WRC future

[AnttiL]

After seeing what is happening with M-Sport, I think everyone should consider R5+, with just a considerably bigger restrictor, a 6-speed transmission and no other modifications from R5.
I love modern WRC cars, they are the best ever to watch, much better even than GrB or Gr4, but if only two manufacturers in whole world can afford them there should be a serious cutting in cost, soon. And the cheapest and faster thing to do is just this: R5+

What is your guess, how much the team budget would change for these "R5+" cars? Let's say the yearly budget is now 100 million euros, how much of that would be reduced with cheaper cars? And how expensive would these "R5+" cars soon be if the manufacturer teams could start tossing money into them with the intention of winning the title (not making profit by selling cars to privateers)

Now, think again: could it be possible that there's currently only two manufacturers in the world who are interested in putting any money in supporting a whole WRC team, regardless of the car type?

[scn]

What is your guess, how much the team budget would change for these "R5+" cars? Let's say the yearly budget is now 100 million euros, how much of that would be reduced with cheaper cars?

Now, think again: could it be possible that there's currently only two manufacturers in the world who are interested in putting money in supporting a whole WRC team, no matter what the car is?

I do not know the numbers and what percentage of the total cost is the car development. If it is low percentage, then there is no point for a cheaper car. If it is high percentage, then there is. If you can show the actual numbers it would be very good.
I just see that there are seven manufacturers with R5 cars and this might be a good reason for attracting them.

[AnttiL]

I do not know the numbers and what percentage of the total cost is the car development. If it is low percentage, then there is no point for a cheaper car. If it is high percentage, then there is. If you can show the actual numbers it would be very good.

Obviously I don't have the numbers, but we can think about all the costs in running a WRC team, which are not depending on the car type: salaries (especially drivers), fuel, tyres, flights, cargo, accomodations, insurances, service park equipment, team headquarters, arranging test days etc.

I just see that there are seven manufacturers with R5 cars and this might be a good reason for attracting them.

Think about this again. Most of the models are already quite old, why would they want to promote these models now? Also, teams like Citroen and Skoda just ended their manufacturer teams a year ago and VW ended all its motorsport activities just a couple of weeks back. That would leave us again with Toyota, Hyundai, M-Sport and Proton as an oddball team with fewer resources and little chances to compete with them.

As for attracting new manufacturers, you need to think what gives them value. Do they want to market small ICE cars or maybe bigger models with hybrid?

[AndyRAC]

Now, think again: could it be possible that there's currently only two manufacturers in the world who are interested in putting any money in supporting a whole WRC team, regardless of the car type?

It's looking that way. And in other news, another series, the WEC gains yet another manufacturer.......

https://www.autosport.com/wec/news/1...lmdh-prototype

[dck1989]

It's looking that way. And in other news, another series, the WEC gains yet another manufacturer.......

https://www.autosport.com/wec/news/1...lmdh-prototype

and that is after Audi also announced it would be re-entering WEC

[Francis44]

It's looking that way. And in other news, another series, the WEC gains yet another manufacturer.......

https://www.autosport.com/wec/news/1...lmdh-prototype

And with hybrids aswell. So maybe the problem is not the cars!

[the sniper]

It's looking that way. And in other news, another series, the WEC gains yet another manufacturer.......

https://www.autosport.com/wec/news/1...lmdh-prototype

And what is it that every manufacturer talks about in their WEC/IMSA program announcements? They talk not about the series, but about their classic endurance events, Le Mans, Daytona, Sebring...

The last time manufacturers were joining the WRC in the early 2010s, the WRC was all about talking up longer events, returning to endurance... That lasted, what, a few years, before people realised it was too much like hard work?

If there's an announcement from a manufacturer re-joining the WRC, I doubt it'll sing the virtues of taking on a quick sprint around a small bit of Croatia. Though there won't be many classics left to mention.

[djip]

And what is it that every manufacturer talks about in their WEC/IMSA program announcements? They talk not about the series, but about their classic endurance events, Le Mans, Daytona, Sebring...

The last time manufacturers were joining the WRC in the early 2010s, the WRC was all about talking up longer events, returning to endurance... That lasted, what, a few years, before people realised it was too much like hard work?

If there's an announcement from a manufacturer re-joining the WRC, I doubt it'll sing the virtues of taking on a quick sprint around a small bit of Croatia. Though there won't be many classics left to mention.

+1 you make a story with history. Even the greedy promoters of F1 understand that you must keep the iconic events that relate to the past,and which can get average Joe's interest if properly marketed. Then you can wrap around new events, new ideas to cash in.

In our WRC world, this means MonteCarlo, Sweden, 1000 Lakes (and the name is important, not just dull "rally finland"), safari (even if very different), maybe Acropolis, RAC ...and then all the "old regulars" and new events, eventually rotating.

And please each with its own character : "extended" framework for some and short sprints for others - endurance on some, sheer speed on others, etc ... Rallying is about diversity, drivers able to compete everywhere, in every season, just like what people encounter in their driving life. Not the boring, always the same, 3-days, 2x3 stages, 9 to noon, 2 to 4 framework.

This would create a story that maybe PR guys would love to tell.