What future for the JWRC and Rally4?

With the 2025 season only just beginning, it is time to immediately think about the next ones. While the regulations that will come into force in 2027 for the top of the FIA ​​pyramid have already been unveiled, the Commission WRC tackled the lower floors. At the first meeting which took place just before the rally from Sweden, one of the topics discussed concerned the Junior. The people who make up this working group are wondering about the possibility of no longer making this series a brand cup.

With the Ford Fiesta no longer in production, is it experiencing its final year in the JWRC? Renault Will Clio Rally3 become the new benchmark in this championship? The last option with the only two cars competing in Rally3 would be to allow them to mix by creating a more colorful competition? There is a final path that decision-makers will have to explore and which would lead to replacing the current Rally3s with Rally4s. This would first of all have the advantage of being less expensive. Then, by giving competitors the freedom to choose their model, this could offer a field with great diversity. Nostalgics would see it as a nice return to the Junior of 2001, when Saxo Kit-Cars faced Fiat Puntos or Ford Pumas…

Rally4 for Junior or a WRC4 championship?

There are, however, several obstacles to the realization of this project. First of all, the Rally4s are two-wheel drive and this means that the gap would widen again between the release of the Junior and the Rally2. Then, given their characteristics, will the Rally4s prove to be strong enough to compete in the gravel events on the calendar? For Portugal, Sardinia or the Acropolis, it seems very complicated. Should we only choose rounds on rolling gravel (Finland, Estonia, etc.) with additional asphalt events? The project to create a WRC4 championship also exists, but here again doubts remain concerning the reliability of the vehicles. The debates will probably last a good part of the year.

We will also have to take into account the "carrot" that will be put into play in 2026. If M-Sport was not selected, who will be able to offer a car and a budget for a few WRC2 events in 2027? The Junior issue may seem simple on paper, but choosing to change the rules will have repercussions on the entire field, hence the precautions taken before making decisions. During this meeting, which was chaired by Pernilla Solberg (the WRC commission president) and Marina Dunach (the championship manager), other topics were discussed such as future calls for tenders, promotion strategies and the promoter's vision for using data and technology to improve coverage and storytelling of the championship. These meetings, which will take place every two months, aim to draft regulations for 2026 before September, which will be submitted to the World Motor Sport Council in October.

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