The FIA's road sport director, Andrew Wheatley, says that FIA is closing in extending its deal with Compact Dynamics for further three years and admits that the meeting with the WRC teams went very well in Estonia last week.
2022 was the first year that World Rally Championship entered to hybrid era and there were some problems with the hybrid kits since the teams were preparing their cars on the second half of 2021. Even though hybrid issues continued duning last season, FIA decided to change the regulations which were related to the time penalties if a driver retires due to hybrid unit failure and can restart the next day under the regulations of Super Rally. However, it must be mentioned that FIA is working very hard to evolve and to finalise the sporting regulations which will be applied from 2025 and may be 90% same as the current ones. Last but not least, it is noteworthy that Compact Dynamics has a contract with FIA until the end of 2024, but the federation is examining a spare hybrid supplier if both sides fail to reach an agreement for 2025.
"We are close, definitely", Wheatley said when he was asked if a deal had been completed with Compact Dynamics.
"We had a very good meeting with the teams.
"We are all now pretty much on the same page which is good.
"We are not able to announce anything but certainly, I came away from Estonia a lot calmer than when I arrived.
"We have a got a bit of work to do but I think everyone is starting to see the vision of the future in a much more coherent way.
"Consistency is key.
"We are working hard towards 2027 as the next evolution of Rally1.
"I think 2025 and 2026 is just a question of establishing the commercial terms by which we work in the environment.
"It is a single supplier agreement that had a three-year contract and we are coming to an end of that and we want to make sure that suits all of the partners engaged in the programme.
"We all invested in developing that hybrid technology.
"I don't think it is so much finding a vision of the sport it is more making sure the commercial reality suits the expectations of all the partners.
"We have a proposal on the table which is being assessed by all parties, and providing we can agree the terms of that proposal then that is the next step.
"It is not done but we now have a clear proposal as to what the next step is".
Source: Motorsport.com
Photo Credits: Hyundai
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