Just to spin it further... Loeb, Alonso and Kyle Busch in a car.
Printable View
Jack Benyon who??
That dude's just hanging off of D Evans nut sack... And we all know Evans is just a click bait columnist
I don't think it will happen, unfortunately, but that makes a lot of sense to me; for it to work as a customer car they're going to have to show it can be competitive. Even better if it's not just WRC2 and lets Seb do some events he's not done before. But not going to happen.
If Loeb does well at the Dakar Rally. Would Loeb do a few cross country rallies/ Bajas in 2019? (if the sponsorship dollars are there and the 3008 is still competitive etc?)
The last time Hyundai was in world rally they pulled out after 6 years.
2019 will be the 6th year in the championship in this edition of the Hyundai wrc team.
Hyundai sales have been going fairly well in spite of the team not winning titles. Might the corporate accountants at Hyundai HQ look at the numbers and think the $$$$$ should be going to electric vehicle development rather than the wrc team?
Driver contracts have never, ever, stopped a car company pulling out of motorsport. It's peanuts compared to the bigger picture. Once a company takes a strategic decision, minor things like driver contracts are just a small line item in a spreadsheet.
Subaru, VW, Suzuki, Mitsubishi etc etc all had to pay out drivers in WRC.
Same in F1 etc etc.
Entering the WRC to increase car sales is like flogging a dead horse. Manufacturers would be better off giving away cars and a few quid to B-list celebrities and asking them to post a few pictures on their Twitter/Instagram accounts. Apart from sales of the old 2.0L 4x4 turbocharged cars (Impreza, EVO, Cossie, etc) I've never seen any evidence that supports the notion that competing in the WRC sells cars, winning titles or not. Ok, a few lads might turn up to a national or WRC event in a fast Ford; however, a Hyundai or Toyota?? Even during the Loeb days a spammed up Xsara/C4/C3 was a rare sighting. Someone high up in these companies must have a massive interest in the sport, because rallying really is like throwing money down a drain.
So you think that rallying should only increase the sales of sporty cars? I thought it's more about making the models and brands positive in our minds, whether it's just a basic car or a homologation special. When I see a new Fiesta or C3 on the street I think about rallying, and that puts me in a nice place, and this must be what they want us to feel.