Two Guys Rally

Ruh Roh! What is the FIA Doing? [ December 10th, 2008 ] By:Charles Smith

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.

Rally To Become Cheaper [ June 26th, 2008 ] By:Charles Smith

The FIA cleared up rule changes for the 2010 World Rally Championship. They decided that the WRC will adopt rules similar to Super2000 (aka S2000) in an attempt to make the WRC cheaper and easier to enter.

One of the new rules is that they will impose a price limit on the car. However I think big teams will still be able to get around this. The Subaru World Rally Team (SWRT), for example, is handled by Prodrive and they could absorb much of the design cost of the car and not “charge” as much as they should for parts. Even so, I think the lower priced cars will draw more manufacturers and competitors alike, so that is a good thing.

Hopefully, they do not ban forced induction, ie turbochargers, as that is one of the rules in S2000. I am fond of turbochargers, but I do understand that adding a turbocharger and making a reliable setup can be expensive, but I just love them too much. I seem like a giddy schoolgirl around turbochargers and will giggle uncontrollably when hearing them spool. However this rule may make sense if the FIA also introduces a lower power limit (280HP for S2000 vs 300HP for WRC).

One rule that is present in S2000 and not the WRC is the transmission requirements. In S2000 you must buy an official gearbox (sequential duhhh) while in the WRC the top teams make their own. It will be interesting to see if and how this rule is implemented. I doubt that it will make entering the WRC any cheaper and could pose a problem if teams are not allowed to redesign a mediocre sequential gearbox that they must buy.

Im glad that the rule changes are going to be less drastic than people thought at first (Front-Wheel Drive Only, 1600cc limit, etc…). It is bringing the WRC back to the “Real Cars, Real Roads, Real Fast” that rally is so often described as.