The World Rally Championship will conduct a “real world” test of a new live data system in Latvia this weekend that is part of plans to improve its broadcast coverage next year.
Dubbed the ‘Command Centre’, the concept is a part of the WRC Promoter’s plan to improve the championship’s ability to communicate unfolding stories during events to fans.
The promoter has been working with teams and manufacturers to extract more data out of the cars and increase live interaction between the crews and their teams through Formula 1-style team radio. The WRC has enlisted former Hyundai WRC team principal Andrea Adamo to lead the project.
Following a successful maiden run out for the technology during a pre-event test, the system will be fitted to Martins Sesks’ Ford Puma Rally1 this weekend to allow the championship organisers to analyse how it performs during a WRC event.
“We installed a data transmission system on the car when Adrien Fourmaux was driving for a day and the delivery of data was quite effective and more effective than we thought,” WRC event director Simon Larkin told Autosport.
“The M-Sport engineers were very pleased with what they saw so we are very happy with how that has gone and our plan is to install a system on Sesks car in Latvia for us and not the team to access, to do a bit more of a real-world test.
“Then we will do it again in Finland with perhaps one car from each team. I think in Greece we will probably start trying a single radio system. It will be about testing, testing and testing.
“When we start in Monte Carlo which is the plan, we want it to be robust and useful. We are being quite considered and progressive with how we are testing.
“There is the opportunity for hundreds of data channels, and we don’t want all of those because the teams will potentially invest in having extra engineers to analyse that.
“For Monte Carlo next year we will decide on a number of data points that we think can help the team’s performance and analysing a car and its ability to continue and interesting for fans and our TV product, without providing another way for the teams to spend money.”
Rally Latvia begins with a stage in the nation’s capital city Riga this afternoon.
