WRC main class in 2025

[Kenneth]

There are no privateers in F1. Just very well funded constructors.

I would say that Haas is a privateer. They buy chassis from Dallara and buys every part possible from Ferrari. They only make the parts that F1 forbids to buy from other teams, often with help from Ferrari's engineers.

I wouldn't be mad to see something similar in WRC tbh.

[doubled1978]

The Monte Carlo Rally has 8 entries in the Rally1 class. The 2024 Dakar Rally has 70 entries in the T1 Ultimate class. And the latter aren't exactly cheap. In fact, there's 21 Toyota Hilux.

This for an event that is invisible even by WRC standards.
Unless the current Manufacturers can commit to running a load more Rally1 cars, I don’t see the promoter/FIA have much choice other than to change it to Rally2 or some derivative of.

[WRCStan]

What revenue streams are there that wouldn't be higher with more eyeballs?

The point was about manufacturer registrations and according to the factbooks, the same data manufacturers see, eyeballs have consistently grown year-on-year while no manufacturer has joined in the last 7 years.

Besides, I'm sure the Promoter is communicating with all the potential manufacturers anyway, ready to do a deal.

[Mirek]

F1 proves that you are wrong on this.

Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren, Alpine and Aston Martin are pure manufacturers and all the other teams use engines and other parts sourced from the manufacturers.

F1 is not a privateer series.

[WRCStan]

The Monte Carlo Rally has 8 entries in the Rally1 class. The 2024 Dakar Rally has 70 entries in the T1 Ultimate class. And the latter aren't exactly cheap. In fact, there's 21 Toyota Hilux.

Rally1 has to do the whole championship, so compare that. What about the other events in the WR2C, how many here can even name them without looking? Dakar is a privately owned event that's bigger than the championship, and WR2C so far has seen exemption from the rules enforced on WRC, so it's not a useful comparison.

[NaBUru38]

This for an event that is invisible even by WRC standards.

Several French, Spanish and Argentine sports websites are giving full coverage to the race.

[Kenneth]

Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren, Alpine and Aston Martin are pure manufacturers and all the other teams use engines and other parts sourced from the manufacturers.

F1 is not a privateer series.

Only Ferrari, Mercedes and Alpine are full manufacturers teams in F1. Red Bull can also be considered as manufacturer team, although they buy engines from Honda (they are not Honda's factory team anymore as Honda did "quit" F1 (but not really)). All the other teams are buying parts from other manufacturers.

But I don't really understand what's your definition of privateers in this situation. Like they do build everything themselves? Or they buy everything possible from someone else?

In F1, the widely recognized definition of factory team is a team that build their own engines / engines are being built and developed exclusively for them.

[WRCStan]

Only Ferrari, Mercedes and Alpine are full manufacturers teams in F1. Red Bull can also be considered as manufacturer team, although they buy engines from Honda (they are not Honda's factory team anymore as Honda did "quit" F1 (but not really)). All the other teams are buying parts from other manufacturers.

But I don't really understand what's your definition of privateers in this situation. Like they do build everything themselves? Or they buy everything possible from someone else?

In F1, the widely recognized definition of factory team is a team that build their own engines / engines are being built and developed exclusively for them.

I think Mirek means manufacturers make series production cars for the consumer market, thus Ferrari, Mercedes, Alpine and Aston and not Red Bull. All F1 teams are considered to be constructors whatever the reality, they should build only what they race not supposed to be selling/sharing, or in series production, except engines.

Personally, I wouldn't call any teams privateers, just drivers. In a privateer series you would all be able to buy/rent cars off the shelf, maybe fiddle with them yourself. F1 may have payfer drivers, but that doesn't make it a privateer series, as you need the constructors in the series.

[Mirek]

But I don't really understand what's your definition of privateers in this situation. Like they do build everything themselves? Or they buy everything possible from someone else?

For the context of the discussion (i.e. manufacturer or privateer oriented WRC and the consequences of loosing the manufacturers) I split the privateeers and the manufacturers by the money running the show. Who makes what components is not important.

[typhoon]

It can be the greatest motorsport in the world.

No one knows because no one is watching it...

I would never deny the problems with WRC, but I think SRO is not the best comparison.

Numbers never lie, for 100% accurate results I can take from my email the press releases sent by Italian broadcaster Sky Sport after each WRC and GTWC events with tv figures, but the season was humiliating for WRC. You'd say that Valentino Rossi was competing etc etc. But you know what?

SRO made a clear strategy: in key markets/languages, they hired their own commentary crew (which are basically the same guys commenting for SRO on YouTube) and offered the "ready to broadcast" package to the networks. With everything else around: eye-catching graphics, chit chat, telemetry, spectacular camera angles, etc.

Result: Sky bought the rights (about 200.000 euros for the whole season, compared to almost 350.000 requested by WRC Promoter) and showed them, without paying anyone to comment it from their HQ in Milan, while for WRC they needed a commentary crew to comment it (one of them "borrowed" from football matches, so...). Audience? The peak season was about 70k for the Sardinian Power Stage. GTWC on the very same Sky Sport Arena channel (40-50k daily average audience) reached almost 120k audience for the Misano event, with around 100k on each event, even after Rossi retired.

Long story short....
.....Being greedy for TV rights (expensively paid) without investing anything back, well, can't bring much more than what we have right now. WRC Promoter needs to step up, now or never before it will be too late. And with this situation, you can bring 800HP monster cars with F1 aero, with basically whatever you want on... and nobody would care either way.

P.S.: younger fan base is going to follow F1 after Liberty Media's strategy. Not gonna say WRC needs its own "drive to survive", but try being fun and catchy at least. WRC fanbase built during the gold era is now "aging". Time to come up with something fresh.