And with that, we have arrived at the present day. Over 60 years of sporting history,
with evolving technologies, changing rules and new ideas left the WRC looking far different to what
anyone could’ve expected back when it began way back in 1973. When the sport entered the 2020s,
everyone would’ve expected it to be with a bang. However, as we all know, this wasn’t the case.
When the covid-19 pandemic essentially shut the world down in 2020, the WRC was just one
of many branches of motorsport that was severely down-sized this year. Following on from the 2019
season, which was contested over 14 rounds, the FIA had planned to slightly decrease this
showing to just 13 for the 2020 season. However, with the pandemic forcing many nations to close
their borders, just 7 rallies were contested, a record low. With the exception of Chile,
which was removed due to political unrest, every other rally, being Argentina, Portugal, Finland,
Germany, Wales, returning favourites Safari, New Zealand and Japan, and even newcomer Belgium,
were all cancelled. Some of them, such as Germany and Wales, never reappeared after this,
at least for now. Even events that made it to the final roster were affected- for example,
Rally Sweden had to be shortened due to a worrying lack of snow. It was a shambles. But, this all
meant that the 2020 season ended up being a very unique one. The point totals at the end were much
lower and closer than what was usually expected- in the end, Hyundai clinched their second
manufacturer’s title by just 5 points over Toyota, and Sebastien Ogier took his 7th world title.
2021 would see a return to form for the competition- with most restrictions from
the pandemic having been lifted, the number of rounds was increased back up to 12,
and at the end of those twelve rallies Toyota would come out on top for their 5th title,
and Sebastien Ogier would claim victory number 8. If it wasn’t clear Ogier had now become a legend
that could match the Sebastien that came before him. While it seems ridiculous that someone could
take so many wins consecutively, its even more ridiculous that someone else could come and match
that feat straight after, not to mention the fact that they share names. What it also indicates is
that the French might have to be the top contender for the best country to be born in if you want
to become a world-conquering rally driver. Another thing that was made concrete this
year was that the World Rally Car had finally reached its end. After 24 years in competition,
2021 would be the final year that the top level of competition would compete under this ruleset.
As mentioned in the previous episode, Rally1 was now to take centre stage- as well as
hybrid technology finally making its way to the stage, homologation was a thing of the past,
as any competition car was rated as “category 2” which essentially stipulates that while they do
not have to enter production, they do have to clearly be based on an existing road vehicle.
The aforementioned hybrid system is the same in every car in the rally, being supplied by only one
manufacturer. These will be used to solely power the cars in certain sections of rallies, and on
special stages provide an extra 134hp on top of the combustion engine. With a complete rewriting
of the rules, any manufacturer wishing to continue competing was going to have to create something
new. Toyota’s newest monster is the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, based on the fan favourite GR Yaris,
Hyundai retained the I20 as their choice, though faced troubles for the first few rallies,
and Ford would switch from the Fiesta to the apparently more unconventional Puma. At the time
of writing this, of course, the 2022 WRC season is in progress, with Rally Estonia the next event
in the calender. Two big returns will be made this year- Rally New Zealand is returning for the first
time since 2012, and Rally Japan is returning for the first time since 2010, after it was cancelled
in both 2020 and 2021. Toyota looks to be taking a substantial lead over Ford and Hyundai, winning
4 out of the 6 events so far. Sebastien Ogier, however, who has been largely on top for almost a
decade, is currently sat way down in 8th, instead, Finnish driver Kalle Rovanpera, racing for Toyota,
looks to be taking a comfortable lead over Belgian driver Thierry Neuville,
who is racing for Hyundai. Only time will tell as to where this season will finish.
While the Rally1 cars haven’t yet had time to prove themselves as worthy next steps in the
evolution of the sport, one thing that is clear is that speed will not be a problem for them.
The question that I would like to conclude this episode and this series as a whole with
is- are electric powered rally cars truly the future of the competition? Obviously,
the fight against climate change and governmental acts mandate that manufacturers switch over to
cleaner and greener sources of power, but even hybrids that have been popping up as of recent
simply don’t have the flair and magic that a traditional rally car would have,
at least in my opinion. Sure, they are just as fast if not much faster than a petrol powered
machine, not to mention safer, more efficient and far greener, and maybe in time they will come into
their own and a truly unique era of rallying will emerge in the next decade- but they just
don’t feel as alive as an old rally car. Maybe it is just nostalgia for these machines and legendary
battles that they took part in from bygone years, but there really is something special about
hearing the roar of a turbocharged engine approach through the trees, emanating from a metal bullet.
Maybe a bit pretentious, but that’s just me. Even though this era of the sport is coming to a close,
we can still reminisce and enjoy videos captured at the time. And what of the new
Rally1 rules? While technologically, yes, they are heading in the right direction, on another,
equally important level, it doesn’t seem to be creating the competition a sport like this
needs. There have been no new manufacturers join the battle since 2017, which is five
years ago as of writing this. While these smaller groups of brands battling it out can be fun,
there is just something awe inspiring about seeing multiple names and people all vying for the title,
it plays a large part in why the likes of Group B and Group A are so beloved. Simply put, it creates
better sport. Hopefully, in time, more brands can be enticed back into the top level of competition,
such as the likes of Skoda, Subaru, Citroen, Peugeot and Mitsubishi. And then maybe, we
could truly see a spiritual return of the golden eras from years gone by. Thank you for watching.