M-Sport favours new WRC car build over upgraded Rally2 optio...

Developing a brand new car to compete under the World Rally Championship’s new 2027 technical regulations remains the priority for M-Sport , rather than upgrading its Rally2 car.

The WRC is gearing up to introduce a new ruleset for 2027, which is designed to be more affordable and flexible in a bid to attract more manufacturers and teams.

Built to a €345,000 cost cap, the new WRC27 cars are expected to deliver a similar performance to the current Rally2 cars and will utilise Rally2 engines and other second-tier componentry. To ensure the WRC’s top class is heavily populated in 2027 the new WRC27 spec cars will compete alongside Rally2 machinery in the top class with the FIA ensuring that the two specifications of car will have performance parity.

At the moment, Toyota is the only current WRC Rally1 manufacturer that has committed to the rules and is developing a new car. At last week’s Central European Rally, Hyundai boss Cyril Abiteboul told Motorsport.com that it is now impossible for it to develop a new car for 2027, stating that upgrading its Rally2 i20 N was realistically its only option as it continues to weigh up its future in top level rallying beyond 2026.

M-Sport is yet to be in a position to give the green light to start work on a new 2027 car, but also has a Rally2 Fiesta variant within its stable that would be eligible to compete in 2027. While team principal Richard Millener admits that upgrading its Fiesta Rally2 could be an option for 2027, the team would prefer to find a way to develop a WRC27 car.

Rich Millener, Team principal M-Sport Ford Rally

Photo by: M-Sport

“It [upgrading the Rally2 car] is a sticking plaster if you ask me. That is not the future,” Millener told Motorsport.com when asked if M-Sport would consider running a Rally2 car in 2027.

“Why would we waste a year trying to up spec our Rally2 car and then do a new car? It is only Toyota there for the first half of the year, so I don’t understand how we are going to introduce that yet. It is an option, but I’d much rather invest our time and money in a new car that has a long life span.”

One of the factors that is currently providing a barrier for M-Sport to commit to 2027 is the future direction of the WRC’s promotion. A tender process is under way to find a new commercial rights holder for the championship, which is expected to be resolved by the end of the year.

“We can only commit when we can see where the championship is going, so if you see a 10-year vision of whoever might end up buying the promoter and you believe in it, you can have the confidence to go for it,” Millener added.

“At the moment, if you asked me if I’m going to invest it is hard to say because I don’t really know what is going to happen. Rallying is not going to disappear, and the rule set is fairly locked down so we know what's coming.

“We like some of it and we don’t like some of it but ultimately the decision has been made so let’s not waste anymore energy on trying to change something,” Millener said. “We need to stop that and start looking into more of the details of how to make it work. We know we want to do it and we have been in rallying for 20 plus years.”