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New Generation of WRC Cars Drive a Ridiculously Low Distance in EV Mode

The World Rally Championship's rules have changed for 2022, and the top-tier class, called Rally1 now, must have hybrid vehicles. Moreover, these must be able to drive on electric power alone. While this was not great news for some brands, who have decided to call it quits, others have stayed.
2022 M-Sport Ford Puma Rally 1 WRC car 17 photos
Photo: M-Sport
Sébastien Loeb testing M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 WRC carSébastien Loeb testing M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 WRC carSébastien Loeb testing M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 WRC carSébastien Loeb testing M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 WRC carSébastien Loeb testing M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 WRC carSébastien Loeb testing M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 WRC carSébastien Loeb testing M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 WRC carSébastien Loeb testing M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 WRC carSébastien Loeb testing M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 WRC carSébastien Loeb testing M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 WRC carSébastien Loeb testing M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 WRC carSébastien Loeb testing M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 WRC carSébastien Loeb testing M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 WRC carSébastien Loeb testing M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 WRC carSébastien Loeb testing M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 WRC carSébastien Loeb testing M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 WRC car
We are just ten days away from the first round of the season, which is the Monte Carlo Rally. The 2022 event will mark the 90th edition of the Monégasque event, which has modified 95 percent of its route when compared to last year, according to the Monte Carlo Automobile Club. Competitors are promised a “perfect mix” between conservatism and originality.

The official start happens on January 20, 2022, in the fully renovated Casino Square. The rally is set to have its traditional Prize Ceremony in the same place as it usually does. The special stages will add up to a total of 296 kilometers (ca. 183 miles), while the entire route adds up to a total of 1,511 kilometers (ca. 939.22 miles).

If any of that is unclear, let us explain. Each rally has special-stages and connections between them. The latter takes place in open traffic, and competitors must obey all applicable traffic laws. That is why rally cars have functioning headlights, turn signals, taillights, horns, and even comply with homologation-specific noise and emissions regulations.

With that in mind and with the new hybrid era in front of us, you might be wondering how this will change the competition. As you might have observed, if you watched any of the videos from the testing process of these rally cars, they still very much like rally cars and seem to be going just as fast as their predecessors.

The new generation of rally cars has the ability to drive purely in electric mode for a limited time or distance. To make sure that the teams have not swayed from the rules, each rally will include a part that is compulsory to drive with the Rally 1 cars in all-electric mode.

As DirtFish notes, for the Monte Carlo Rally, competitors in the Rally 1 class will only have to drive 2.27 miles (ca. 3.65 km) out of the 939.22-mile (ca. 1,511 km) route in the all-electric mode. According to their math, it is about 0.3 percent of the entire rally.

With that in mind, you might be disappointed about all the changes that have been made to rally cars, so they comply with Rally 1 specs, only to drive in all-electric mode for an insignificant part of the event. However, failing to do so would mean a serious penalty or even disqualification.

It is believed that the FIA wants to test the water with this low minimum distance for the all-electric mode of the new rally cars. Once all the competing Rally 1 cars prove what they can do, the minimum distance may be raised.
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Editor's note: For illustration purposes, the photo gallery shows M Sport's Ford Puma Rally 1 car, but its rivals from Toyota and Hyundai will have to abide the same rules.

About the author: Sebastian Toma
Sebastian Toma profile photo

Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
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