Sulayem: Two and a half manufacturers in WRC is not enough

Last week Sulayem was elected as the new throne of world motorsport’s governing soul and has once earmarked the WRC as a championship where whoopee is needed.

The 60-year-old halls from a rallying preliminaries having won 14 Middle East Rally Championship titles and has moreover competed in the WRC, his last outing arriving at Rally Australia in 1995, driving a Toyota Celica.

In his first interview with media pursuit his referendum success, Sulayem has indicted a wish to make the WRC increasingly well-flavored to manufacturers to increase factory involvement in the future.

Currently Toyota and Hyundai are the only two full works teams single-minded to the championship with Ford featuring as a semi factory effort paired with M-Sport.

“Yes, we talk well-nigh Formula One all the time, but we cannot forget other disciplines,” said Sulayem.

“We have to squint into the WRC. I\'m a man who comes from rally. So we have to squint at that, too.

“It\'s not unbearable to have two and a half manufacturers in an important championship like this.

“We cannot sit and just say people will come to us. I finger that we have to go and knock doors on manufacturers and make sure that we make our sport request to them.”

Dani Sordo, Candido Carrera, Hyundai Motorsport Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC

Photo by: Vincent Thuillier / Hyundai Motorsport

The WRC will embark on its biggest shift in regulations for a generation next year with the introduction of new Rally1 hybrid rules designed to vamp increasingly marques.

However, so far the changes are yet to entice a new trademark to the sport, with current FIA Rally director Yves Matton stating older this year, that it would be 2024 at the primeval surpassing the WRC could entertain a new manufacturer.

“I can tell you that some other manufacturers are looking at the regulations and they are for the moment studying them,” Matton told Autosport in June.

“They are not designing a car, they are increasingly looking to understand how these new cars could fit in their marketing plan.

“I would say that for me 2023 is too close. I believe that the minimum time and window you need to do something is two years.”

Ensuring the WRC is well-flavored to manufacturers is not Sulayem’s only objective to modernize rallying. He wishes to tenancy the financing of rally cars, making it increasingly affordable for the competitor, to increase participation from a grass roots level upwards.

“It\'s well-nigh cost,\" he added. \"You know, we start with rally cars with $100,000 forfeit cap and then they jumped to $200k. Yes, there is when we talk well-nigh inflation, but it cannot double.

“We have to tenancy the cost. I crush the Rally3 recently and it can do the job of a World Rally Car, it is not the same speed, but the forfeit is much lower.

“Second, affordable vehicles at the introductory level. Yes, we get the tabulation from the FIA, we make sure that the safety rules are implemented.

“We have to engage people from the zone itself to the love of motorsport and regions like Africa and Africa, Middle East, and Asia, and plane Latin America, but can they sire it? No. These are some of the areas we have to touch wiring on.”