Yes. 100%
If the BRC is to expand it will need more foreign drivers to enter.
It is cheaper to get to Belgium than it is to Ireland or Isle of Man.
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Ypres videos not posted here - great pure sound. :cool:
https://youtu.be/TTE75QCGI98
https://youtu.be/Mrafzh74v9U
The fact is that we don't know if the car they run is going to be homologated (it may be even so that there is something which can't go through FIA homologation process which even the team doesn't know about). We don't know the stage times. We don't know which tyres they used and how often they changed them. We don't know which fuel they used. That all we don't know therefore anything else is for everyone to believe or not. It's not only testing. It's also a message to the customers and competitors and an important PR.
Just a bit of info from Botka's interview after the event:
-They'll miss the next two rounds and rejoin the championship on Barum, as they need to test with the car.
-Said testing is required because they used Citroën Racing recommended settings in Ypres and he said the car was "undriveable".
-They had to retire after the gearbox command cable was torn for the second time, and they didn't want to cause more damage to the car (the gearbox was in 4th or 5th if I remember correctly). He said "the leading Citroëns" had this same problem, but don't know if that means both Bouffier/Lefebvre or just one of them.
I know at least one more Citroen with same problem.
And if they wanted to drive in Ypres with base Citroen Racing setup it's completely stupid. Ypres is very special rally, I think such setup you never use in any other place in the world.
I think Hyundai drove on WRC Panta fuel and typical R-spec ERC tires.