Back in business

The WRC's fledging fortunes meant that the FIA, the sport's governing body had to step in to introduce new measures to revive interest in the top echelon of rallying from both car manufacturers and fans alike.

Key to the FIA's attempts to kickstart the resurgence in interest in the WRC are the new more restrictive technical regulations to cut costs and hence entice more manufacturers to join the WRC bandwagon. These restrictive regulations include the switch to the use of cars closely based on those in the Super 2000 category, a ban of the use of exotic materials like titanium, magnesium, ceramics etc in the cars, smaller 1.6-litre engines as well as the use of mechanical gear change systems and mechanical differentials. The rule changes have resulted in Ford and Citroen to switch to the Fiesta RS WRC and the DS3 WRC to replace the Focus RS WRC and the C4 WRC respectively. The new rules have already enticed Mini to commit a full time WRC entry from the 2012 season with the crack Prodrive team, with participation in selected rounds this year to acclimatise to the competitive environment with the Countryman WRC.

The newer, more compact World Rally Cars look no less dramatic than its larger predecessors thanks to features like the pumped up bodywork. According to Ford technical boss Christian Loriaux, the smaller 1.6-litre engines uses more revs than the old 2-litre WRC engines and hence will sound more exciting than its predecessors.

Another key to the WRC's resurgence is the new driving talent that is set to end Loeb's dominance in the category. The Frenchman's biggest threat comes from no other than his team mate, fellow French man and yet another Sebastien - Sebastien Ogier. The latter has beaten Loeb to win the Portuguese and the Jordan rally four rounds in into the season. Ford's Jari-Matti Latvala has Colin McRae's levels of flamboyance in his driving style but his habit of crashing meant the young Finn lacked results previously. Latvala though, has matured as a driver over the last 12 months and he will have plenty to prove. Also stirring up interest in the WRC this year is 2007 F1 champ Kimi Raikkonen - the Iceman will drive a DS3 for the Citroen junior team.

The Sardinia rally later this month will see Mini's first foray into modern day WRC and rally organisers have already reported record breaking new generation World Rally Car entries. There are also rumours circling around that Volkswagen is set to announce in Sardinia, a WRC programme with the Polo from 2013. The world's biggest car maker's confirmation for a future WRC programme might just be the incentive for other car manufacturers to follow suit and hence, sparks the WRC's return to its former glory. Let's keep our fingers crossed for such an eventuality then.

Credits: Story by Raymond Lai Photos by Manufacturer