Ruh Roh! What is the FIA Doing?
[ December 10th, 2008 ] By: Charles Smith Posted in » Ramblings
So the FIA is figuring that it should standarize F1 engines and transmissions (or at least provide an advantagous reason to choose that option). The reason? Cost. Apparently development costs have been rising so much they’re pushing big name teams out (see Honda). The low cost Cosworth engine and XTRAC transmission will run a cool $2.44 million upfront then about $8 million per season after that. Amazingly that is cheaper than what all the teams are working with now. Although they teams will still have the option to use their current engine (including development freeze). However the transmission will be the standard XR transmission. In contrast WRC cars cost about one million buckaroos.
Now why do I bring up something that has to do with F1? The FIA is also the governing body of the most watched Rally series: the WRC. This concerns me a bit, as the FIA is considering a very similar thing for Rally (super 2000 ruleset). Sure it makes it cheaper and all that, but the WRC and F1 are the premiere competition platforms for their styles of racing. They’re going to be hugely expensive, but think about the trickle-down (technology wise) that occurs. While I may be preaching to the choir, the WRX would be no where near what it is now or not even exist (STI especially). The Ferrari Enzo would not exist if it were not for F1 trickle down. Infact, Quattro would not exist if it weren’t for Rally (nor would most of the awesome AWD systems out there).
Barring supercars and budget ‘performance’ cars, F1 has advanced the software world! The driver’s practice on “almost” perfect simulators developed by their respective teams, that contain track surface data within +/-2mm of actual. Hell, they even use the internet to reduce the massive number of people they have to ship around the world. Check out some more technology trickle down that gets pushed by F1.
Either way, the FIA is maybe messing with a decent working formula and I hope they don’t push standard engines/transmissions too much in both F1 and the WRC. Technology freezes remind me too much of NASCAR (while sure they have some advacement, Carbs are a thing of the past and are sharing less and less in common with most street cars daily), and I really do not want Rally to be like NASCAR. Let’s hope for the best.
December 15th, 2008 at 4:20 am
It seems that the current trend in motor sport is cutting costs and worst of all, the performance of racing vehicles. With new rules to be introduced from 2010 onwards where current world rally cars will be replaced by ‘less exciting’ S2000 cars which are cheaper, I wonder if the WRC will still remain as appealing as it is today in time to come. On the positive side, it will encourage more manufacturers to hop on to the WRC due to lower costs (i’ve heard that a S2000 car will not cost beyond 60,000 Euros otherwise its not counted). Perhaps Peugeot may be interested to make a return to the WRC, considering that their only modern rally car for now, the 207 S2000 is undoubtedly the best in the market.