The FIA has announced revisions to its sports regulations aimed at limiting the impact of hybrid unit failures on Rally1 WRC

After Ott Tanak and Elfyn Evans were forced to retire from last month’s Rally Sweden owing to problems with the control 100kW hybrid unit, Hyundai and Toyota led requests for changes to the new Rally1 hybrid regulations.

Tanak was battling for the win in Sweden when his hybrid unit flashed a red warning signal, forcing his Hyundai crew to pull the car off the track for safety reasons. This was the first occasion in the Rally1 era when a hybrid unit malfunctioned and influenced the outcome of a race.

Andrew Wheatley, the FIA’s recently appointed rally director, confirmed to Autosport that rule changes to address the events will be reviewed at the World Motor Sport Council on Saturday. As a result, the FIA has approved a lower penalty for crews who resume after withdrawing due to a hybrid failure.

For crews that miss a stage start owing to a malfunction with the hybrid system, a two-minute penalty will be enforced instead of the 10-minute penalty that was previously imposed.

If a hybrid issue compels a team to withdraw a vehicle, the reduced penalty should allow crews to contend for championship points.

The FIA revealed that custom-built signs with the letters HEV on a blue backdrop have been produced in the case of issues with the hybrid system during special stages, in order to assist WRC crews to identify service spots and try to remedy the malfunction.

Following a dialogue between the FIA and the manufacturers based on the first development cycles of the Rally1 vehicles, WRC teams racing in the Rally1 class will be given an additional day of testing.