Rally de Portugal 2008

[Mirek]

Thank You.

[CricketsFilm]

OnLine also the video OnBoard of Didier Auriol-Denis Giraudet (Abarth Punto S2000 - Grifone) S.S. 8 to Rally de Portugal 2008, on:

http://www.cricketsfilm.tv "Grifone Channel TV" or "CricketsFilm TV Channel"

[pettersolberg29]

This is a really long thread...

[M.S.]

Congratulations must be given to the organisers of these Portugal Rally: well done
Great effort on the security issue and a faultless development of the course (with beautiful and exciting ss).
Besides the Rally de Portugal, the ACP (Automóvel Club de Portugal) will organise a european hillclimb course (Serra da Estrela in next weekend), two major international TT rallys (Transibérico and Portalegre) and the Rally de Portugal Historico, a historic regularity event that visits the old days routes of the Portugal Rally (Sintra, Arganil, Caramulo, etc).

Congratulations????
Do you have anything to say about the quantity of public assisting to rally?Do you have any explication to this fact?
The reallity is we are tired of ACP restrictions to the public.So portuguese public is going to see IRC in Asturias.

[Mirek]

Chryby told the same. He said they were fed up with the ACP organisation retrictions

[Rally Power]

Congratulations????
Do you have anything to say about the quantity of public assisting to rally?Do you have any explication to this fact?
The reallity is we are tired of ACP restrictions to the public.So portuguese public is going to see IRC in Asturias.

I'm part of the portuguese public and I'm not going to the Asturias (and I'm not surely the only one...)

Here`s my opinion:
1. The ACP restritions are, in same cases, excessive but cannot be considered the main factor for the lack of spectators at this year event.
2. A lot of spectators (40 to 50%) of the Rali de Portugal are people that don't usually follow the sport. For them ours WRC event is the only rally they see and they do it because it's well knowned that WRC is a great show to watch (remember we all had almost 30 years of experience!!!). This year, when they heard IRC, no bell have ringed...
3. Even for the more interested ones (the other half) the absence of the "wrc party factor" made a lot harder their job of convincig wifes and bosses of the imperial necessity to go...
4. So because less people were going, there was fewer "cut expenses" opportunites. Algarve it's a bit distance and expensive to the Northern fans (the most entusiasts) and Portugal's economical environment is getting worse every day (only our PM have a different opinion!).

All this considered, I hope next year IRC event will be disputed at the North region (Arganil would be perfect), keeping the most popular and mediatic WRC rally at the Algarve mokin: