BRC registrations start to roll in

[Simon Moss]

Already received (or part of prize)
Matt Cotton -Ford Fiesta ST
Desi Henry - Citroen DS3
Gethin Jones - Ford Fiesta ST
Jukka Korhonen - Skoda Fabia R2 (PSD prize)
Jussi Kumpumäki - Ford Fiesta R2
Niko Nieminen - Ford Fiesta R2
Alex Parpottas - Ford Fiesta R2
Garry Pearson - Renault Twingo R1 (BRCC prize registration)
Jack Rowe - Ford Fiesta R2 (BRCC prize registration)

I don't like speculating, but have also had the nod from:
Alastair Fisher - Ford Fiesta R2 (alogside WRC Academy events)
Callum Black - Suzuki Swift R3 (already registered for Teams Championship)
Osian Pryce - Citroen DS3 R3 (Media form received)
Mark Donnelly - Renault Clio R3 (spoke briefly at Autosport Show)
Aaron Newby - Skoda Fabia R2 (promoted at Autosport Show)
Chris Ingram - Renault Twingo R2 (spoke at Autosport Show)

Early BRC registration rate is open until this Friday
www.rallybrc.co.uk (http://www.rallybrc.co.uk)

[pantealex]

Swift R3 ? (2.0 ?)
R1 or R2 I think (1.4 or 1.6)

[HaCo]

Looking forward to this.

[Allyc85]

Swift R3 ? (2.0 ?)
R1 or R2 I think (1.4 or 1.6)

Its an ex JWRC car so 1600. He has said he needs to do some modifications to it to get it closer to the speed of the newer cars though.

Black on the Sunseeker last year..

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5058/5486040966_d77cd61bcf_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allyc85/5486040966/)
Callum Black Rallye Sunseeker 2011 2 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/allyc85/5486040966/) by Allyc85 (http://www.flickr.com/people/allyc85/), on Flickr

[Simon Moss]

BRC Challenge latest update from forms received:

Richard Archer/John Connor
Simon Moore/Emma Morrison
Russ Thompson/Andy Murphy
Damien Smith/TBC
Richard Sykes/Simon Taylor
Matt Jackson/Rhys Price
John Byrnes/Sarah Whelan
Mark McCulloch/TBC
Gareth White/Mike Dickson

[Langdale Forest]

The BRC is getting rather pointless as it is now 2WD only, the other championships are probably of more use to an up and coming driver because you can use any car in them, and remember IRC and WRC use 4WD cars.

[Allyc85]

Loeb started in a Saxo and it didnt do him any harm ;)

[Langdale Forest]

Latvala did the BRC in a Ford Focus WRC and didn't do him any harm. ;)

[AndyRAC]

Matt Wilson did the BRC in a Focus WRC and....er,....... ;)

[Allyc85]

Latvala did the BRC in a Ford Focus WRC and didn't do him any harm. ;)

And look at how many cars we had in the BRC towards the end of the WRC era ;)

[MrJan]

Latvala did the BRC in a Ford Focus WRC and didn't do him any harm. ;)

I do wonder about that. I think that certainly Matt Wilson would be a more rounded driver today if he had spent a few years thrashing the nuts off a S1600. To my mind it's better learning how to get 100% out of a less powerful car before making the step up. For example Wilson could compete at a half decent level in the BRC aided by top WRC machinery, that meant that he never had to really get the most out of the car. The advantage of being underpowered is that you have to work that much harder to maintain speeds and get higher up the order.

[Sulland]

What os the number of crews as of today?

Are there other series on the island where 4wd can be used?

[MrJan]

What os the number of crews as of today?

Are there other series on the island where 4wd can be used?

Yep, quite a few local ones and a handful of national, usually confined to just gravel or just asphalt events. The BTRDA is the main one, that generally has a decent entry of WRC stuff and a long list of other Imprezas and Evos.

[BDunnell]

I do wonder about that. I think that certainly Matt Wilson would be a more rounded driver today if he had spent a few years thrashing the nuts off a S1600. To my mind it's better learning how to get 100% out of a less powerful car before making the step up. For example Wilson could compete at a half decent level in the BRC aided by top WRC machinery, that meant that he never had to really get the most out of the car. The advantage of being underpowered is that you have to work that much harder to maintain speeds and get higher up the order.

It's an interesting point. To me the ideal solution is for there to be no need to make quite such a progression. It was far easier to see who was a good prospect when a privateer could buy a half-decent Escort similar to those in the hands of Mikkola, Vatanen or whoever.

[MrJan]

It was far easier to see who was a good prospect when a privateer could buy a half-decent Escort similar to those in the hands of Mikkola, Vatanen or whoever.

Indeed, sadly the technology at the top level is so high that we often see money win out over talent. You don't even have to go back to Vatanen and Mikkola, look at the cars that Gronholm or McRae were in at an early age, they weren't cheap but were much closer to what their rivals were in. In fact it's only really the last decade or so when we've seen the really young drivers in the really expensive stuff, people like Petter or Duval getting chances from a really young age.

[AndyRAC]

It's an interesting point. To me the ideal solution is for there to be no need to make quite such a progression. It was far easier to see who was a good prospect when a privateer could buy a half-decent Escort similar to those in the hands of Mikkola, Vatanen or whoever.

Quite agree - the thing was you could use your 'bog standard' Escort, and spec it up as you went along. Example, start off with a 1.3 then upgrade to a 1.6, and so on and also uprating brakes, suspension ,etc And you didn't have to go to one 'supplier' to buy the car and parts.
While the WRC/Kit car formulae was to encourage new Manufacturers, who then didn't have to build a 'Homologation special' - we have definately missed out with Privateers being able to prep their own cars - and without spending ££££££ to be competitive.
But what do I know - progress, as they say.... ;)

[Wasted Talent]

Registered as at 17 January:

Callum Black
Matthew Cathcart
Matt Cotton
Desi Henry
Chris Ingram
Gethin Jones
Jukka Korhonen
Jussi Kumpumäki
Arron Newby
Niko Nieminen
Alex Parpottas
Garry Pearson
Osian Pryce
Jack Rowe
......

WT

[OldF]

I remember the days when BRC was considered the best ladder, at least for Finnish drivers, to an international career.