WRC mainclass from 2027

[Fast Eddie WRC]

It's a fair question, who can take on the established WRC Teams ?

Toyota came in with a huge budget, and the previous newcomer to succeed was the giant that is VW, plus they had the new great driver in Ogier.

Hyundai have mostly struggled to compete with Toyota despite a good budget and top drivers and M-Sport have only succeeded with Ogier but otherwise been nowhere near the other Manufacturer teams.

Any new team would need mega money to afford to compete and have to pay top salary to poach one of the elite drivers.

I just dont see it happening.

[typhoon]

It's a fair question, who can take on the established WRC Teams ?

Toyota came in with a huge budget, and the previous newcomer to succeed was the giant that is VW, plus they had the new great driver in Ogier.

Hyundai have mostly struggled to compete with Toyota despite a good budget and top drivers and M-Sport have only succeeded with Ogier but otherwise been nowhere near the other Manufacturer teams.

Any new team would need mega money to afford to compete and have to pay top salary to poach one of the elite drivers.

I just dont see it happening.

If Lancia commits to WRC27, I believe it would have a huge sponsorship from TotalEnergies and probably something from the Middle East like it was with Citroen and Abu Dhabi (I assume the WRC going to Saudi Arabia might be interesting for some region investors) or I can think about sponsorships coming from the US, since WRC will probably sell TV rights at very cheap price to push the access to the US market.

If the WRC will be shown on US networks, having also other 2 events in about the same timezones, plus if they continue and make an even better More Than Machine, it could be a good breakthrough for the series, in order to involve further sponsors from the region.

[Sulland]

All manufacturers should have to come with two teams. 1 team of top crews as now. Team 2 with crews with a mix of young talent and paying gentlemen.

By this we will see more rally1 cars, and talents can compete with the best in same equipmemt!

[PLuto]

All manufacturers should have to come with two teams. 1 team of top crews as now. Team 2 with crews with a mix of young talent and paying gentlemen.

By this we will see more rally1 cars, and talents can compete with the best in same equipmemt!

Which manufacturers? Currently there is only one car manufacturer interested in building car according to (still not finally defined) 2027 regulations...

[deephouse]

As we all assume it will be Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, Toyota GR WRT, GR WRT, Gazoo WRT and all current drivers spread across this teams :P

[denkimi]

I wouldn’t be mad if toyota had 4 teams and all drivers had the same car. It would be a unique chance to see who is the actual best of them all.

[Morte66]

All manufacturers should have to come with two teams. 1 team of top crews as now. Team 2 with crews with a mix of young talent and paying gentlemen.

By this we will see more rally1 cars, and talents can compete with the best in same equipmemt!

Any plan based on rules "forcing" teams to do what we want, fails when the teams decide not to enter a championship with those rules.

Teams can't be forced, they have to be lured.

[deephouse]

True but some rules must be there, otherwise again the biggest, the richest and most powerful teams would dominate. That 2027 rules could be one of the best if it will really open the door to many manufacturers and teams. They open stuff for many various things so brands could see something they can sell. Also whining how it's impossible to build a machine under 400,000 is just excuses and only those whine who are already out with a leg and half.

When do we have this thing the last time? I always said the rules should be more open, regarding engine, parts, chassis because the chance of entering with various teams is way bigger than such a restricted rules until now.

[Steve Boyd]

The British Touring Car Championship technical rules are interesting and derived from a need to have a wide selection of cars entered without huge development costs. There are specified transmissions & suspension parts like hub uprights and strict controls on engines, with the option of using a championship spec engine from a single supplier, if the car manufacturer/team doesn't have a suitable engine or doesn't want to develop their own. The bodyshell is from any suitable production car, but the bits underneath are closely controlled to keep costs down and the championship open. Could this work in WRC?

[PLuto]

The British Touring Car Championship technical rules are interesting and derived from a need to have a wide selection of cars entered without huge development costs. There are specified transmissions & suspension parts like hub uprights and strict controls on engines, with the option of using a championship spec engine from a single supplier, if the car manufacturer/team doesn't have a suitable engine or doesn't want to develop their own. The bodyshell is from any suitable production car, but the bits underneath are closely controlled to keep costs down and the championship open. Could this work in WRC?

Thats the question. You need to find a way how to manage finances in the sport. Currently rallysport is based on manufacturers. And they are not interested in using "single" parts from other manufacturers. There was an attempt with R4 kit category. When some customers were interested in it, manufacturers were fighting against it. So it died...