The FIA World Motor Sport Council has scheduled a meeting on March 26th to discuss the future of the World Rally Championship. As is well known, the series will be going through many changes in the coming years, thereby assuring that the WRC cars as they presently stand are bound to be transformed over the next few seasons.
Several options are on the table concerning the regulations, with recent rumours indicating tha the FIA is looking into Super 2000 specs. The nature of the future WRC cars might therefore be heading in the same direction as those contesting the Intercontinental Rally Championship, most notably in regards to the adoption of turbocompressed engines.
Other sources linked to the FIA have hinted that the 2010 season might be the last to front four-wheel drives before a return to two-wheel-drive-only rules. That would be more than a change of regulation: it would mark a revolution in the World Rally Championship's approach.
According to British magazine Autosport, FIA President Max Mosley seems quite receptive to the idea. A spokesperson went so far as saying that the scenario does constitute an option, with the purpose of the operation aiming at safer, slower, and cheaper cars while nonetheless offering spectacular performances.
The FIA Rally Commission's President, Morrie Chandler, went a step further by stating that if no compromise is found during the upcoming WMSC meeting, the two-wheel drive option would be invoked. If that were the case, dropping the four-wheel drive racers will be presented as the preferred choice.
Before the appearance of the Audi Quattro – the first four-wheel drive to enter the WRC in the 1980s – the Lancia 037, BMW M3, Sierra Cosworth and Fiat Abarth gave the sport many good moments.
Chandler believes that the added traction presently available to participants offers nothing spectacular in return for the fans who wish to see the cars sliding along the stages, thereby making his point for a call to change the World Rally Championship regulations.
The head of the Rally Commission recognised however that 2WD cars do not represent the current market for some manufacturers, who might not be very keen on spending 50 million euros a year on cars that will not be easily commercialized to the greater public.
