[WRC] News & rumours (part III)

[Simmi]

RallyGB is far too early - no chance of any 'wintry weather'; really needs to be end of Nov/ early December.

Last time we had anything approaching winter conditions I was sat in a cancelled double run of Hafren. Didn't go back for a couple of years after that.

In this day and age a snow/ice-hit Rally GB would be a farce so it's probably for the best.

[AndyRAC]

I too was in Hafren, but I thought it was to do with the ridiculous tyre regs that the stages were cancelled. The tyres were picked months beforehand - and couldn't be changed; plus there was the 'safety issues'.
It just seems as if everything that once made the event great & unique have gone. Saying that, I ordered my tickets the other day....

[Jack4688`]

If it ran in March wouldn't there be greater chance of wintry conditions?

[COD]

2004 GB was early (september) and the weather was just as cold, rainy and miserable as in november. Wales will never disapoint in that sense

[Grundo Farb]

That ending in Rally Australia is a joke. Typical Australian lobbying and positioning and selling "a gala dinner at the end in Sydney". Personally I think that is pretty arrogant, who cares about the dinner? The rally lacks personality, history, spectators, entries, interest fullstop. They manufacture stupid jumps on the stages for the 5 spectators who are there - it isn't a world rally event it is marketing and promotion.

This article from maxrally sums up the Australian approach:
http://www.maxrally.com/2015/10/31/i...rsus-australia

I hope the World Champions are known in all categories before the event and it is a flop with nobody there. It would serve their arrogance right.

[sollitt]

It would do nobody any good to have an event, any event, "flop".

There's a few inaccuracies in that article. Rally NZ was not originally the Motogard. It was originally the Shell Silver Fern and then the Heatway Rally and the Radio NZ Rally before Motogard took naming rights in '78 ... the year after Bacchelli won in the Fiat.

Those who would champion NZ over Australia need to remember that it was NZ who stepped away from the year about arrangement. You step out of the queue and take your chances at the next available opening.

[Grundo Farb]

It would do nobody any good to have an event, any event, "flop".

There's a few inaccuracies in that article. Rally NZ was not originally the Motogard. It was originally the Shell Silver Fern and then the Heatway Rally and the Radio NZ Rally before Motogard took naming rights in '78 ... the year after Bacchelli won in the Fiat.

Those who would champion NZ over Australia need to remember that it was NZ who stepped away from the year about arrangement. You step out of the queue and take your chances at the next available opening.

If it flopped people wouldn't go back, sounds good to me.

The inaccuracies don't actually make any difference to the article, there was a rally in NZ for 38 years, who cares what it was called?

And the year about arrangement was dumb. Trying to retain sponsors and a management organisation for every second year was a stupid idea that any normal person would re-negotiate - which they did. And who isn't to say the year about arrangement would have been honoured by the Australians?

My point (which you have missed) is they are making it into a "show" rather than a Motorsport event. Formula one here we come which I think isn't what the fans want and why they walk for 2 hours to find the best spot to watch in the middle of a field

[raybak]

We need both Rally NZ and Rally Aus in the WRC. I love the roads in NZ but also enjoy the Rally Oz roads. I think the big thing about getting into the calendar is how much power your FIA delegate has. Having a strong person as your nations FIA delegate can make a big difference.

On the idea of running Aus in November, I think I may have to have a special on cool suits (I run a racegear shop) Going to be hot, the smaller stature drivers may suffer as they can't retain as much fluids, the guys that are moonlighting at Dakar in January might have a better chance

Anyway I'll be there next year competing in something but that's for another thread.

Ray

[AndyRAC]

That ending in Rally Australia is a joke. Typical Australian lobbying and positioning and selling "a gala dinner at the end in Sydney". Personally I think that is pretty arrogant, who cares about the dinner? The rally lacks personality, history, spectators, entries, interest fullstop. They manufacture stupid jumps on the stages for the 5 spectators who are there - it isn't a world rally event it is marketing and promotion.

This article from maxrally sums up the Australian approach:
http://www.maxrally.com/2015/10/31/i...rsus-australia

I hope the World Champions are known in all categories before the event and it is a flop with nobody there. It would serve their arrogance right.

That is a good article. Motorsport in Australia is all about the V8 Supercars. There was a V8 race the same weekend as the Rally; guess which got all the coverage??
The event in Perth was fantastic, with the unique ball bearing surface. Coffs Harbour is another gravel event.......

[raybak]

That is a good article. Motorsport in Australia is all about the V8 Supercars. There was a V8 race the same weekend as the Rally; guess which got all the coverage??
The event in Perth was fantastic, with the unique ball bearing surface. Coffs Harbour is another gravel event.......

No V8 clashes for 2016. This has been a pet hate of mine for years. They try to say that it's different fans, it's not!!! Some of the series organisers in Australia live in their own fantasy land.