BRC to be two wheel drive only in 2012

To get it back to the halcyon days of Vatanen/J McRae/Mikkola etc you need factory teams, ditto the next best era of the F2 teams Head/Higgins/Rowe etc.

As more car manufacturers make FWD cars then it makes sense to target them.

The BRC is not a road to WRC stardom, nothing is apart from shed loads of money and some ability.

Picking crappy events like the Sunseeker hardly bring anything to the series but it's jobs for the boys in'it.

Anyone who found the F2 battles of the likes of Evans/Rowe boring maybe better to follow drifting or banger racing.

I hear and appreciate the point you make concerning 2WD and driving talent but my question is...what abt 4WD?? and turbos?? Arent manufacturers shifting(however slowly) to turbos for efficiency and performance from their engines?? Isnt 4WD a proven technology in terms of its safety??? Why arent these options being explored all over in rallying, which is supposed to 'improve the breed'??? Ive got nothing against 2WD, I just dont think its the answer for rallying in the 21st century.....

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Originally Posted by Spud

I hear and appreciate the point you make concerning 2WD and driving talent but my question is...what abt 4WD?? and turbos?? Arent manufacturers shifting(however slowly) to turbos for efficiency and performance from their engines?? Isnt 4WD a proven technology in terms of its safety??? Why arent these options being explored all over in rallying, which is supposed to 'improve the breed'??? Ive got nothing against 2WD, I just dont think its the answer for rallying in the 21st century.....

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Well, as I said earlier, the problem is the exorbitant cost of four-wheel-drive equipment these days. This is why I think the BRC has probably chosen the best option given the circumstances, but I don't consider it the best option for the championship's future status, which will never amount to anything without a combination of good events, drivers people may have heard of, and what I'd call 'worthwhile' cars — a vague way of putting it, I know, but the best I can come up with. Another reason F2 worked for me as a BRC formula was the fact of there being an FIA cup for such cars, meaning there was at least some link between what you saw on British rallies and World Championship events.

Looking at the current Sunseeker entry list you could almost think that the BRC is 2wd this year!

Anyone know of any top entries still to enter and the Keith Cronin situation?

Thats just changed with Greer now entered in a Fabia S2000

Do You know if it's just one shot (maybe because the event is sponsored by Škoda UK) or if it's larger program?

Mirek he's bought the car which is ex Sandell so will be doing the BRC and other events with it.

Chris

Thank You!

I must say I like the idea of a 2WD only series.

What's happening to BRC here sounds a lot like what happened to the BTCC 20 years ago with the introduction of SuperTouring. Mainly two things:
- Flattening the class structure
- Homogenizing the cars within one class

And from my (limited) experience that means addressing two of points that create a lot of frustration for drivers and fans alike in rallying. Having too many classes makes for small and not very competitive class battles and complicated viewing for the fans, and pressing cars with very different concepts into one class doesn't have a good effect on the competitiveness of a class either. It's pretty much the same thing here in Germany - The Evo/WRX-teams complain about getting slaughtered by the Porsches, the Porsches complain about getting slaughtered by the S2000s and the S2000s complain about a lack of credible oppossition. In the end everybody loses. And when you separate them, you'll end up with relatively small classes again.

But when you only have very few classes, with a very narrow technical ruleset, you might end up with competitive and well-subscribed classes.

So, I really could see this having a similar effect on rallying in Great Britain as Supertouring had on touring car racing - what it takes, though, is a certain degree of manufacturer support. If the powers that be can find that, this rule change might be a very good thing and a model for some other European series.

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Originally Posted by Andy_L

I must say I like the idea of a 2WD only series.

What's happening to BRC here sounds a lot like what happened to the BTCC 20 years ago with the introduction of SuperTouring. Mainly two things:
- Flattening the class structure
- Homogenizing the cars within one class

And from my (limited) experience that means addressing two of points that create a lot of frustration for drivers and fans alike in rallying. Having too many classes makes for small and not very competitive class battles and complicated viewing for the fans, and pressing cars with very different concepts into one class doesn't have a good effect on the competitiveness of a class either. It's pretty much the same thing here in Germany - The Evo/WRX-teams complain about getting slaughtered by the Porsches, the Porsches complain about getting slaughtered by the S2000s and the S2000s complain about a lack of credible oppossition. In the end everybody loses. And when you separate them, you'll end up with relatively small classes again.

But when you only have very few classes, with a very narrow technical ruleset, you might end up with competitive and well-subscribed classes.

So, I really could see this having a similar effect on rallying in Great Britain as Supertouring had on touring car racing - what it takes, though, is a certain degree of manufacturer support. If the powers that be can find that, this rule change might be a very good thing and a model for some other European series.

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BTCC changed to a very attractive class with Super Touring , which provided great competition and therefore fights . This move replaces already boring cras ( exception Breen's Fiesta S2000 ) with even more dull cars on gravel ...