How to make ERC a real stepping stone?

[Mirek]

In 2016 ERC stand the chance of becoming as it used to be - not important.

British Rally Championship is taking in 4wd again, and has many of the elements that has been mentioned here as success factors.

~ Concentrated events. All on the Island
~ Nice rallies on two surfaces
~ Guess it will TV coverage
~ Free tyre choice (sponsor)
~ possibility to rent cars from local firms, less expences in logistics

Is ERC that different?

All events of European championship are concentrated in Europe
Nice events on three surfaces
Some TV coverage
Free tyre choice
Possibility to rent cars from local firms

So all those points apply for ERC too.

What can be done with ERC to stay out of the walley of shadows?

If You want to bring back the golden IRC years You need to bring back manufacturers. Škoda dominance which led Peugeot to outsource their campaign through "private team" further led to the situation when there is no official manufacturer team at all. Only manufacturer teams bring the attention of the crowds. We can only hope that Hyundai or Opel will decide to win ERC. IF they do others will follow.

Logically ERC should be a logical tier 2 series, in the part of the world with most money and drivers.

And it is the tier 2 series. As such it shall concentrate on promoting the JERC (and it rightly does so).

But if WRC2/3 can buy you a better product for aprox same sum of money, and BRC attacks from below - your playing ground becomes narrow.

WRC2 is a lot more expensive than ERC. Its main advantage is that it is World Championship. The name means a lot plus if You want to drive WRC one day You need to get experience on WRC stages. You may be a God of ERC but You still need two or three seasons in WRC to get in. The way to WRC through ERC is simply too long.

So does ERC stand a chance as is, or at all?

A chance against what? ERC is no competition for WRC just as FIFA Euro is no competition to FIFA World Cup. It can become a competition to WRC only if the WRC is completely fucked up. That was nicely illustrated by those several years when WRC was down and IRC up. Once WRC got to the better shape IRC went down.