In Part 1 of the 2017 season preview of the World Rally Championship, we touched on a surprising lack of excitement, considering the changes afoot. We took a look at the team changes and how the new regulations might affect the performance of the cars. In this segment, the new chassis regulations get the once-over.
So read on, you rally-obsessed peeps...
Is that a classy chassis I see before me?
What's with the wider track?
I was going to offer a pseudo-technical explanation in answer to that question, but the honest truth is that I have absolutely no idea. At all. So here's some idle speculation instead.
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| Citoen's C3 WRC weapon in testing. |
Wheelbase
and track are not absolute values as I'm sure you all know, but instead are
relative measures which vary in their ratio depending on what the
vehicle is designed to accomplish. It makes sense, therefore, that a
vehicle that navigates a great many bends, curves, turns, corners, hairpins and such
should have a relatively wide track and relatively short wheelbase to
enable it to change direction deftly. (Think racing karts for example).
