If you are not fortunate to have the budget to go rallying for real, then blasting through narrow asphalt roads and gravel forest tracks in the virtual world is the next best thing.
EA Sports WRC does this job brilliantly, and now there is an update bringing the delights of the 2024 WRC to your living room. So if you have a yearning to pilot Sebastien Ogier’s black Toyota GR Yaris or pretend to be Hyundai’s Ott Tanak or M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux, now you can.
The game was originally released last year, produced by British studio Codemasters, which created the seminal Colin McRae Rally series in the late 1990s. This helped take rallying to the masses, before it went on to produce the ultra-realistic Dirt Rally franchise.
EA Sports WRC, developed for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, has built on the success of the Dirt Rally series to deliver an accurate simulation that not only caters to those new to the WRC, but also seasoned enthusiasts. The 2023 release contained 200-plus stages, including the 13 WRC calendar rallies and an unrivalled roster of 78 cars dating from the Group 4 era of the 1960s and ’70s right up to today’s 500bhp Rally1 hybrid beasts.
But akin to the motorsport industry, nothing stands still for long and now the game has undergone its first major update, with its 2024 season expansion launched last week. This offers new rallies, stages, cars and liveries in a bid to recreate this year’s World Rally Championship.
The update is priced from £17.99, or if you don’t own the original title the update is included when buying the game (£44.99).
The WRC added Rally Poland and Rally Latvia to its calendar this year, and these fast gravel events have been painstakingly recreated in the virtual world. The recreation is both impressive and enjoyable to drive and, while the events themselves are similar in their make-up, they both feature different characteristics that set them apart.
Poland is much bumpier and features both wide and narrow sections and some asphalt, while Latvia is much smoother. But just like real life, these stages demand respect and total commitment otherwise a roll is likely if a bank is clipped or a corner misjudged. Thankfully, if this occurs there isn’t a costly repair bill.
In addition to the new rallies is a roster of 2024 cars, drivers and 52 new liveries, although sadly the wildcard Martins Sesks Ford Puma Rally1 and Sami Pajari Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 colour schemes are missing.
The Toyota GR Yaris, Hyundai i20 N and Ford Puma Rally1 cars have been modified to varying degrees. All three are now resplendent in their 2024 liveries and have each undergone refinement. The Puma features its new-for-2024 rear wing, for example, and has had its sound completely reproduced to replicate the rasping noise and those pops and bangs – even the anti-lag sound is eerily accurate.
Two new vehicles are on offer, with the introduction of the Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 and the Ford Fiesta Rally3 Evo – both made their real-world debuts this season.
The GR Yaris Rally2 is an absolute peach to drive and possibly one of the most satisfying to pilot, particularly across the new Poland and Latvia stages. It is easy to handle, which encourages you to push that little bit extra. It looks stunning and its unique three-cylinder engine noise is perfect. Likewise, the four-wheel-drive Rally Fiesta is a brilliant entry-level car for those new to rallying games, with its intuitive handling and manageable speed.
Adding further realism to the update is the inclusion of the new points system which has divided opinion among fans. It now means cruising through the latter stages of a rally is costly, just like the real world. There is also now the prospect of losing all of your hard-earned Saturday championship points if a retirement occurs on the Super Sunday stages.
If you are a hardcore fan, this update is met with a firm thumbs-up, and there’s more good news on the way. Two more updates are on the horizon following the announcement of the ‘Le Maestros’ and ‘Hard Chargers’ content packs, priced at £8.99 each. The former will include yet-to-be-announced cars, the Brianconnet Monte Carlo test and the famous Fafe, Rally Portugal stage. The latter is expected to feature the Umea and Umea Sprint stages from Rally Sweden, as well as the Acropolis Rally’s Harvati test.
