How do you see the future of rally?

[AndyRAC]

Hi all
First time on here so hello to all. I was on the start of SS1 for the Severn Valley yesterday and we had no marshals throughout the stage we had just over the minimum of radio cars who doubled as marshals. This to me is the biggest threat to all Motorsport in the uk as the cost of getting to events as a volunteer marshal is expensive and without marshals you can't hold the event no matter what discipline or location

It surely didn't help that there was another major championship (BTRDA - Dukeries) taking place on the same day. Madness - there may have been extenuating reasons, but organisers/championships need to work together to stop this happening.

[Sulland]

Looking at the fact that we have a financial crisis, and that the power the factories have on privateers that buy or lease a WRCar from them. Then you have the fact that a privat team will have to have huge piles of money/sponsors to be able to do the whole championship.
In addition to this FIA seem to be unable to give manufacturers, teams, media, drivers and sponsors some stability the next 5 years.
All in all this gives a lot of the ansvers on why WRC seems to be on its deathbed in current format.

What role do you all see the new R5 class having in WRC in the future?

Could that class take the role of S2000 could have had, as several here means?
Would that attract more money if FIA would say that from 2015 to 2020 R5 will be top class with one re-homologation late 2016, used from 2017.

I feel stability in rules and simple cars, that a privat team could buy and still win with. More or less like IndyCar. Less power to a few manufacturers, and a more open and exiting championship!

[AndyRAC]

A question. What is the WRC for? What do the Manufacturers want to promote? Is the sport still relevant?What about new technology – hybrids, recoverable energy, etc

I’m not overly optimistic about the future; do any of the stakeholders agree on anything? Until that happens the sport is going nowhere.

[Brother John]

A question. What is the WRC for? What do the Manufacturers want to promote? Is the sport still relevant?What about new technology – hybrids, recoverable energy, etc

I’m not overly optimistic about the future; do any of the stakeholders agree on anything? Until that happens the sport is going nowhere.

So I think the same currently about the future of WRC. :-(

[BDunnell]

A question. What is the WRC for? What do the Manufacturers want to promote? Is the sport still relevant?What about new technology – hybrids, recoverable energy, etc

I’m not overly optimistic about the future; do any of the stakeholders agree on anything? Until that happens the sport is going nowhere.

A very good question. I believe there ought to be a very bright future for those forms of motorsport in which the cars being used are based on roadgoing machines, eg rallying and touring cars, for the very reason of their direct relevance to cars driven by the watching public. Following on from that, there should be scope for the testing and introduction of the new technologies you mention. What better method could there be of promoting them? The trouble is that these things are expensive, and are now, as I see it, hard to bring in because of the increasing move towards standardised parts and 'one size fits all' technical regulations. Motorsport needs to be careful to remain relevant, and, even without such technologies being introduced, I think touring car racing can survive on the basis of being entertaining. When we'll start to see hybrids and recoverable energy in touring cars given that manufacturer support is so limited these days I don't know, but I'm sure it will happen. But if rallying is no longer entertaining or interesting to watch — and I don't think it is at present — what does it have?

[BDunnell]

Looking at the fact that we have a financial crisis, and that the power the factories have on privateers that buy or lease a WRCar from them. Then you have the fact that a privat team will have to have huge piles of money/sponsors to be able to do the whole championship.
In addition to this FIA seem to be unable to give manufacturers, teams, media, drivers and sponsors some stability the next 5 years.
All in all this gives a lot of the ansvers on why WRC seems to be on its deathbed in current format.

What role do you all see the new R5 class having in WRC in the future?

Could that class take the role of S2000 could have had, as several here means?
Would that attract more money if FIA would say that from 2015 to 2020 R5 will be top class with one re-homologation late 2016, used from 2017.

I feel stability in rules and simple cars, that a privat team could buy and still win with. More or less like IndyCar. Less power to a few manufacturers, and a more open and exiting championship!

Surely what rallying needs are cars that are, in effect, the MkII Escorts of their day — available for many to buy and thus providing a lot of competitive cars. It is sad that such a thing today seems an unachievable pipedream.

[Barreis]

They want to be in F1 league, that's why it's so expensive.

[BDunnell]

They want to be in F1 league, that's why it's so expensive.

Those concerned need to wake up and see the reality, then. Otherwise I can see the top level of the sport dying a death.

[N.O.T]

First of all they need to understand that F1 and Rallying are two completely different sports...

the audience is completely different... F1 is for everyone... which is good for money.

WRC is for Alpha male wolfs... which can also be good for money if is is provided in the proper context.... but it will never reach the numbers of F1, because simply there scared little sick dogs in this world who are concerned about drivers hair styles and sexual orientations are way larger in numbers than proper people.

[BDunnell]

First of all they need to understand that F1 and Rallying are two completely different sports...

the audience is completely different... F1 is for everyone... which is good for money.

WRC is for Alpha male wolfs... which can also be good for money if is is provided in the proper context.... but it will never reach the numbers of F1, because simply there scared little sick dogs in this world who are concerned about drivers hair styles and sexual orientations are way larger in numbers than proper people.

I detect a collective yawn on the part of most forum members at reading most of this.

As for the first point, Pentti Airikkala once said that having F1 and rallying run by the same body is akin to 'football and rugby being run out of the same office'. I am beginning to wonder whether he was right.