While some of New Zealand will be catching some extra sleep in the early hours of Friday morning, a small percentage of us will be glued to our screens.
Those of us who have gravel (or tarmac) running through our veins have a keen desire – no, an obligation! – to be tuned in to WRC All Live for the first stage of the Monte Carlo Rally.
We’ll be kicking the covers off when the alarm sounds at 8.00am on Friday for the first stage, and with a brand new era of the World Rally Championship set to get underway, nothing could be more important.
It’s the first major change in WRC regulations since the start of 2017, but even then, I can’t recall there being anywhere near the anticipation and excitement that the new Rally1 hybrid cars have already generated.
M-Sport have been testing their new Ford Puma for many months, while the manufacturer teams of Toyota and Hyundai, while slower to get going, have ramped up their preparations in recent times.
A new electric era
So, what can we expect from the 2022 Rally1 cars? From a technical point of view, everything is different.
For starters, the four-wheel drive cars will use the same 1600cc turbocharged engine that produced 380bhp in 2021, but with the addition of a 100kW electric motor (that’s about 120bhp).
That will take the all-important number to upwards of 500bhp – the most since the Group B days ended in 1986.
Unfortunately for the drivers, they can’t use it all the time. They’ll be allowed 10 seconds of full power off the start line, but thereafter, they’ll need to determine when to use the extra horsepower, ensuring that the power has been regenerated for when they need it most.
Importantly, the 3.9kW battery will be housed in a box above the rear wheels of the car that can withstand an impact of 70g. On the downside, the electrical components add 100kg to the weight of the cars.
At service breaks, the battery can be charged to 80% in just 20 minutes.
From active to passive
Other changes include the disappearance of the six-speed paddle shift gearboxes, replaced with a 5-speed sequential unit, while all cars must now use mechanical differentials only.
These changes, including the reduction in the amount of aerodynamic aids the cars have, are all aimed at reducing the overall costs of the WRC, arguably offsetting the increase in price due to the hybrid technology.
It’s not just the performance that has been improved though. All cars have been built using a new tubular chassis.
Not only will it be the first time the WRC has been won by a car with a space frame since 1986, but it provides the cars’ occupants with significant improvements in safety.
Testing throughout last year revealed that a side impact with a 10 inch pole saw 51% less intrusion into the car than in the old World Rally Cars, while a frontal impact against a rigid object resulted in 70 % less intrusion into the bulkhead.
That’s impressive stuff.
Squad goals
From a competition point of view, there has been some chopping and changing in the driver line-ups, and while both Toyota and Hyundai remain relatively unchanged, there’s been big movements at M-Sport Ford.
Gus Greensmith and Adrien Fourmaux have retained their seats in the Blue Oval squad, but the inclusion of Craig Breen as the team leader should have a massive impact on their potential results.
Add into the mix a certain nine-time World Rally Champion for Monte Carlo, and there’s reason to believe the hype that is coming from the pre-event tests.
For team boss Malcolm Wilson, having Sebastien Loeb in his squad is like a dream come true.
The proof will be in the pudding though, and when the flag drops at Monte Carlo on Friday morning, it will be another World Champion Sebastien, Ogier, who will start the rally as the favourite in his Toyota Yaris.
Ogier has won the rally eight times, Loeb seven, so it could be a battle for the ages if the elder Frenchman can quickly recover from his Dakar exploits and hit the ground running in Monaco.
Toyota will also field Elfyn Evans, Kalle Rovanpera and Takamoto Katsuta, with the Welshman and the Finn both more than capable of an upset win.
Over at Hyundai, Thierry Neuville will start his ninth season with the Korean team, but he’s yet to live up to the expectation that should have seen him win at least one world title by now.
His team-mate, the 2019 World Champion Ott Tanak, has had a disastrous two years with Hyundai, and missed the last rally of 2021 due to personal reasons.
With a new car under him – a car that wasn’t designed primarily for his Belgian team-mate – Tanak should be back as a regular front runner this season. When happy, the Estonian is just about the fastest driver in the sport, but seeing him happy hasn’t been a regular occurrence in recent seasons.
Son of a gun, Oliver Solberg, will be at the wheel of the third Hyundai i20 Rally1 in Monte Carlo, and while not a great deal is expected of the Swede in 2022, he has shown enough in recent years to show he has unbridled potential.
So, who wins?
Your guess is as good as mine, and whatever prediction I make is likely to be wide of the mark.
Still, most of the hype has been around Craig Breen and the new Ford Puma, particularly given M-Sport’s knack of building fast cars right from the get-go.
If I was a betting man though, I’d be putting my money on the World Champion. Any number of drivers could win, but when it comes to the crunch, Sebastien Ogier usually comes up with the goods – whether he’s semi-retired or not!
All in all it promises to be a thrilling first round of the year, and the rally world can’t wait.
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