However, one well-informed man already has his own plan.
Jari-Matti Latvala, an 18-time WRC rally winner and now the Toyota WRC team boss who has overseen three manufacturer titles, has a strong vision for how the championship can be revived and restored to its former glory.
Speaking to Motor Sport and other media at the Rantapirtti rally school, close to Toyota’s rally base in central Finland and where an eight-year-old Rovanperä first learned to drive, the team’s boss articulated four clear points which he feels could elevate it back to previous levels — with the most pressing being the cars themselves.
Ditch hybrid power
“One thing for sure is that costs are too expensive,” he admits. “We have lost privateer teams in the top class [after the introduction of Rally1].
“Also this hybrid, it gives you nice feelings – I loved driving it [Latvala made a one-off return as player-manager behind the wheel in Finland last year].
“But it’s more complicated for the young driver coming from the Rally2 as he needs to learn the hybrid – the step is a bit more difficult.”
Rally driver-turned tram manager Jari Matti Latvala says hybrid tech is too expensive
Toyota Gazoo Racing
Latvala himself sees an easy solution to both problems, namely moving to a souped-up version of the non-hybrid and cheaper second-tier Rally2 cars.
“We’re [still] debating the future – [but] I think they [should] get the hybrid out and focus on e-fuels or hydrogen – that would be the way to go to reduce the costs,” he asserts.
“From the fans’ perspective, they want to have a car that is like F1 for rally.
“Rally1 is so quick, it doesn’t matter if we make it a little bit slower, [while] bringing it closer to Rally2 would also help with the money – that would be the way to go.”
Latvala believes this change could help not only junior and privateer entries but bigger players too.
“In the near future, inside one or two years, I don’t think we’ll see significant change,” he says.
“But I think there is an idea to push the new regs so that 2027 is the moment where we want see to more manufacturers – then they would have two years to develop and test the car.”
Revert to the previous points system
Moving on to sporting matters, the WRC has pondered in recent years how it could up the excitement to keep crowds captivated across the event.
Its most recent idea has been a new points system for 2024, but this has only succeeded in largely confusing both onlookers and competitors. Most points are now allocated on the Saturday, with one day remaining: the top ten are allocated points, with 18 going to the leader at that point. However, these can only be collected if crews complete the Sunday stages.
The rest of the points are awarded on Sunday — to the seven fastest on that day (the leader receiving seven points) and then the top five in the Power Stage also getting points (five awarded to the winner).
Elfyn Evans was third on Saturday but fastest on Sunday to claim most points from Rally Sweden
Toyota Gazoo Racing
The upshoot is that a driver who comes second can actually emerge from the weekend with more points than the one which takes the rally win, as happened at the previous round in Sweden. Runner-up Elfyn Evans actually bagged more points than winner Esapekka Lappi.
The initial reaction from all involved has not been good, and Latvala himself gives a damning verdict.
“We were against it when this proposition came,” he says, putting his head in his hands to emphasise the point.
“We were saying that this is too complicated for the fans to understand, and even drivers too.
“So now it’s very difficult for us going into a Sunday to actually know who is going to get the most points. How do we tell this story?! I could see Elfyn was frustrated.”
It doesn’t take a mind-reader to see that the Finn would prefer a return to a more traditional points system, but there are other areas he feels could be improved too.
Host a US WRC round
While F1 has been exploring new venues in both the US and the Middle East, the WRC’s racing counterpart World Rallycross this year debuted its first ever street circuit event in Hong Kong.
Exploring different markets is something Latvala would like to see – particularly in light of his employer’s huge global presence in the road car scene.
“We’re talking about Rally USA,” he says. “It’s a big place, and I hope that will happen in a couple of year’s time – that would be very interesting.”
Saudi Arabia has also been touted to join the WRC in the near future, while a revived Rally Ireland and even a new Rally GB based in Scotland are being considered too.
Bring rallying to the fans
However, even at the current events, Latvala feels more could be done to engage fans.
While he doesn’t expect a full-blown Group B approach where the Lancia team infamously performed grand prix-style pitstops in between stages while team boss Cesare Fiorio and company flew round in helicopters, Latvala believes more could be done to reach out to fans beyond one central service park.
Central service park is often far from stages
Toyota Gazoo Racing
“Something I feel, and genuinely many other people [do too], is that having an F1-style centralised paddock is making difficulties, because rally is not [traditionally] in one area.
“What I want is another service park closer to the stages. Each team could have a box, let’s say, which can be 50 kilos, and it needs to be the size you can fit in a station wagon, with spare parts.
“Then you can do some light services, because not all the people will travel to 100 kilometres away [where the main service park is].”
The affable and amiable Latvala, by being a man of the people, also clearly wants to bring rallying to the fans – in more ways than one.
In a championship which has had a recent history of convoluted ideas and competitive dead-ends, some clearheaded thinking is exactly what it needs. Fingers-crossed for the FIA’s findings…