Rally Discussion and Bar Talk Thread

[AnttiL]

Enduro is also raced with mountain bikes, although in many cases they use ski lifts for the "liaisons" to climb up a mountain and then descend rapidly on "special stages". But it's another sport that uses the same principle as rallying.

[OHL]

Is there anything ""like"" the "wrc" but with motorcycles?

Dakar is maybe the most famous but there are a bunch of other rally raid / cross-country rally events like Silk Way Rally, Rallye du Maroc, Abu Dhabi, Baja, Andalucia Rally, etc.
There are generally a lot of bikes at these events and they have their own FIA or other governing body championships that are equivalent to the WRC.

They don't have a codriver if that is what you meant but they have to navigate, have liaison and competitive sections, lateness penalties, timed services, controls, etc. etc.
To me it is one of the most impressive motorsport disciplines when you consider all that they have to do, and do well, to be a champion.

[dimviii]

Sohlberg talks about Gus,Pajari and Mitsubishi days.Nice interview.


http://motorboxradio.com.ar/2021/05/...y-sami-pajari/

[lmmjvss]

Just checking the Number of followers on facebook and instagram (fb / insta)...
Dammn we are WAY behind NASCAR. I know this doenst mean anything but at the same time it does...

MotoGP 13mi / 10mi
F1 9,9mi / 13mi
NASCAR 5,1mi / 1,4mi
Supercross 3,3mi / 1,7mi
MXGP 3mi / 1mi
WRC 2,7mi / 1,6mi

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Other series (only on facebook), just for the sake of it:
Dakar Rally 2,2mi, ABB Formula E 1,5mi, NHRA 1,3mi, WorldSBK 1,3mi,
Stadium Super Trucks 1mi, FIA WTCR 978k, Supercars 943k, NTT INDYCAR SERIES 935k, American Flat Track 924k, Pro Motocross 708k, WorldRX 668k, DTM 656k, FIA WEC 336k, World of Outlaws 328k, FIA ERC 296k, FIM SpeedwayGP 253k, IMSA 249k.
Crazy how wec, dtm, imsa are so small on these numbers.

[bomber21]

WRC promoter needs to hire a social media expert…

[focus206]

That means very little. NASCAR, just like any American series, heavily promotes their social medias pages, and Americans tend to use more social medias than Europeans on average. I bet that if we talk on a global level, rallying is much more known and followed than NASCAR, nevermind the "likes"... I don't even think I follow the WRC pages on any social media either. With that said, it's true WRC could increase their presence on medias...

[lmmjvss]

That means very little. NASCAR, just like any American series, heavily promotes their social medias pages, and Americans tend to use more social medias than Europeans on average. I bet that if we talk on a global level, rallying is much more known and followed than NASCAR, nevermind the "likes"... I don't even think I follow the WRC pages on any social media either. With that said, it's true WRC could increase their presence on medias...

True. Same here. I dont follow WRC to avoid spoilers also cuz I can only watch the races during the week when Im not working.

[lmmjvss]

In your opinion, which company should assume WRC as the promoter? I love that RedBull made it free and stuff but I really think WRC should reboot itself. Im not sure how... I know rally fans like to live in the past , want the old brands back (subaru-mitsubish FFS!!) want way more privateers and cool stories of "oh that guy entered his garage car and won monte carlo". We know that younger fans only pay attention to drama and short clips on youtube. We know that a racing series have to talk about what they are doing to "save the planet" (bio-fuels are a good thing. They should even present that to the european union as a solution, cuz Litium extraction sucks). New tech like Tweels (the "tire of the future??) or more carbontube parts. Idk if these things could help WRC to grow a little more but I really wish they were trying more. Maybe with a "younger promoter" like youthstream or monster energy? Idk.. Just thinking out loud about these things. I lost my job so I have more time to think about random sh*t haha

[AndyRAC]

In your opinion, which company should assume WRC as the promoter?

Ten years ago we had North One - and they weren't doing a great job. We all saw what a fantastic job Red Bull did with action sports, and people jumping to earth from space. Imagine if they got the WRC promoter job.
Well shortly afterwards they did, and we expected great things....... They've only done okay - C+ could do better!! Far too much of the coverage is behind a paywall - that's never going to get more people interested. But that is their business model......and maybe why we only have 3 manufacturers for the new regs next year. The sport isn't visible enough.

[focus206]

I know rally fans like to live in the past , want the old brands back (subaru-mitsubish FFS!!) want way more privateers

I want more brands, doesn't matter if old or new, 3 is the bare minimum, 2 is straight up depressing... Some privateers might fill a bit the gap left by the lack of manufacturers, but we don't have them either...

We know that younger fans only pay attention to drama and short clips on youtube.

I'm not sure... the live, free races I follow on YouTube have always plenty of views and many people in the chats, in relation to the importance of the championship. GT World Challenge races and 24 hours of Nurburgring always have a good amount of views, even if the races aren't promoted that much. Even "small" championships like TCR Europe always have decent views.
So I don't think young people aren't interest in longer products. If you look at the daily WRC higlights videos, you often see people complaining or being perplexed in the comments on why the highlights are so short. But if you put almost everything behind a pay wall, more people interested in the WRC will never arrive. In my opinion, a good start would be broadcasting at least a couple of stages per rally for free on YouTube, and make highlights videos longer than 1 minute. Locking everything behind a pay wall is like hiding yourself away from any possible newcomer.