a whole season in a championship that not many people other than avid rally fans really care about. Controversial and sad to say, I know, but formula 1, Le Mans 24hrs and even the Dakar rally hold more prestige. Making a drive to survive style docu series won’t change anything either as I have read suggested on here on a couple of occasions.

[fiscorpun]

Populairty comes in waves.... Remember "how Dakar was growing" last year? Well, where is it right now?
We know Dakar is happening, but the coverage and the interest is not even close to what was last year.
I thought Dakar and W2RC would start to EAT WRC, but nope... Just a thing
Same for WEC... Everybody was so excited... but it already died haha Im curious to see the new brands but its already dead. So weird. Maybe WRC will also have its 4 months of big news and promisses... but then, it goes away.
THe modern world is getting SO weird. Not sure you guys agree (especially on the "Wec is already dead again") but Its how I feel. Its like... everything is just propaganda and when we see it at several places ON THE INTERNET it looks incredible and huge.... But nah, racing is ALWAYS just a niche.

[wyler]

did we already discuss this?
https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/how-t...facturer-boom/

[AndyRAC]

Populairty comes in waves.... Remember "how Dakar was growing" last year? Well, where is it right now?
We know Dakar is happening, but the coverage and the interest is not even close to what was last year.
I thought Dakar and W2RC would start to EAT WRC, but nope... Just a thing
Same for WEC... Everybody was so excited... but it already died haha Im curious to see the new brands but its already dead. So weird. Maybe WRC will also have its 4 months of big news and promisses... but then, it goes away.
THe modern world is getting SO weird. Not sure you guys agree (especially on the "Wec is already dead again") but Its how I feel. Its like... everything is just propaganda and when we see it at several places ON THE INTERNET it looks incredible and huge.... But nah, racing is ALWAYS just a niche.

The WEC is dead? What planet are you on....Tell that to all the manufacturers who have joined - and the fans who made Le Mans already a sell out.

[seb_sh]

The WEC is dead? What planet are you on....Tell that to all the manufacturers who have joined - and the fans who made Le Mans already a sell out.

Obviously Toyota, Peugeot, Ferrari, Cadillac, Porsche and next year Lamborghini, BMW and Alpine are all wrong. :P