WRC to test F1-style helmet camera at Rally Sardinia finale
The short version
- WRC will test an FIA-approved Bell Racing helmet camera at Rally Sardinia, the season finale
- M-Sport-Ford will run the camera, with testing on Thursday and Friday of the event weekend
- The technology is the same as that used successfully in Formula 1
- WRC evaluated helmet cameras with Stilo in 2024 but they were not used in events
- The test is the first of planned broadcast improvements under new ownership
The World Rally Championship will run a live helmet camera test with M-Sport-Ford at next week's season finale, with the footage possibly appearing in broadcast coverage.
The World Rally Championship will trial a helmet camera at next week's Rally Sardinia season finale as part of efforts to improve its television broadcast. The test will be run by M-Sport-Ford using an integrated camera produced by Bell Racing Helmets.
The device has been approved by the FIA and uses the same technology already employed in Formula 1. WRC CEO Eric Boullier said the system will be tested on the Thursday and Friday of the rally weekend, and if it works, the footage could appear in live coverage.
Helmet cameras are already common in circuit racing, with Formula 1, Formula E and Supercars all using them. The WRC previously evaluated the technology in 2024 with Italian helmet maker Stilo, and drivers have run the cameras in pre-event tests, though never during WRC events until now.
Boullier, speaking to media after Cosmobilis and Park Square Capital acquired WRC Promoter, said the camera is the first of a range of broadcast improvements. Plans include reshaping the service park into a "WRC Arena" and upgrading bandwidth from the cars to deliver more data and camera angles to fans.
