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Thread: [WRC] News & Rumours 2019
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6th March 2019, 20:46 #1601
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6th March 2019, 21:28 #1602
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http://www.rallymadness.prv.pl - rally photos and movies!
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6th March 2019, 21:55 #1603
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6th March 2019, 22:21 #1604
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7th March 2019, 09:21 #1605
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I have followed rallying for over 35 years and one thing that is always a constant is that for factory teams most important things besides being successful are marketing and technology transfer. It has always been like this. Currently we are in a situation where 2 other major FIA series (F1 and WEC) have used electric power systems in some ways already for the last 10 years (WEC hybrids from 2008 and F1 first KERS in 2009 and later other systems as well). It must be getting more and more difficult for the manufacturers in WRC to justify the 100% fossil fuel based program's to their boards - especially if they are not even winning. On the other hand there would be very clear justification for electric/hybrid programs both in marketing (have to do what your competitors are doing) and in technology transfer (developing new technology in competition). Also, we have to notice that WRC is not the greatest advertising platform in the first place anymore, so the manu's have to already take this into account.
Then we have also fast growing Formula E with extremely strong manufacturer participation, it does not even matter if I or many others don't give a shit about FE - it is still clear that the manu's do, for the very reasons mentioned above.
Whether we like it or not there is a huge paradigm shift going on in car business, and motorsport as well. I sure as hell would like to see V12 engines back in F1 and WEC, and crazy fire breathing monsters in WRC. However, I also realize this is no longer possible for reasons far greater than a motorsport championship.
WRC will need to move on no matter how painful the change - or then choose the second road where there will no longer be direct manufacturer participation. Can a world-level championship be maintained without this - I let all the other great series that have fallen during the years after this happened be my answer. Look what happened to WRX factory teams when they made the sudden U-turn on electric cars....
There will be hybrid and later electric rally cars in WRC - the only question is whether this happen sooner or later. Currently as compared to many other series WRC is already late, I would bet on sooner.
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7th March 2019, 10:01 #1606
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It seems that manufacturers are actually the only people interested in Formula E. I have just had a look at Formula E fans forum and it is actually dead. There is just 1 post this year and last year there were 6 (six posts in the whole year!) and most of them say that this championship is boring as hell
Check it out yourself:
https://www.motorsportforums.com/for...p?42-Formula-E
P.S. That doesn't mean that I don't agree with your post.http://www.rallymadness.prv.pl - rally photos and movies!
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7th March 2019, 10:04 #1607
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@WRCRR Changes will come. But changes will not be without massive drops of interests from pure rally fans. Going some kind of hybrid like in current Formula One would be possible for a while I guess. And we´ll still have sound, but next step - going full electric will make the motorsport die a slow dead.
(Why doesn´t Formula One go full electric? I don´t follow discussions about F1 - what is the future about there?)"Reis vas pät pat kaar vas kut"
Tommi Mäkinen, back in the years...
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7th March 2019, 11:40 #1608
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I have no problem if WRC would become hybrid. It's a logical step and will not change much to the sound etc. The only have to make sure they limit the costs. It's already expensive enough...
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7th March 2019, 12:20 #1609
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Absolutely.
The question is: are they doing this for R&D, or for marketing?
Although pretty much everybody in all forms of motor racing talks about how it feeds back into car development, it seems most of them pay for it out of the marketing budget not the R&D budget.
I mean, come on. You can spend 30 million a year on a WRC programme and trumpet how rally Mexico improved your engine management at high altitudes. Or you can spend a million on testing a car in Mexico for a few months. If you do the former, it's marketing. But there are a few manufacturers who do look like they might honestly be in it for the R&D, at least partly, e.g. Toyota's hybrid program for WEC (Le Mans etc).
And when these clash... as you say, we get a crappy compromise.
We can only hope that nobody really cares about electrics, they all just want to be seen to be doing something. Then they can all have the same cheap standard hybrid unit to integrate, and it will keep the marketing side happy.
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7th March 2019, 12:25 #1610
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Yesterday Chris Ingram posted he was doing a shakedown of the Polo R5 so it seems he's continuing in that car for the Jim Clark. https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7OEfYKoYV1/?igsh=czZzYzB1dm9zeHd4 ...
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