Which rally should they add to the WRC-calendar?

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Originally Posted by trickydicky

And you think having an event on Sardegna purely as a marketing tool for a Qatari owned holiday resort is preferable to having an event in one of rally's classic locations close to a whole shed load of fans? How utterly depressing, which department of the FIA do you work in?

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What is wrong with Sardegna in your opinion? How many times have you seen a rally in there? And what do you mean by classic location? Compering to other rallies there is everything you can expect from gravel rally, blind crests, water splashes, jumps, hairpins, fast and slow sections, easy to move between stages, no problem with parking etc. For me Sardegna and Corsica are classic locations,as well as Deutschland Rally. I don't care much about Asia as it is very unlikely I will go there to spectate a rally. WRC is purely European series and apart crowds in Argentina there is no much interest anywhere else due to various reasons. For rally fan it is important to have as many rallies in Europe as possible but if you just follow rallies from behind the screen of your computer or TV they can even go to the Moon, it doesn't matter if you are not going to be there. There is no logic in calendar for years, there are no clear rules as for choosing rallies and spectators opinion is the last thing they worry about.

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Originally Posted by rallyfun

What is wrong with Sardegna in your opinion? How many times have you seen a rally in there? And what do you mean by classic location? Compering to other rallies there is everything you can expect from gravel rally, blind crests, water splashes, jumps, hairpins, fast and slow sections, easy to move between stages, no problem with parking etc. For me Sardegna and Corsica are classic locations,as well as Deutschland Rally. I don't care much about Asia as it is very unlikely I will go there to spectate a rally. WRC is purely European series and apart crowds in Argentina there is no much interest anywhere else due to various reasons. For rally fan it is important to have as many rallies in Europe as possible but if you just follow rallies from behind the screen of your computer or TV they can even go to the Moon, it doesn't matter if you are not going to be there. There is no logic in calendar for years, there are no clear rules as for choosing rallies and spectators opinion is the last thing they worry about.

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I have nothing against Sardinia/Sardegna at all, it is a beautiful island, it has a wonderful climate and I'm sure very friendly people, and you are right it is a classic rally location, the Costa Smeralda Rally is a long standing European event. I would have no problem with there being a rally in the WRC there if the reasons were those you and I have stated. My issue was that Motorsportfun suggested there should be a round there because Qatari Princes have invested a lot of money there. That is not a good enough reason for me. And as nice as Sardinia is, Tuscany/Emilia Romagna is even nicer!
Everything you say I agree with, the WRC is a European phenomenon and the majority of the rallies should be held there.

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Originally Posted by trickydicky

Everything you say I agree with, the WRC is a European phenomenon and the majority of the rallies should be held there.

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Phenomenon is a bit generous. WRC isn't a "European phenomenon", rallying as a sport is. However I do agree that the WRC should retain it's European foothold, the job of the WRC is promote this "European phenomenon" on an international level. That means showing the world how it is done in your own backyard and then taking it on tour. While I think WRC needs someone like Bernie Ecclestone with the drive to take a sport to new countries, it shouldn't be at the expense of the classic European events that holds the sport's tradition. It annoys me when people say WRC shouldn't go to Brazil because there is no interest in rallying there. WRC should go there and show why it is a great sport. If the manufacturers want an event there because it is a huge market, then do it. Volkswagen's PR machine alone is capable of creating interest. If all is successful then the sport gains more fans, and that is something rallying needs right now. I would imagine when the WRC first went to Argentina in 1980 there was little interest in the sport. Now look at it, it is one of the most successful spectator rallies in the world.

I think one of the biggest problems is teams do not want to do more than 13 rounds. If they would agree to do more, or be allowed to only compete in a few of the rounds (of whatever the new total number of events per season is) then maybe we could have some of our favourites back (for example Corsica) and add some new events (maybe something from the Middle East Rally Championship).

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Originally Posted by Hazza555)

Phenomenon is a bit generous. WRC isn't a "European phenomenon", rallying as a sport is. However I do agree that the WRC should retain it's European foothold, the job of the WRC is promote this "European phenomenon" on an international level. That means showing the world how it is done in your own backyard and then taking it on tour. While I think WRC needs someone like Bernie Ecclestone with the drive to take a sport to new countries, it shouldn't be at the expense of the classic European events that holds the sport's tradition. It annoys me when people say WRC shouldn't go to Brazil because there is no interest in rallying there. WRC should go there and show why it is a great sport. If the manufacturers want an event there because it is a huge market, then do it. Volkswagen's PR machine alone is capable of creating interest. If all is successful then the sport gains more fans, and that is something rallying needs right now. I would imagine when the WRC first went to Argentina in 1980 there was little interest in the sport. Now look at it, it is one of the most successful spectator rallies in the world.

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For Bernard Ecclestone read David Richards. He tried, and failed. There is nothing wrong with having a round in Brazil, if it really is that important to some folk, but as you say, not at the expense of a classic European event.

Nice discussion, in according to me one of the biggest problems is team do not want to do more then 11 rounds.If they would agree to do more , or be allowed to only compete in a few of the round then may be , we could have some of favorites back and some new events.

I really hope that they won't decide on anything (too) stupid tommorrow and they won't take out rally New-Zealand and Italy, and what for China???, they should be adding rallies to the calendar not removing. You can put Japan back, alongside Corsica instead of Alsace. Also they should bring back Australia to Perth and put it alongside NZ, yes at the same year like they did up until 2006.

You have to keep in mind that there is a limit to how many rounds the calendar can handle. We have 13 at the moment because the teams felt that 16 was not feasible. And with less and less entires, expanding the calendar simply isn't possible. Not unless the series could attract another manufacturer - or, preferably, two.

What they need, is events that pay the pay to cover the costs of competitors so extra events are not a burden....

It's already expensive enough to run a rally as it is, and now you want to saddle the organisers with an extra financial brden?