New R4 Car - Think Tank

[Mirek]

Second hand N4 is unable to challenge the R5. If You compare with R5 You must compare option with similar performance. Several years a go a used Punto S2000 cost 1/4 of new Fabia S2000 and actually less than a good N4 car. Still nobody was buying the Puntos but everybody was going to spend more for a competitive package. It doesn't matter that much if You spend 230 or 180 thousand Euro. Both is a lot of money and You think twice before You throw them out of the window. It's a sport tool and as such the primary thing is performance. If You buy the car just for fun, ok, but how many of rally drivers have no ambitions?

Maybe the Maxi rally cars can be competitive against R5 (although I doubt that). Still why not to buy second-hand Fiesta R5 for the same price instead? Maybe it's more expensive to run but You can take part in international events with it, You have a proper comparison with international drivers, You have a kind of performance and service guarantee and one day You can sell it to anywhere.

I understand the reasoning with giving an option to take part to the importer teams which have no homologated cars of their make. I'm not sure such motivation will work though. Maybe it's different in Spain but here the dealers are not particularly interested in rallying if they are not driven in it by the manufacturer itself.

Anyway I agree that the current homologation system is far from being ideal. I would also welcome more freedom to build own cars but it shall be taken as a systematic approach by FIA. Playing on own national sandpit has never helped the sport in global.