RE: Subaru Quits WRC

[jcwuk]

Ford and Citroen are to follow next according to Sky.

[CooperS]

So whats Subaru's identity now?

Fast hatch backs with rugged estates... i cant see how this is a good thing.

Saying that tv coverage of the WRC and BTCC is nearly non existent and what coverage they do get is at silly hours of the day.

What is going to happen to these sports and more importantly the tech development..

[vz-r_dave]

So is this the end of WRC then?

Everyone tends to overlook WTCC as well that has a field of BMW and Seat.

An end to performance cars as we know it, next thing we will here is that Audi are pulling out of the ALMS and the big race its self pfff

[mainaman]

Sad day,but i don't think that there is MUCH room for cost-cutting measures in WRC.While very expensive(300k?),the cars are not very high-tech(seam-welded original steel bodyshell!) and cost-no-object by motorsport standards,the gap between the road-going STI and the racer is not huge.A far-cry from the mad days of Group B...

[mainaman]

vz-r_dave said:

So is this the end of WRC then?

Everyone tends to overlook WTCC as well that has a field of BMW and Seat.

An end to performance cars as we know it, next thing we will here is that Audi are pulling out of the ALMS and the big race its self pfff

Actually Audi did pull out of ALMS

[456lbft]

bencollins said:

rob e said:

can't see why ford and citroen will bother now.

but there will always be the desire for a wrc - perhaps the sport will go back to its roots

agree!
lots of works teams is interesting, just a few is poor really.
They havent really addressed the gap between rally cars and road equivalents (except subaru). Privateers can be more fun, especially if cars end up more like their road cousins (or brothers even).
Endless power* doesnt make good drivers or sport, maybe fuel economy regs are introduced to add into the tech challenge mix.

• yes group b was ace but times have changed.

Rallying ought to provide a perfect opportunity for hybrids. Electric only mandatory for road sections and internal combustion for the forests. Only trouble is that the only people with the money to develop new cars have got to dramatically cut back all expenditure in line with lower sales volume worldwide.

[f111lover]

Oh hell, that's the big one gone. I'll not be watching any WRC any more. Damn shame.

[Crow555]

I said this yesterday in the Susuki thread. Those who didn't mourn their passing would miss the likes of Suburu now I bet.

A very grim day and a death knell for the sport as we know it.

[Turbobanana]

Lax Power said:

Hopefully this will spell the end for the WRC as we know it.

Goodbye to the days of spectators squashed into tiny areas 200 yards from the actual stage, £20 per person to go into public forest and 3 stages per leg in daylight because you can't see the sponsorship at night.

Fingers crossed this will bring less expensive cars (RWD) which are more spectacular to watch and sound far better (no turbos).

Dare I say it, we may even see the cars driving on stages covered with ice even if they haven't had 6months to test on it first!

Well said that man. I haven't been to the forests since the days when the Lombard RAC Rally was actually a UK-wide event, not just a few square miles in South Wales. A return to basics, if managed correctly, could be the breath of fresh air worldwide motorsport needs.

[Yoshiwaan]

Eh, Honda from F1, Suzuki from WRC and now this. The Japanese seem to be expecting the worst (even worse than now, I guess).

I suppose the problem with keeping up these days is the cost of always upgrading even if you have the latest technology. A few extra restrictions in the sport could have it back to basics. Slower cars, but just as fun to watch (maybe even more so!). I think that's what a lot of people would like anyway.

[Fox-]

Are we forgetting that Citroen and Peugeot both did the same a few years ago when there was no 'global economic crisis', the media driven excuse for everything?

[dele]

Its a sad turn of events

But as said above, im also quite excited to see if WRC goes back to being more 'hardcore'


Fingers crossed for a happy ending to all these companies and even us, the general public soon tho

[jamesson]

456lbft said:

Rallying ought to provide a perfect opportunity for hybrids. Electric only mandatory for road sections and internal combustion for the forests.

What would be the point of that?

[gatekiller]

Yoshiwaan said:

Eh, Honda from F1, Suzuki from WRC and now this. The Japanese seem to be expecting the worst (even worse than now, I guess).

I suppose the problem with keeping up these days is the cost of always upgrading even if you have the latest technology. A few extra restrictions in the sport could have it back to basics. Slower cars, but just as fun to watch (maybe even more so!). I think that's what a lot of people would like anyway.

Quite Right! Japanese car manufactures are all big corporation who only worry about money. "If it's not making money, get rid of it" attitude.

European and American manufacturers have their racing roots in history long before the Jap market entered.

[R5GTTGaz]

dele said:

Its a sad turn of events

But I'm also quite excited to see if WRC goes back to being more 'hardcore'

Group B nutter cars please

[vz-r_dave]

mainaman said:

vz-r_dave said:

So is this the end of WRC then?

Everyone tends to overlook WTCC as well that has a field of BMW and Seat.

An end to performance cars as we know it, next thing we will here is that Audi are pulling out of the ALMS and the big race its self pfff

Actually Audi did pull out of ALMS

Exactly although I dont care too much for oil burners cheating there way to first place all the time.

[Joscyn]

Great Smashing Super. Brilliant that Motorsport is goin down the tubes.
There was a time when Motorsport was honest.
Now its all bks, boring + ruled by money.
No one does it for love any more same as football.
The Global economic collapse will be the best thing to happen to sport in years.
F1 is a joke.
BTCC is a joke.
WRC is a joke.
The only honesty was Subaru was the only vehicle that represented road goin cars.
The rest are just a joke.
Ford or Citroen dont make 4x4's.
Motorsport will only get my support again when the cars are honest.
seperate classes for front or rearwheel drive with minimal mods.
Some may not agree but motorsport needs to go back to basics.
They wont govern themselves so the fat cats will do it for them.

[bromers2]

Ironic isn't it - when things are going t*ts up you really should be spending more money on marketing not withdrawing it.

[Frimley111R]

I don't really understand, particularly with Honda in F1, why they pull out as the budgets they have are a tiny part of the global budget for everything they do.

[rubystone]

rockystarr said:

Phil Dicky said:

Thats a massive blow to the sport, its looking grim for alot of motorsports now, how long before BTCC start loosing teams?

Bad I know, but the BTCC have a couple of new teams for next season, one of which is a Ford

That's a privateer team - Ford have made it clear no backing from them