New racing rules, no fun

Thomas Davis November 15, 2024 2 minutes read

In the 80s, rally racing was the peak of rally racing cars racing in the rain, snow, ice, dark, and freezing cold. I can’t expect this kind of extreme excitement again, for obvious safety reasons, but it would be nice to enjoy what we have.

However, the FIA (Fédération Internationale l’Automobileile) continues restricting cars in the WRC (World Rally Championship) and removing anything remotely fun from the sport. Now that the cars are all puny little hot hatches, they have moved on to restricting the races themselves.

One of the most exciting parts of the race was the chicanes. Unlike traditional chicanes in a Formula 1 race, these were large towers that the drivers needed to weave around, similar to the concrete barriers you see on highways.

Watching the best of the best go full speed through these obstacles was one of the most fun parts of the WRC viewing experience.

Now, the WRC has decided to move to “virtual chicanes” in the name of supposed safety. Drivers will have 200 meters to decelerate to a maximum of 60kmph. Every kmph over this limit will result in a 2-second penalty. This means if you went 63kmph through the chicane, you would receive a 6-second penalty.

This removes a lot of fun and excitement from the sport. Instead, hay bales could be used as chicanes. It still has the same effect as the original concrete barriers, but a crash would be nowhere near as severe. Another option is the crash barrels you see on highway exit ramps. These buckets are full of sand, and there is no reason they couldn’t be used in Motorsport.

These options are less confusing for both the drivers and the viewers, and they are still fun. If we go down the path of “virtual chicanes,” we could be at virtual corners and bumps by the end of the season.