RallyOne Project’s first chassis is in build and is expected to be testing at the start of September – with a Monte Carlo Rally debut still firmly in sight.
After an initial roll out in France – with a French driver – the team has planned six asphalt tests before the end of October. A decision on whether the season opener remains a realistic option for the car’s World Rally Championship debut will be taken on November 1.
Lionel Hansen, the man behind the first constructor team to enter under WRC27 regulations, talked DirtFish through his plans for RallyOne Project.
“Of course, this is an exciting time for us,” Hansen said, “but it’s still a massive challenge for us and it’s also a massive work and a massive expectation about all the work we did the last seven months. The target is for homologation on January 1 and to have two cars in Monte Carlo. We have the suppliers and the production [process] ready for this.
“For Monte Carlo, first of all, the target is to be there. That’s for sure. And be homologated. If we have no reliability problem at the end of October, I think we can be confident to have minimum one car and maximum two in Monte Carlo. That’s realistic.
“The crossing point to decide on Monte is the end of October. Then we would plan to build a second chassis in November and one in December. The process we have for homologation is, of course, the same for a constructor – a tuner – like is as it is for a manufacturer. But, for us, we have much less people. Even if we are very motivated, it’s not so easy.”
