[WRC] News & rumours (part II)

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Originally Posted by michpetter

"To maximise its chances of winning, Citroën Racing has developed a very special DS3 called XL, as in X Games and Loeb! Based on a car built by Hansen Motorsport, the seven-time World Rally Championship-winning team has introduced a healthy dose of Créative Technologie by making a series of modifications."

So can we except this car for customers??

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The number 1 modification no doubt being the addition of the Number 1 driver.

From the WMSC today:

- Same 13 events in 2013 as this year save for Australia instead of NZ
- holding statement on the future Promoter.

Still all very lacking in real direction from the supposed governing body.

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Originally Posted by michpetter

So can we except this car for customers??

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No

From the FIA press release:

"Following the call for Expression of Interest launched earlier this year to promote the WRC, and the assessment of the numerous bids received, a shortlist of candidates has been established. Final discussions with those candidates are currently being conducted with a view to establishing the best possible platform for the promotion of the FIA World Rally Championship. A final recommendation will be presented to the World Motor Sport Council in September at the latest."

World Motor Sport Council


Finally something positive.

3 months to evaluate the proposals... they are going (hopefully) to have a tv deal for the last 4 events of the season...

once a nobody always a nobody... i would not be surprised if the next member of the WRC commission is Wilson JR.

I already considered this season 'lost.' I'd rather see the FIA making a good decision about it so we can start 2013 from scratch with a proper promotor.

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Originally Posted by janvanvurpa

No Gherid, NOT this. Those eyes are just looking a whatever spectacle that is placed in front of them., then zap the channel changer and surf more Made-for-TV crap, maybe Cops or American Idle (MY spelling)...As "promotion" became touted by newcomber/parasites in the sport here, events and participation has halved and costs gone up 300 to 400%....so all those supposed "new eyes" have not brought any tangible benefits to anybody I know in the sport.

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I hear this from a number of old campaigners in the US, and like rally in the US twenty years ago, it's all about them and only them. Which considering the lack of publicity and spectators used to be true. A lot of the cost for events can be traced to insurance and regulations that affect even dirt-circle racers today. No motorsport is cheap - at least how I define cheap - except maybe TSD and drag racing (legal or not), and then it's your own fault if you spend too much or make the wrong bet.

Talk to event organizers at the local level, hotel and businesses owners, and (dare I say it) Rally America staff (who are also campaigners that used to crash around alone in the woods) and you'll hear a different story. There are a lot more people at rallies these days, which results in more business, and more interest by local government to host events despite the protests of the odd postal delivery driver or recluse living in the wilderness. This is needed because many parks are beginning to restrict access based on the damage rallies cause to roads as well as various environmental concerns with emissions and spills. Getting several municipalities to close roads, detail extra police and emergency staff requires a significant economic argument that a handful of drivers and their support crews alone can't make.

Granted there can still be problems such as when Rally America ended their season early cutting well established events out of the calendar and resulting in Colorado being cancelled and other long-running rallies not being part of the championship. I'm not saying it's perfect or that the current level of interest will last forever. But for now rally is much bigger than it was and it's been good for a lot of people.

I just realized when I say twenty years ago I probably should be saying thirty. I'm getting older myself.

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Originally Posted by EightGear

I already considered this season 'lost.' I'd rather see the FIA making a good decision about it so we can start 2013 from scratch with a proper promotor.

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While agree they have to find the right person, they need to give the teams and events time to be able to sell themselves to potential investors before the next season.

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Originally Posted by michpetter

"To maximise its chances of winning, Citroën Racing has developed a very special DS3 called XL, as in X Games and Loeb! Based on a car built by Hansen Motorsport, the seven-time World Rally Championship-winning team has introduced a healthy dose of Créative Technologie by making a series of modifications."

So can we except this car for customers??

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“This is a wonderful thing for us to be doing,” said team boss Kenneth Hansen. “Citroën Racing asked us to do the car and run it for Sebastien at the X Games. I had thought that there was nothing for us in America this year but this chance is fantastic. It’s been a lot of work because the time schedule for getting a car their meant that we had to send the car that Timur has raced and at the same time start to build up a new car so that Timur can continue to race and do the events in Norway and Sweden, we are nearly finished that now so everything looks good

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Sebastien Loeb in X Games Rallycross | RallycrossWorld.com

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Originally Posted by N.O.T

3 months to evaluate the proposals... they are going (hopefully) to have a tv deal for the last 4 events of the season...

once a nobody always a nobody... i would not be surprised if the next member of the WRC commission is Wilson JR.

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The expression of interest process was designed to find someone to take over for 2013 - nothing to do with this year.

The FIA were going to deal with 2012 in terms of TV, and paying for the timing and tracking etc.