Pedder and Ptaszek too
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Pedder and Ptaszek too
Local Chinese Citroen DS3 R5 team will likely enter for WRC2 to enhance their position and separate themselves from the CRC S6 class, with Manfred Stohl as lead driver of a two car effort.
I am getting unconfirmed reports that this year's event has been cancelled. Apparently, heavy rain has caused mudslides and heavy damage to many of the concrete/tarmac roads that make up the stages.
More news: most sponsorship for the event is from local governments, which don't have the budget to effect repairs in time. There is still some hope that the national government may step in to assist....
Colin Clark today:
I've heard the rally will definitely go ahead - but there may be issues with "misappropriation" of sponsors money! https://t.co/KOmlqiy6w5
Colin Clark @voiceofrally 5m5 minutes ago
Latest I'm hearing from Rally China is that there are issues, but it WILL go ahead.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CplDh9iWEAgVlxG.jpg
Colin Clark @voiceofrally
Interesting pics and info from a Rally China web group. Seems there may be more to this story. Clarification needed!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cplbmg7UIAEiy8F.jpg
Tommy Fei @feichao1
After contacting the @OfficialWRC officer, the reply is http://auto.ifeng.com/sport/lali/20160811/1061408.shtml … looking forward the new date.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CplDh94WEAAiT78.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CplDh-KW8AEeF12.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cpjgo3rUsAACboj.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cpjgo40UIAALzZK.jpg
Not surprising as the roads in china are badly built and rough, even new roads, weather damage is inevitable
You certainly have not seen the mega flood in China this year.Quote:
Originally Posted by Toyoda
Some damage not just related with the poor road quality, I would rather believe they will not repair it in time.
Personally I hope it doesn't take place as I have a really bad foreboding about parachuting a WRC event into a country without the necessary acquired experience to safely run it...and yes I know it has run once before.
Marketing Citroens and Hyundais may seem like motivation enough for the FIA but the sport needs NZ (or even Turkey, Greece or Jordan) if there is a genuine gap in the calendar!
If you have been to China it is VW that dominates their markets. Its rumored NZ 2018 in Tauranga is a tentative go.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mintexmemory
Stages are shortened from 313 km to 250 km (similar like ERC-distance):
http://www.rallye-magazin.de/wm/nach...leme-in-china/
Sums up everything wrong with the WRC, and modern motorsport.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mintexmemory
NZ has the best gravel roads in the world - and should be in the WRC! So, it is the other side of the world, and a small population. So what? Will they drop Finland because it's only about 5million population?
Yet, they're desperate to go to China, the other side of the world - for what now seems like 250km of stages (156 miles). You couldn't make it up...
Selling cars and making money is what the WRC needs to do. And China is that market.
If you think about it, in Australia VW sells but no one gives a crap about Rally... Citroen/Skoda sell in small numbers... Fiesta's are hair dressers cars too the i20 and Polo...
Guys here buy a Golf R or better. Polo GTI yes.
i20 not.
NZ has a big grey import market but the car companies support the rally series in NZ. Check the NZ series and you'll see car companies sponsor the events and have heard they want the WRC back too!
So China is a key market and if M-Sport want to see cars there, rally wise; they will.
Personally I hope it will take place since I booked my flights and hotels fix :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Mintexmemory
I was just throwing up names - doesn't matter whose marketing benefits, the point is there is no good sporting reason to go to China.Quote:
Originally Posted by Toyoda
Hope your movements aren't unnecessarily restricted for following the event. Good luck. Out of interest, have you been to the People's Democratic Republic before?Quote:
Originally Posted by CWJ
Which should be the No1 reason to go. All the other reasons are a bonus. Something I remember Mark James saying in the Absolute Rally podcast before Christmas; they have their priorities all wrong.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mintexmemory
We'll be able to move freely in China, easy. As they did doing the media guide. No problems at all.
The first and foremost reason for manufacturers to even take part in WRC is marketing. Simply it's like that even though we may not like it.Quote:
Originally Posted by AndyRAC
Yeah I struggle to see why people are having such a hard time with the WRC going to China. You can say what you want about the country but the car market is undeniable. Mirek is absolutely right it's about marketing. The teams aren't running as a charity.
It's for the same reason I can't understand (as much as I love the event), how anyone can say the WRC 'needs' New Zealand. I'd take 15 works WRC cars and a couple of questionable events over a calendar of classics with no competition any day.
Anyway here's an Autosport article on the China situation: http://www.autosport.com/news/report...ve-rally-china
The only thing I would add against this year's event is that it does seem this rally has probably been rushed in due to press from the likes of Citroen. And that may well have led to some of these funding issues.
Marketing used to be about pointing to the 'success' of the brand in competition WHEREVER that was in the world. Is the presence of 3 VW Polos in China going to amount to anything substantial in terms of raising the awareness of 1Bn people?
Is it about the acceptability of the Chinese regime in international sporting links? Who is paying for all this really and given that like Platini, the FIA administrators are French are there personal motivations, other than committment to spreading the WRC word, at play here?
you are in a motorsport forum and you dont want a rally? what is wrong with you? :p
Maybe with other sports there were political or financial unclear motivations to get into China, but IMO that’s not the case in WRC.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mintexmemory
A WRC event in China’s huge market it’s important for the manus marketing but above all it’s vital for the WRC marketing itself and the whole rallysport development. We can’t expect to grow WRC visibility if it remains only in Europe and in one or two overseas countries with already established rally tradition. We need WRC to get worldwide recognition, because that’s the only way our sport can raise in a global society.
The Chinese rally championship seems to have been doing some fine progress over the last years, with several European, Japanese and Chinese brands involved. It looks like it’s the right time to go there and raise the local media interest into rally. Maybe the tarmac route choice wasn’t the ideal one and probably the floods damages will affect the organizers job, but there’s little question about the growing potential that China’s Rally brings to WRC and the rallysport.
Are we really going to start discussing morals in geopolitics and global business? Bah, there are worse regimes our governments and businessmen hapily shake hands with.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mintexmemory
Oh well that's ok then! Homer Simpson's equation in action- '2 wrongs make a right, Lisa'Quote:
Originally Posted by Mirek
No, I am saying that there are better places to discuss moral and politic stuff than motorsportforums. In the end it's pretty hypocritical to talk about morals in sport which happily enjoys money from Saudi Arabia or Qatar.
I have yet to see a cool section of road from this rally, anyone?
The funding issues is because someone, or a group of people, desired the WRC in China more than the chinese themself.Quote:
Originally Posted by Simmi
Then, is easy to imagine. Let's find the funding to the rally. How? Trying to convince some important people to sponsor the rally, but that costs a lot of money in comissions.
As a friend of mine said: It would not be a surprise if the money from sponsors would had burned in comissions before any penny had arrived to the organizers pocket.
China is a complex country, not like what we are used to see.
Did anyone tried to understand why Ma Qing Hua spent so many time before announced the car to China rally? The guy has money, no? Maybe not...
So, again rumours about a cancellation.
https://translate.google.nl/translat...-text=&act=url
So,the teams, the FiA, Promoter all want an event in China. But the local council doesn't want to repair the roads....has anybody asked whether China really wants a WRC round??
You think we should have a referendum between 1.3 billion about a sporting event ? or the FIA should write a letter to the secretary of the peoples republic of china asking him about his opinion ?Quote:
Originally Posted by AndyRAC
Are you being deliberately obtuse? Read what I wrote……
You’d think the local council would be busting a gut to repair roads in advance of a big motorsport series turning up.
As I’ve already said, the Manufacturers, the promoter, etc all want China – who else? Are we going to see a large number of spectators, local media coverage??
So you are suggesting that WRC imposed an event on a global superpower without its will ?Quote:
Originally Posted by AndyRAC
And the answer is NO you are not going to see a lot of spectators or national media coverage on a country that does not know what motorsports is, but that is the point of it, to start and get things moving on a 1.3 billion market.
Serious doubts over China WRC round
Written by Martin Holmes on 16 August 2016.
The national Chinese Rally Championship event due to have been run as a supporting event for the WRC Rally China (planned for 9-11 September) was cancelled last night, European time, as posted on the official FASC website.
WRC teams are awaiting a similar notice regarding the world championship event today.
- Martin Holmes
http://www.rallysportmag.com.au/home...hina-wrc-round
The local official probably hasnt received his tickles...
Thats how things work over there.
How much business in China have You made?
Sorry to rain on each parade
The governing body of Motorsport in China have stated that the WRC Beijing Rally is cancelled.
"Due to technical issues the Beijing Rally is cancelled".
"The 3rd round of the CRC will be in Chenzhou Hunan at the end of September".
Awaiting FIA/Promoter details
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...1fdbc333fc.jpg
Their own President has carried out a sweeping anti-corruption campaign with thousands of arrests. It has been a way of life there for centuries. You are very niave if you didnt know this and thought business was like in the West.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mirek
As for cancelling the rally for 'technical reasons'...
Shame, as the WRC is about changing landscapes with varying backdrops, which China could provide.
So all that work to get China included on the calendar, after numerous people agreed that the organisers weren't ready for a WRC, and it's cancelled. Will the promoter try again with the organisers in 2017, or will they give it to someone who will run a rally? Will they strike them off the list and go to NZ, or anywhere else that fans and drivers want the WRC to go.