Tänak: New WRC27 cars will be hard to make faster than Rally2 machines
Estonian rally driver Ott Tänak, who has tested the upcoming WRC27 car, predicts next year's new machines will be notably slower and barely quicker than Rally2-class vehicles. The change will complicate competition rules, as three different car categories will contend for stage wins.
The World Rally Championship (WRC) will undergo major technical regulation changes starting next year, replacing the current Rally1 cars with the new WRC27 format, which will feature significantly less engine power. So far, Toyota is the only manufacturer to have developed and tested the new car, having completed more than 5,000 test kilometres in under a year. A large share of that testing was done by Estonian driver Ott Tänak.
Tänak said the new cars will clearly be slower than today's Rally1 machines. He noted it is difficult to predict how the changes will be received, since next year three different categories will compete for overall stage victories: the new WRC27 cars, standard Rally2 machines, and Rally2 vehicles upgraded with a special "WRC Kit." In his view, the pace of these categories could end up being very similar.
More complex competition rules
Tänak pointed out that the coexistence of three categories will create additional complications, particularly regarding start order. He suggested that as many as 40 drivers, rather than a small elite group as before, could end up competing for leading positions on stages. With rallying no longer having a clearly defined top class, the situation will be new and unfamiliar for both competitors and fans.
Comparing the new WRC27 car to the current Rally2 machinery, which he recently tested at Rally di Roma Capitale, Tänak concluded that the performance gap between the two will be minimal. According to him, although the cars handle differently, it will be very difficult to make the new Rally1 class noticeably faster than Rally2 vehicles.
