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Dear
Rally family, dear friends,
On behalf of the FIA Rally Department, I
am very pleased to welcome you to Issue
#17 of the FIA Rally Newsletter,
published following the meeting of the
FIA World Motor Sport Council in Geneva
on October 19.
While confirmation of the 2024 FIA World
Rally Championship calendar is an
important step as we move towards next
season, other WMSC decisions were
particularly significant.
A major renaming exercise of the
Cross-Country Rally Sporting
Regulations, including events,
championships and categories, was
approved and will make the FIA World
Rally-Raid Championship, for one, easier
to understand and follow. The changes
were made in conjunction with W2RC
promoter A.S.O. and the Cross-Country
Rally Commission.
The approval of the Rally5-Kit
regulations creates an even more
accessible entry level to rallying with
major ASN involvement and the prospect
of growing motor sport participation
around the world.
Several proposals from the WRC, Rally
and Cross-Country Commissions were also
ratified by the WMSC, all of which will
help to strengthen FIA championships
globally.
Switching away from the WMSC, the FIA
Rally Star Training Season is nearing
completion with just the Lausitz Rallye
left to run from November 9-11. Plenty
of potential has been shown and much
progression made by the six young
drivers, more good news for the future
of the sport.
With the next generation in mind, the
FIA Junior WRC Championship and FIA
Junior ERC Championship titles came down
to final-round deciders with both
champions – William Creighton and
Norbert Maior – rewarded with prize
drives that will allow them to take
their next step up the FIA Rally
Sporting Pyramid.
Rally Nova Gorica, a round of the FIA
European Rally Trophy, coincided with
the FIA Volunteers Weekend (September
22-24). Comments from ERC drivers Jon
Armstrong and Hayden Paddon underlining
the importance of those who give up
their time – often without financial
reward – to make motor sport happen
appear in a later section of this
Newsletter.
Andrew Wheatley
FIA Road Sport Director
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Q&A
with Andrew Wheatley:
Sporting updates and
opportunities as 2023 comes to
a close
 With
the 2023 season nearing its
closing stages, FIA Road Sport
Director Andrew Wheatley
discusses the many
opportunities in store for the
sport at all levels globally.
Approval
of the Rally5-Kit regulations
is hugely important as a means
of providing accessible
rallying globally and, as a
result, driving motor sport
participation. Can you explain
the thinking behind this new
and exciting category?
“We have an incredibly
successful Renault Clio
Rally5, for example, but
it’s not sold throughout the
world and there are not so
many other options on the
marketplace. We sat down with
the FIA Technical Department
to see how we could open up
the Rally5 entry-level concept
to make it more accessible
internationally. The result is
the Rally5-Kit regulations.”
What are the
differences between Rally5 and
Rally5-Kit?
“The Rally5-Kit
regulations follow a very
similar principle to Rally5,
namely a two-wheel-drive car
up to 1.6 turbocharged or up
to 2-litre normally aspirated
which is then given a limited
number of modifications to
change it from being a
standard production vehicle to
a car that has the feel and
driving dynamics of a proper
competition car. The changes
are in the gearbox, with the
five-speed sequential gearbox
an option rather than being
compulsory. The FT3 fuel tank
is not required and there is
also an option for one-way
adjustable dampers to enable
the car to be competitive
against the Rally5 cars that
exist. But instead of being
homologated by the FIA in
Europe, the cars can be
homologated through a
collaboration between the
local ASN and the FIA in
Geneva.”
How will that work?
“If you are in South
America, Australasia, in
Europe or wherever, you can
locally homologate a car in
the Rally5-Kit class which
will then be available to
compete all over the world
under international
homologation. It’s a way of
being able to use local parts
and local experience to be
able to introduce vehicles
that could work cost
effectively in the local
market. The primary goal for
Rally5-Kit is to provide
competitors with a route into
homologated cars that will
ultimately create a series of
one-make championships around
the world.”
What’s the cost?
“The intention is that
the conversion kit will cost
between 15,000-18,000 euros,
meaning you can take a base
car and between 15,000-18,000
euros later you will have a
competition car that can
compete anywhere in the world.
The target performance of the
Rally5-Kit car is similar to
Rally5. A system of balancing
the air restrictor against the
weight of the car will be used
so if the car is heavier, it
will have a bigger air
restrictor, it it’s lighter
it will have a smaller air
restrictor. The intention is
to be able to balance the car
performance against the
benchmark of the existing
Rally5 cars that are
available. It will create more
opportunities at national
level with the opportunity to
develop international regional
series.”
When will the first
Rally5-Kit car break cover?
“The first car that will
use the Rally5-Kit regulations
will be the Suzuki that’s
been homologated in
conjunction with RFEdA in
Spain. It will be competing
from the start of 2024 and we
are working with a number of
ASNs around the world to
develop similar one-make
championships, which have
always had a good response and
have always helped to develop
drivers in a very positive
way. The ASNs will perform a
major role in making
Rally5-Kit a success with the
aim of doubling motor sport
participation globally.”
The WRC calendar for
2024 has been revealed. What
will it bring?
“It brings true classic
events, including Monte-Carlo,
Sweden, Safari, Portugal,
Finland or the Acropolis,
emerging rallies like Croatia,
Chile and Japan and new
innovative events such as
Latvia and the Central
European Rally. And it means
we can look forward to another
successful FIA World Rally
Championship season in 2024.
We’re assured of a good
variety of strong rallies over
four continents and welcome a
return of the sport to the
enthusiastic fans in Central
and Eastern Europe.”
FIA Rally Newsletter
#16 provided an update on
steps being taken to deliver
an even better WRC by
consulting with the drivers.
Will any of their proposals be
taken onboard?
“We received 82 ideas
through Petter Solberg, the
Vice President of the FIA
Drivers’ Commission and
we’re very grateful for all
Petter’s help and hard work.
We’re already seeing the
first steps just a few weeks
later. Small things for now,
such as bigger service areas
for WRC2 teams and requested
items signposted on road
sections, but there’s much,
much more to come. The good
thing is we have had very
positive discussions and we
have identified a roadmap
which we can now propose to
the WMSC. It will take time
and there are many challenges
to overcome but there’s
momentum now and clear
examples that progress is
being made, although there’s
no such thing as an overnight
fix. But we must not lose
sight of the fact that we’ve
had some very good levels of
competition in all classes in
the WRC this year. We’ve had
five different winners in
Rally1, all manufacturers have
finished on the top step of
the podium, and you genuinely
don’t know who is going to
win the next round, which is
fantastic.”
The Cross-Country
Rally Sporting Regulations
have been modified following a
major renaming exercise. What
benefits will this bring?
“With the changes, which
were made in conjunction with
W2RC promoter A.S.O. and the
Cross-Country Rally
Commission, we simply wanted
to make some of the
terminology used in the sport,
such as the category and event
types, easier to understand.
We believe we’ve achieved
that objective.”
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FIA
WRC 2024 set for lift-off
following calendar reveal
An
early-season date for Safari
Rally Kenya, the debut of Rally
Latvia in the FIA World Rally
Championship and the comeback of
Rally Poland are among the
highlights of the 2024 WRC
calendar.
Approved by the FIA World Motor
Sport Council at its gathering
in Geneva, Switzerland, on
October 19, next season’s WRC
schedule features 13 events in
four continents between January
and November.
Four events take place on
Tarmac, one on snow and the
remaining eight on gravel to
ensure drivers and their teams
are put to the test in a variety
of conditions and on varying
terrain.
The diverse range of rallies
will also ensure the WRC’s
spectacle and global appeal
remain firmly intact. Of
the 13 rounds, three are outside
Europe – in Chile, Japan and
Kenya – and have been
carefully scheduled to allow
more cars and equipment to be
transported by sea freight
rather than by air freight as
part of the championship’s
commitment to sustainability.
As well as counting for the FIA
World Rally Championship for
Drivers, Co-Drivers and
Manufacturers, all 13 events are
eligible for the FIA WRC2, FIA
WRC2 Challenger and FIA WRC3
championships as well as the FIA
WRC Masters Cup. Competitors can
once again build up their
schedule up to the permitted
maximum for their category with
the number of scoring rounds per
category announced at a later
date.
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Rally
Finland returns as Junior WRC
dates are fixed
Made up of five events once
again, the one-make Junior WRC
category for M-Sport
Poland-built Ford Fiesta Rally3
Evos run on Pirelli tyres will
continue to feature events on
snow and ice (Rally Sweden),
Tarmac (Croatia Rally) and
gravel (Rally Italia Sardegna,
Secto Rally Finland and EKO
Acropolis Rally Greece).
The champion can look forward to
a four-event prize drive in the
2025 FIA WRC2 Championship at
the wheel of a Ford Fiesta
Rally2, 200 tyres from Pirelli
and a test prior to each round.
Drivers will continue to count
their best four scores out of a
possible five with double points
up for grabs on the EKO
Acropolis Rally Greece finale
for drivers who have entered at
least three Junior WRC rounds in
2024. The awarding of a
championship per stage win will
continue.
Romanian Norbert Maior is the
first confirmed participant as
his prize for winning the 2023
FIA Junior ERC Championship.
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No
more WRC2 Power Stage points
Points will no longer be awarded
to the fastest three FIA WRC2
competitors on the Power Stage
of FIA World Rally Championship
events from 2024.
Currently, the quickest trio of
WRC2 crews on the rally-deciding
test score points towards their
end-of-year totals on a
descending scale of 3-2-1.
While a WRC2 competitor will
still be able to register
overall Power Stage points,
should they set a top-five
fastest outright time, there
will no longer be a separate
WRC2 classification.
For live broadcast purposes, a
dedicated start list is used for
the Power Stage, which often
results in as many as five of
the leading WRC2 crews being
given the opportunity to tackle
the Power Stage prior to the
Rally1 crews.
While this important promotional
opportunity will still exist,
because of the lapse in time
between the leading WRC2 crews
completing the Power Stage and
the other WRC2 crews taking the
start, it wasn’t considered
fair to distribute points. This
is due to the potential existing
for some drivers to gain an
advantage or be disadvantage
depending on how the weather or
conditions of the stage surface
change.
The change to the WRC
regulations for 2024 was
approved by the WMSC.
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WRC2
competitor feedback leads
to more Service Park space
 FIA
WRC2 Championship entrants
are being allocated larger
working areas in event
service parks.
The move is a direct
response to feedback from
teams contesting the
Rally2-based category
requesting more space in
which to instal their
service park structures
and benefit from the
resulting improved working
conditions.
Vice President of the FIA
Drivers’ Commission
Petter Solberg has been
overseeing an extensive
consultation process with
teams aimed at further
raising the level of world
championship events.
WRC2 teams had identified
larger working areas in
rally service parks as an
important step towards
enhancing the presentation
and quality of their
respective operations.
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Refuse
disposal points and toilet
stops added to event roadbooks
The location of refuse
facilities and toilets will be
included in roadbooks issued
to competitors by organisers
of FIA World Rally
Championship events.
From 2024, roadbooks will
detail where rubbish bins and
toilets are located on liaison
sections. Drivers and
co-drivers had called for
these changes when giving
feedback on how the FIA World
Rally Championship can be
further improved.
FIA Road Sport
Director Andrew Wheatley said: “Quite
rightly competitors don’t
want to throw their rubbish on
the street and want to know
where it can be disposed of
correctly. Similarly, the
location of toilets on liaison
sections was also requested by
drivers. While these are small
changes, they’re more
examples of how the FIA is
responding to competitor
feedback.”
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Rookies
impress on Rally1 debuts
Two rookie drivers
demonstrated the accessible
nature of Rally1 Hybrid cars
when they used them for the
first time in the FIA World
Rally Championship.
Alberto Heller and Grégoire
Munster contested Rally Chile
Biobío on the back of limited
testing aboard their Ford Puma
Rally1 Hybrid cars.
Despite their absence of
previous experience, both
drivers ran competitively and
would have finished in the top
10 had it not been for various
delays.
Munster said: “It
was unbelievable, what you
expect it’s just 10 times
better. The corners arrive so
fast but on the other hand the
car is just so efficient, you
turn, it turns, you go on the
throttle and it just goes as
quick as you can imagine out
of the corners. And it’s
actually not so difficult to
handle.”
Heller has
vowed to return to the Rally1
category on Rally Chile Biobío,
his home event, next season.
He said: “In
the last split of Chivilingo
[SS7], in the last five
kilometres, we were the
fastest. So for five
kilometres I was the fastest
driver in the WRC!”
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New
Rally5-Kit regulations to
provide accessible entry level
competition
Entry-level rallying has just
got even more accessible with
confirmation of the Rally5-Kit
technical regulations for
2024. Representing a huge step
in the ongoing drive to double
motor sport participation
globally, Rally5-Kit will form
the access point to the FIA
Rally Cars Pyramid.
It has been developed with
affordability firmly in focus,
but without ignoring the need
to deliver a set of rules that
make rallying as attractive to
newcomers as other
disciplines.
FIA Road Sport
Director Andrew Wheatley said: “Rally5-Kit
is crucial for the future of
the development of grassroots
rallying and a fantastic tool
for ASNs around the world to
increase the number of licence
holders.”
Cars conforming to the
Rally5-Kit regulations will be
equipped with standard
engines, one-way adjustable
dampers, standard fuel tanks,
underbody protection and the
option to fit a sequential
gearbox.
Significantly, Rally5-Kit cars
can be homologated at a local
level in collaboration with
the FIA Technical Department,
a move that will allow the use
of parts and expertise
available locally to deliver
more cost-effective
competition cars.
A car conforming to the
Rally5-Kit regulations has
begun testing in Spain through
a partnership between Real
Federación Española de
Automovilismo (RFEdA) and
Suzuki Motor Ibérica.
See Q&A section for more
from Andrew Wheatley on
Rally5-Kit.
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Tyre
quantity reduction to lead to
Middle East Rally Championship
cost savings
Tyre quantities in the FIA
Middle East Rally Championship
will be reduced in 2024 in a
move to lessen the cost of
competing in the long-standing
series.
Regulation changes approved by
the WMSC will result in
competitors in RC2 and RGT
cars being limited to a total
of 16 tyres per event compared
to the previous limit of 18.
Drivers competing in RC3, RC4
and RC5 cars can use a maximum
of 12 tyres rather than 14 as
was the case previously. All
tyres used for shakedown will
not be marked.
FIA Regional Rally
Category Manager Jérôme
Roussel explained: “From
the analysis conducted, we
could determine that it was
possible for competitors to
complete the rally distance
using fewer tyres. By
introducing this smaller
amount, costs can be
reduced.”
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MERC
joins ARC, ERC and NACAM
in feeling the Power
 The
Power Stage concept is
coming to the FIA Middle
East Rally Championship in
2024 with the series
following on from the
African, European and
NACAM championships in
introducing the format
rolled out to great
acclaim in the FIA World
Rally Championship.
But rather than preparing
their own set of Power
Stage regulations, MERC
organisers will adopt the
same rules used in the
ERC, a move that will make
it easier for all FIA
regional championships to
adopt what will become a
common set of Power Stage
regulations.
These rules will cover
items such as start
intervals, the allocation
of points and the
allowance for organisers
to stop a car and its crew
on a road section
immediately after the stop
control of a stage for the
purposes of generating
media coverage. If
necessary, however,
organisers would be
authorised to modify the
time allowed to complete
the subsequent road
section.
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Pledge
to increase importance of FIA
titles
FIA rally titles won’t be
awarded to drivers who fail to
compete on at least half the
number of rounds scheduled or
half of the events required to
be eligible for a championship
title.
The rule change for 2024 is an
attempt to prevent a driver
from winning an FIA title by
contesting one event only,
which can lower the value of
the title in question if there
is limited or no competition
from other drivers. It means
that if a championship
consists of six rounds, a
competitor must contest three
rounds to be eligible for an
FIA title.
Although entry levels have
largely prevented this
scenario from occurring, there
have been occasions when a
driver contests one round of a
championship, wins their
category and takes the title
due to there being no
participants on other rounds.
Furthermore, for an FIA title
to be awarded for a
multi-round championship, at
least 50 per cent of the
scheduled number of events,
according to the original
calendar, must have taken
place.
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ERC
rule changes aplenty
 Several
changes have been made to
the FIA European Rally
Championship sporting
regulations for 2024, all
designed to bring further
improvements to the
series, a mainstay on the
international calendar
since 1953.
To assist the live
streaming of the
Qualifying Stage, the gap
between each car will be
increased to two minutes
on asphalt events, which
is the same interval time
as on gravel events.
Rather than selecting
their road order for leg
one, the eligible drivers
will start an asphalt
round according to the
results of the Qualifying
Stage. For gravel events,
the starting order will be
a reverse of the
Qualifying Stage
classification. The Start
Order Selection event will
no longer take place.
All ERC1 crews will start
at two-minute intervals on
leg one of an event with
the top 15 starting two
minutes apart on the
subsequent leg with all
other cars running at
one-minute intervals.
The regroup time prior to
the Power Stage has been
increased from 40 to 50
minutes to allow for the
possibility for the
leading FIA Junior ERC
crews to run first on the
road as part of efforts to
further increase the
championship’s
visibility and profile.
Events will continue to
run over four days from
the start of
reconnaissance to the
finish of the Power Stage.
However, new rules for
2024 approved by the WMSC
will allow event
organisers to schedule an
additional day for
reconnaissance providing
they seek and receive FIA
approval.
Meanwhile, the
championship registration
fees for 2024 have also
been approved.
A number of the changes
ratified by the WMSC came
from proposals presented
to the FIA Rally
Commission by the European
Rally Championship
promoter, WRC Promoter
GmbH.
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FIA
European Rally Championship
for tyre suppliers: how it
works?
Approved by the FIA WMSC
during its Cordoba session in
June, the Geneva gathering
earlier this month
rubberstamped the regulations
for the new-for-2024 FIA
European Rally Championship
for Tyre Suppliers.
Introduced to recognise and
incentivise tyre company
participation the ERC, how
points are scored is covered
by a new regulation, 5.2.2, as
follows: “A
nominated tyre supplier may
score points (as per Art.
3.1.1) with the two best
placed Rally2 cars registered
in ERC (as per Art. V1a 4.2)
and fitted with its tyres in
the final classification of
each rally. Additional cars
fitted by the same supplier
may neither score points nor
detract points from other
cars”.
The creation of the 2024 FIA
European Rally Championship
for Tyre Suppliers followed a
proposal from the ERC
promoter, WRC Promoter GmbH,
to the FIA Rally Commission.
Hankook, Michelin, MRF and
Pirelli signed up as the
ERC’s official tyre partners
in 2023.
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Earlier
finish to CODASUR season
means Zaldivar and Der
Ohannesian are already
champions
 The
change of date for 2023
FIA CODASUR Rally
Championship finale, Rally
del Atlántico, means a
champion has been crowned
earlier than expected.
Based in Uruguay, Rally
del Atlántico had been
due to run from November
23-26, but the FIA
WMSC’s June meeting
approved an earlier date
of October 12-15.
After becoming provisional
CODASUR champion for the
Hyundai-powered Automotor
Rally Team alongside
co-driver Marcelo Der
Ohannesian, Paraguayan
Fabrizio Zalvidar said: “This
is a dream. I remember in
2017 seeing my father win,
and now he sees me win the
FIA CODASUR Championship,
it is something that I
will never forget.”
Read the full story HERE.
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Safety
Delegate powers increased
 The
FIA Safety Delegate can make a
request to the Clerk of the
Course to cancel a special
stage if he or she determines
that the stage implementation
has not been carried out in
accordance with the rally’s
Safety Dossier.
With the responsibility to
monitor the safety of members
of the public and the media,
the FIA Safety Delegate
already has the power to delay
the start of a special stage
by a maximum of 30 minutes if
it is deemed that safety
conditions are not
satisfactory.
From 2024, if the level of
safety cannot be improved
within the time available or
if it is considered that the
stage implementation does not
correspond to the Safety
Dossier, the FIA Safety
Delegate – or the FIA
Observer if no FIA Safety
Delegate has been nominated
– can submit a request to
the Clerk of the Course to
cancel a special stage.
Non-compliance may result in
the matter being reported to
the event Stewards.
The FIA Safety Delegate – or
the FIA Observer if no FIA
Safety Delegate has been
nominated – reserves the
right to report a serious
safety concern to the Closed
Road Commission, which may
result in the issuing of a
Yellow Card.
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Timecard
penalty revised through
use of electronic
monitoring
 Failure
to have a timecard marked
or signed at a control,
for a time entry not to
appear on a timecard or
for a timecard not to be
presented at a control
will no longer result in
exclusion from an event if
it can be proved the crew
has correctly passed a
control.
Should a breach be
reported, the Clerk of the
Course may, in exceptional
circumstances, carry out
an inquiry using resources
such as electronic
recordings (GPS) and
official documentation.
If it can be established
that the crew concerned
passed the control in
question correctly, a
one-minute penalty will be
applied, rather that it
being considered that the
competitor is out of the
event, as is currently the
case.
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Minimum
special stage time rule added
to sporting regulations
 A
section covering minimum
special stage times will be
appear in the Regional Rally
sporting regulations from
2024.
While few countries include
minimum special stage times
– also known as bogey times
– in their rulebooks, some
do, including Ireland and the
United Kingdom.
Currently, a waiver is
required for each case with a
clarification in the
supplementary regulations also
mandated when an FIA-level
event is held in one of those
countries.
By including a clause in the
Regional Rally sporting
regulations, the rule –
47.2.1 – will be easier to
apply and understand.
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Stage
safety changes to address
restarts after delays
 As
part of ongoing efforts to
achieve the highest
possible safety standards
on special stages of
rallies, if there is a
delay of 20 minutes or
more to the running of a
stage for whatever reason,
a safety car must pass
through the stage to
inform spectators of the
impending restart before
the stage can continue.
If this is not possible
under the new regulation
for 2024, it will not be
permitted for the stage to
continue and notional
times will be allocated to
any competing crew that
has yet to take the start
of the stage to minimise
risk.
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