WR three

The WRC field might be down to just three manufacturer teams but the level of competition and innovation has certainly not diminished. Racecar went to the Monte Carlo season opener to catch up with the latest technical developments in rallying’s premier class.

- LAWRENCE BUTCHER

The 2020 World Rally Championship got underway in Monte Carlo at the end of January. Though the current rule set, which arrived in 2017, is now entering the mature stage, the three remaining WRC teams – following Citroen’s withdrawal at the end of 2019 – Toyota, Hyundai and M-Sport/ Ford, are still bringing in updates to their cars.

Due to the joker system governing updates both between and through seasons, the introduction of any new part must be carefully assessed to ensure it provides the greatest possible performance gain. In this respect 2020 is actually a slightly unusual year as teams have five jokers to play, rather than the usual three. This is the result of an agreement between teams and the FIA to front-load some of 2021’s jokers, as new regulations will apply in 2022.

Ford Fiesta WRC

Due to the system of limiting parts year on year, teams spread major updates across seasons. For example, M-Sport homologated several new components in late 2019, which would work together with further developments in 2020. ‘We introduced a new rear suspension and some engine updates towards the end of last season,’ says Chris Williams, technical director at the Ford Fiesta-running team. The engine parts were homologated, but were not put to use as they were reliant on other revisions that could not be introduced until the 2020 season.

The revamped rear suspension, which M-Sport had planned on using in the final round of 2019 in Australia (which was cancelled due to the bush fires) was, Williams explained, ‘a design that gives us some more flexibility, to allow us to explore some different geometries.’