that's not chicken-egg. it's just cause and effect.
what do u mean exactly "the series itself needs to appeal ..."? who's "the series"? it's the promoter that set up the series...they decide almost everything! yes, it is fia that extend the regulations, but who has the bigger say on it? it's the promoter! who decides to go to small or bigger cars? who decides the way to attract more manufacturers? it's the promoter. they also decides where to race, service park location, remote service or not, length and format of the itinerary, and so on.
if u don't believe me, just check around:
"The championship format, television coverage and promotional activities will be developed in partnership with the new promoter."
https://rallyjournal.com/wrc-set-for...ne-approaches/
"The new promoter will carry significant responsibility in trying to grow the WRC’s visibility and popularity in the coming years." [about promoter speaking to drivers] " Neuville has long proposed even radical changes to the WRC. For example, he has suggested that rallies could vary more in format – Safari Rally Kenya could be run as a multi-day marathon event, while the ultra-fast Rally Finland could be completed over a couple of days. Neuville believes the new promoter will listen carefully to drivers’ views. “The plan they have is basically something I spoke about already seven or eight years ago..."
and so on. this show how much they're involved.they don't get the fia package to work with. they set up the package with fia.
exactly. but still, it is the promoter that decides to show serderidis more than a wrc2 battle, where to put the cameras, when to do interviews, what stages goes on live tv...and even what to do with the footage, what format to sell to broadcaster, who will do the editing production of that content.
tha's again is a fan perspective. that is legit, don't get me wrong. but it is not the main concern in the buttons room. audi, cadillac, haas and many others have no possibility to win, yet, they're there year and years even without podiums. there's worth for them besides the score, evidently.
mate, i literally said "take the ewrc result page on every of the last weeks, and you'll find even that car in the top 5/10 in regional rally."
in erc they literally won 2 of the last 3 championships, being 2nd in the last, with 2 o/a win for ford. that's not enough recent times? 25, as u report, is literally the last season. i used the same statistics as you. pelamorgues (not really an elite driver), was 3rd this year at monte wrc2). again, as u can read in a more elaborate post above, i didnt say they're great. i said CURRENTLY they're good enough to compete, cause there's no huge difference between the rally2 cars. statistics say so.

