[WRC] News & rumours (part III)

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Originally Posted by Juha_Koo

I'm in no means in favour of Capito's shootout idea, in my opinion it isn't rallying at all. But to my knowledge, VW has been quite disappointed to the media coverage and promotion of WRC. We have to understand them a bit, they pour in millions for what? Lousy promotion and media services like crap? If promotion would have been and would be done in a correct way, Capito wouldn't need to ask these spectator-magnets to be made.

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no,we haven t got to understand vw needs, to ruin the sport.
If they dont like,they can go away.

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Originally Posted by Juha_Koo

I'm in no means in favour of Capito's shootout idea, in my opinion it isn't rallying at all. But to my knowledge, VW has been quite disappointed to the media coverage and promotion of WRC. We have to understand them a bit, they pour in millions for what? Lousy promotion and media services like crap? If promotion would have been and would be done in a correct way, Capito wouldn't need to ask these spectator-magnets to be made.

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I understand that they are disappointed with RBMH promotion (we all are!), but will this idea solve anything? I expect that WRC will loose even more from the hardcore fans and gain nothing from it

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Originally Posted by sollitt

Some years ago I wrote something similar to the following on this forum;

" In the 70's we had Grp 4. The cars were fast and spectacular and exciting to watch.
In the 80's we had Grp B. The cars were fast and spectacular and exciting to watch.
In the 90's we had Grp A. The cars were fast and spectacular and exciting to watch.
In the 00's we had WRC's. The cars were fast and spectacular and exciting to watch."

As somebody wrote in an earlier post, a Grp4 BDA or E30 BMW is still a good spectacle when driven well ... 4 decades later.

As much as rally cars ought look like rally cars, sound like rally cars and go like rally cars, it is the driver who makes them spectacular on the stages and, as can be seen by the videos of Panizzi & Ragnotti, even 2WD cars can be exciting in the right hands.

The spectators perception of speed and spectacle is not a year by year comparison, it's an on event observation comparing competitors to their rivals.

For me the 70's was the era, simply because not since the Grp 4 days have we had a credible competition which was both accessible and affordable to top domestic competitors as well as those with factory support.

Imagine if golf, the world's most popular and televised spectator sport, was played every week by just half a dozen 'paying' players (not necessarily the most talented) whose equipment was so superior to every other players ensuring no one else came within 10 shots of them.
The sport would lose credibility and popularity very rapidly and very soon vanish from the television screens.

Yet this is exactly the scenario we've had in WRC since the advent of Grp B over 30 years ago. And we cannot understand why the sport is not popular.

Now imagine if you will, if Grp N became the WRC formula tomorrow (No, I'm not at all suggesting it should be).
However, if it were, immediately you'd have a hundred or so compliant and competitive cars around the world capable of being driven to WRC victory, at an affordable level, and probably a couple of dozen competitors all equally capable of competing at the top level.
In fact, I'd go so far as to say that, had Grp N been the WRC formula for the past 10 years, we would not have 10 consecutive engravings of Sebastion on the trophy. And the majority of the present and recently departed WRC drivers would not have been in sight of a podium.

You'd have a competition which was accessible to those with the talent, and the grit necessary to make it happen, and one with real credibility. Until the WRC moves to a formula also used in domestic championships and is accessible to more than a handful of 'selected' players and a few with rich daddies, it'll fail to gain any traction or popularity.

A modern day Grp 4 is what we need.

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So thru!!!


People are not stupid. Wrc and also r5 cars are buggy s with an manufactures shell around it and cost s a fortune to run. It s only for an happy few. Sound is boring and the cars have nothing in common with roadcars like in early days with group a gp4 etc.

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Originally Posted by dimviii

no,we haven t got to understand vw needs, to ruin the sport.
If they dont like,they can go away.

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+1

Capito's idea is like solving a house fire by demolishing the house. If he wants a sport that isn't rallying then maybe he should start his own sport.

To be honest some kind of stage-based heats-type championship wouldn't be too bad too watch - I personally would find it more interesting than Rallycross - but that concept has no place in any form of 'Rallying' as we know it. Maybe 'Capito Formula One' could end with a penalty shoot out and 'Capito Rugby' could end with seeing who could get a hole-in-one first :D

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Originally Posted by Jack4688`

Capito's idea is like solving a house fire by demolishing the house. If he wants a sport that isn't rallying then maybe he should start his own sport.

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I can simply add: f**k VW, f**k RB, f**k MH and f**k FIA if Mr. Todt let Capito mad dreams goes ahead...

PS: can someone explain why wasn't Eurosport Events chosen to promote WRC two years ago? Was RB/MH imposed by VW? Do we need a manufacturer that thinks it owns the sport???

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Originally Posted by Rally Power

I can simply add: f**k VW, f**k RB, f**k MH and f**k FIA if Mr. Todt let Capito mad dreams goes ahead...

PS: can someone explain why wasn't Eurosport Events chosen to promote WRC two years ago? Was RB/MH imposed by VW? Do we need a manufacturer that thinks it owns the sport???

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Didn't Eurosport Events comment that RBMH had a better offer/package?

Rallying is rallying. Start with good media coverage. FIA is responsible for doing that. So far they have failed. If VW wants spectacular motorsports they could choose anything but rallying.
Using cars available for more drivers than rich ones and factorydrivers could be a solution, as long as they are loud and banging. Look at F1 which sounds like s**t and which many involved people have made complaints about...

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Originally Posted by Mirek

I'm not really familiar with commercials of various carmakers as I have no TV (really :) ) but it's true I don't remember any VW rally related one. On the other hand there has been a lot of those from Škoda (at least here in CZ).

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I don't talk only about TV, but too in newspapers, radio, internet...

In total honesty, compare the intensity of discussion here to that of say 10 years ago. Even the hardcore fans don't give a s**t anymore, so how can we expect anyone else to do so? And manufacturers rally inly to sell more cars. And because there is no interest, there is no added sale. Simple