Quote Originally Posted by Sal the 2nd View Post
I worry for the future of the GB rally if this proposal is to go ahead. As has already been said the event has received a lot of money from the Welsh authorities as they have seen this as a flagship event to bring in tourist spend. Northern Ireland maybe a go-er as I know Bobby Willis was looking as getting the COI back in the ERC and that is basically a NI based rally. Elsewhere I'm not so sure. There was plenty of money around in Yorkshire a few years back and a ERC counter based in the county was on the blocks but fell through ironically the same promoter was involved in that deal! The money then went cycling's way and we had Le Grand Depart and now the Tour De Yorkshire however the local tourism body is in a state of flux as its Chief Exec had to leave recently under a cloud. Also there are very few of the traditional forests that the old RAC Rally used to use left for access as there is far more recreational use now and there are only a couple of allocations each year. Maybe a tie-up with the North East to use Keilder etc may work? Scotland had a bit of a failed attempt back in the IRC days but that event only got a few entries so not so sure the appetite for another try will be there.

We do need the event to get more National press coverage etc however so feel a move will be a good thing its just needs a big headline sponsor as too many salaries in the promotion/organisational team to pay otherwise.
The original plan of IMS was for Scotland (with the perthshire/trossachs stages) to take over from Wales in 2015, which was struggling badly at the time Scotland got the initial IRC contract.

But IMS fucked that event so badly despite the quality stages, by not getting the British rally championship on board or even the Scottish rally championship. So the event lacked entries basically every year and couldn't gain the momentum it deserved. It was fucked before it even began.

Wales also took on a new lease of life with the move to the north of the country and has grown a lot again with the new cars being introduced, and an exciting new championship. But I still feel Rally GB needs a new lease of life.

However without major sponsors it's simply not feasible. Visit Scotland put a lot of money into the IRC rally but it still wasn't enough without another major sponsor and more interest. If there is potential for something to happen in NI or Scotland it would be nice if IMS didn't tie events arms behind their back from the get go, unless they want more failure. I already fear for Wales this year with the service park being moved from Deeside which has easy access from huge population centres like Liverpool, Manchester etc. Instead it'll be crammed into a small seaside town on the north east tip of Wales. Smells of potential chaos but I hope I'm wrong.

I think Rally GB does need a change up and re located but I don't trust IMS to manage it properly at all - even if they did get a major sponsor on board. Once the event falls off the WRC calendar it won't come back for a long, long time - despite any promises or PR bullshit the organisers come out with. It's so important it remains for the rallying scene in the UK.