More Ford to quit threats

[Torsen]

Well, sooner or later Citroen will be out of WRC, thay have nothing else to prove, so DTM sounds good to me. I keep my eyes on IRC instead

thats my problem i can't keep my eyes open when watching the IRC....

[Tomi]

Yes, but I think its the seeming lack of response from FIA that brought this re-newed threat from Ford.

Thats possible, but there is still time until the next meeting, normally they announce only after the meetings, but I think FIA will reconsider their stupid decition, based only on politics.

[sollitt]

All the manufacturers who want to Rally need to sit down together and start a new World Championship with a new sanctioning committee and tell the FIA to take a hike.

Have you ever considered that a large part of the reason we have experienced difficulties through the past few years is because the manufacturers have been unable to "sit down together" and reach consensus on anything.

[Saabaru]

Have you ever considered that a large part of the reason we have experienced difficulties through the past few years is because the manufacturers have been unable to "sit down together" and reach consensus on anything.

Have you ever considered they are not only fighting each other but the sanctioning body itselfe? More could happen if the FIA and their politics weren't in the equation. The FIA functions about as efficiently as a government now days, to many people with personal agendas.

[Donney]

Another page in the book of the slow death of WRC.
I understand Ford and all the teams asking for specific regulations and calendars.

[AndyRAC]

While I'm no fan of the F1A, there does need to be a strong governing body to run the sport. If the Manufacturers ran the sport can you imagine how it would look? They want maximum exposure for minimum cost, forgeting the sporting side of the Championship. What's to stop them just running a handful of stages repeated 3-4 times and saying 'this is the WRC'.

[DonJippo]

Have you ever considered they are not only fighting each other but the sanctioning body itselfe? More could happen if the FIA and their politics weren't in the equation. The FIA functions about as efficiently as a government now days, to many people with personal agendas.

And you think it helps that manufactures each have their own agenda?

[Donney]

While I'm no fan of the F1A, there does need to be a strong governing body to run the sport. If the Manufacturers ran the sport can you imagine how it would look? They want maximum exposure for minimum cost, forgeting the sporting side of the Championship. What's to stop them just running a handful of stages repeated 3-4 times and saying 'this is the WRC'.

Not that the current situation is much different though, but I see your point....

[tmx]

thats my problem i can't keep my eyes open when watching the IRC....

don't think i don't fall asleep watching wrc coverage.

[cosmicpanda]

Why only Finland and GB and not Monte? I think it's because Ford know that they can't win it again.

It might be a good thing for the big manufacturers to pull out. That'll put a bigger emphasis on the amateurs, which will make it more like the old days, and that seems to be something that everybody wants.

If there are no manufacturers, then there is no money, and then therefore there is no big spending. Instant cost cuts. The only downside is that events like Rally NZ and Rally Mexico, for example, will suffer again due to the lack of top teams paying the money to come from Europe.

I think that with Marcus retiring, Colin dying, and Sebastien's many years on top, the WRC is coming to the close of another great era. It's natural for things to build up and die down, I think - this is hardly F1, where corporate sponsorship and government support seems to be helping things along. It's one of the reasons that I like WRC better - it will never be as glamorous as F1.

The new cars will be slow at first, but they will get faster. They always do.

EDIT: A slight concern is the effect that this will have on rally routes. I've noticed that smaller rallies tend to feature stages run three times, even on gravel, and only over two days. I hope that this doesn't happen. I'm enjoying the trend towards more diverse and longer routes that we're experiencing right now.