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  1. #21
    Senior Member bomber21's Avatar
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    Yeah. They said they are now focusing on 2020 but, to be honest, I do not see how Acropolis Rally can be profitable...

  2. #22
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    Funds are not enough for Acropolis, even in ERC. For WRC there is no chance. First of all, the money promised from the state for previous years have not been given yet. This has caused a big deficit for the past 6 years. Also, the number of participants in local events is dropping continually, so the Greek Federation, which is the organizer of Acropolis, does not have adequate funds to cover the cost of Acropolis.

    In my opinion, there will be no Acropolis for some years, to say the least. Acropolis can happen again only if Greek economy gets back on its feet (highly unlikely for the next decade) and only if at that time there will be people in the organizing body that will have the same ability and experience as the present ones.

    In any case, I still consider very lucky all of us who have seen the real Acropolis of the WRC years and have participated even in just one Acropolis as drivers or co-drivers. It was the experience of a lifetime.
    Last edited by scn; 10th November 2018 at 10:38.

  3. Likes: dimviii (10th November 2018),Morte66 (28th January 2019)
  4. #23
    Senior Member PLuto's Avatar
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    There is also another problem with Acropolis - in current days teams are not so interested in so rough stages. We can see it in WRC Turkey. Current cars are made mainly for speed and they are not so strong to survive rough events. And, of course, after the race you must invest lot of money to get car back to good condition. So in final, there is very low interest of greek drivers to do Acropolis and also drivers from abroad are not so interested to go there...

  5. Likes: Sulland (10th November 2018),WRC1 (10th November 2018)
  6. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by PLuto View Post
    there is very low interest of greek drivers to do Acropolis and also drivers from abroad are not so interested to go there...
    Acropolis has the highest number of greek participants than any other greek rally, although participation cost is much much higher. Don't look at greek participants counting for ERC. Most of Greeks participate only in the national event, which has fewer restrictions regarding car regulations, but it is completely identical with ERC.

    Also, in ERC years, although Greece is very far from the center of Europe and logistics are very expensive, Acropolis has managed to get about 20 participants from abroad. This is an adequate number considering the aforementioned difficulty.

    And finally, for heaven's sake, modern Acropolis has nothing to do with old ones. This is a walk in the park, compared with the true Acropolis of '80s, '90s or even the '00s. These were true rallies, not the modern ones. If a car breaks in a modern Acropolis, then its preparation is at a very low level and its mechanics should change profession. The body of a modern rally car should be totally unaffected by the roads of modern Acropolis. Surely, some parts may suffer some damage, but the cost for replacing a wishbone or a steering arm or a damper is a very small fraction of the actual costs of a rally and is not a reason for not participating.

  7. #25
    Senior Member Fast Eddie WRC's Avatar
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    So Hungary comes to the party for 2019. Good for them, their rally fans and good for the driver's they have provided to the ERC in recent years.

    It seems Eastern Europe is the best and biggest growth area and coming in to replace many of the traditional countries who dont have the mainstream interest or funding any more.

  8. #26
    Senior Member PLuto's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by scn View Post
    Acropolis has the highest number of greek participants than any other greek rally, although participation cost is much much higher. Don't look at greek participants counting for ERC. Most of Greeks participate only in the national event, which has fewer restrictions regarding car regulations, but it is completely identical with ERC.

    Also, in ERC years, although Greece is very far from the center of Europe and logistics are very expensive, Acropolis has managed to get about 20 participants from abroad. This is an adequate number considering the aforementioned difficulty.

    And finally, for heaven's sake, modern Acropolis has nothing to do with old ones. This is a walk in the park, compared with the true Acropolis of '80s, '90s or even the '00s. These were true rallies, not the modern ones. If a car breaks in a modern Acropolis, then its preparation is at a very low level and its mechanics should change profession. The body of a modern rally car should be totally unaffected by the roads of modern Acropolis. Surely, some parts may suffer some damage, but the cost for replacing a wishbone or a steering arm or a damper is a very small fraction of the actual costs of a rally and is not a reason for not participating.
    Most of national crews out of ERC field and starting in national one is different story and FIA is mainly resposible for this fault. But for ERC, crews starting only in national field are not important, they need them in ERC field. I think that another thing which is going against Acropolis is not interest of greek crews to start anywhere else. From all other ERC countries you can see crews doing the championship or at least few events abroad (also cypriot drivers tried at least to go to Acropolis or Rome), but I dont remember any greek driver doing any ERC round during last years (if I dont count multinational Serderidis, who did only "his" Acropolis or Ypres).

  9. #27
    Senior Member PLuto's Avatar
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    To understand correctly, I have nothing against Rally Acropolis. I like that rally very much, I was there many times during the last years. Country is great, organisers also. I like the stages (as spectator). I am only trying to write points, which are against the rally in general terms and in the views of others (teams, promoter etc).

  10. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by PLuto View Post
    I think that another thing which is going against Acropolis is not interest of greek crews to start anywhere else. From all other ERC countries you can see crews doing the championship or at least few events abroad (also cypriot drivers tried at least to go to Acropolis or Rome), but I dont remember any greek driver doing any ERC round during last years
    In the present financial situation, very few Greeks have cars that are eligible for international events. And only one of them is actually doing the whole Greek championship. So participation in international events is a very distant dream in this country. I am afraid that there are not many chances that we will see Acropolis in near future. Anyway, a trip to Hungary seems to be a good idea for next November.

  11. #29
    Senior Member Jarek Z's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Fast Eddie WRC View Post
    It seems Eastern Europe is the best and biggest growth area and coming in to replace many of the traditional countries who dont have the mainstream interest or funding any more.
    Yes, there are actually only 3 rallies still left in the calendar, that are held in western Europe - Portugal, Spain and Italy.
    http://www.rallymadness.prv.pl - rally photos and movies!

  12. #30
    Senior Member bomber21's Avatar
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    Unfortunately rallying in Greece is dead. Greek championship is a joke. Rallies get cancelled very often and almost no drivers own an R5 car. So the few spectators watch EVO, Impreza and Escort old cars...
    Rally Acropolis future is not so bright...

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