Why has the WRC gone so poor in quality

[WelshLegend]

What has happened to the good old days of having 7 works teams in 2002. Did it become to expensive to compete for smaller teams such as Hyundai etc!!!
Now i find myself falling asleep watching action from the days stages on Eurosport.
What can be done to attract these teams and others to the WRC???? :confused: :confused:

Regards
WelshLegend

[Wim_Impreza]

What can be done? Simply, these dings and more:
- 12 rallies in a season and not more.
- No SSS so far away.
- Make the rallies a bit longer, so they can't cruise early on the second day to the end.
- Not much technology in the cars.
- Limited test programms.
- No split times allowed.
- ...

[grugsticles]

Pretty much every thread on this forum has some form of conversation of why the WRC is dying, and from what I can see its poor decision making and managment by the sports overseer's that is the basis of the problem.

Other than that, its money. The cost of everything is going through the roof and manufacturers just cant keep up with the financial demands, as such the sport as a whole su ffers in many ways.

[jonkka]

WRC, as almost everything in life, goes in cycles. Ten years ago it was another low-point with only three full factory teams contesting the series but only in a few years six teams more entered (Toyota 1997, Seat 1998, Skoda and Peugeot 1999, Hyundai 2000 and Citroen 2001)! At the moment, we have another low-point but with arrival of Suzuki, who knows if the next upturn is on the door.

[Corny]

but with that 3 manufactures it was very interesting!

personally, I think it also had to do with road positions, that it was so interesting by then.

[SubaruNorway]

Split times is the bigest thing thts making it boring i think, altough Henning was recomended to drive without by his mental trainer not sure if he is

[Josti]

WRC, as almost everything in life, goes in cycles. Ten years ago it was another low-point with only three full factory teams contesting the series but only in a few years six teams more entered (Toyota 1997, Seat 1998, Skoda and Peugeot 1999, Hyundai 2000 and Citroen 2001)! At the moment, we have another low-point but with arrival of Suzuki, who knows if the next upturn is on the door.

But it's not only about manufacterers this time :\

[GigiGalliNo1]

not once this weekend did i check out wrc.com

[A.F.F.]

Something is not right at this point. Back in the 90's when group-A was the top gun, privateers had the chance to get competitive machinery to rallyes without going bankruptcy. Today it's not possible and even if they get their hands on a car, it's nowhere near in the level of factory rides.

So, no black horses...

[Finni]

Most worrying thing is that they are even downgrading news-service. Wrc.com is surficial telling only self-evidents "Loeb won and then Grönholm..". No any analyses, driver comments gone for last few rallies, no any inside information about cars and crews, no rallyradio. Would that be too difficult to produce with some quality? Shouldn't be.

[Nenukknak]

Why are there so few manufacturers because WRC is no rallying anymore, it's sprinting.

But on that note, WRC is just too expensive for what the manufacturers get out of it. F1 gets a lot of exposure and manufacturers are willing to pay big bucks for that. But WRC will never be F1, thank god, and FIA and others should try and stop making it into that. So manufacturers should be able to compete in WRC with limited funds, and therefore it should be made cheaper.

To enter WRC now would just take too much investment, luckily there are still manufacturers,i.e. Suzuki, that are willing to make this investment and take the chance. If they do allright maybe some other manufacturers are willing to take the chance also. But to enter a championship that is as it currently is, with such a large investment is brave.

WRCars are so developed right now and teams that have been there for a long time, Subaru, Ford, Citroen, have learned and developed their car over many years. They have a huge headstart over a manufacturer that is just starting out. It will take big consistent commitment from Suzuki to make it work, and not half-baked tries like Seat and Skoda.

If you look in the past, changing cars regulations usually worked out. Group B attracted more manufacturers, because they all started from scratch, but is was terminated too soon.
Group A was expensive but attracted it's fair amount of manufacturers, untill that got too expensive, and we where left with only three.
To make it cheaper WRC was introduced, and it attracted manufacturers. And now WRC has become too expensive and you are in the same bind. Change the format and you will attract manufacturers, but in the future also that new format will become too expensive and the costs of entering too high. That's just how it goes for motorsport that isn't F1.

[Zico]

Why are there so few manufacturers because WRC is no rallying anymore, it's sprinting.

But on that note, WRC is just too expensive for what the manufacturers get out of it. F1 gets a lot of exposure and manufacturers are willing to pay big bucks for that. But WRC will never be F1, thank god, and FIA and others should try and stop making it into that. So manufacturers should be able to compete in WRC with limited funds, and therefore it should be made cheaper.

To enter WRC now would just take too much investment, luckily there are still manufacturers,i.e. Suzuki, that are willing to make this investment and take the chance. If they do allright maybe some other manufacturers are willing to take the chance also. But to enter a championship that is as it currently is, with such a large investment is brave.

WRCars are so developed right now and teams that have been there for a long time, Subaru, Ford, Citroen, have learned and developed their car over many years. They have a huge headstart over a manufacturer that is just starting out. It will take big consistent commitment from Suzuki to make it work, and not half-baked tries like Seat and Skoda.

If you look in the past, changing cars regulations usually worked out. Group B attracted more manufacturers, because they all started from scratch, but is was terminated too soon.
Group A was expensive but attracted it's fair amount of manufacturers, untill that got too expensive, and we where left with only three.
To make it cheaper WRC was introduced, and it attracted manufacturers. And now WRC has become too expensive and you are in the same bind. Change the format and you will attract manufacturers, but in the future also that new format will become too expensive and the costs of entering too high. That's just how it goes for motorsport that isn't F1.

Spot on Nenukknak... which raises the question when do you think the WRC format will be replaced? Logic dictates it has to.. I'll give it two years IF suzuki are'nt able to make an impression. I believe we will see a super 2000 class as the replacement but I'd love to see RWD back with N/A engines as the top format... will never happen tho. :(

[GigiGalliNo1]

Perhaps even seeing Suzuki entering in the IRC/S2000 league!

[WelshLegend]

i remember the time when we had a number of up and coming talents in the WRC e.g. Duval, Martin, Gardemeister, Kresta etc etc.
Now look at them, looking for a drive wherever they can get. It is such a shame but thats the way it has gone.

[WRCfan]

Thanks Max you stupid track orientated G!T

Back in the hayday it was great, however now with stupid rules being imposed by the FIA and all that rubbish it is turning our lovely sport into a BOREFEST.

Penalties and so on being given to teams for pulling out when the head office in Korea or where ever decides to turn the taps of money off.....
Erasing co-drivers names off doors, what the hell were they thinking!? sickens me. Basically running the WRC like Formula One, it's about time we had someone who knew what the hell they were doing running it.

At least Morrie Chandler is up there doing a little to pitch it back to rally.

Although rallying in a place like Jordan is stupid in my opinion. If they want to include rounds, at least go to a place which is worth rallying in! If they are so hell bent on playing in the sand, go back to the Safari rally.

[AndyRAC]

Whoever runs the FIA is going to be F1 picked, so when Moseley goes I can see Dennis, Briatore or Todt taking over, I actually like Ron Dennis and I know Todt is ex Peugeot co-driver and team boss. The WRC is run as an afterthought, like an annoying pest, the sooner it's killed off the better. Sorry, just my opinion. I can't remember the WRC being at such a low ebb as presently.

[bowler]

. I can't remember the WRC being at such a low ebb as presently.

you haven't been around long enough then.

It is much better now than it was in some periods in the 80s and 90s

[AndyRAC]

you haven't been around long enough then.

It is much better now than it was in some periods in the 80s and 90s

Yes I do remember the start of Group A in 1987 and the mid 90's with Ford, Subaru and Mitsubishi, but they were better than now, at least the Rallies then were proper, not the sprints we have now. There did seem to be interest from the outside world then, now I get the feeling nobody gives a toss about the WRC.

[cut the b.s.]

you haven't been around long enough then.

It is much better now than it was in some periods in the 80s and 90s

I remember the late 80s and 90s well, and in my opinion WRC is now at its lowest, at least when Lancia were so dominant they had competition within the team, Sordo and Mikko are doing ok, but really we only have 2 drivers competing for the win on most rallys.

[Roy]

One answer for the 'problem' WRC = Media coverage.
Sponsors comes when they are in the picture.

But is there a problem? There a couple of privateers this year and a new team next year... So what is the problem? If there is a problem then is it the weak of Subaru. What sh!t cars they make :s we want an exciting Championship. (What Sponors want to.)

Other answer: A good WRC team.

[jens]

I have thought that there might be something to do with current media and information world.

Car manufacturers want to make as much advertising as possible, when they are competing in motorsports and one of the best ways for that is to advertise through TV. Rallying is not a TV-sport and I think that this might be the reason, why manufacturers are not too interested in rallying. In WRC car manufacturers get fewer options of advertising than they get on racing circuits with live TV-coverage.

As someone mentioned, they main solution would be something quite cheap like S2000, which would justify the money thrown in considering how much or few benefit it brings. At the moment the expensiveness of WRC is higher than the possible positive effect of car sales.

[kleisj]

Main reason as many, if not all, have said is FIA.

-Too many rallies drove the costs sky high
-2 cars per team!!! Unbelievable i found it! but unfortunately true
-Less cars means less drivers and ofcourse less interest.
-Sad fact is that drivers are chosen from their pockets...!
-All the electronics bits and pieces raised extremely the costs.
-Many said McRae is not good enough anymore...! Ok maybe (still, I would say he would be in top5) but for sure noone is as spectacular as he was! And this kind of attraction is still missed. Gigi.... give a car to Gigi!!!
Can someone say that Sordo or Hirvo are spectacular? In some cases yes they might be. But in some.... For me they are still no3 drivers since they cannot compete directly with their team mates. Don't take me wrong. I like them, but they are not up to the desired level yet to be an equal no2 driver for a top team.

It is so stupid to see in one of the highest forms of motorsport 2 professional teams and one semi-pro (yes Subaru i mean). What can we expect after that. At least in the past we could see Lancia or Toyota entering 3 and 4 cars for a race. An in the most cases we had 2 equal or almost equal drivers per team and one young gun or a domestic rally specialist.
Even in the worst of the rally years that I have seen nothing can be compared with the last 3 years. And year by year is getting worse. Much worse

FIA wanted to apply their plans they had in mind. They did! Probably made them richer in sort term. The cost was to slowly kill WRC. And ofcourse showed how great they love and care for this sport!

[Fischer]

Ultimately the FIA is to be blamed for the drop in quality.
Ofcourse the dominancy of a certain French driver (at a time when the WRC is at it's lowpoint) doesn't make things much better.

[WRXedUSA]

I know is is asinine, and far fetched, but I think GroupA should be tossed.

PCWRC has much more excitement.

[J4MIE]

Please, PLEASE don't even dare suggest WRC is replaced with PCWRC :|

[Petest205]

Its got nothing to do with a certain french driver... He is doing so well cos he is one of the best driver/team combinations around at the moment.
Thats not making it boring. its gone too expensive and some teams cant find the resources,


Bring back toyota and someone give that class italian driver a car.....

[pino]

Main reason as many, if not all, have said is FIA.

-Too many rallies drove the costs sky high
-2 cars per team!!! Unbelievable i found it! but unfortunately true
-Less cars means less drivers and ofcourse less interest.
-Sad fact is that drivers are chosen from their pockets...!
-All the electronics bits and pieces raised extremely the costs.
-Many said McRae is not good enough anymore...! Ok maybe (still, I would say he would be in top5) but for sure noone is as spectacular as he was! And this kind of attraction is still missed. Gigi.... give a car to Gigi!!!


I agree 100% especially about Gigi :up: :D

[Daniel]

I know is is asinine, and far fetched, but I think GroupA should be tossed.

PCWRC has much more excitement.
WTF? Ban him Jamie.......

[Livewireshock]

One factor that skips most peoples attention is that with more manufacturers, there are less chances for winning.

There are alot of manufacturers who like the idea of having a two/three horse race. The ability to say we are the winner here is much greater.

No matter what parity exists, not all manufacturers can be on top all the time. The slide of Subaru & Mitsubishi is an example. With 7 manufacturers, it is hard to promote your product when you are coming forth to seventh. It is hard to keep focus & drive when things do not go the way they like.

It makes Subaru's determination to regain the high ground even better. It also explains why Mitsubishi dropped out when the company could not find it in themselves to compete with an inferior vehicle under financial strain.

Seat, Hyundai & Nissan were quick to withdraw & it is amazing that Skoda hung in as long as it did. Peugeot pulled the plug after the 307 proved to not be a winner, nobody likes not being on the podium. Yes there are financial & quality of car issues with these entries but there is also an X factor if you will that allows a team to compete, punching above their weight that might succeed.

Personally I think it would be great personally to see the sport with many different cars. Yet there is nothing sporting about why companies rally their cars, they are there to win, in order to sell more cars. That is it, end of story from their point of view.

Look at DTM, Nascar, V8Supercars and other big name series in the world. How many manufacturers exist there? 2 to 3. With the same reasons why as I wrote above. Every now and then a new entrant appears but it causes a downfall of another.

[jonkka]

I know is is asinine, and far fetched, but I think GroupA should be tossed.

PCWRC has much more excitement.

Like guessing whose car will break first? Gr N is great concept but is way too fragile to be considered as top formula of the sport.

[Daniel]

Like guessing whose car will break first? Gr N is great concept but is way too fragile to be considered as top formula of the sport.
If you were going to kill the WRC "class" the only replacement in my view would be F2 ;)

[Corny]

No, bring on GTs! They're fast and spectaculair :D

[A.F.F.]

No, bring on GTs! They're fast and spectaculair :D

Especially on Greek and Cyprus gravel and over the jump of Ouninpohja :D

[JJMundt]

Why are there so few manufacturers because WRC is no rallying anymore, it's sprinting.

But on that note, WRC is just too expensive for what the manufacturers get out of it. F1 gets a lot of exposure and manufacturers are willing to pay big bucks for that. But WRC will never be F1, thank god, and FIA and others should try and stop making it into that. So manufacturers should be able to compete in WRC with limited funds, and therefore it should be made cheaper.

To enter WRC now would just take too much investment, luckily there are still manufacturers,i.e. Suzuki, that are willing to make this investment and take the chance. If they do allright maybe some other manufacturers are willing to take the chance also. But to enter a championship that is as it currently is, with such a large investment is brave.

WRCars are so developed right now and teams that have been there for a long time, Subaru, Ford, Citroen, have learned and developed their car over many years. They have a huge headstart over a manufacturer that is just starting out. It will take big consistent commitment from Suzuki to make it work, and not half-baked tries like Seat and Skoda.

If you look in the past, changing cars regulations usually worked out. Group B attracted more manufacturers, because they all started from scratch, but is was terminated too soon.
Group A was expensive but attracted it's fair amount of manufacturers, untill that got too expensive, and we where left with only three.
To make it cheaper WRC was introduced, and it attracted manufacturers. And now WRC has become too expensive and you are in the same bind. Change the format and you will attract manufacturers, but in the future also that new format will become too expensive and the costs of entering too high. That's just how it goes for motorsport that isn't F1.

Listen to this man often and you will learn much.

Regards,
Joel

[Josti]

Especially on Greek and Cyprus gravel and over the jump of Ouninpohja :D

Probably a suspension failure on SS1 :p :

No seriously, these cars would be great to see in the WRC events. Reason for looking forward to Germany.

[duff]

I agree whole heartedly with livewireshock. For the return that the manufacturers want, I don’t think it’s sustainable for the WRC to have more than 4 or maybe 5 manufacturer teams. I don’t think more teams is a step forward, but perhaps more cars per team.

I think the real change for the better can be made within the regulations for the cars themselves. Every top formula of motor sport gets to a stage where the equipment is just plain too advanced, too fast, too good.
With the balance/grip/reliability of WRCars these days at such an optimum level it takes away many of the parameters that can make the sport exciting. It makes driving a WRC rally for the drivers a "reflex game" not a "judgement and commitment game".

Basically in my opinion the regulations need to be changed to make the cars, in a sense, worse.
As Pirelli is the sole tyre supplier next year, why not down grade the tyres and give them more of a slip angle which would equal less grip and more sideways. This I believe would also increase safety as corner speeds would go down, plus more sideways equals more entertaining. Get rid of most of the gadgets and driver aids. Maybe get rid of some of the freedoms of chassis design and the ability to alter the balance within it.

Oh and less rallies, maybe 12. This in my opinion is the first step to lowering costs for the manufacturers thus giving them the ability to enter more cars and develop younger drivers with potential. Each countries interest heightens and lowers while following a top line driver rather than solely having a WRC round on their soil.

My two cents.

[Livewireshock]

In order to have more cars at a higher level is to encourage more cars from the same manufacturers. Personally I see the WRC kit built idea with the WRC-2012 review as a good thing.

It removes manufacturers to an arms length from the sport, like S2000 is now. They give their input & support but do not dictate or control the direction of the sport. With many people able to build their own cars or purchase cars from others, it casts a wider net. There is cost containment, plus competition to sell rally cars to others keeps costs low too. Making it more affordable to all.

Despite this, no matter what measures that are put in place, there will always be the haves & the have nots. Big budgets will always be around. If they are not allowed to spend their money on 'X' part now because it is a control item, they will just spend the money developing 'Y' part. All for the sake of a 0.00001% advantage, competition will always drive that on.

[Corny]

I hope for all Germany spectators, that Marc Duez will be there with a future world porsche :D

[BTCC2]

For me the only problem I have with the WRC is that only Gronholm and Loeb are contesting for wins. It needs more competition.

[jaytee10375]

I remember the late 80s and 90s well, and in my opinion WRC is now at its lowest, at least when Lancia were so dominant they had competition within the team, Sordo and Mikko are doing ok, but really we only have 2 drivers competing for the win on most rallys.


Its the same case in the 90's too though,everyone is saying Loeb is very young and already dominant for winning 3 years in a row,but Tommi did it for 4 years in a row and as much as Loeb is winning this season I really don't think he's doing it as casually as he did with the xsara as yet.

[Peugeot206WRC]

Well, they are right, Tommi wasnt that dominant in the seasons as Loeb was except maybe in 96 where he won the championship already before the last two rallies.
When he won 4 times in a row there where lot of battles and different winners, so I would say its a huge different between Loebs domination and Tommis.

I think Loeb will win this year again as he will probably win the 4 tarmac rallies where he is king and maybe steal some points from Marcus in at least one gravel rally.

[jaytee10375]

I think the decision to have only 2 drivers per team instead of 3 had quite an impact on the sport personally.

[leno]

I think the decision to have only 2 drivers per team instead of 3 had quite an impact on the sport personally.


you got damn right

[Timole]

I agree with the point been made that it has been way better in previous years, but then again at this time we have to be happy that wrc is still there and that we can see 16 different rounds of rallying on different surfaces.
The other thing which is a little bit uncool to do is to compare the titles of Tommi and Seb and others. I think that all the titles are very valuable and they achieved that through very hard work! So it´s little bit odd to say that it was so easy for him in that or that year.

[Corny]

The other thing which is a little bit uncool to do is to compare the titles of Tommi and Seb and others. I think that all the titles are very valuable and they achieved that through very hard work! So it´s little bit odd to say that it was so easy for him in that or that year.
you're right in that, but the Mäkinen-seasons were thrillers, the Loeb ones weren't.. It's not that Loeb's titles were easier, they just came more natural

[GunsofNavarone]

In my opinion, there are three things that are currently holding the sport back from reaching a wider, more dedicated audience. All of these problems are very fixable, though somewhat drastic.

1.) Event costs too high for organizers

The cost of running a world championship event has never been higher than it has been for the past several seasons. With increasing costs for the organizers, fans are left suffering or going broke while attending. (Or worse yet, forced to take their families to overpriced Super Special Stages...)

Zulu withdrew its bid recently because of the sheer cost of offering the amenities needed to host a WRC event. Rounds like Japan have been rumored to be in serious financial trouble every year.

The FIA needs to provide an incentive for organizers in the top level of rally competition. If it's aiding the event with money, increased marketing support, sponsorship affiliations, then that's what needs to be done.

Why are there events in the series that don't have major sponsorship? There should be a global company attached to each round of the championship. GLOBAL companies.

Having a round in the WRC should be a reward for the organizers who bust their chops to create a well-rounded, enjoyable, safe and challenging event. They should get something out of their participation in the series, as well. The FIA needs to ensure that every rally is the (Big Name Major Company) Rally of (Insert Country Here).

If this happens, organizers can focus on spending their money in other aspects of the event, like interactive 'eye-in-the-sky' cameras. I really enjoy those, and I am sure most of you do, too.

2.) Costs for teams / manufacturers

This is a big one. The teams are constantly trying to cut costs associated with their participation in the sport, and rightfully so... It's very, very expensive to run a full program.

I've read from several different posts that 12 events would be plenty, and I completely agree. I do think, however, that the 12 rallies would need to be carefully selected each year, and several of the events (up to 8 perhaps) should be on a rotating schedule every season. There are enough high quality rallies in the world where you could rotate through every three or four years (might be excessive), so different locations will certainly provide some excitability to the sport.

Get rid of A8. Someone mentioned earlier that the technology of the sport has superseded the skill a driver must possess to win. I completely agree. S2000 seems like a very good place to start rethinking the top-tier cars. If the cars are cheaper to run and prepare than the current WRCars, then adding an additional car to each team wouldn't be a problem.

For God's sake, don't let the sport suffer through a single tire provider! Having a spirited competition between tire makers brings more money, more people and more attention to the sport.

Four teams are plenty. At the moment, the sport has only two truly competitive rally teams, however. This issue needs to be resolved by the team(s) who are unproductive. There will always be someone who finishes the race last. If the technology of the cars (as mentioned above) and the budget for the teams were more evenly matched, I have full confidence in saying that there would be more than three drivers claiming victory in any given season.

Oh, and the FIA needs to loosen restrictions on where advertisements can be placed on competition cars. I may take a lot of heat for this, but the sport needs to look toward NASCAR to see just how many logos can be blasted to the side (top, bottom, helmet, HANS device, back, front) of any car. Don't charge an arm and a leg for logo space, but charge something.

3.) Rally coverage needs a complete overhaul

The technology to broadcast feeds, eye in the sky, stage-side cameras and car onboards live during the rally weekend exists. There is no excuse why there is not a helicopter feed live from every stage of every rally. We should be able to see (granted with a slight delay) the action as it is happening, not hours later online in tiny windows or on TV with short little recap shows (which I don't even get here in the States... but that point will have to wait until later, I think). Put two guys in a little booth with monitors and microphones and let them commentate during the stages. When the helicopter is not in the air or the cars are in service, cut to the guys in the booth talking, have a cameraman at each team's tent, have someone out doing interviews with drivers during the regroup and service breaks... but, it needs to be live.

Sure, charge for this service, but there isn't a person reading this post who wouldn't pay to see helicopter feeds, live in-cars and other views during the weekend. I would actually pay quite a bit. All of these services can be provided via the website, hell, throw in a copy of RallyWorld Magazine in there too for good graces.

-----------------------------

There you have it, my three big suggestions on how to help the sport.

[Daniel]

Cost isn't really what stops teams running a 3rd car. It's the fact that there is no benefit to having a 3rd car that stops teams. Only 2 cars can be nominated to get points. It used to be all 3 cars could be nominated but only the two top cars got points.

[GunsofNavarone]

Cost isn't really what stops teams running a 3rd car. It's the fact that there is no benefit to having a 3rd car that stops teams. Only 2 cars can be nominated to get points. It used to be all 3 cars could be nominated but only the two top cars got points.

Exactly, and that's the way it should be. More cars = more drivers. More drivers = more personalities. More personalities = more news. More news = you can see where I am going with this...

[A.F.F.]

Cost isn't really what stops teams running a 3rd car. It's the fact that there is no benefit to having a 3rd car that stops teams. Only 2 cars can be nominated to get points. It used to be all 3 cars could be nominated but only the two top cars got points.

The problem was that PSA teams had the most green and therefore they got the best driver line up. Teams with less money had to settle Loixs etc and they lost even more.

I still have to say it was fun to weatch when Peugeot got four drivers in some events....

[klm-607]

If I were making the next set of WRC regs... I'd eliminate ALL electronic "driver aids", like sequential paddle shift trannies, launch control, Nav computers (didn't have computers back in the day, & didn't need em'), etc. Allow 4cyl. or V6 engines w/either Turbos or Superchargers, Max of 375hp, Manual Transmissions or Hydrualic controlled Automatics (Teams choice of which they'd use), AWD, FWD, or RWD (also Teams choice.), & no split times to the driver/co-driver - make em' all drive their own rallies & hope for the best. Also make the rallies longer events, (longer stages, 3 FULL days), add some night stages too, maybe even go back to having some mixed surface events.

[WRCfan]

Good call on that!!! Night stages were the shizzle! Loads of fun, atmosphere was brilliant and no splits is a good idea.

In regards to the television viewing, is it just me or do other think that over the 24 minutes of the daily highlights, seeing 18 minutes of what LOEB is doing is b****y boring!!! No one cares, we know hes leading and Gronholm is being gained on. Then they show 1 minute of the rest of the field "before we go lets see whats been happening down the field" well I for one would like to see a lot more of the rest. Whoever is making these daily wrapup shows must be in love with Loeb because he is all they show.

Rant over haha

[jparker]

I just want to say that I do agree with most of today's comments in this thread, especially GunsofNavarone's one. Unfortunately I don't think much will change until 2010-2012

[klm-607]

Good call on that!!! Night stages were the shizzle! Loads of fun, atmosphere was brilliant and no splits is a good idea.

In regards to the television viewing, is it just me or do other think that over the 24 minutes of the daily highlights, seeing 18 minutes of what LOEB is doing is b****y boring!!! No one cares, we know hes leading and Gronholm is being gained on. Then they show 1 minute of the rest of the field "before we go lets see whats been happening down the field" well I for one would like to see a lot more of the rest. Whoever is making these daily wrapup shows must be in love with Loeb because he is all they show.

Rant over haha

I hear ya' there!!! I enjoy watching old BRC dvds more than the current WRC coverage, mainly because they show more than 3 or 4 drivers. Yeah I do wanna' see the leaders, but I also want to see the guys in 5th - 20th place as well. The "virtual spectator" is ain't the answer either. If I want that I'll play a vid game.

In addition:
As much as I hate NASCAR, I gotta' say, WRC could learn ALOT from their marketing model... get you brand name out there EVERYWHERE, & get your Teams names(drivers/co-drivers) out there, cars, pics/vids etc. I'm talking clothing, toys, posters, stickers, magnetic thingys, auto. accessories, do-dads, & what nots!! And do it all over the world too, maybe even push it more in North America (WRCs weakest market currently). Make everything WRC public knowledge whether they want to know it or not!! Then you'll see a slow but steady "ground swell" of interest in what you're doing. With that comes ALOT more fans, sponsors, teams, etc, etc. Get it???

[grugsticles]

GunsOfNaverone, Top post!
You ought to be congratulated!

Now please excuse my racisism here, but I dont usually listen to a word that any American says, but bugger me, your an exception.

I agree totally with what you have to say but there are a few little things that Id like to see.

12 rally callendar (roughly in this order: Monte Carlo, Sweden+Norway combined if possible, Argentina, Portugal, Acropolis, Finland, Corsica, Germany, New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, Wales).

3 or 4 cars per team (2 main drivers, and other cars driven by contracted up-and-comers for 1/2 season each or so). Points for all cars.

Cars be similar to S2000 idea but more powerful, 100% mechanical transmission, H patten gear box, no electronic driver aids, 3.5lt 6 cyl or 2.0lt 4 cyl Turbo/Supercharged (34mm restrictor), max of 320 to 350bhp, no water/alchohol injection

Rallies to be longer - minimum distance of 350km competive
No split boards. 2 Service park areas, one main, one remote for a 'minor' service

One Super special stage only - Held on the Thursday night as a Rally opener, but can be held multiple times thoughout the rally (for those people who simply cant get out to the stages)

Teams must have big budget restraints for testing. If a team exceeds the prescribed limit, a time penalty for each remaining rally must be suffered - Say 30 seconds. This must be monitored very closely.
Driver salaries should be FIA monitored so as thay arnt obsurd but also allow people like Loab, Gronholm, Petter to not be driven away from the sport when they see F1 drivers making multiple times what they make.


Media coverage/advertising/marketing all needs to be loked into further as that is how the sport will survive, but I have no ideas on that.


Hmm, thats about it :)

[L5->R5/CR]

GunsOfNaverone, Top post!
You ought to be congratulated!

Now please excuse my racisism here, but I dont usually listen to a word that any American says, but bugger me, your an exception.




That's ok, we don't normally listen to anyone... http://www.lasermyeye.org/forums/images/smilies/eek.gif


Seriously. This has to be the stupidest thing I have read on the internet in a while. This includes conspiracy theories on immigrants stealing all the social security money and looking at Fox News twice...

[Donney]

I agree whole heartedly with livewireshock. For the return that the manufacturers want, I don’t think it’s sustainable for the WRC to have more than 4 or maybe 5 manufacturer teams. I don’t think more teams is a step forward, but perhaps more cars per team.

I think the real change for the better can be made within the regulations for the cars themselves. Every top formula of motor sport gets to a stage where the equipment is just plain too advanced, too fast, too good.
With the balance/grip/reliability of WRCars these days at such an optimum level it takes away many of the parameters that can make the sport exciting. It makes driving a WRC rally for the drivers a "reflex game" not a "judgement and commitment game".

Basically in my opinion the regulations need to be changed to make the cars, in a sense, worse.
As Pirelli is the sole tyre supplier next year, why not down grade the tyres and give them more of a slip angle which would equal less grip and more sideways. This I believe would also increase safety as corner speeds would go down, plus more sideways equals more entertaining. Get rid of most of the gadgets and driver aids. Maybe get rid of some of the freedoms of chassis design and the ability to alter the balance within it.

Oh and less rallies, maybe 12. This in my opinion is the first step to lowering costs for the manufacturers thus giving them the ability to enter more cars and develop younger drivers with potential. Each countries interest heightens and lowers while following a top line driver rather than solely having a WRC round on their soil.

My two cents.

I agree 100%, technology has reached a point where it is soooooo perfect that it has killed all the show and drama of driving. Cars are faster when going straight and all the aids are conceived to do so, therefore it is not spectacular at all, unless you like drag racing in short stretches of road.

I think drivers are still as good as they used to be, but they have to drive these extremelly technified cars making it very hard to judge who is better, faster or cleverer.

And again this short, rallysprint format has turned rallying into a a day and half race and a day and a half cruise to the win. With 14 stages per rally there's almost no time and place to take big risks and of course it is impossible to recover lost time in an off, spin or puncture.

In a nutshell, great technological advances in every field has meant a decrease in interest.