ASSAULT on BATTERY

With petrol-powered cars mixing it with EVs for the 2024 World Rallycross Championship this was the 'Battle of Technologies'. But which came out top? Daniel Gardner explains

- Daniel Gardner

How do you turn a PR disaster into a winning strategy for the future of a racing series? Well, you could do worse than look at what the World Rallycross organisers have done over the course of 2024.

Readers may remember the images that were splashed across the internet of the massive fire that ripped through Sébastien Loeb’s Special One team garage at the Lydden Hill round of the World RX in 2023. It destroyed virtually every team asset including both Lancia Delta Evo-e cars and their transporter. But the real damage was done to the reputation of the series.

The previous year WRX had announced that it was switching to battery power – a move that chimed well with the imperative to create sustainable motor racing. However, the investigation into the Lydden fire confirmed that the blaze started in one vehicle’s high-voltage battery while it was charging. Until the exact problem could be identified, and fixed, the electric RX1 fleet was sidelined and the championship leaders fought out the remaining rounds of the season in less powerful RX2e cars.

It was far from ideal, but for the 2024 season World RX came up with a clever reshuffle to turn disaster into triumph: the Battle of Technologies. Rather than outlaw electric drivetrains entirely which would backflip the series to 2021, combustion-powered cars would be welcomed back into the top tier alongside existing electric racers pitting EVs against ICE in a world's first mixed racing series.