Thread: WRC future
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4th July 2020, 10:02 #581
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https://dirtfish.com/rally/manufactu...rc-next-month/
M-Sport are cautious and rightly so. It's time Ford came back as full factory team.
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4th July 2020, 11:28 #582
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It's a complete mess. Only two teams look like they will sign. The FIA imposing a deadline of August.
No other manufacturer's even being mooted. I thought M-Sport are already developing the 2022 car?
I can't understand why the FIA and the promoter aren't making more noise about refreshing the whole championship, as opposed to insisting that everyone signs up by August.
Things clearly not going in the correct direction in terms of attracting new manufacturers, yet they still push on, insisting the new regulations are good for the sport. Really?
Maybe the whole thing needs to collapse to reinvent itself. It would ba a shame, but the long term may be better for it.
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4th July 2020, 12:34 #583
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So, Toyota & Hyundai......and where are the others? Ford would come back 'officially' if they thought it was worth it. As would others.......However, the Covid-19 pandemic has surely put a stop to any others who were thinking about it.
But the FiA are determined to plough on regardless......What could possibly go wrong.....
Is there a better sound than that of Porsche engined Flat-6 ???
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4th July 2020, 12:43 #584
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4th July 2020, 14:51 #585
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It just seems like people on wrc do not learn from past mistakes.
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4th July 2020, 15:19 #586
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As someone on a rally podcast said recently, the 2017-Cars have been 'massive short-term gain, for massive long-term pain'.
They have cost a fortune, lost us a great rally team (Citroen), lost us any top level privateer entry, and only made us hardcore rally fans happy and not attracted many new ones.
This being the case, we shouldn't be surprised that the new 2022 WRC Regs (decided by & for the WRC Promoter's benefit and 2 well-funded Asian manufacturer's) wont be good for the sport either.#M-SPORTER
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4th July 2020, 15:24 #587
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4th July 2020, 20:16 #588
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I don't think a reduction in cost per car would make much difference.
If the series meant a manufacturer stood much chance of selling more cars, they would enter.
Remember the old Safari... they had bloody helicopters flying service technicians in mid-stage!
It's not about cost of cars or championship entry costs, it's about exposure and return on investment and for that, you need people tuning in.
They haven't achieved that, not even in the current format with these beastie 2017 cars, so what's going to change if they make the cars cheaper and possibly get another manufacturer on board? Another name on a trophy, but for who to see? The same hardcore fans that tune in at the moment.
The format is stale.
Rallying as a sport is about endurance and speed.
What we have now is just a few super fast cars, sprinting along a few predictable stages, usually with the winner clearly visable by mid-Friday morning....
Changing back to a more endurance based sport, which people can dip in and out of over a weekend, might sound ridiculous, but it might be what must happen. They've gone down this path of everything starting at the same time and finishing at the same time every weekend it's on, but this format simply hasn't achieved the standard it needs to for the FIA world rally championship series, in terms of exposure.
Let's face it, how many of you are confident the sport has a bright future as things are? (even taking the dreaded Covid out of the equation).
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4th July 2020, 23:47 #589
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Under what circumstances would Citroen have continued to hang around, other than perhaps with continued domination at a low price, which couldn't be achieved once other teams turned up and they didn't have the best driver anymore? No manufacturer stays forever and they bid a long goodbye.
The new cars have attracted new fans and brought back old ones, they aren't the problem and probably would have been funded by all but one manufacturer for a five year run. But their impact has been limited by the same issues that have dogged the WRC for 15 years, lack of exposure and uninspiring event formats. All Live is great, but casual fans will never see it. In most countries WRC Promoter haven't got the highlights show any better broadcast deals than North One did with a worse 'product'. I think privateer entries as a draw for fans is being rather overstated.
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5th July 2020, 07:42 #590
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This can only come from a person who doesn't follow the sport enough even to know if Monte is run over multiple regions.
Changing back to a more endurance based sport, which people can dip in and out of over a weekend, might sound ridiculous, but it might be what must happen. They've gone down this path of everything starting at the same time and finishing at the same time every weekend it's on, but this format simply hasn't achieved the standard it needs to for the FIA world rally championship series, in terms of exposure.
Let's face it, how many of you are confident the sport has a bright future as things are? (even taking the dreaded Covid out of the equation).
The late great Martin Holmes said already in 2002 "The minute that rallying stops changing, it will no longer adapt itself to the changing face of life on earth, and that means the sport will be doomed".
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M-Sport/ Ford have been testing using a 'simulator' in the USA. They say its helped improve the Puma Rally1 car, especially for tarmac. Does anyone know what this simulator could be like ? Story...
WRC Testing