Rally 3 class

[Rally Power]

There are three confirmed manufacturers working on rally3 car and one was thinking about it. This is info from the time when this new class was introduced to the regulations.

Who's the 4th? From what I've heard the 3 are those with Rally 4 (or 5) cars: Ford, Peugeot and Renault; apparently Renault may take a while as their main aim is to get the Clio Rally 4 car ready for 2021.

[Sulland]

What you say is not true. Sorry.

What is not true?

[Mirek]

What is not true?

It's not true that private tuners have nothing out of modern rally cars. There are plenty of companies making a lot of money out of the new cars. It's also not true that their engineering skills are disappearing. Absolutely not. Plenty of private companies do very hi-tech work with the new cars. When I speak strictly for Czechia and even for the most expnesive R5 cars most of the Fabias and Fiestas R5 here have engine from Vančík company, not from Oreca or M-Sport (even big teams like SRT, BRR or TGS use these privately-built engines). Many teams develop their own suspension (damper internals are free and Czech roads are very specific - for example standard M-Sport asphalt dampers usually don't work here). Pech's team even managed to get their own Mini RRC gearing homologated by Prodrive few years a go.

That you buy homologated stuff doesn't mean the work is done and there is nothing to improve. Quite the opposite, even the homologated car is just a base for further (albeit limited) development but the limits is what keeps the cost from spiralling sky high.

[Rally Power]

It's not true that private tuners have nothing out of modern rally cars. There are plenty of companies making a lot of money out of the new cars. It's also not true that their engineering skills are disappearing. Absolutely not. Plenty of private companies do very hi-tech work with the new cars. When I speak strictly for Czechia and even for the most expnesive R5 cars most of the Fabias and Fiestas R5 here have engine from Vančík company, not from Oreca or M-Sport (even big teams like SRT, BRR or TGS use these privately-built engines). Many teams develop their own suspension (damper internals are free and Czech roads are very specific - for example standard M-Sport asphalt dampers usually don't work here). Pech's team even managed to get their own Mini RRC gearing homologated by Prodrive few years a go.

That you buy homologated stuff doesn't mean the work is done and there is nothing to improve. Quite the opposite, even the homologated car is just a base for further (albeit limited) development but the limits is what keeps the cost from spiralling sky high.

No matter the way you look at it, the truth is that in Gr.N/A days you had a wide diversity of cars and you were able to prepare them in different spec levels, according to your budget; with Gr.R you’re limited to a few cars only available in manus specs and prices*, making harder for those with lower budgets to buy them. That’s crystal clear.

*ok, a few tuners can slightly improve manus specs, making their prices even more expensive…hurrah!

[Sulland]

Has anything leaked out on the 4wd system chosen for the Fiesta, or has Fia said anything on tech regs for that system?

[pantealex]

Rally3 is coming 2021 earliest...

[Mirek]

Gr.A/gr.N is dead and already burried by a thick dust. It's nothing but history. Get used to that finally and look what can be done now in the current world.

[Rally Power]

Gr.A/gr.N is dead and already burried by a thick dust. It's nothing but history. Get used to that finally and look what can be done now in the current world.

You’re free to find me nostalgic, but I’m not; I’m concerned about the sport future and pissed to see that the FIA doesn’t care to get more liberal homologation rules to allow private tuners providing rally cars for a fraction of the price of those made by the manus monopoly.

Are you satisfied with having only 2 R1 cars and 2 R2’s homologated in 3 years? How many new R5 homologations are expected next year? And WRC’s in 2022? Let’s face it: without a larger diversity of cars and brands the sport can’t progress and private tuners are vital to bring that diversity back.

[Sulland]

Looking forward to som video footage of the testing. To see and hear the car.

[Franky]

Why do you think "private tuners" will be able to produce parts for less than a manufacturer, who does it on a larger scale?