Hyundai offer a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle for sale in Europe, the Nexo, and have invested heavily in that technology. GM, Land Rover and BMW are all planning hydrogen fuel cell models in the next 5 years.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fast Eddie WRC
Printable View
Hyundai offer a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle for sale in Europe, the Nexo, and have invested heavily in that technology. GM, Land Rover and BMW are all planning hydrogen fuel cell models in the next 5 years.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fast Eddie WRC
FIA TECHNICAL DIRECTOR XAVIER MESTELAN PINON HAS TALKED THROUGH THE OPTIONS...
https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/the-f...re-propulsion/
https://as.com/motor/mas_motor/canar...ial-en-2025-n/
Gran Canaria is looking forward to hosting the World Championship in 2025
The event that currently scores for the European Championship wants to celebrate its 50th anniversary incorporated into the World Championship. The alternation with Catalonia is being considered.
Rallies are the 'national sport' in the Canary Islands. Above football or any other discipline, the specialty of the timed sections is the one that gathers more fans and attention in the Fortunate Islands. This was experienced last weekend at the Rally Islas Canarias, with the ditches full of enthusiasts following the second meeting of the European Championship of the season. But its organizers want more and are already looking forward to hosting the World Championship.
The promoter of the European Championship is the same as that of the World Championship, and that has opened the doors to fight to make the dream of the Canarian fans come true. The negotiation began just when the Rally of Catalonia lost the scoring in the World Championship 2023. Germán Morales, the head of the Rally Islas Canarias, began talks to welcome the WRC to his land. A work that continues at a good pace with the support of the island authorities, who see with very good eyes the project as an excellent showcase for tourism.
The idea would be to host the World Rally starting in 2025, with the aim that in 2026, the year in which the 50th edition of the Rally Islas Canarias will be held, the best drivers and cars in the world will delight the islanders' fans. Several scenarios are being considered, and among them it is not ruled out to start an alternation between the Canary Islands and Catalonia sharing the WRC title.
The rally is one of the most prestigious in Europe, and has in its list of winners the likes of Carlos Sainz, who triumphed in five consecutive editions between 1985 and 1989, Didier Auriol, Piero Liatti, Gilles Panizzi or Chus Puras. Luis Monzón, winner of the race in 1994 and 2008, has affirmed that "the organization has been doing things very well for years and sooner rather than later the Rally Islas Canarias will be in the World Championship. The fans deserve it".
WRC has reached a critical point says Neuville...
https://www.autosport.com/wrc/news/n...ange/10467803/
Would be nice of him to elaborate on his idea(s), and at least someone over there is pointing out the obvious, Toyota were the last one to join back in 2017 and Citroen have been absent for more than 3 years...and you could definitely say the WRC has been going downhill since, even if at least now they started bothering with new events.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fast Eddie WRC
This series is dead as hell
Now just 6 cars remaining with Taka continuing with super rally at rally Portugal, so basically 5
WORLD RALLY CHAMPSIONSHIPS, lol
Rally2 class has to be the mainclass, maybe some +version to be a no1 class.
Sent fra min SM-S901B via Tapatalk
wrc just needs to walk away from the idea that only big car manufacturers are allowed to build a car.
they need to go to a f1 formula where private teams can also build a car and compete.
I was thinking at the start of Portugal that if you downgrade the Rally1 crews to Rally2 cars it would be an awesome start list. Unfortunately then the Rally2 grid was decimated by punctures so it's all a bit pointless now.Quote:
Originally Posted by skarderud
The WRC Promoter can do a lot to improve the championship, I will put some ideas that might help this:
SERVICE PARK
Create them always at the city center or somewhere very easy to access (No more Turkey in the forest or Jordan in the Dead Sea), the location must be central and reachable, while it desperately needs collateral activities and transform it into a "festival" even when the service times are not running. What do I mean: Create nice food courts, engagement areas with the global partners, game areas whether the people can give a shot on the WRC videogame and participate to contests to win gadgets, think about a small stage to host concerts with national guests that can attract also general public.
MEDIA COVERAGE
The Media Mix they decided to pursuit definitely failed, so they need to focus on the following points, in order to have the same revenues from TV rights, having in mind quantity (=cheaper) over quality (i.e. rich ones) of the contracts signed with the broadcasters, which will improve visibility while bringing the same income to the series eventually.
- Free-To-Air broadcasters deals around Europe and in key markets
- Re-develop the whole Asian market, which (except Japan) is almost totally disappeared. What a shame!
- Redevelop their social media strategy, with more engaging and exclusive contents (i.e.: short behind-the-scenes videos and more free live coverage on YouTube, for example during the MediaZone before the service park to wrap-up the day).
EVENT MANAGEMENT
- Create unique and spectacular starts in each event, like the one in Guanajuato, Mexico.
- Mandatory Thursday Superspecial in iconic venues (like the Olympic Stadium SSS in Athens, Greece)
- Set-up iconic spectators area in the Special Stages on all events, with maxiscreens, fan-zones, sponsor stands and VIP areas (Sweden do it very well!)
MARKETING EVENTS
- Revive the WRC Launch Event before the season starts
- Arrange agreements for WRC Road Shows events in key cities (maximum 3 events around the world: Beijing, Sao Paulo, London or Berlin)
- Revive the WRC Awards at the end of the season
- Create 2-3 WRC collective Test events with TV coverage (one before the season starts, another one in Norway on snow before Rally Sweden and another one on gravel before the "gravel season" starts).
E-SPORTS
- Create a new and more spectacular WRC game, which it finally seems in the pipeline with EA Sports-Codemasters
- Develop an arena with 2-3000 spectators for the WRC Game World Finals (Greece can budget it with no problems) with entertaining activities with the fans and the WRC drivers as well.
All that said:
they need to reduce costs of building and maintain a Rally1 car, which is spectacular but way too expensive, while opening finally to the Balance of Performance, in order to attract as much Manufacturers as possible, like perfectly did the ACO and the FIA with the World Endurance Championship, which now in the WRC should be used as a case study.
This! With Rally1 it's the perfect ruleset, but it needs to be commercially viable, which it isn't at the moment. F1 has the FOM price money from TV rights, the WRC promotor doesn't have any money to spend.Quote:
Originally Posted by denkimi
Yes, the manu-rule is obviously out of date, they are not interested.
Its quite easy with the Rally1-5 rules to let private teams build cars in those regulation.
Sent fra min SM-S901B via Tapatalk
Proposal: All WRC1 teams need to use their "last year models" and form a minimum 2 car team. Can be operated by the manufacturer or a satelite team.
Drivers buy the seats for a season or a single rally if available.
More drivers get experience in WRC1 cars, and we get a better show with drivers trying to beat the manu teams.
I'm aware I'm ready to get my s**tstorm here in the forum, but since I have been working in the WRC until few years ago, I think it's finally time to do something very different that might help gather more casual fans around and get more attention.
It's also time to get an opinion also from the main actors of the championship, since nobody seems to listen to them both on the Promoter and the FIA.
I read carefully this interview ( https://www.motorsport.com/wrc/news/...ange/10467810/ ) and is quite alarming in my opinion. I believe Neuville is quite right here.
The "motorsport market" on TV and on the social media is very dynamic and aggressive, while it looks like the WRC is taying quite behind other big series. So, my proposals on the rally format would be the following:
THURSDAY
The Shakedown needs to be converted back into a Qualifying Stage, which must be televised with the format of a "world feed" (Shakedowns on YouTube are quite "depressing" and "static" honestly) and create hype and "tension" for those watching.
Format: 3 mandatory runs for each Manufacturer-entered car, with the sum of the two best time decides the road order for Friday.
SUPERSPECIAL
Thursday's SSS, as said, must be televised from an iconic venue and the road order will be decided by an online fan vote.
FRIDAY
Using the qualifying stage, the road order will go accordingly and the Day 1 must end with a Superspecial, which will award extra 3-2-1 points to the top-3 stage times.
SATURDAY
The road order will be created by reverting the top-15 standings (15th after Day 1 will start first and so on).
A Special Stage on Saturday afternoon will be broadcasted for 90 minutes and will feature an arena through the stage (like Loelle in Sardinia) with 1 extra point for the fastest time and 1 extra point for the biggest jump.
SUNDAY
It remains as it is, with rally-ending Wolf Power Stage to award extra points and feature the podium-finish ceremony as well.
That's for what I think the format could be in the future.
The WRC Promoter can also create new lines of revenue, in order to fund and help the teams run the championship.
- WRC Originals - Selling car parts (rear-view mirrors, wings, front bumpers, etc.) to fans worldwide.
- WRC Merchandise and Teams Merchandise - This totally disappeared, the website has been shut down as well.
- WRC Hospitality solutions - The local promoters try to do their packages, but it would be awesome to have a branded solution that will give the same experiences in all rallies.
- WRC event contests - to be held both online (call to actions, engaging challenges, etc.) and offline (arrange pit stop challenge at the service park, etc.). This will help WRC Promoter to gather important big data and stratify the targets to hunt to improve the brand and so wisely invest the budget that needs to be dedicated for promotion.
There's basically a lot that can be done by the WRC Promoter, without big expenses, that can help the series to be revived and gather more interest around. As for the technical part, I read many good proposals here that can help lower the costs and give the chance to have more top-cars in the entry list and private teams as well!
Exactly. It works for Dakar, it works for Le Mans, it would work for WRC. I bet that teams like Prodrive, Oreca or GCK would jump in.Quote:
Originally Posted by denkimi
Also WRC need to get rid of these stupid overpriced Global Race Engine formula. It's one of the most expensive parts of the cars. Just let manufacturers build engines based on road cars.
Who’s going to pay for that though? Even M-Sport still have some help from Ford.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kenneth
Idk. But they can pay it in Dakar and Le Mans. So there is a way.Quote:
Originally Posted by RS
It’s a difficult one. Following the conversation in news and rumours thread, but thought I’d post here as it was kind of getting off topic of news and rumours and the problem of declining interest in wrc is probably more suited here.
The problem for me, and I’ve been a car nut since forever, is cars are just becoming boring. There are not so much family hatchbacks or saloon cars that rally cars used to be based on. They are all becoming jacked up wannabe SUV’s that are design for mums to ferry their kids to school in, all look the same and are just intrinsically dull.
Add to that the shift to electric. I don’t want to watch white goods hurtling through forests, I can go down the lane near I live and watch the local pikeys chucking washing machines in a hedge if that is what interests me. I think most rally fans like the mechanics of internal combustion engines. It’s exciting. It’s evocative. Nothing beats the sound of a bda escort, the howl of a 5 cylinder Quattro, the beat of a Subaru boxer, the wail of a 6r4 or a stratos v6. The sound of a powerful vacuum cleaner hurtling towards me doesn’t excite me. The powers that be have a difficult job on their hands.
I agree. It's like in this famous picture:Quote:
Originally Posted by Norm75
https://twitter.com/GuyDealership/st...16autosize%3D1
Wait, what are family hatchbacks and saloon cars then used for?Quote:
Originally Posted by Norm75
Apart from some exceptions like Lancia Stratos, 037, Audi quattro and Toyota Celica, rallying has mostly been won on tuned up family cars.
Did everybody forget that Rally1 cars have tube frame chassis? It doesn't matter at all what does the road car look. Both Puma and i20 are very different from road cars.
That is exactly my point. Cars used to have character. Even the ones rally cars were based on. Now cars that are generally for sale are full and boring, which filters down to the sport. The only new car on the horizon that interests me is the new Renault 5 but that’s electric.Quote:
Originally Posted by AnttiL
They at least look similar to the road car, but we are going to lose them and end up with all cars looking the same suv style. Look at Ford, no more mondeo focus or fiesta, just jacked up crap.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kenneth
It’s not in manufacturers interest to style something that doesn’t look remotely like anything you can buy.
If you feel that Puma looks "at least similar", then I don't think any manufacturer would have problem to find a car that fits.
And to the second part of your post - why do manufacturers compete in LMH, NASCAR, Japan's Super GT and similar series? Because that cars surely doesn't look like anything you can buy.
Indeed. So why bother go rallying, why not just do f1.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kenneth
I am a rally fan. I like rally cars. On my drive is an Impreza wrx and a legacy gt spec b wr limited (made for 1 year to commemorate Subaru wrc champion)
They are both good cars, have character and are exiting to drive. The Impreza we have had for 15 years. Not a lot that they rally now floats my boat as a road car (or design/based on), other than Yaris gr4 but I don’t have the means to buy one.
My son on the other hand is more into f1. He drives a merc a class AMG line. Not a fast one. Good car, looks nice, lovely interior and so on but boring. It’s just a car. Cars are becoming dull.
As I said in my post, THE PROBLEM FOR ME. Everyone is different.
I agree with a lot.of what Norm says re the old cars vs the new.
The Group A era and early WRC cars had homologation specials that you could actually buy, plus they weren't covered in massive aero and were spectacular on the stages because of this.
Engine noise is also big issue. The old cars sounded fantastic, not just loud like today's. I watched a historic event recently and when a Mk2 Escort came by at full chat I got serious goosebumps. I never have that with the Rally1 cars.
I'm afraid dont see any way that the WRC can seriously change in a way that will attract more and new fans. As Norm says, modern cars are so boring and roads so congested, that affordable high performance versions are a dying breed and market. I dont know what a Manufacturer would get out of competing in WRC or how fans can be satisfied watching electric SUVs.
You do realize that there was little more boring on the road than an Impreza or Escort or Lancer,.... What made them exciting cars were the extra letters attached to the name for the sporting variants. Same goes for todays cars except that half the market is crowded with Stupid Useless Vehicles (SUV).Quote:
Originally Posted by Norm75
And as mentioned rallying always relied on small mundane cars bar the odd exception here and there.
That’s not rallying’s faultQuote:
Originally Posted by Norm75
Yes I know. How long do you think that’s going to continue for though?Quote:
Originally Posted by becher
Yes, you can get a puma st or i20N now, but for how much longer. Rally2 seems to get more interest at the moment with people suggesting this should become the top class. How much longer do you think you will be able to get a fiesta (death imminent) Fabia, polo and the like for? Not long because they will all be replaced with boring suv electric shit boxes that don’t appeal, they just function.
A Yaris or an i20 might survive, because they are the car of choice for your Nan to pop down the shop in. Hardly wrc target audience.
It was probably a couple of years ago now that I said on here wrc was becoming boring and irrelevant. I ended up feeling like a leper for saying it but now people are mentioning in threads that it is becoming boring, people losing interest etc. Mark my words.
I know. That is why in my first post I said it was a difficult one and the people in charge have got a difficult job on their hands.Quote:
Originally Posted by AnttiL
Also, think a couple of you missed my point/got lost in translation. What I meant in my post was there used to be more family hatch/saloon based rally cars, and always have been, than there likely will be moving forward.
Do full EVs have a future in rallying ?
https://www.autosport.com/wrc/news/d...ying/10470149/
Five words: FIA WORLD RALLY SPRINT CHAMPIONSHIP
One stage... 2 Shakedown runs, Two qualy runs to decide the final's order.... and then the final run.
Privateers can only run Rally2 cars and Manufacturer teams must run a similar powered car but with Hydrogen, Electric or Hybrid (50/50)...
2 things will make a decent e car for rally in the format as we know it.
1. better battery tech with much higher power density.
2. Agreing on a WRC battery swap system, so cars can swap at service and other remote locations. Where and how often is mathematics.
Baumschlagers car runs with current battery tech and did normal rallies with no battery swaps or schedule changes.
So why do you need 1 or 2 to happen?
Because there is a significant difference between a round of the Austrian Championship, and the World Rally Championship...Quote:
Originally Posted by mknight
Which could be compensated by adding more refueling/recharging zones.Quote:
Originally Posted by ouvreur
Definitely not "new tech" level.
What about the weight? Are we accepting that BEVs are slower or ar we giving them 800hp to compensate for the 2000kg rally ready weight and just say screw safety?Quote:
Originally Posted by mknight
Maybe they should put Paddon Motorsport in charge...
https://paddonrallysport.co.nz/hyundai-ev-rally-car/
You mean this?Quote:
Originally Posted by Norm75
https://www.topgear.com/sites/defaul...pg?w=892&h=502