Wrc Rally China 2016

**Toyoda** · 13th August 2016, 12:56

Originally Posted by Mintexmemory

Personally I hope it doesn't take place as I have a really bad foreboding about parachuting a WRC event into a country without the necessary acquired experience to safely run it...and yes I now it has run once before.
Marketing Citroens and Hyundais may seem like motivation enough for the FIA but the sport needs NZ (or even Turkey, Greece or Jordan) if there is a genuine gap in the calendar!

If you have been to China it is VW that dominates their markets. Its rumored NZ 2018 in Tauranga is a tentative go.

**WUff1** · 14th August 2016, 09:41

Stages are shortened from 313 km to 250 km (similar like ERC-distance):

http://www.rallye-magazin.de/wm/nach...leme-in-china/

**AndyRAC** · 14th August 2016, 12:14

Originally Posted by Mintexmemory

Personally I hope it doesn't take place as I have a really bad foreboding about parachuting a WRC event into a country without the necessary acquired experience to safely run it...and yes I now it has run once before.
Marketing Citroens and Hyundais may seem like motivation enough for the FIA but the sport needs NZ (or even Turkey, Greece or Jordan) if there is a genuine gap in the calendar!

Sums up everything wrong with the WRC, and modern motorsport.

NZ has the best gravel roads in the world - and should be in the WRC! So, it is the other side of the world, and a small population. So what? Will they drop Finland because it's only about 5million population?
Yet, they're desperate to go to China, the other side of the world - for what now seems like 250km of stages (156 miles). You couldn't make it up...

**GigiGalliNo1** · 14th August 2016, 16:51

Selling cars and making money is what the WRC needs to do. And China is that market.

If you think about it, in Australia VW sells but no one gives a crap about Rally... Citroen/Skoda sell in small numbers... Fiesta's are hair dressers cars too the i20 and Polo...

Guys here buy a Golf R or better. Polo GTI yes.

i20 not.

NZ has a big grey import market but the car companies support the rally series in NZ. Check the NZ series and you'll see car companies sponsor the events and have heard they want the WRC back too!

So China is a key market and if M-Sport want to see cars there, rally wise; they will.

**CWJ** · 14th August 2016, 19:13

Originally Posted by Mintexmemory

Personally I hope it doesn't take place

Personally I hope it will take place since I booked my flights and hotels fix

**Mintexmemory** · 14th August 2016, 22:43

Originally Posted by Toyoda

If you have been to China it is VW that dominates their markets. Its rumored NZ 2018 in Tauranga is a tentative go.

I was just throwing up names - doesn't matter whose marketing benefits, the point is there is no good sporting reason to go to China.

**Mintexmemory** · 14th August 2016, 22:47

Originally Posted by CWJ

Personally I hope it will take place since I booked my flights and hotels fix

Hope your movements aren't unnecessarily restricted for following the event. Good luck. Out of interest, have you been to the People's Democratic Republic before?

**AndyRAC** · 14th August 2016, 23:04

Originally Posted by Mintexmemory

I was just throwing up names - doesn't matter whose marketing benefits, the point is there is no good sporting reason to go to China.

Which should be the No1 reason to go. All the other reasons are a bonus. Something I remember Mark James saying in the Absolute Rally podcast before Christmas; they have their priorities all wrong.

**GigiGalliNo1** · 15th August 2016, 11:29

We'll be able to move freely in China, easy. As they did doing the media guide. No problems at all.

**Mirek** · 15th August 2016, 11:37

Originally Posted by AndyRAC

Which should be the No1 reason to go. All the other reasons are a bonus. Something I remember Mark James saying in the Absolute Rally podcast before Christmas; they have their priorities all wrong.

The first and foremost reason for manufacturers to even take part in WRC is marketing. Simply it's like that even though we may not like it.