I think the impression was given that the Rally3 would 'replace' the old Group N Evos & Subaru's, when in fact those cars owner's mostly wont be doing that.
It's only 'replacing' them if you want to buy a brand new 4WD rally car.
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I think the impression was given that the Rally3 would 'replace' the old Group N Evos & Subaru's, when in fact those cars owner's mostly wont be doing that.
It's only 'replacing' them if you want to buy a brand new 4WD rally car.
N4 and Rally3 are very different animals. One being a stock car being tuned to become a rally car, with its flaws, mainly weight and gearboxes that brakes.
Rally3 is a purpose buildt racecar, but with tech limitations to keep the price down. But 100 000 euro is still out of reach for many privateers.
But since it was called R1-R5 till now Rally5 to Rally2 the pricetag for each layer almost doubled.
At some stage it becomes too expensive to have Rally2 as national top class.
For many nations it will be sensible to have Rally3 as national top-class, then the topclass will become wider with more teams, than with keeping Rally2.
Rally3 prices will also come down, as number of sold cars creates a good second hand market.
Are there many championships that you could go do with your Fiesta Rally3?
It will only become the car of choice for first 4WD experience if there are championships you can compete in on a level field. Majority of Rally3 cars won't be used in full WRC seasons. What's needed is for national championships to use Rally3 cars allowing Juniors to compete at home and then step up to WRC in the same car.
This is where the Clio could be a game changer especially in France and hopefully further afield. As the Renault championships always look possible, so we could see lots of French drivers competing at home and then using the car to try ERC and WRC events.
Yes it is huge for a new carclass!
But I agree that Rally3 need own classes around in different nations.
They can not compete in the same class as Rally2, in classes called international or modern 4wd.
In many nations where rally has little sponsorship, you will get a broader top class if buying a car and maintaining a car is aprox 50% cheaper, and speed difference is 2 sec a km.
With top drivers using the Rally3 speeds will also go up, and the cars will be driven more spectalularly!
Renault should put top french drivers on asphalt and gravel into their Clio, to demonstrate potential. Loeb for instance.... :D
The issue with the Rally3 car has always been the vast number of used R5 / Rally2 cars out there and which are able to compete everywhere.
If you had the money which would you buy ?
If you talk to people driving older R5s, they are getting more and more expensive to run, and maintenence take a lot of their budget.
If I had a narrow budget, I would go Rally3, especially if I had rally2 speed in my body. Then a lower speed car give you an advantage, since your brain is used to less time to react.
Rally3 deserve some top drivers to show max their potential!
Rally3 have own class. RC3
Internationally yes, but not all ACNs have championships for RC3. Both because it is new, and also because they have simplified the number of classes that will get awarded with a title.
In both Sweden and Norway we have 4 main classes.
International 2 and 4 wd. Cars that still have a FIA homologation.
National 2 and 4wd. Cars that no longer hold a valid FIA homologation.
This is done to simplify rally classes for non petrolheads following this on TV.
So at least in Norway Rally2 and Rally3 fight for the same points in Int 4wd.
Thats why none Rally3 cars are still registered here.
In Finland there is a different story.