Origins of Rally Racing Part 3: Modern Innovations and the Future of Rally

The 20th century was filled with ways to boost rally into the international powerhouse that it is today. From intercontinental races to the rise of shorter weekend stage rallies, the sport was exploding on the international stage.

As the sport grew, the World Rally Championship started making guidelines that propelled the sport into legitimacy. One of the most contested guidelines was homologation, which said that car manufactures had to produce a set number of cars to be sold to the public in order to be used in competition. This restriction made it difficult for European car makers to justify developing cars for the sport, and most of them bowed out of the sport.

As the international growth for the sport grows the stage was about to change in an explosive way. In the 1980’s Audi introduced the Quatro. The Quatro was as groundbreaking as any innovation to a sport can get. Audi created a car that not only was lightweight, all-wheel drive, but equipped with a turbo right off the line. It seemed to be made specifically for rally.

The creation of Group B rally ramped up the intensity of the sport to new heights. The WRC’s restrictions on homologation were reduced to only 200 cars. The cars were allowed to be made with lightweight materials, innovative technology, and power boosting turbos. These cars were designed to be absolute beasts on the stage.

For the better part of the 80s Group B rally dominated the motorsport headlines, as the high-intensity, high-action nature of the sport dominated the media. All eyes around the world were on rally; while the sport being plastered all over the headlines.

Their powerful engineering came with a great cost. These cars were made to be the most explosive cars on the street, there were several, lethal accidents. These accidents drew massive amounts of attention from the media because of the amount of publicity the sport was drawing worldwide.

The negative media attention added pressure on the WRC to take action. In 1986 WRC banned Group B from competing, drawing a close to one of the most prolific, and short eras in rally.

With restrictions placed on the sport that limited the amount of power the cars could make, it opened the door for the Japanese powerhouse of Toyota and Mitsubishi to come in and dominate the sport. Drivers realized that the solid build, consistent performance, and AWD of the Mitsubishi Lancer and Toyota Celica were excellent choices for the sport.

In 1995 it was discovered that Toyota was hiding an illegal turbo that allowed 25% more air flow, resulting in more power than what was allowed. This resulted in banning Toyota from the 1995-1996 seasons in WRC competitions.

This absence paved the way for a new titan to come to the party, Subaru. The Impreza quickly gained favor in the sport and was a favorite for years to come.

In 1997 the WRC relaxed its rules on homologation, which stipulated that car manufacturers had to sell a set number of cars to the public in order to participate in the events, to encourage European car manufacturers to return to the sport. Their plan worked bringing back Peugeot, Seat, and Citroen without them having to sell their cars to the public. As the European car manufacturers came back onto the scene with specialized cars, Toyota, Mitsubishi, and Subaru lost their competitive edge.

While many drivers used the Toyota and Subaru in private competitions; both car manufacturers dissolved their rally teams and stepped away from the WRC. In 2017, Toyota returned to the WRC officially, making big waves in the sport. Then again in 2020, Subaru announced their official return as well.

As rally has evolved many times over the course of the last century, it has managed to captivate, inspire, and challenge drivers and spectators worldwide. Rally has created a culture that values cars, and encourages engineers, drivers, and manufacturers to push them farther and harder than before.

After hashing out the history of rally and how it became the sport that it is today, one thing is clear; the sport will continue to evolve for years to come. It has evolved from being the first motorsport in world history to be an event that spanned continents, to a sport that challenged the very limits of machinery, to a culture that celebrates mechanics and ingenuity. Only time will tell how the sport will change next.

Until then, keep your rubber spinnin’.