The FIA has revealed the future pathway for the World Rally Championship with the release of the 2027 technical regulations and a new-look points system to be introduced next year.
The World Motor Sport Council has confirmed the new look ‘WRC27’ cars will be more versatile and built to a cost cap of €345,000 in a bid to encourage more teams and manufacturers to compete. The regulations will operate on a 10-year cycle.
Reducing costs has been a key element of the new ruleset after the current Rally1 cars' costs reached almost one million euros.
These cost savings will be achieved through component cost specifications rather than financial regulations. There will also be savings in the technical designs of certain components that will make them more durable over the course of a rally.
In addition to reducing the cost of the cars themselves, running costs for teams are set to be reduced by limiting personnel, reducing logistics transport costs, increasing the use of local facilities and increasing data connectivity to aid offsite engineering.
The Rally1 cars will continue to be based around the current space frame chassis but will be built to enable manufacturers to run a range of powertrains, including the internal combustion engine, hybrid and full electric. It is understood a torque meter will be utilised to equalise technology should manufacturers opt for different powertrains.
Bodywork from almost any scaled production car can be fitted to the safety cell, meaning that hatchbacks could conceivably compete against saloons, SUVs, and there’s even the possibility for bespoke rally concept designs to take to the stages from 2027.
Motorsport.com understands that the speed of the 2027 cars will be slower than the current Rally1 and closer to the pace of the top-tier WRC cars from 2012-2016.
The regulations lay the groundwork for the potential for a cross-over between the FIA World Rally Championship and the FIA World Rallycross Championship. While it would still require further approvals and updates, the rules set the stage for a manufacturer or a team to run concurrent programmes, potentially with different powertrains catering for the specific needs of each championship.
“The regulations that we have approved today are critical to the long-term growth of the FIA World Rally Championship. They lay the foundations for an exciting future with a focus on cost containment, sustainability and growing participation at the top level of rallying,” said FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
New points system confirmed for 2025
The FIA has also confirmed that the controversial points system introduced for this season will undergo a change for 2025.
This year’s all-new points structure has proved a hot topic among competitors and fans thanks to its complexity and weighting that many feel has devalued the overall rally victory.
The points have been split across Saturday and Sunday, with drivers able to claim provisional points for their overall position at the end of Saturday’s leg which are then banked if they reach the end of the rally.
A sliding scale of 18-15-13-10-8-6-4-3-2-1 was awarded to the top 10 at the end of Saturday, but only to those crews who reach Sunday’s event finish.
In addition to this, Sundays featured a separate points allocation [7-6-5-4-3-2-1] to the top seven fastest crews across Sunday’s stages on top of the 5-4-3-2-1 system for the top five times on the rally-ending Power Stage.
While the new system was designed to improve the action on Sunday, and has been highly effective at creating excitement, drivers and teams have been highly critical of the points weighting of the system that has been derided on several occasions.
A number of proposals to tweak the system were put forward by the WFC Commission earlier this year before the FIA settled on the direction for 2025.
That will see points will awarded based on the general classification of each rally using the following scale: 25-17-15-12-10- 8- 6- 4- 2-1 for the top 10.
Additional points will be awarded to the top five fastest crews on Sunday in addition to the customary 5-4-3-2-1 offered for the Power Stage.
“The revised format brings simplification by removing Saturday points, reduces the chances of a rally winner scoring fewer points than the second-placed competitor, and continue to enhance Sunday’s excitement and competitiveness,” according to the FIA.
“The "Super Sunday" format will maintain its role as a critical competition day, while the Power Stage remains a key element for broadcasters and fans alike.”
