Goodbye IRC

[RS]

Well guys, it's all over. It's a bit sad that IRC went out with a whimper rather than a bang, but it certainly did make rallying a lot more interesting for the last few years.

I'm pleased that it gave manufacturers without a car in the top category a chance to compete for outright wins and titles, and that it provided us with revolutionary and unmatched live tv coverage (who could forget those live Monte Carlos?) I'm pleased that it gave a home to many classic rallies which were dumped from WRC and a bigger stage for some great European rallies too, and I'm pleased that it gave us some great close battles and unpredictable events which were really worth following.

Above all it gave a home to many great drivers who might otherwise have been left on the scrapheap and it has really developed the talents of Kris Meeke, Thierry Neuville, Juho Hanninen and Andreas Mikkelsen; at least two of whom I see being right at the top of WRC competiton for many years to come.

So thank you Eurosport, not everything was perfect, but the sport as a whole would have been poorer without you. Now please go and do as good or an even better job with ERC!

[AndyRAC]

Can't disagree. A sad end to what had been a fantastic series. I only started following it properly in 2008, and the Live coverage of Valais. I was super impressed.

The 2009-2011 seasons were the best, plenty of competition, different drivers, cars, fantastic events. You want to run stages at night? Go ahead, no problem! So Col de Turini again run at night. Sanremo running a mega 40km stage in the Friday night, Rally Scotland running into the night. Awesome!!! It was giving teams, drivers, Manufacturers, fans everything they wanted from an International Rally series.....as opposed to the formulaic WRC. Nothing highlighted this than in 2009; the Live coverage of the Monte, followed a week later by the WRC Rally Ireland, and highlights late at night with 'as live' commentary, it was lazy, tired.

There are so many memories, too many to mention - I hope they would bring out a DVD showing just what a great series this was.

[tommeke_B]

It was a great championship. Giving the opportunity to privateers and local drivers to shine on an international level. Giving the organizers the freedom to create a unique event. Eurosport also made it amazing for fans to follow the rally at home, with a great coverage on TV, often live-stages (remember Monte Carlo for example), one central website (irc-results.com) for live-results etc. :) Except for the last year (excluding Corsica, Ypres and Barum), every season was great.

[PLuto]

Intercontinental is over, after six beautiful years (if we dont count "zero" year in 2006). Martin Holmes wrote nice summary of the championship in last GP Week. One nice era is at the end and there is a chance for growing up the "old-new" series called ERC. I hope it will be at least on same level as IRC. It has all aces in their sleeves...

[Mark]

Soon this forum will be closed and threads merged with European Rallying.

[tommeke_B]

Soon this forum will be closed and threads merged with European Rallying.

It would be better to just change the name of this forum to "European Rally Championship", because every rally, big news etc will have it's own subject. While European Rallying should be changed to "European National Rallying"? ;) I think it would make more sense and it would make things easier for everyone...

[Mark]

Possibly, I don't want to rush into anything here so lets hear some ideas :)

[tolis]

It would be better to just change the name of this forum to "European Rally Championship", because every rally, big news etc will have it's own subject. While European Rallying should be changed to "European National Rallying"? ;) I think it would make more sense and it would make things easier for everyone...

Agree!

[Ucci]

It was definitely a series to watch!! Great cars, great drivers, great stages.....almost perfect.
But as always when something good is finished, we have tears in eyes, but this can be also opportunity to make new championship (or shall I it call old one, as it will be officialy named ERC) to be even better, with new cars (R5), new names....
The only thing which can distruct, is this fuc...ing global recession....

[Mirek]

Possibly, I don't want to rush into anything here so lets hear some ideas :)

I agree with Tom. Better to rename IRC section to ERC and let European rallying for national news. It would make things easier to follow.

[noel157]

Soon this forum will be closed and threads merged with European Rallying.

I sincerely hope not. If the IRC was important enough to have it's own section surely the ERC which will now be of greater stature deserves it's own board. Solution is simple- change the title of this board, there's only one letter to change... :)

[br21]

I agree with most of the guys here... rename IRC to ERC and leave European Rallying for national rallies, other than those from ERC.

[Viking]

It would be better to just change the name of this forum to "European Rally Championship", because every rally, big news etc will have it's own subject. While European Rallying should be changed to "European National Rallying"? ;) I think it would make more sense and it would make things easier for everyone...

This also gets my vote :)

[RS]

I echo what the others have said, ERC should have it's own sub forum replacing IRC.

[Luis Pacheco]

It would be better to just change the name of this forum to "European Rally Championship", because every rally, big news etc will have it's own subject. While European Rallying should be changed to "European National Rallying"? ;) I think it would make more sense and it would make things easier for everyone...

I agree.

[makinen_fan]

I agree with others, IRC should be renamed to ERC and european rallying to remain for all the other rallys taking place in Europe not part of 2013 ERC

[dimviii]

I agree with Tom. Better to rename IRC section to ERC and let European rallying for national news. It would make things easier to follow.
+1
Agree with most mates at IRC success.Well done at almost all levels.At some points better than wrc.Plenty different winners,cars,new drivers,a lot of drama.Most of rallies was very difficult to know the winner.

I am sure that with new cars from manufacturs ERC will be very interesting.Just remember the first years of IRC..

[wwbroe]

I also agree with you guys, i had some really magnificent moments in the last years, visiting those magical rally's in the IRC championship. Alltough the last year was much less interesting, i still find it pitty that IRC is disappearing. But it also creates a great opportunity for ERC to find some magic in the future. Hope Eurosport will continu to deliver great support and images and that the calendar will be made up witrh some "intelligence" :D

Concerning this thread, i join most people's advice to just change the name to ERC, so that we can discuss this new championship over here. ;)

[Barreis]

It was enjoyable live rally TV time. :) We can change the name to ERC, it will be the same series with the same organizer. Thx Eurosport.

[pino]

It would be better to just change the name of this forum to "European Rally Championship", because every rally, big news etc will have it's own subject. While European Rallying should be changed to "European National Rallying"? ;) I think it would make more sense and it would make things easier for everyone...

You get my vote too :up:

[Sulland]

I also feel that the IRC subforum just should be renamed ERC.
there is so much good info here, that will naturally have bearing on the new ERC.

ERC will become the top regional championship, with TV coverage and hopefully also a field to match.
this is why I mean it deserve its own sub forum, and not just a thread inside the European rally subforum.

ERC will become F2 if you think on WRC as F1, if we taking a racing jargon !

[WRC1]

Same here, rename the IRC Forum into ERC forum and keep European Forum for national championship events!!

in my opinion IRC was a great thing, eurosport did very good work! i had the pleasure to visit a lot of events in 2009/2010 with franz wittmann an also a few rallyes this year with kogler/andi aigner.

i am sure ERC 2013 will be a good championship, the calender seems to me very good balanced!

i look forward to join as many events as possible starting with my first home erc round in freistadt (60km from my hometown)

[HaCo]

Awesome period, not only with IRC, but also with S2000 cars. When I first saw Basso in Ypres flying from a very fast right into a sharp left with his Pun to I was sold. Also my first and very wet gravel experience in Scotland and last but least very much victories from Belgian drivers!
Thanks to IRC Ypres came back in international scene properly, the magic was back with a lot of international teams visiting Ypres.

Just rename this one and keep the European topic for national and regional rally's, maybe with a prefix from the country BEL, ... Quite stupid choice to delete/merge the Belgian rally topic, I don't see the use of it.

Verstuurd van mijn ARCHOS 80G9 met Tapatalk

[stefanvv]

Goodbye IRC, welcome ERC. I think ERC will become even better with more variety of surfaces like the 2 snow events in the beginning of the calendar. Probably Eurosport will learn from some disadvantages in IRC in the coverage and make ERC easier to follow more globally. Great job so far anyway :up:

[pucky54]

I would rename the IRC part of the forum to ERC and keep the European Rallying part for national events in Europe

[Juha_Koo]

I would rename the IRC part of the forum to ERC and keep the European Rallying part for national events in Europe

I share this view.

[mousti]

End of a great era in Rallying alot of good things and most memorable was the battle last year at Corsica with Neuville winning, it gave me goosebumps!

And like anyone else I agree to just change the name to European Rally Championship of this section.

[Plan9]

Well from half a world away from where most of the IR happened I am only too happy to say I enjoyed following it online. Its Eurosport coverage as way better than WRCs. I really hope Eurosport puts out a commemorative DVD package of the IRC years!

Favorite moment: Meeke winning Ypres in 2009. I am thankful that the IRC gave his career a lifeline during these economically depressed years.

[Sulland]

IRC is the best thing that has happenend to international rally for many years.

It really got things to happen in an organisation that really just was thinking single seater racing for a long time.

Someone with an idea of a copletely new cartype, a new management that was not tied down by FIA policies, or lack of !

The new guy on the block put together a simple set of rules, took good rallies and formed an ok calendar. They put the driver and not the manufacturer as pri 1. Rallies did not have to be formed according to an A4 pattern, but could stay long, short, mixed surface, night stages and so on. That paid off.

They got a good motorsport Tv organisation as prime partner, they started to produce rally for tv as no one before them, and by that making rally a live sport like never before.

It turned out to be a success. The car class took off, the series took off, and the TV productions improved. - A winner had been born, but it was born outside of marriage, not really part of the family.

This was not going down good with the big shots in Paris. Something had to be done.

First they took away the jewel, the S2000 car. No more homologations. Start of the end.
Not sure if they took the coverage as well, but it changed this year.

A lot of other stuff probably happened behind the scene as well. Read manufacturers.
They were loosing out, and got less press than before.
RRC and R4 were born, but did not get a success as S2000 had been.

Now the 'bastarzzz' has been adopted, and gotten a new identity, and by that part of the good family.

Lets hope his childhood has formed him so much that he will stay on as a son that will challenge the family in a good way, to bring in new thinking, dare to keep thinking new, but develop the new ERC in a way that new tecnology, new TV and promotion' as well as new ways of utilizing the internet to stream, interact with fans and so on.
The team or parts of the teams that developed IRC will hopefully continue in ERC.

Let them keep their momentum and drive to continue to develop ERC, and not become the silent kid onthe front row !

Thanks to the whole IRC fairytale we have been allowed to follow for 7 years. The IRC team has changed international rally for ever. Be proud !!

[atsiotras79]

I also agree that IRC Forum part should be renamed ERC! And of course leave the European rallies section as it is!

[OgyWRC]

WRC and ERC should be the main forum pillars, that’s clear.
Nevertheless, I would suggest keeping IRC thread on the side in order to have an archive of “a great era in Rallying”. ERC – let’s make a new beginning!

[Mark]

The consensus seems to be for this forum to be renamed, so I've done that. The European Rallying forum is now European National Rallying.

In addition, there were calls for a 'general rallying' forum - so I'm trialling allowing posting in the top level forum, which was previously only for showing threads in the sub forums.

[Sulland]

Good call by Admin!

is it tech possible to move over the thread called 2013 ERC News and Results over to the new ERC subforum?

[Mark]

Good call by Admin!

is it tech possible to move over the thread called 2013 ERC News and Results over to the new ERC subforum?


Yes; already done :)

[Mirek]

Thank You Mark!

[bluuford]

The consensus seems to be for this forum to be renamed, so I've done that. The European Rallying forum is now European National Rallying.

In addition, there were calls for a 'general rallying' forum - so I'm trialling allowing posting in the top level forum, which was previously only for showing threads in the sub forums.

Thank you for the reasonable change.. this can be taken as our (rally ethousiasts) step to make ERC more popular, more significant, more visible.

[dimviii]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPr-kiDOn5k&feature=youtu.be

[RS]

Well the last four IRC champions are all in manufacturer WRC drives next year; enough said :)

[PLuto]

Well the last four IRC champions are all in manufacturer WRC drives next year; enough said :)

And last four WRC champions (except Ogier, for sure) are all without manufacturer seat in WRC next year :laugh:

[EightGear]

Well the last four IRC champions are all in manufacturer WRC drives next year; enough said :)

The last 3. :)

[Mirek]

Neuville has never been IRC champion ;)

Last four champions are Mikkelsen (2x), Hänninen, Meeke and Vouilloz.

EDIT: I'm slow :)

[RS]

Well the last four IRC champions are all in manufacturer WRC drives next year; enough said :)

The last 3. :)

I should have phrased it "the IRC champions of the last 4 years"...

But to the above you can add Neuville as an IRC graduate - a pretty good record I'd say.

[EightGear]

Well the last four IRC champions are all in manufacturer WRC drives next year; enough said :)

The last 3. :)

I should have phrased it "the IRC champions of the last 4 years"...

But to the above you can add Neuville as an IRC graduate - a pretty good record I'd say.

I think we all got your point. ;) And you're right, not bad at all.

[Sulland]

Will we ever see the same from ERC?

[RS]

Will we ever see the same from ERC?

Can't see any reason why not when the R5s come on stream.