I was worried that might be the case.Quote:
Originally Posted by JAM
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I was worried that might be the case.Quote:
Originally Posted by JAM
@prodrive Great to have @krismeeke back in the MINI WRC Thurs/Fri testing in Southern Spain. Trying out a range of new parts for the car.
Sordo is going to test next Sunday and Monday. Tests are going to take place at Huelva.
Prodrive gave a good car to Armindo on the Rally of Portugal 2011, but that was made by mistake. After that the WRC from MI was always slower than the S2000 1.6T that Armindo drove in Portugal, and much slower than the Prodrive's Mini.[/QUOTE]
Why would Prodrive do that? I don't believe that for a minute.
Anyone know what's going on over at Prodrive now?
One of I believe dani's mechanics just tweeted: " lost a few good blokes today. The dream is over."
followed by "4 or5 more rallies this year"
Below is what I wrote on the 8th of February :
" This is the start of the wind down. I can see them doing another few European rounds convenient to the UK but if they are still going by Rally Deutschland I will be surprised.
As a business unless they are severely contractually obligated there is little point in continuing. Prodrive needs manufacturer backing and finance in addition to sponsorship to make a full programme viable.
They will not land another car maker in the WRC if there name is constantly attached to Mini."
They need to make a break from Mini to find another manufacturer. I hear 10 staff were let go which is very sad for thos involved :( There in no point in Prodrive pedalling the Mini WRC if its a dead end from a business point of view.
I think Prodrive would make an even more severe cut with BMW only they probably have sold 10 - 15 ? Mini customer cars and they want to look after them more so then those in Munich
[quote There in no point in Prodrive pedalling the Mini WRC if its a dead end from a business point of view.[/QUOTE]
I canīt understand why Mini couldnīt be a business? And how can anyone tell itīs not, from the beginning. Just tell me how anyone can look into the future?
so if like you say there looking to brake away. where do they go. are there any manufactures looking to come in?Quote:
Originally Posted by WRCS14
There are probably no other manufacturers ready to come in GTimad73, I have found Prodrive to be a very proud company and I dont think they will tolerate a relatively minor team being the manufacturer entry for a great car that they created and ran relatively successfuly but only for a short time.
I think the lay offs and further reduction in rounds is a sign. For example they could have ran say 8 european rounds in 2009 with the Subaru and some sponsors which Marcus proved was not a bad car but there was little point. The manufacturer has given up and Prodrive had no point in business terms just racing a car that they build.
Many private semi-profesional teams run cars in WRC and national championships but I,m sure the common theme is they are all small to mid sized and many can go broke or shut down.
With a manufacturer behind you, your companies turnover will go up by millions, your profits increase dramaticaly as do your staff number and size of your premises.
Prodrive have manufacturer backed size premises and staff numbers but now with poor / mixed manufacturer input. Look at Malcolm Wilson and what has happened to his outfit since 1997. They have similar business model, take car makers money and secondary produce customer rally cars and sell for large amounts also.
OK mini is supposed to be developed to 2018 or something like that, if I am David Richards sitting at my desk looking at projected financial figures for nearly the next 6 years with just say 30% commitment level from BMW the figures will look poor. No other car maker is going to touch the company to build a new rally car is they are 30% connected to BMW. Im sure Richards is aware of this too. I would think it has to make sense for Prodrive to make a complete cut by the end of 2012 in business terms.
Wait and see.
I agree with the above. I think it is pointless for Prodrive to run a Mini without reward. Best to cut and run like they did in 2009 with the Subaru.
They ran group N impreza cars without program for decades so they should do the same with mini WRC.