WRC mainclass from 2027

[deephouse]

There was articles about new constructor/manufacturers comitting. And also before that promoter will be revealed in june. I read that they have this meeting at the end of this month, but by their usual timeline of course nothing will be revealed for some time. As I was saying, I honestly don't believe that anybody is even interested at the moment, for commiting or even being promoter. I will change my mind when it will be official. Too many teasing and promising were already out and all we got was a little information about two new constructors/privateers and Hyundai probably leaving for good... Oh, right and Toyota struggling to match the performance of their Rally2 car. The time is ticking and all I know that everything is too late, absolutely everything. The WRC27 season will be a mess.

[WRCStan]

The WRC27 season will be a mess.

It absolutely will and always was going to be. Eras don't switch overnight.

[Ferranis]

Middle of June and we have only seen the Toyota on track, no new promoter, no new (real) manufacturer. It's going great

[Fast Eddie WRC]

"The new cars will cost something like €350,000 each to produce, and running three cars will cost something like €25 to €30 million per year in the future; we won't be talking about €70 million per season anymore."

So how are these new Tuners going to afford this, or the drivers ? It seems like only all-in OEM's could.

[Ferranis]

"The new cars will cost something like €350,000 each to produce, and running three cars will cost something like €25 to €30 million per year in the future; we won't be talking about €70 million per season anymore."

So how are these new Tuners going to afford this, or the drivers ? It seems like only all-in OEM's could.

+ give it 2 years or so and we are back at 70 again (if 30 mill is even correct)

The type of car really does not matter at all to be frank. Toyota would spend 70 million on a Rally4 car.

Without a team cost cap - no dice for the other tuners / teams against Toyota

[Kenneth]

It absolutely will and always was going to be. Eras don't switch overnight.

Yeah everyone is praising endurance LMH/LMDh because there are 13 manus who built a car + 3 "tuners".

You know how many of them were there at the start of 2021? Just Toyota, plus Alpine with renamed LMP2 car.

[deephouse]

We are angry because every damn other discipline on FIA list have normal timelines, announcements, media exposures and at the end interest, but WRC is for them like some sort second class or not worthy sport... And all they do is teasing, promising, make things worse everytime and ruin absolutely everything. They think that they are raising interest with that approach, but they are achieving completely opposite effect. The only thing that is really unbeliveable is that countries do fight to have a spot on calendar. I would understand if this sport would really have glamourus status, but it's really strange.

[Kenneth]

I think it's just your feeling that other disciplines have normal timelines and announcements, it's all same

[deephouse]

I think it's just your feeling that other disciplines have normal timelines and announcements, it's all same

Formula 1:
1. The 2022 Ground-Effect Era:
-Initial Rules Locked: October 31, 2019 (Originally meant for 2021).
-The Pandemic Delay: In March 2020, the rules were officially pushed to 2022 due to COVID-19.
-Final Technical Text Locked: October 30, 2020 (Issue 2 of the final 2022 text).
-Lead Time: 15 months (from the adjusted lock date) or 26 months (from the original concept lock). Teams had a massive runway to design the ground-effect floors.

2. The 2026 Active-Aero Hybrid Era
-Power Unit Rules Locked: August 16, 2022.
-Chassis & Active Aero Locked: June 28, 2024 (Ratified by the WMSC).
-Lead Time for Engines: 43 months (3.5 years). Audi, Honda, and Ferrari had nearly 4 years to design the 50-50 electric/combustion units.
-Lead Time for Cars: 18 months (1.5 years). Teams knew exactly what size and weight the cars had to be by mid-2024.

WEC:
1. The Le Mans Hypercar (LMH) Regulations (Introduced 2021)
-Initial Concept Announcement: June 2018.
-Technical Regulations Locked: December 5, 2018 (Approved by the WMSC).
-Lead Time: 27 months (2.2 years). Toyota and Glickenhaus had over two full years of finalized rules before the category debuted at Spa in May 2021.

2. The LMDh Convergence Rule (Introduced 2023)
-Joint Prototype Framework Locked: September 18, 2020 (Main technical parameters finalized between IMSA and ACO).
-Lead Time: 28 months (2.3 years). Porsche, Cadillac, and BMW had over two years to build cars on standardized LMP2 chassis parts before the 2023 season opened.

3. The 2030 Next-Gen Hydrogen & Single-Platform Era
-Core Strategy Locked: June 12, 2026 (Official WMSC approval for the direction of the 2030 class platform).
-Lead Time: 42 months (3.5 years). WEC has already locked down the technical architecture parameters for the next decade, ensuring zero surprises for incoming manufacturers.

WRC:
1. The 2022 Rally1 Hybrid Transition: The final, granular specifications for the safety cells and spec hybrid wiring loops were still being tweaked and handed to teams as late as early 2021—leaving teams like M-Sport and Hyundai fewer than 10–11 months to build and crash-test their real-world 2022 chassis.

2. The 2025 Hybrid Backtrack: In February 2024, the FIA proposed completely removing the hybrid units for 2025. Following an immediate manufacturer mutiny, the FIA had to fully backtrack in June 2024, giving teams just 6 months of notices that the rules were staying exactly the same.

3. The 2027 Next-Gen Cycle: While the broader 2027 framework was conceptually approved, technical directors were left waiting past the traditional 2-year window for the precise aerodynamic volumes. This left them with roughly 14–16 months of true design time.

Summary of the Lead Time Pattern
WEC: 2.5 to 4 years of lead time.
F1: 1.5 years for chassis, 3.5 years for engines.
WRC: 1 year or less of finalized technical text (this part is confusing, as there was claims from teams, that the rules are still not locked or finalized).

Just for comparision, how are they treating WRC.

[Ferranis]

Desperation, that's what it is in WRC's case. The same flip-flopping desperation seen in WRX's downfall. And it will most likely end the same as with WRX