Quote Originally Posted by the sniper View Post
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.