World Rally Championship faces massive overhaul: “We will never change the DNA”

Eric Boullier’s message is crystal clear: the World Rally Championship is set to undergo massive changes – but not its very essence. The new managing director of the WRC promoter, together with FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem and Cosmobilis Chairman Jean-Louis Mosca, presented the plans for the future of the World Championship at the Rally Paraguay.

“We will never, ever change the DNA of rallying,” Boullier emphasised. The former Formula 1 team principal sees the greatest need for action in the areas of presentation, marketing and the spectator experience. The aim is to put fans more firmly at the centre, make rallies more accessible and make the entire product more attractive.

WRC-Promoter-CEO Eric Boullier

Foto: Red Bull

New event formats are also planned to achieve this. Estonia and Finland provide an example, where a one-day format focusing on just a single special stage has already been trialled. “We want to focus on new formats like this,” explained Boullier. His vision goes even further: “A single special stage on Sunday would make it easier for spectators to attend. That way, we could really showcase the rally as a product – for fans at the venue and on TV broadcasts.”

The service park is also set to undergo a transformation. The traditional paddock is to become a “WRC Arena” that engages spectators more closely. Admission to the events is to be free wherever possible. At the same time, the promoter aims to position the rallies as an attractive platform for manufacturers, teams and partners – including extensive hospitality offerings.

FIA calls for an end to expensive cars

FIA President Ben Sulayem also sees the World Championship at a turning point. His motto is: cut costs, bring in manufacturers, boost revenue. The collaboration between the FIA and the new rights holder must be fundamentally restructured. The FIA President is very clear on this point. He says that previous agreements have been bad deals for the world governing body. He cites Formula 1 as a cautionary example: “What have we got out of Formula 1? Do you know how much the FIA has received? Zero, and no power. It doesn’t work like that any more.”

The rally cars themselves are also under scrutiny. Costs have now become so high that fewer and fewer teams are able to enter the sport. New technical regulations are therefore intended to make the cars significantly cheaper – without compromising their speed or spectacle. According to Ben Sulayem, privateers in particular are indispensable to the future of the sport.

New promoter pushes for global platform

Behind this new direction are Cosmobilis and the financial investor Park Square Capital, who have held the commercial rights to the World Rally Championship and the European Rally Championship since the end of July. Cosmobilis Chairman Jean-Louis Mosca, hitherto largely unknown in rallying, comes from the automotive industry. He has been building up the car business BYmyCAR since the 1990s and founded Cosmobilis in 2021. The group employs around 4,700 staff and works with more than 30 car manufacturers.

Cosmobilis-Chairman Jean-Louis Mosca

Foto: Red Bull

For Mosca, this move is therefore far more than just a motorsport investment. “We want to use rallying to create an international platform,” he explained. Cosmobilis aims to link retail, services, technology and data – and to integrate rallying into this ecosystem.

The direction is therefore clear: the WRC is to become more modern, cheaper, more digital and more fan-friendly. There is just one thing the new organisers promise not to tamper with: the very essence of what makes rallying what it is.