[WRC] News & Rumours 2021

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Originally Posted by TypeR

Another year(22') with same cars to keep Hyundai and maybe figure out some proper new car rules?

Would (old/same cars) get boring for fans and drivers/manus?

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Impossible
current i20 WRC is old model (and new i20 Rally2 is based on new model) Why would they want to promote old i20 ??? Future Rally2 customers are bringing money to Hyundai.
current Yaris WRC is old model

Both teams made exception for 21 because there was no point of building new cars for 2021 only.
PR value of 2021 WRC cars is very small, you can´t promote old body shape cars.
For 2022 PR value would be zero.

Fans and drivers don´t need new cars, both are still happy with "Escort RS2000"

If Hyundai Motorsport can´t get funding, how an earth MSport would have big enough developing budget ?

Right now Me, myself can see Rally2 cars (not any + versions) as best option for 2022 (and probably 23/24 also) and after that some "non petrol" option.
What TGR would do? I don´t have any answer.

I could see TGR competing against themselves (if no M-sport or Hyundai) as they did in WEC recently. They would still get the PR value from being 2022 WRC Champion. Let's hope it doesn't come to that!

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Originally Posted by Rally Hokkaido

I could see TGR competing against themselves (if no M-sport or Hyundai) as they did in WEC recently. They would still get the PR value from being 2022 WRC Champion. Let's hope it doesn't come to that!

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if 2022 rules stay, that could happen, hopely not!

Seems it's time to say, Rally2 is main class for 2022.
Everything else is plain dreams and stupidity in current economic and pandemic world.

An option is ofcourse an + version for the factoryteams and a plain version the amateurs.

The + version is down to a bigger restriktor and a bigger wing.

Sent fra min SM-G950F via Tapatalk

oh god how i wish i would have put this to Crystal ball thread again like i did last year....

that the talk about R5 for main class will be one of he topics again, even though it wont happen the guys still here and on twitter endlessly dream about it

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Originally Posted by skarderud

Seems it's time to say, Rally2 is main class for 2022.
Everything else is plain dreams and stupidity in current economic and pandemic world.

An option is ofcourse an + version for the factoryteams and a plain version the amateurs.

The + version is down to a bigger restriktor and a bigger wing.

Sent fra min SM-G950F via Tapatalk

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My vote still goes in same direction.

If the factories need to stand out, then the + should only be aero.
FIA should NOT mess with the Rally2 formula, that is the best thing they have made for many years.

But IMO it would be cool with a level playing field for a year or two, where we can see some big surprises in the results. Good for us!

I think Acropolis rally will be back this year !! Stay tuned for official announcement !!!

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Originally Posted by EstWRC

oh god how i wish i would have put this to Crystal ball thread again like i did last year....

that the talk about R5 for main class will be one of he topics again, even though it wont happen the guys still here and on twitter endlessly dream about it

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When new rules fail to attract any new manufacturers and possibly even lose one it’s hardly a surprise.

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Originally Posted by RS

When new rules fail to attract any new manufacturers and possibly even lose one it’s hardly a surprise.

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Soooooo much politics behind Adamo's words. As always.

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Originally Posted by Lancia Stratos

Soooooo much politics behind Adamo's words. As always.

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+1.

Why are the hybrid rules already considered a failure when they have not even been introduced yet?!

Remember the 1.6 introduction in 2011? In the first season we had no new manufacteurs and despite that, several years later, those are regarded as sucessfull and they did convince a couple of new manufacteurs to join the game.

Some here are so shortsighted its unbelievable.

We have to understand that no matter the regs, it is hard for many to commit to such a significant budget during one of the worst economic crisis, which is not in full effect yet.

We could similarly lose manufacturers with R5 as the main class because it's not giving them value (old car models, ICE technology).

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Originally Posted by AnttiL

We could similarly lose manufacturers with R5 as the main class because it's not giving them value (old car models, ICE technology).

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Why is it assumed we will lose manufacturers?

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Originally Posted by Lancia Stratos

Why is it assumed we will lose manufacturers?

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global warming and COVID-19 are not really expanding the budgets of manufacturers. Motorsports is not anymore a cool way to advertise your products.

WRC at Antibes?

https://www.nicematin.com/sport/anti...rallyes-641108

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Originally Posted by Andre Oliveira

WRC at Antibes?

https://www.nicematin.com/sport/anti...rallyes-641108

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Interesting since that rally is typically driven in the same area as the Monte Sunday stages. And I've heard that Monte would arrange more stages in that region (Ogier quitting his career, Gap is not so important anymore :D )

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Originally Posted by AnttiL

Interesting since that rally is typically driven in the same area as the Monte Sunday stages. And I've heard that Monte would arrange more stages in that region (Ogier quitting his career, Gap is not so important anymore :D )

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Two rounds in the same are seems unlikely to me...

The world is too big to do 2 rallys in the same place.

Mads Østberg
@MadsOstberg
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Welcome to my newest project devsport_motor


A Norwegian company run by me.
Coaching, car development, media & TV, consulting & crazy projects of all kinds!

Only on Instagram for now. Feel free to check it out
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EtuiqIgX...pg&name=medium

https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/new-m...ra-after-2022/

Matton thinks a new manufacturer could join the hybrid regulations but not in 2022

I think in some interviews - just after announcement hybrid era - he told, that FIA expects great interest from manufacturers. Now he is talking about one in 2023. I would read this as: Nobody is interested so far :p

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Originally Posted by AnttiL

https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/new-m...ra-after-2022/

Matton thinks a new manufacturer could join the hybrid regulations but not in 2022

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I would much rather he tell it as it is... the sport needs to come up with something different to the current proposals in order to attract new manufacturers. Plain as day that it's going to go backwards if it stays as it is, or if the new rules are brought in. Time now for a bit of honesty, not this bullshit.

On the end of the day, we will loose one manufacter...

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Originally Posted by T16

Time now for a bit of honesty, not this bullshit.

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I think it is time to face the music and admit the sport as it is now is not very marketable, we can't have 3-5 day events, it's just not possible to gather the interest of a new audience in this format.

The problem is not the regulations, see how WEC, Dakar and even F1 is doing.

We need a 1 day full of special stages with good quality live coverage. F1 does so well exactly because of that, a simple race of 90 minutes and that's it, onto the next. The hardcore follow all the FP and Qualifying, but thats marginal compared to race viewership.

But anyway tell that to the fanatics of long stages and 1000km events.

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Originally Posted by Francis44

I think it is time to face the music and admit the sport as it is now is not very marketable, we can't have 3-5 day events, it's just not possible to gather the interest of a new audience in this format.

The problem is not the regulations, see how WEC, Dakar and even F1 is doing.

We need a 1 day full of special stages with good quality live coverage. F1 does so well exactly because of that, a simple race of 90 minutes and that's it, onto the next. The hardcore follow all the FP and Qualifying, but thats marginal compared to race viewership.

But anyway tell that to the fanatics of long stages and 1000km events.

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The thing is though - the events have become shorter and it hasn't worked. I'm not saying this is the reason - there's probably a whole host of them, but I think they need to evaluate what will get people interested again and work to that. The more people watching, the more Manu's join.

Noone will hop on this sinking ship.

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Originally Posted by Francis44

I think it is time to face the music and admit the sport as it is now is not very marketable, we can't have 3-5 day events, it's just not possible to gather the interest of a new audience in this format.

The problem is not the regulations, see how WEC, Dakar and even F1 is doing.

We need a 1 day full of special stages with good quality live coverage. F1 does so well exactly because of that, a simple race of 90 minutes and that's it, onto the next. The hardcore follow all the FP and Qualifying, but thats marginal compared to race viewership.

But anyway tell that to the fanatics of long stages and 1000km events.

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Its laughable how short and uneventful WRC events are nowadays. F1 cars race one and half hours to complete over 300 km. WRC takes three days!!! not literally but you get my point.
I'm not in favour of 1000km or anywhere near that but something has to be done.
300km over 3 days is a joke. Just imagine telling that to a friend who knows nothing about rallying. He/she sure as hell would not be interested.

I'd rather take a 200km rally in a single day. Start early and finish in the dark(prime time).

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Originally Posted by Tauri_J

I'd rather take a 200km rally in a single day. Start early and finish in the dark(prime time).

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You mean like same stage whole day. They usually do more than 1000km of liaison for these crappy 300km rallies. :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by Tauri_J

Its laughable how short and uneventful WRC events are nowadays. F1 cars race one and half hours to complete over 300 km. WRC takes three days!!! not literally but you get my point.
I'm not in favour of 1000km or anywhere near that but something has to be done.
300km over 3 days is a joke. Just imagine telling that to a friend who knows nothing about rallying. He/she sure as hell would not be interested.

I'd rather take a 200km rally in a single day. Start early and finish in the dark(prime time).

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IMHO you see it too much from a purist rally fan point of view. For the general audience it doesn't matter at all how long the events are. There are much bigger issues with the sport than that.

Also another thing you consider purely from rally purist point of view is this full day of action. Who of the general public do you think has time and will to follow the whole day? The long days bring nothing in relation to the general public, that is a benefit purely for the small percentage of the hardcore fans.

No. F1 does their races in three days, training and qualifying included. Dakar is...? ten days or so. Why couldn´t WRC run Friday to Sunday. No problem.

Only problem i marketing and Liveaction from stages in this very moment doesn´t reach the big audience.

One more thing: yes, the legs are today more to suit drivers. I agree at least one day could be longer. But then we have organizers problem with using roads for stages, we have no remote services except from refuelling. Very much can be changed.

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Originally Posted by Tauri_J

I'd rather take a 200km rally in a single day. Start early and finish in the dark(prime time).

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I agree 100%. Infact I would even rephrase my first comment specifying that the problem is indeed the crazy amount of days that a event runs on. We need 1-2 days rallys asap, with the most kms possible.

We also need to remember that if we keep a rally centered around a specific area and run all the stages close to the service park, we would also have a much needed improvement in the broadcast quality. We need to get rid of shoddy, grey, low quality onboards.

But I will say it again, It is laughable and downright embarassing that in this day and age we believe this sport (or any motorsport for that matter) is capable of gluing people infront of their laptops or smartphones for 4-5 days, sometimes more than once a month.

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Originally Posted by Rallyper

No. F1 does their races in three days, training and qualifying included. Dakar is...? ten days or so. Why couldn´t WRC run Friday to Sunday.

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And Dakar runs how many times per year?! AFAIK just one.

And in F1 you tune in for 1h30 on Thursdays/Fridays for FP, more or less 1H for qualifying and 90 mins for the race. A small part of your day.

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Originally Posted by Rallyper

Only problem i marketing and Liveaction from stages in this very moment doesn´t reach the big audience.

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This and that won't get better with longer and more packed rally days. In fact the opposite would result from that. Common people won't spend more than one hour a day with WRC no matter how many stages that day are run (likely even less).

For me the format of the event isn't a thing worth vasting energy at this moment.

The true issue is how to make the sport attractive as a whole. Without no direct head to head competition it is difficult to sell the live footage (the comparison with Dakar isn't perfect too because Dakars doesn't run every two or three weeks). With driving in the wild nature it's difficult to sell the sport to ever more environment-safe thinking of the public. The cars are generally less and and less viewed as something sporty, for most of the general public they become just a mean of transport and nothing more. The nature of rallying makes it one of the hardest motorsports to go hybrid or electric. That is a major obstacle for attracting manufacturers but also a major political issue. Really there are much bigger problems than too few stages per day...

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Originally Posted by Mirek

The nature of rallying makes it one of the hardest motorsports to go hybrid or electric. That is a major obstacle for attracting manufacturers but also a major political issue. Really there are much bigger problems than too few stages per day...

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Genuine question. Why do you think then F1 keeps growing their fanbase while running some city circuits where the air quality concerns are obviously ever present? And to an audience just as environmentally aware?

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Originally Posted by Francis44

Genuine question. Why do you think then F1 keeps growing their fanbase while running some city circuits where the air quality concerns are obviously ever present? And to an audience just as environmentally aware?

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Does it grow? I know personally just one guy who follows it and even he uses it more or less as a background for the Sunday after-lunch siesta. When I was younger nearly everyone I knew followed F1. As a child I cried when I watched Senna's accident in Imola 94 live. I used to have three calendars in our children bedroom - one F1, one MotoGP and one WRC. I have never seen that with the children of my friends and relatives in last years. Maybe it's just this country but here the passion is long gone.

To be honest I can't answer your question because I haven't followed F1 for many years.

Looks like it's growing a bit from last seasons. Hard to compare to the 90's anyway : https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...pagvPoPUQ.html

too many crews with Bell this year

https://www.instagram.com/p/CLEJ_84H...d=5rd5igtaat6a

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Originally Posted by AnttiL

https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/new-m...ra-after-2022/Matton thinks a new manufacturer could join the hybrid regulations but not in 2022

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I'd been thinking how unlikely it'll be that a new Manu will join the WRC under the new Regs and how tough it would be for them to come in and then compete with the established teams...

But then I recalled what the past has shown - that in 2013 Volkswagen joined and blew everyone away instantly, and in 2017 Toyota joined and have since won both the Manu's & WDC.

So maybe we can be a little more optimistic of a new Manu joining at least in this regard. There is a chance one might believe they can be equally successful and give it a shot...

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Originally Posted by Mirek

Does it grow? I know personally just one guy who follows it and even he uses it more or less as a background for the Sunday after-lunch siesta. When I was younger nearly everyone I knew followed F1. As a child I cried when I watched Senna's accident in Imola 94 live. I used to have three calendars in our children bedroom - one F1, one MotoGP and one WRC. I have never seen that with the children of my friends and relatives in last years. Maybe it's just this country but here the passion is long gone.

To be honest I can't answer your question because I haven't followed F1 for many years.

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I think probably overall it does grow as they bring the races to new markets, but I think you are also correct in that in the traditional strongholds of the fan base (Europe), it isn’t the same as it was before.

Seems like Stilo have had close to monopoly last 5 years, it is good they get some competition.
Strange that OMP or Sparco does not come with top notch open helmets with a very good noice cancelling intercom system.

The large helmet producers like Arai, Shoei, Schubert, that are in other motorsports are major producers, mainly in full face/ Integral helmets, they dont have open face helmet for car sports.

It is big sponsormoney involved in racing on 2 and 4 wheels for top pilots when it comes to choosing helmet brand.
Not that much for rally pilots it seems.
Maybe Bell is about to change that.

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Originally Posted by Sulland

Seems like Stilo have had close to monopoly last 5 years, it is good they get some competition.
Strange that OMP or Sparco does not come with top notch open helmets with a very good noice cancelling intercom system.

The large helmet producers like Arai, Shoei, Schubert, that are in other motorsports are major producers, mainly in full face/ Integral helmets, they dont have open face helmet for car sports.

It is big sponsormoney involved in racing on 2 and 4 wheels for top pilots when it comes to choosing helmet brand.
Not that much for rally pilots it seems.
Maybe Bell is about to change that.

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OMP bought Bell last year (or maybe 2019).