According to the rally master, cars in the World Series must be high-performance.
Kalle Rovanperä has driven a Rally1 car twice as world champion. Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Reigning World Rally Champion Kalle Rovanperä does not want the World Series to move to Rally2 cars.
Rovanperä does not feel that its current spending game is the right spending game for the value of the World Series, which is an order of magnitude weaker equipment.
Rovanperä fights for race wins with Rally1 class cars. Their features are significantly more competitive than Rally2 cars. On the downside, they are also significantly more expensive.
Rally1 cars are manufactured only by Toyota, Hyundai and M-Sport, which is partially supported by Ford. Instead, Rally2 cars are seen significantly more in the World Series competitions. Toyota will launch its own Rally2 car next year, joining the ranks of Skoda, Hyundai, Ford and Volkswagen.
With the future of the Rally World Series a big question mark, the idea of making Rally2 cars the main class of the World Series has been brought up. The argument is that cheaper cars and a more diverse Participant list would make the races more exciting and thus more interesting for the spectators.
Toyota will bring its own Rally2-Yaris to competitions next year. Juuso Taipale
Rally1 cars are favored by the fact that, despite their expensive price tag, they are the wish of car manufacturers. They use hybrid technology at the request of car manufacturers. In addition, the current trio, which has poured huge sums into the development of Rally1 cars, is against abandoning the cars at such an early stage.
Rovanperä doesn’t do politics, he drives a car. And if the decision were his, he will participate in the World Series with a Rally1 car.
– I think that we need cars that look like the main class. If you compare the Rally1 and Rally2 cars from the onboard camera or from the bench, the Rally1 car is from a completely different country, Rovanperä says to DirtFish.
Rovanperä also praises that Rally2 cars are excellent games. They just don’t offer amazing driving pleasure to rally drivers who have been able to command wilder devices.
– I have driven the Rally2 version of the Yaris. It was a really nice and good car. I enjoy it. But if we want to make them a new main class, we have to increase their power and appearance. The spectators in the forest must really feel that the rally car is approaching them. I am not convinced that the current Rally2 would be the right solution, says Rovanperä.