Home » Technology » Automotive » Insanity: This Is World Rally

Insanity: This Is World Rally

© Zach French

While entering the turn you briefly lift off of the throttle and squeeze the brake pedal to try and slow your speeding car down. You crank the wheel to right as the rear end starts to slide out at mid-corner. In order to shave precious seconds off your time, you slam the steering wheel up against the lock, and mash the throttle against the firewall. The turbocharged engine releases its wrath on the dirt below, as all four tires break traction in unison, spraying pulverized earth onto the screaming fans that line the edge of the course. With the engine at full song, you feed the steering wheel back into position to safely navigate the corner before slamming the transmission up a gear in preparation for the next turn. You will have to complete this maddening procedure around a hundred times before you clear all the stages ahead. This is World Rally.

The World Rally Championship (WRC) is the most difficult and exciting form of motor sport in the world. The fact that rallies take place on everyday roads and under real-world conditions, with cars that closely resemble their mass-production counterparts, adds to the sport’s popularity. Rally racing is extremely popular in Europe, Asia and other overseas countries, but it garners far less popularity in America. In the U.S., most people would rather watch cars that have nothing in common with the street-legal ones they are named after, go around in circles. Rally cars are often sub-compact cars to small sedans, such as the Ford Focus, Subaru Impreza (the Japanese and European version, which has nothing in common with the one we get in the States), Mitsubishi Lancer, and Toyota Corolla (again, not the model sold in America). Other companies such as Peugeot, Skoda, and SEAT also race in WRC competition.

WRC rules allow these cars to be altered from their street-legal forms for competition. The stock bodywork is retained, except for some aerodynamic pieces, which are added on. Because of this, WRC cars bare close resemblance to their relatives that you drive every day. The engine has to be 2.0L in displacement, and the camshafts, valves, pistons, rods, etc. can be fabricated. All other engine parts, including the cylinder head, must remain stock, although they can be slightly machined. The engine block, however, must remain completely stock, and the engine must retain its original layout, such as an inline four cylinder design. All engines are turbocharged, even if the stock version isn’t, and they run a 34mm air restrictor. Other engine components, such as the electronic management system, radiator, intercooler and the intake system are modified to accommodate strict FIA rules. The suspension can be heavily modified, although the stock suspension geometry and mounting points must be retained. The gearbox and number off gear ratios can be modified, as well as the drive train layout. All WRC cars are all-wheel-drive, and torque can be transmitted in any way the team wants, depending on the course and situation. Because a WRC car is closely related to the stock version, a great production car makes a great rally car. This is a quality that is often not found in most other forms of racing.

The copyright of the article Insanity: This Is World Rally in Automotive is owned by Zach French. Permission to republish Insanity: This Is World Rally in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.