FIA meeting 26/03/2008

[Leon]

Just a small question.

Is there a confirmation anywhere that all those manufacturers with S2000 cars (Fiat, Peugeot etc.) or those having plans to build S2000 cars will and for sure enter the WRC as works entries in 2011, thus increasing the popularity of the WRc, insrease works seats etc.?

If I remember correctly, only fiat said so, but I did not hear/read of any concrete plans from certain manufacturers about this new S2000 WRC.

anyone knows?

[urabus-denoS2000]

Peugeot said 3 years ago when thez announced the S2000 project that it doesnt mean that they will come back.
But that was 3 years ago and still 3 to come.
Maybe they will change their minds?

[Elvisrally]

We see it in all forms of sport. They go full circle.

The WRC saw this in the 80's. we had the collapse of group B and the intro of group A. Over the years the teams have found ways to improve the cars performance in line with the regulations laid down by the FIA. I believe this is the way forward for the WRC as I think new manufacturers will become a part of it. We will see the return of teams from the past but this will also encourage new manufacturers.

All we need now is the right promotional activity to encourage these new teams and we will have an amazing championship with some really close results.

Elvis

[Mirek]

Leon: I'm sure that if Fabia is competitive in standard S2000 version, Skoda will return into WRC. But if not, then definitely not.

[AndyRAC]

All we need now is the right promotional activity to encourage these new teams and we will have an amazing championship with some really close results.

Elvis

Mmm, that should be interesting, how will they do that then? Water it down even further, when in fact they should be doing the exact opposite. Making it more of a challenge, bring back the endurance factor!!

[koko0703]

So from 2011 on, the current WRC models cannot compete at all??? I think the new regulation will encourage new manufacturers to enter WRC but it must be a big blow for Subaru and Suzuki.... They only have two seasons to use their new WRCars even if their current WRCars turned out to be winner.

[Mirek]

I'm sure they know what is going on for quite long time and count with it.

[N.O.T]

the new formula will be around 100-150k cheaper than the current one maybe more.....now don;t everyone jump into conclusions, its a different thing to build such a car and to compete in the WRC....the encouraging thing is that more and more teams are building s2000 cars but i doubt that all of them will enter the series.

[OldF]

I think the suspension is quite close to each other on S2000 and WRC cars. The biggest differences I assume are the gearbox, electronics + software and the turbo. In the program “engineering the world rally” Subaru told that it cost them 600.000 euros to build a WRC car. If we add to that development, testing etc. the final “price” is probably close to 1 million euros what is what I’ve read / heard.

From the beginning of 2010 both old and new WRCs compete for the same championship so maybe the WRC cars of today have been stripped down a bit by then. This IMO means that they (Ford, Subaru, Citroen Suzuki) don’t have to start from scratch when building the new WRC cars.

Lets hope for the best.

[Elvisrally]

AndyRAC

I would want nothing more than to jump in the car with my quilt, Flask, Waterproofs and boots and descend in to the forests of the UK adding loads of mileage to a hire car and following an event for 5 days and pretty much not sleeping the whole time.

but in this world of political correctness and 'save the environment', those days have unfortunately gone. I don't like the new format events,(not enough time away from the misses), They are too small and are nothing like the tests that I remember in the 80's or even 90's. The limited competetive mileage is s#/t and the double running of stages even worse.

Unfortunately we live in a culture where the WRC has its limits placed by the FIA. They would never sanction such a thing anymore, They would not be able to justify bringing the country to a standstill, The popularity of the WRC has grown. I live near Penmachno and Clocaenog forests and however much I would love to see the cars in these forests again, I know that it would bring North Wales to a standstill.

The manufacturers and sponsors are after value for money.

I prefer the championship of old and would want nothing more than to see its return. I hope that Rally GB will introduce the remote service and we can go to Sweet Lamb again, I would also like to be somewhere other than South Wales for our round of the WRC, have rally Safari back on the calender, Have more mileage in the stages, but I don't think it will happen .

New teams will only come to the WRC if it will sell their cars......

I don't like it, but thats the way it is unfortunately.

Elvis