The FIA has confirmed that a qualifying stage is under consideration for the WRC in 2027. If implemented, it would mark a significant shift in how starting orders are determined on gravel rallies.
The WRC previously used this format in 2012-2013 to set the road order on gravel events, where running higher up the order often poses a grip disadvantage from cleaning loose gravel away from the top surface. Drivers were allowed to select their road position for the opening leg, giving faster drivers a strategic advantage.
However, the European Rally Championship (ERC), which has had a qualifying stage for a long time, moved away from this approach in 2024. Instead, the 15 fastest drivers in qualifying are now reversed to set road order on gravel events, while the fastest 15 run in qualifying order on asphalt rounds.
The consideration comes as the new WRC27 cars are being built by Toyota, RallyOne Project, and RMC Motorsport, all running Rally2 componentry, while M-Sport is set to upgrade its Fiesta Rally2 to 'Kit' spec with improved aerodynamics for next season. With more equal machinery, the difference in starting position could become a huge factor.
FIA road sport director Emilia Abel confirmed that the reinstatement of a qualifying stage is being evaluated, though no decision has yet been made. "This is part of the sporting regulation discussion," she said. "We are currently in the phase that all options are on the table, but this will first of all need to be aligned with the Promoter, then with a commission, and then validated by that."
If the qualifying stage is not reintroduced, Toyota would stand to lose the most. They will be the only entrant competing in every round of the WRC next year with a WRC27-spec car, and therefore likely to be near the front of the road order at most gravel events, should that still be set by championship order.
Tom Fowler, Toyota's WRC technical director, explained the magnitude of the issue. "If we look at a gravel rally today and you take car number one in a Rally1 car, and you take your first Rally2 car running in maybe 12th position, the Rally1 car can just about beat the Rally2 car in 12th position – and the difference in power is 100 horsepower. So it means that the difference in road order currently between one and 12 is equal to the performance of 100 horsepower," he said.
Fowler added that with equal technical regulations, such performance cannot be found. "It's impossible. So you have to manage it in a sporting way to understand that if you're going to compete with cars with the same power to weight ratio, the cars that are competing have to be in similar conditions, which can only be done from the sporting side," he stressed.
He emphasized the clear target: "We have to make sure that, at the end, the most competitive driver in the most competitive car is still able to win. And any falsification of this by a strange road order is not acceptable."
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