FIA dictates the outlines for an economical homologated vehicle to push the spread of land-based racing.
That’s right, we are talking about Car Cross (or Kart Cross), a discipline regulated in Italy by the ACI Sport Off Road and Cross Country Commission and not Rally. But we will soon explain why.
We learned about Car Cross several years ago, during a race in Galicia at which the driver Christine GZ was invited to participate in. Spain has always been particularly forward in the off-road/land racing theme, and it is not at all difficult to stumble upon competitions of this type in which dozens of drivers participate every weekend. We surprisingly learned about a discipline that, especially at high levels, is also particularly appreciated by Rally drivers.
What are Car Crosses?
Car crosses are simply made single-seater vehicles, in the old style we might say. They mount a motorcycle-derived engine, rear-wheel drive, sequential transmission, no driving aids, and 10-inch wheels.
They are used on dirt tracks or in slalom races, whether on dirt or asphalt. They are highly performance vehicles, but to understand their real capabilities, and the point of this article, we need to delve into one value of these vehicles: the power-to-weight ratio.
The power-to-weight ratio, a number lately cited as a parameter employed by the FIA to dictate a clear distinction between the new World Rally classes, is a characteristic value of each vehicle. The lower it is, the more it means that, for the same weight, we have available horsepower (up to the infamous 1:1 ratio).
According to the new FIA designation we have thus:
- Rally 5: 6.4 kg/hp
- Rally 4: 5.1 kg/hp
- Rally 3: 5.6 kg/hp
- Rally 2: 4.2 kg/hp
- Rally 1 (WRC): 3.2 kg/hp
This means that for a rally car with a kerb weight of about 1,200 kg, the maximum power available may be 380 hp.
Let us now return to Car Crosses and analyze the data:
- Weight: 300 kg
- Engine (600 cc): 120 hp
- Power-to-weight ratio: 2.5 kg/hp
You read that correctly: 2.5 kilograms per horsepower! This means that if a Rally 1 car had the same ratio, it would come close to 480 horsepower! All this translates into a lot of power available relative to weight, enjoy lightning-fast acceleration and, as a result of the short wheelbase, extremely nervous reactions.
Car crosses are “driven with the accelerator.” In fact, they would by their very nature be incredibly understeerable and thus impose a “sideways” drive that, by taking advantage of traction at the rear, allows the desired trajectory to be traced. A fine balance between throttle and steering literally makes these karts fly over the ground.
Races, especially those held on dirt tracks, thus require driving, always oversteering, to lead to drawing extremely precise trajectories on par with a traditional Kart. This means developing great vehicle control, perfect timing and very short reaction times.
Car crosses as a complementary training tool for rallies
Now that we understand the performance of these vehicles, it is easy to see their potential for a Rally driver as well. “When you get out of a Car Cross and also drive a WRC, time will seem to go slower,” so say those who have experienced both. True, the driving style is very different from what we are used to, but the very fast reaction times, the total absence of electronic aids, the need to drive efficiently, the sequential gearbox, and the absence of power steering, make the Car Cross a very valuable tool that assists good Rally training even from a physical point of view.
It is no coincidence that drivers such as Thierry Neuville, Nil and Jan Solans, Ruben Garcia, Alvaro Muñiz, and like them so many others, regularly use Car Crosses to keep themselves trained and improve their driving skills.
Prices for such a vehicle, thanks in part to the FIA’s newest initiative to offer a particularly price-competitive vehicle, are around €20,000. Maintenance, thanks to inexpensive components and the use of a standard motorcycle engine, is absolutely cheap compared to that of any standard or homologated car.
For more technical information regarding Yacar Car Crosses, visit the website www.yacarcross.es or visit our page regarding the Rally Driving Courses for Drivers.
