A new season but, above all, a new era. Wrc 2022, the fiftieth edition of the world rally, will begin with the usual Monte-Carlo event at the end of January and will then end in Japan in November. The Italian stage in Sardinia has also been confirmed. But the real news will be the cars; in fact, after the farewell to the Wrc Plus at the Monza Rally 2021 everything is ready for the debut of the new Rally1 category which identifies hybrid drive cars, that is, which combines an electric unit with a thermal one.
Features of the new Rally1
The coming year brings some of the biggest and most far-reaching changes in the history of the sport by bringing the WRC into a more sustainable era.
The Rally1 are equipped with a 1.6-liter turbo 380 hp heat engine (directly derived from the current one) combined with an electric unit of 100 kW (134 hp) and 180 Nm of torque powered by a 3.9 kWh battery that allows you to travel about 20 km in 100% electric mode.
The Compact Dynamics hybrid unit weighs about 84 kg and is classified as P3, i.e. the electric motor works downstream of the gearbox on the drive shaft. The batteries are supplied by Kreisel Electric, a partner company of Compact Dynamics based in Austria.
The union of the two engines ends a maximum power of about 514 horsepower. In the braking and release phases, as in all electrified cars, the system instead recovers the energy and with this recharges the battery. If necessary, the battery can be recharged from the outside (it is a plug-in Hybrid in effect) during the service park. It will take about 20 minutes to recharge from 20 to 80%.
Three driving modes
The mapping of the Rally1 includes three modes of use: Full Electric, which allows you to travel up to 20 km in 100% electric mode. It will be mandatory to use this mode in certain areas highlighted in the road-book with the name “Hybrid Electric Vehicle Zones – Hevz”, or service parks, in the areas surrounding the start and finish of the event and built-up areas. The Stage Start Mode is a sort of starting system that offers the driver maximum power. Finally, the Stage Mode which in turn includes three maps (with specific configuration for long or short tests) that allow you to make the most of the 100 kW of power.
Eco-friendly fuel obligation
Another novelty for the new season is the obligation to use an ecological fuel, that is a synthetic bio-fuel, 100% sustainable produced by P1 Racing Fuels.
The calendar
The calendar was approved by the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council in Paris and the managing director of WRC promoter Jona Siebel said the mix of classic and more recent events will provide a mouthwatering schedule in a historic season.
Next year also marks the 50th season of the WRC and historic milestones such as New Zealand, a rally that first appeared in 1977, are back on the calendar. Its dirt roads are a delight for drivers and although it should already return in 2020. due to Covid, everything was postponed to 2022.
The calendar tried to give a fair distribution of the rallies between Europe and long-haul destinations.
Here are all the appointments with their dates:
Monte-Carlo January 20-23; Sweden 24-27 February; Croatia 21-24 April
Portugal 19-22 May; Italy 02-05 June; Kenya 23-26 June
Estonia July 14-17; Finland 04-07 August; Tbc 18-21 August
Greece 08-11 September; New Zealand 29-02 October
Spain 20-23 October; Japan 10-13 November