Great shout. McDiarmid Park as your service park, a day’s stages at Carron Valley and Loch Ard, another day around Fetteresso/Durris/Drumtochty and your final day in the Tay Forest park stages.
But then that’s a discussion for another thread... :D
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Nice idea but I see the Green's are now in power in Scotland (with the SNP). I cant see any chance of this govt giving a new WRC event the time of day.
Glad to hear it, too far for me to go and chance it, particularly not knowing the lay of the land up there. I'm still gutted so many had to miss the Nicky Grist. They're putting on a great show on the stages this year and it might not be repeated...
I still can't get my head around them not using any onboards...
Totally agree, but I've come to believe/somewhat accept that this is what 'the bubble' are comfortable with. The obscurity some want the sport to hide in will probably be the death of it in the end, as it's easy to ban something nobody can see or care about.
I'd base it at Ingliston/Edinburgh Airport, the Royal Highland Centre. 50 mins away Cardrona/Elibank in the Borders, 1hr 5m to Craigvinean, 45m to Carron Valley or 55 minutes to the core Trossachs stages.
I'm afraid I think you're right, unless they can be duped by the Hybrids.
I went to the Historic Rally Festival at Weston Park today. Nice event, could really do with being a timed rally, as there seemed to be little impetus for many entrants to push on. A good few moments down at the water splash though, even if regardless of yesterday's rain it was more of a puddle, even with it being topped up between stages with a hose pipe! :D
And for those (on BRF...) who say spectators don't pay, £16 to £22 each and there was a good crowd there. All purchased in advance I believe. The sport isn't dead yet, no matter how hard they try...
Andy & Sniper
What you have completely failed to take into account is that nobody is prepared to pay the going rate to enter the kind of events you'd like to see. ANCRO went bust because nobody wanted to pay for 60/70/80 miles of forest on one day. BRC entires dried up because nobody wanted to spend a day of recce followed by a 2 -3 days of competition.
I've been involved as spectator, service crew, competitor, marshal and event organiser for 50 years & I'd love to see the "golden age" return but until enough people are prepared to pay for it it isn't going to happen.
If you are really serious about the kind of event that you'd like to see then you need to lobby your MP to bring back tobacco & alcohol advertising. That's where the money really came from to cover the cost of those classic events you'd like to see return.
Isn't the question, why don't they want a bigger challenge? So, a 45 mile one day club event is the limit of most competitors ambition? So they buy an ex WRCar to do it in, or pay silly money for a Mk II.
Nice footage of the Grampian Rally from Sideways Media: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlXL0JY-u2Q
While I do understand that, the Roger Albert Clark shows that people are willing to pay more for something with greater value. The RAC is two thirds of what I'd like to see as a BRC season, in terms of time and distance. As it is, with 7 mainly shorter events, including a trip to Mull and Northern Ireland this year, must involve additional costs that a shorter season of 5 longer events would eliminate or at least match.
With the difficulties with accessing the forests and the increasingly onerous responsibility put on organising clubs, I think the whole model needs to change. My vision would be 5 MSUK organised, two day rallies, three in the forests (Yorkshire, Scottish, Welsh), two on tarmac (NI & Manx), 200km to 220km each. You'll have BRC with recce and, as has been working this year, a British National title, for those not doing recce. Ideally you'd get the British Historic Championship to follow the same calendar, as it's actually somewhat truer to what rallying historically was. The poorer rich guys spending 250k on Escorts or more on WRC cars that can't afford that can do the BRTDA instead, if it can continue to find 7 surviving forest rallies going forward...
@SteveBoyd
When were tobacco and alcohol companies sponsoring BRC events ?
I know they sponsored teams, is that what you mean ?
The last I can find is the 1988 Rothmans Circuit of Ireland :D
Even Marlboro used to sponsor the Lindisfarne Rally up until about ‘85/’86
Both teams and events. They put money into the sport in various ways. Rothmans, in particular, were very involved. Aside from event, team and personal sponsorship they used to put rally shows on around the country with guest speakers, films & competitions to win a variety of goodies.