The governing body of world rallying has finally laid out its blueprint to keep the premier division ahead of the pack. As Motorsport.com reports, the FIA has put forward a proposal to differentiate between classes in the new era in WRC in 2027, tackling potential performance clashes head-on.
Next year the WRC is gearing up for a seismic shift in technical regulations that will see all-new WRC27 cars and Rally2 cars, featuring the FIA’s 7,500-euro update kit, compete under one new Rally1 umbrella. That wild convergence brought immediate worries that machines from the secondary tier might regularly outpace the premier category.
To address this, the FIA has tabled a regulation change to differentiate the two classes. Speaking in a media roundtable, FIA technical director Xavier Mestelan Pinon confirmed that Rally1 and Rally2 Kit cars are set to have a turbo restrictor advantage.
WRC27 and Rally2 Kit cars will be permitted to run a 33mm turbo restrictor, while Rally2 cars without the update kit will have to run a 32mm turbo restrictor. It is anticipated this change could produce as much as a 15-horsepower difference between the two classes, with Rally2 cars producing a 290-horsepower output, ensuring the top-tier machines retain a small power advantage.
The grid is already taking shape for this new chapter. Toyota and tuner operations Project Rally One and RMC Motorsport will compete with WRC27 cars next year, while M-Sport has confirmed it will run a Rally2 Kit car. Hyundai, Lancia and Skoda are yet to confirm their plans for 2027, but all three have Rally2 cars that could compete.
Those standard Rally2 machines without the FIA update kit are also permitted to compete in the championship next year albeit in separate Rally2/WRC2 class. The WRC27 and Rally2 kit cars are built to two separate technical regulations and are expected to produce similar levels of performance, with Rally2 cars featuring the update kit weighing 10 kilograms less than the new WRC2027 cars.
Now, the proposed regulation change will be tabled for vote at the next FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting on 15 October. We will soon find out if this clever technical tweak preserves the proper hierarchy out on the stages.
