WRC main class in 2025

[doubled1978]

The problem is that BMW don't see rallying as part of their heritage, despite what the M3 achieved. Racing they are OK with, but rallying isn't how they see themselves.

Yeah, they have always had an aversion to rallying and never saw it as something to get involved with, I’m sure I read somewhere in the 80’s they didn’t like the car being dirty for marketing.
Personally, I think they were a little short sighted on the Prodrive Mini idea as that could have leveraged the brand historically and provided a good source of customer Motorsport through Prodrive as stated above.

[seb_sh]

And yet they've recently raced Dakar with both BMW and Mini for more than a decade...

[WRCStan]

The problem is that BMW don't see rallying as part of their heritage, despite what the M3 achieved. Racing they are OK with, but rallying isn't how they see themselves.

Mini and BMW should be separate brands in this discussion.

[WRCStan]

Shame they couldn't make more of the Mini relationship, if they'd played their cards right they could have made more than a decade of R5/Rally 2 Mini Coopers, a three door hatch that changes relatively little from generation to generation. Would have been a decent business for Prodrive...

There's a parallel with the S2000 WRC and proposing Rally2 as top class today. It wouldn't last.

[HKSjbg]

The problem is that BMW don't see rallying as part of their heritage, despite what the M3 achieved. Racing they are OK with, but rallying isn't how they see themselves.

So why was the project green lit in the first place?

[doubled1978]

So why was the project green lit in the first place?

Others no doubt know more than me, but as I understood it, the project was not a BMW (Mini) project or idea. Prodrive were allowed to use the brand and received some technical help, but there was no financial involvement at all from the factory and the whole thing relied on Prodrive obtaining a commercial sponsor to fund it into 2012 onwards. Prodrive backed it for 2011 to prove the cars worth for attracting a sponsor, but it didn’t happen and the project fell apart.
It was a shame as the chassis was reportedly very good, although the engine was certainly not as good as the others.

[AndyRAC]

So why was the project green lit in the first place?

From memory (and without looking it up) Prodrive had plans for a generic WRC car, and managed to sell the idea to BMW-Mini. BMW financed the early development/engine, etc It was then up to Prodrive to get a budget for an WRC assault from 2012 onwards, as BMW were returning to the DTM that year, and that was obviously their priority. There were plenty of mainstream news stories in 2011, even on BBC news about the Mini return to the WRC - all part of the plan to get finance/sponsorship. There were rumours of supposed big sponsors signing up, but nothing concrete. There were some promising performances in the few events they did, Meeke setting fastest time in the Rallye Catalunya Power Stage. All seemed good for 2012......

And then just before Christmas 2011, the famous tweet from Meeke....The Mini programme was in trouble and they required a pay driver in the second seat alongside Dani Sordo.

[Andre Oliveira]

Problem is that manufacturers doesn want that somebody use and promote their cars (mainly bodyshells) without their approval...

Finally someone say it. People dream about something that will never happen. Btw, Rally2-Kit, N5, Protos and others existance is interesting but i don't see manufacters happy with that.

[WRCStan]

Finally someone say it. People dream about something that will never happen. Btw, Rally2-Kit, N5, Protos and others existance is interesting but i don't see manufacters happy with that.

Can they do much about it? E.g. VWs carry on despite VW not wanting to carry on. This is if Dave has his way and if the FIA allows it. The realistic block at top level is the willing manufacturers not wanting competition. With WRC2 being a teams championship, there's no good reason I can see, as the future comes, why this isn't the way forward. It could even be the only way to retain ICE cars and keep people happy.

[skarderud]

In old days, importers in each country had own teams, building own cars.
Why would a manufacturer deny an official importers rallyteam based on a spaceframe and a productionbased engine?

I know its a long step fram a Escort MK2 to todays Rally1 cars, but someone around are able to build and finance a rallyteam.

Maybe rallying for a manufacturer is a dead horse anyway, maybe it has to be changed to more open and more simple rules to survive?

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