GP Week

Check it out on pg. 54.

Holmes has been consistently critical of the current promoters, and now he's come out opposed to the FIA as well, criticising the recent moves to night stages (at least on dry gravel), long distances (Rally GB this year) and mixed stages (Argentina this year).

I don't mind long distances. I think we got to the stage where the cloverleaf format was seriously constraining organisers - eg. RallyNZ, who in 2006 - 2008 moved to stages south of Hamilton and used what I consider to be a less-than-idea route, certainly for spectators. However, I think we've reached a decent compromise by allowing remote services again, and the last running of Rally NZ ticked nearly all the boxes for me.

I think Holmes has a point with night stages on dry gravel. Shouldn't happen.

Does he have a point with mixed stages? In Argentina, El Condor was clearly an unsafe stage and should not be run again in that format, though Latvala's time through the first running of the stage deserves to be remembered. Does that mean that mixed stages are bad, however? Would the stage have been any less safe had the road been exactly the same except for being made of gravel? I don't think so. However, I don't enjoy seeing ungainly cars struggle over a section of road that they haven't been set up for (unless it's at Monte Carlo, which is a bit different since it's due to the weather and an integral part of the event), so perhaps Holmes' point is valid.