RE: WRC post Loeb - what hope?
Discussion
As ever with the WRC/ Rally threads, some good discussion.
And has been said, there is some confused thoughts. "The cars are no longer relevant to what I can buy in the showrooms" "They need to be more like GpB..."
So, what do you want? The Manufacturers didn't want to build the Homologation specials, as they were too costly. Which brought in the WRC formula, in 1997. Since then we've had; Ford, Subaru, Mitsubishi, Toyota, Seat, Peugeot, Hyundai, Skoda, Citroen, Suzuki, Mini, and now VW......and apart from Subaru and Mitsubishi (possibly Mini), you couldn't buy what you see in the stages. And all have walked away, except Citroen, with VW joining next year, and Hyundai rejoining a year later. That's a lot of Manufacturers walking away - which suggests there is a problem with the sport.
Where are the diesels? The hybrids? etc Should the WRC leave the future technology to Sportscars, F1, etc Or should it try and be the greatest Motorsport show on snow, gravel & Tarmac? Cars with more power than grip, spectacle, etc I think RedBull might help with this side of the sport.
I still believe there is a big audience out there for the WRC, but they're not being engaged. Your 'hard-core' Rallyfan likes the current 1.6T WRCars, whereas, it seems as if the casual/ general Motorsport fan thinks they're 'rubbish shopping trolleys'. The recent RallyGB proved that there aren't enough of the 'hard-core' fans, and the casual fan needs attracting. So how do they do that? Sadly, the boss of RallyGB is deluded; he still thinks the event is one of the top sporting events in the country....what planet is he on?
And has been said, there is some confused thoughts. "The cars are no longer relevant to what I can buy in the showrooms" "They need to be more like GpB..."
So, what do you want? The Manufacturers didn't want to build the Homologation specials, as they were too costly. Which brought in the WRC formula, in 1997. Since then we've had; Ford, Subaru, Mitsubishi, Toyota, Seat, Peugeot, Hyundai, Skoda, Citroen, Suzuki, Mini, and now VW......and apart from Subaru and Mitsubishi (possibly Mini), you couldn't buy what you see in the stages. And all have walked away, except Citroen, with VW joining next year, and Hyundai rejoining a year later. That's a lot of Manufacturers walking away - which suggests there is a problem with the sport.
Where are the diesels? The hybrids? etc Should the WRC leave the future technology to Sportscars, F1, etc Or should it try and be the greatest Motorsport show on snow, gravel & Tarmac? Cars with more power than grip, spectacle, etc I think RedBull might help with this side of the sport.
I still believe there is a big audience out there for the WRC, but they're not being engaged. Your 'hard-core' Rallyfan likes the current 1.6T WRCars, whereas, it seems as if the casual/ general Motorsport fan thinks they're 'rubbish shopping trolleys'. The recent RallyGB proved that there aren't enough of the 'hard-core' fans, and the casual fan needs attracting. So how do they do that? Sadly, the boss of RallyGB is deluded; he still thinks the event is one of the top sporting events in the country....what planet is he on?
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