2022 Rallying Thread (WRC, ERC and national rally)

2022 Rallying Thread (WRC, ERC and national rally)

Author
Discussion

Jon_S_Rally

Original Poster:

3,400 posts

88 months

Monday 3rd January 2022
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Less than three weeks until Monte Carlo, so seems like a good time to get this going...

Any predictions anyone?

Toyota look tough to beat I reckon. While Ogier has said he won't do the full season, if he wins in Monte, I wonder if he'll be tempted to go for number nine.

I'm still unconvinced by the new cars, but we'll see.

ArnageWRC

2,063 posts

159 months

Monday 3rd January 2022
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Toyota have the strongest driver line up; as for the cars, who actually knows? There's no circuit style pre season testing with lap times so we can gauge who looks good, or not. And the Monte won't be a good indicator, as it's such a specialised event.

Reliability is bound to be an issue with the new hybrids, and how they're deployed......

And I'm not a fan of silhouette/prototype type of new Rally1 cars; going away from a production base is a mistake - but as we've seen many times, the WRC constantly makes mistakes, and never learns.

LukeBrown66

4,479 posts

46 months

Monday 3rd January 2022
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I like the look of them, they sound better too more anti lag etc, but it has been this way in WRC for decades we have the same argument every year about what can be done.

For me I maintain R5 is the way forward, an R5+ for the factory teams, you could probably have 50-100 cars in some European events if they rallied i the right places, which is another thing..

For me a clever promoter would quickly move away from manufacturers NOW, as they are only going to want to go electric very soon, and yto keep your series interesting you need to move away from that or let it die, would anyone here go to Scotland or Wales to watch electric rally cars? I know I wouldn't

Skylinecrazy

13,986 posts

194 months

Monday 3rd January 2022
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I predict that in 2022 the same people will moan about the same things over and over again. Just try and enjoy it rather than going on and on about the same thing...

fttm

3,678 posts

135 months

Monday 3rd January 2022
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Grizedale Stages cancelled , still problems after storm Arwen plus half the entry pulled out after the previous date change .

LukeBrown66

4,479 posts

46 months

Monday 3rd January 2022
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I also will add that the same people will just moan about posters instead of adding anything interesting to the conversation lol It's a forum, are we all just supposed to add posts saying "I agree"

andy97

4,702 posts

222 months

Monday 3rd January 2022
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It would be good if we could have a separate rallying section to the forum with separate sub sections for WRC, British championship, National/ club rallying, Targa and road rallying perhaps.

Dynion Araf Uchaf

4,447 posts

223 months

Tuesday 4th January 2022
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andy97 said:
It would be good if we could have a separate rallying section to the forum with separate sub sections for WRC, British championship, National/ club rallying, Targa and road rallying perhaps.
there isn't enough interest. Even the BRF struggles to fill its sub forums.

ArnageWRC

2,063 posts

159 months

Tuesday 4th January 2022
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I'm afraid that's the truth. One F1 Grand Prix will usually garner more interest than the whole Rallying section......

andy97

4,702 posts

222 months

Tuesday 4th January 2022
quotequote all
Dynion Araf Uchaf said:
andy97 said:
It would be good if we could have a separate rallying section to the forum with separate sub sections for WRC, British championship, National/ club rallying, Targa and road rallying perhaps.
there isn't enough interest. Even the BRF struggles to fill its sub forums.
But the “rally log in and natter” fb page is quite busy, as are the HRCR, and some others fb pages too.
The 2021 version of this thread was quite busy with comments on WRC, BRC and national rallies. Crikey we have separate sub- forums on Ginetta and TVR racing so why not separate sub forums for WRC, BRC and National/ club rallying?

DelicaL400

516 posts

111 months

Tuesday 4th January 2022
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Those pages are busy as they're full of rally folk whereas Pistonheads has around 10-20 people are interested in rallying. Perhaps it was slightly more when Rally GB existed. Without wishing to upset Skylinecrazy most people just aren't interested in rallying now. Even BRF is pretty much dead now.

For the WRC I hope M-Sport get some wins and I hope someone not called Seb wins the title.

For the BRC I've no idea who is doing it.

For national rallying my only hope is that forest events are able to continue. 50ish entries for Grizedale, meaning it's not financially viable to run, isn't a good start though! It's a tough time to be an event organiser.


Skylinecrazy

13,986 posts

194 months

Tuesday 4th January 2022
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You’re not upsetting me in the slightest, I’ve acknowledged many times that rallying in this country isn’t as popular as it maybe could be. (although most club events are selling out...) It is however very strong in mainland Europe.

Elfyn to win the title for me, as he is in the Ogier mold of driver and only pushes when comfortable, picks up points at 95% of events whereas Neuville and co are too gung-ho for a championship.
Only other person I can see pushing Evans for the title is Kallè, but I think it’s a year too soon.
Craig Breen to finish third, and can see him getting a few podiums this year but inexperience over a full season will be his downfall!

Formaux to be the big disappointment of the year, and will turn into another Lefebvre/Camilli/Bouffier clone.


Skylinecrazy

13,986 posts

194 months

Tuesday 4th January 2022
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https://dirtfish.com/rally/podcast-the-vision-for-...

Interview with the new El Presidentè.

Jon_S_Rally

Original Poster:

3,400 posts

88 months

Wednesday 5th January 2022
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fttm said:
Grizedale Stages cancelled , still problems after storm Arwen plus half the entry pulled out after the previous date change .
A shame to see this, but I thought the statement from the organisers was a bit unprofessional. I understand that they're frustrated, but it felt like they were having a few digs at competitors. The unpredictably of covid has made it difficult for them to run the event, but it can also make it difficult for competitors to commit when they don't know what's going on. All felt a bit ill-tempered and unnecessary.

thepawbroon

1,152 posts

184 months

Wednesday 5th January 2022
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Jon_S_Rally said:
A shame to see this, but I thought the statement from the organisers was a bit unprofessional. I understand that they're frustrated, but it felt like they were having a few digs at competitors. The unpredictably of covid has made it difficult for them to run the event, but it can also make it difficult for competitors to commit when they don't know what's going on. All felt a bit ill-tempered and unnecessary.
Agreed - a shining recommendation for having a professional (or skilled amateur) PR person on the org team. Or at least someone with a modicum of humility. It's not the competitors' fault that the organisers committed to irretrievable losses. Sad times.

Jon_S_Rally

Original Poster:

3,400 posts

88 months

Wednesday 5th January 2022
quotequote all
Skylinecrazy said:
https://dirtfish.com/rally/podcast-the-vision-for-...

Interview with the new El Presidentè.
Speaks a lot of sense. Whether he can make any of it happen is something different though.

ArnageWRC

2,063 posts

159 months

Thursday 6th January 2022
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https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/wrc-needs-superstar...

More from the President; WRC needs recognisable superstars.......

Dynion Araf Uchaf

4,447 posts

223 months

Thursday 6th January 2022
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ArnageWRC said:
https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/wrc-needs-superstar...

More from the President; WRC needs recognisable superstars.......
that's Elfyn fked then

TO73074E

409 posts

27 months

Friday 7th January 2022
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I think the problem with WRC these days is the lack of coverage compared to many other motorsport, not just F1. Going way back I think that interest dropped hugely following the cancellation of Group B and then into the Group A era once stars like McRae, Makinen and Burns left and manufacturers started pulling out such as Subaru and Mitsubishi.

Once it had lost these big battles like the Impreza vs the Evo some of the spark was lost. Then you had the Loeb era where he just cleaned up, I think many people got bored of this. Rising costs for manufacturers leading to them leaving the sport in turn made it a less competitive series and has surely affected it's following.

For me it is still an elite motorsport and I think it is on its way back up in terms of popularity. The Rally1 class cars sound amazing and go well so hopefully there will be a bigger demand to see the new era.

Edited by TO73074E on Friday 7th January 15:55

ArnageWRC

2,063 posts

159 months

Friday 7th January 2022
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It's not lack of coverage exactly; as All Live provides live coverage (which is a bit hit & miss) of the whole season. It's behind a paywall, and the free to air highlights aren't particularly brilliant.