Thread: [WRC] News & rumours (part II)

Nissen went into administration (maybe 'cos of Latvala's contract. :P)
Jost Capito officially confirmed as new head of Volkswagen Motorsport - WRC news - AUTOSPORT.com

Interview with Mads Ostberg before Talsu rally: VIDEO

WRC 2013 calendar decision postponed to 15 July

source?

Originally Posted by garais22

Interview with Mads Ostberg before Talsu rally: VIDEO

Thanx for video.
I'll be there to check his speed

Originally Posted by J4MIE

They may be having "joint" rounds in Argentina and Brazil, so why not Australia and NZ a few weeks apart??

I have been saying that for ages, I just cant see the sense in the teams having to go all that way to only have one event. It would be nice to see the two events competing with eac other, fastest average speed, biggest jumps, which has the most live televised stages etc etc.

Time to stop pandering to useless rallies and idiots with a few extra 'notes' being waved around.

'New rallies can be great for the championship' - Yeah and they can also be disastrous too. Rallying in Jordan? The biggest failure of the WRC in the last 30 years.

All the rallies that are looking to be thrown out have been the backbone of the sport for 2-3 decades and in some cases longer. No one thinks about that, it's entirely about which country can pay the most. It's inevitable and a very sad state of affairs for anyone who is a real 'rally enthusiast'.

I think that Austraia doesn't have a market to sell the cars to the public. Nor does NZ as i've read. But does that really matter? To be honest - I'm not sure which rally I would prefer. NZ is fantastic in many ways and so has Rally Australia in Coffs Harbour! I'm going to NZ again this year, Coffs was last year and will head to that again when it's on. Both amazing rallies and think that rotating will be great. Rally Aus going in for the kill to be permanent for 3 years will kill it... I think rotating is the way to go!

Originally Posted by WRCfan

Rallying in Jordan? The biggest failure of the WRC in the last 30 years.

Really? I think Ogier's victory of 0.2 seconds last year was fantastic, particularly when there had been so much emphasis on road position and team tactics. And Jordan also had a very unique surface, since the roads were graded and then sprayed with water from the Dead Sea, so the high salt content gave the roads a diamond-like finish. I still remember watching on-board videos from the rally where you can't actually tell the difference between the road and the scenery. The rally might not have attracted lots of sponsors, and there might not have been much reason for the teams to be there in the first place, but I think that Rally Jordan was actually a pretty unique event.

If you want an absolute disaster, look not further than Super Rally, the way rally routes were steadily cut down so that television crews could get to them easily, and the introduction of constant spectator-friendly super-special stages. All of them have worked together to dilute the concept of rallying.

Agree with you on the super rally to an extent, although the other side of the coin is you get to see as a spectator more rally (and remember if you are watching live it only comes once a year) so that is good.

Smaller compact routes are a fail, agree with you there.

Jordan however just grinds me despite it being 'unique'. Scenery was one tree every 5 or so km, watching on tv it was like someone drove a grader blindfolded around in the desert to make the stages. Horrible rally, and pointless for all the teams being there really. I guess the bottom line for me is that a 'pointless' rally such as Jordan is taking spots of classics and rallies which formed the backbone of the WRC for many years. Maybe I am too old fashioned? haha

Originally Posted by GigiGalliNo1

I think that Australia doesn't have a market to sell the cars to the public. Nor does NZ as i've read. But does that really matter? To be honest - I'm not sure which rally I would prefer. NZ is fantastic in many ways and so has Rally Australia in Coffs Harbour! I'm going to NZ again this year, Coffs was last year and will head to that again when it's on. Both amazing rallies and think that rotating will be great. Rally Aus going in for the kill to be permanent for 3 years will kill it... I think rotating is the way to go!

Yeah, it has to be rotation. In an ideal world they'd both run every year. But the best compromise is for them to rotate year by year. Rally Australia can't be allowed to ride roughshod over NZ. Look at the bigger picture. Both may not be huge car markets for European Manufacturers, but they have a large spectator numbers, which is important. Brazil/India are big markets, but where is the audience? Too many of the best events are being dropped. Remember, to qualify for a World Championship, a series must visit at least 4 continents.

VW COMMITTED TO WRC iRally | The free independent Rally App for the iPhone, iPad and Android

Volkswagen rules out Formula 1 move in the near future - F1 news - AUTOSPORT.com

Rally GB confirms 2012 route - WRC news - AUTOSPORT.com

Originally Posted by Prisoner Monkeys

Rally GB confirms 2012 route - WRC news - AUTOSPORT.com

I don't want to die without seeing the WRC back to Kielder...

Originally Posted by Kielder

I don't want to die without seeing the WRC back to Kielder...

Next year, I'm sure it will be back in Kielder with a Sunderland start. Unless of course Rally GB is the casualty when manufactureres want 8 European rounds if 4 flyaways are included in the calendar. Apparently the reason for the delay in announcing the calendar this week was that FIA want 13 rounds, 4 flyaways and 9 European rounds and manufacturers insist on cost that if they have to go to 4 flyaways then another European round is dropped to 8 rounds - assuming it's definate that Acropolis is out for next year, I can't see MC, Sweden (only snow round) Finland, Germany (VW year) France (Cit& Loeb) out, maybe Portugal or GB is the "weaker" European round, Portugal because this year's event was disrupted by weather (last time in 2001, they used that as an excuse) and GB if the Welsh funding stops, and as we heared before Yorkshire was supposed to come in, in the end they had no money, and it was back to Wales but with the sponsor getting away with paying less money.

Originally Posted by MJW

Next year, I'm sure it will be back in Kielder with a Sunderland start. Unless of course Rally GB is the casualty when manufactureres want 8 European rounds if 4 flyaways are included in the calendar. Apparently the reason for the delay in announcing the calendar this week was that FIA want 13 rounds, 4 flyaways and 9 European rounds and manufacturers insist on cost that if they have to go to 4 flyaways then another European round is dropped to 8 rounds - assuming it's definate that Acropolis is out for next year, I can't see MC, Sweden (only snow round) Finland, Germany (VW year) France (Cit& Loeb) out, maybe Portugal or GB is the "weaker" European round, Portugal because this year's event was disrupted by weather (last time in 2001, they used that as an excuse) and GB if the Welsh funding stops, and as we heared before Yorkshire was supposed to come in, in the end they had no money, and it was back to Wales but with the sponsor getting away with paying less money.

I reckon Italy would be dropped before Portugal. That seems to be a very well run event with things like the Lisbon SSS and good support from sponsors like Vodafone.

Wasn't Italy only a last minute inclusion for this year after Abu Dhabi was dumped? Surely an indication that it is very much out of favour anyway?

Portugal is going to be in the calendar in 2013 & 2014.
We've to wait for the entire new calendar until 15th of June.

Marcus Grönholm prepares Global Rallycross Championship 2012 with Ford Fiesta RC .. All the photos from MG Tests Image