WRC - What Is Wrong With It?
Discussion
My feeling is that car cars are still great to watch but the TV programmes are not showing enough action.
AND maybe if they brought back the old World of Sport type of coverage with great music it would help. Do you remember when they used to have the cars zooming by with some rock track playing at full blast?
Anyway, the whole WRC image needs a change and it's also time for Matt Wilson to start getting podiums.
AND maybe if they brought back the old World of Sport type of coverage with great music it would help. Do you remember when they used to have the cars zooming by with some rock track playing at full blast?
Anyway, the whole WRC image needs a change and it's also time for Matt Wilson to start getting podiums.
Simple; it's not rallying.
My main gripe is that the stages are over-recced so the drivers know exactly where they're going (which isn't rallying), and that means they can drive much more neatly which isn't interesting to watch. Additionally the cars aren't especially exciting, the rallies are too short, there are no/few night stages, there are no real heroes left in the sport.
The TV coverage is s
t which doesn't help matters, either. Frankly I couldn't give a toss about watching cars go over jumps or through water splashes (which are the things that seem to make up 99% of the coverage), I want to watch committed high-speed driving.
I love rallying, but I couldn't care less about the WRC.
My main gripe is that the stages are over-recced so the drivers know exactly where they're going (which isn't rallying), and that means they can drive much more neatly which isn't interesting to watch. Additionally the cars aren't especially exciting, the rallies are too short, there are no/few night stages, there are no real heroes left in the sport.
The TV coverage is s
t which doesn't help matters, either. Frankly I couldn't give a toss about watching cars go over jumps or through water splashes (which are the things that seem to make up 99% of the coverage), I want to watch committed high-speed driving.I love rallying, but I couldn't care less about the WRC.
Gun said:
And the fact it's only on Dave doesn't help, more manufacturers wouldn't go amiss either.
It's still on Eurosport ever day during a rally weekend too.Seb is going to get bored winning and move onto circuit racing, then we can watch those currently lower down the field fight for a win.
german tony said:
I suspect that the sight of Seb winning everything at a canter is getting boring.
He's brilliant to the point where his domination has become boring. His driving style (smooth neat and tidy) isn't great viewing compared to McRae / Galli flamboyance.
Seb isn't exactly a great speaker either.
The current presenter comes across as a complete gimp too.
mat205125 said:
german tony said:
I suspect that the sight of Seb winning everything at a canter is getting boring.
He's brilliant to the point where his domination has become boring. His driving style (smooth neat and tidy) isn't great viewing compared to McRae / Galli flamboyance.
Seb isn't exactly a great speaker either.
The current presenter comes across as a complete gimp too.
I agree about that muppet who presents for "Dave" though. Was he James Allen's apprentice ?
It's the chicken and egg thing. Without TV coverage the money isn't there from fees and sponsors and without lots of manufacturers and investment, the TV coveage isn't there.
It's a difficult thing to cover on TV as well. There is limited enjoyment of in-car footage of a rear view mirror on a moving background. And a townwie saying this I know, but every bit of Welsh forest looks like any other bit of Welsh forest. They say it's Sweet Lamb but it could be Scotland, Belgium or Blackheath for all we know.
And who but a complete idiot is going to get up at 4am on a freezing cold morning from a B&B in the middle of nowhere, where the central heating isn't on, to trapse over god-forsaken bogs and moors to watch cars going past for 20 seconds before driving off through mud and other rubbish to park up in what is called a car park by the organisers but a mud bath by everyone else, to find you've missed the first 20 cars through that stage? You've got to be mad.
I still cherish the memory of the warm welcome - at least compared to the force 8 breeze coming off the Urals - extended to us by the locals in that grotty little village when they told us the bar was closed and then carried on serving. Their laughter as we left warmed our drive to somewhere with nice people.
Rallying seems a poor shadow of what it used to be. It's great as a club event but I can't seem to get enthusiastic about the WRC any more.
It's a difficult thing to cover on TV as well. There is limited enjoyment of in-car footage of a rear view mirror on a moving background. And a townwie saying this I know, but every bit of Welsh forest looks like any other bit of Welsh forest. They say it's Sweet Lamb but it could be Scotland, Belgium or Blackheath for all we know.
And who but a complete idiot is going to get up at 4am on a freezing cold morning from a B&B in the middle of nowhere, where the central heating isn't on, to trapse over god-forsaken bogs and moors to watch cars going past for 20 seconds before driving off through mud and other rubbish to park up in what is called a car park by the organisers but a mud bath by everyone else, to find you've missed the first 20 cars through that stage? You've got to be mad.
I still cherish the memory of the warm welcome - at least compared to the force 8 breeze coming off the Urals - extended to us by the locals in that grotty little village when they told us the bar was closed and then carried on serving. Their laughter as we left warmed our drive to somewhere with nice people.
Rallying seems a poor shadow of what it used to be. It's great as a club event but I can't seem to get enthusiastic about the WRC any more.
Edited by Derek Smith on Sunday 19th October 22:06
1. Not enough drivers on the same level which can fight.
2. Not enough manufacturers (due to lack of publicity / non-PC image of rallying) (this contributes to point 1).
3. Cars not interesting to watch.
3. Rallies too short and use repeated stages.
Maybe we could have live video feeds from the cars, with some live data (like halfway through this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KD3yTIXikG4 ) coming from them, plus live split times (e.g. every 15 seconds - not accurate ones so maybe do it with GPS?), and some indication (ghost image maybe or +/- time) showing how the driver is doing compared with the ones that went before.
Basically a more integrated virtual spectator type of thing.
2. Not enough manufacturers (due to lack of publicity / non-PC image of rallying) (this contributes to point 1).
3. Cars not interesting to watch.
3. Rallies too short and use repeated stages.
Derek Smith said:
It's a difficult thing to cover on TV as well. There is limited enjoyment of in-car footage of a rear view mirror on a moving background. And a townwie saying this I know, but every bit of Welsh forest looks like any other bit of Welsh forest. They say it's Sweet Lamb but it could be Scotland, Belgium or Blackheath for all we know.
True (but in-car footage now usually comes from roof cams which is better)Maybe we could have live video feeds from the cars, with some live data (like halfway through this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KD3yTIXikG4 ) coming from them, plus live split times (e.g. every 15 seconds - not accurate ones so maybe do it with GPS?), and some indication (ghost image maybe or +/- time) showing how the driver is doing compared with the ones that went before.
Basically a more integrated virtual spectator type of thing.
Also, they should show coverage of the front running privateers, as some are just as good to watch as the works drivers. Some interesting private cars out there, they just don't get enough coverage. Although saying that, all they seem to show these days is the top three cars, sometimes you can go a whole show without seeing any of the 5th/6th placed drivers! A bit of variation needed IMO.
RT106 said:
My main gripe is that the stages are over-recced so the drivers know exactly where they're going (which isn't rallying), and that means they can drive much more neatly which isn't interesting to watch. Additionally the cars aren't especially exciting, the rallies are too short, there are no/few night stages, there are no real heroes left in the sport.
This.Rallies got far too compact around a single service area, too many repeated stages which are just dull.
And while the SuperRally rules keep the number of drivers up on later days, it takes away a lot of the interesting "get it back to service" stories. Burns desperately trying to get his car going on the Safari rally? Cars limping home on 3 wheels? These days they just wait to be picked up and keep going tomorrow with a time penalty.
I used to watch avidly and attend.
But over the last couple of years my interest has dropped off and I virtually never watch.
Is it because there are no "stars" anymore?
Maybe the TV coverage has something to do with it?
I don't know, but it certainly doesn't have the interest that it did some 10 years ago.
But over the last couple of years my interest has dropped off and I virtually never watch.
Is it because there are no "stars" anymore?
Maybe the TV coverage has something to do with it?
I don't know, but it certainly doesn't have the interest that it did some 10 years ago.
kevin ritson said:
Not a lot to add that hasn't been said above. I just find it ironic that in making the sport more TV-friendly in search of a wider fanbase, they seem to have pretty much alienated the core support. F1 take note...
+1An more bizarrely, TV created Rallycross as a TV motorsport after the cancelled '67 RAC, and then pretty much dropped it in favour of rallying after the FIA butchered it about and changed the sport out of all recognition, partly to create a TV motorsport which it had already had but wasn't interested in.....
Result.....both rallying and rallycross have become effectively dead ducks.....
Rallying desperately needs to get back to what it should be, an endurance/navigation oreintated motorsport that can attract manufacturers, and get back to promoting rallycross as a TV and spectator motorsport that can also attract manufacturers.
It ain't rocket science.....unless you are the FIA of course.
kevin ritson said:
Not a lot to add that hasn't been said above. I just find it ironic that in making the sport more TV-friendly in search of a wider fanbase, they seem to have pretty much alienated the core support. F1 take note...
I dunno, I went to two rallies in the last 12 months (GB and Sweden) and there were quite a few people out there watching it. Granted I'm not old enough to know the 'glory' days of '70s rallying but I would say from the spectators I saw that it's still well supported. Perhaps they are mostly once-a-year rally spectators but then a lot of sport attendees are when it comes to top level sports that attend their city or country just once a year.RT106 said:
Simple; it's not rallying.
My main gripe is that the stages are over-recced so the drivers know exactly where they're going (which isn't rallying), and that means they can drive much more neatly which isn't interesting to watch. Additionally the cars aren't especially exciting, the rallies are too short, there are no/few night stages, there are no real heroes left in the sport.
The TV coverage is st which doesn't help matters, either. Frankly I couldn't give a toss about watching cars go over jumps or through water splashes (which are the things that seem to make up 99% of the coverage), I want to watch committed high-speed driving.
I love rallying, but I couldn't care less about the WRC.
I'd agree with all of that. I used to love watching rallying, now I just find it a bit boring. There aren't enough manufacturers in it either. I loved group B's of course but if they are going to limit the power etc, why not make the cars alot more group N style or more like mid-late 90's subaru/focus/lancer, that would get more manufacturers involved. My main gripe is that the stages are over-recced so the drivers know exactly where they're going (which isn't rallying), and that means they can drive much more neatly which isn't interesting to watch. Additionally the cars aren't especially exciting, the rallies are too short, there are no/few night stages, there are no real heroes left in the sport.
The TV coverage is s
t which doesn't help matters, either. Frankly I couldn't give a toss about watching cars go over jumps or through water splashes (which are the things that seem to make up 99% of the coverage), I want to watch committed high-speed driving.I love rallying, but I couldn't care less about the WRC.
Thats essentially the same problem with BTCC, with early 90's cars, you could go and buy something which didn't look too far removed from the showroom model - Volvo T5, 3 series and Cavalier good examples. You can't buy a vectra with massive spoilers and side skirts so it doesn't relate to what companies are marketing therefore less manufacturers racing. It also means the cars stick to the track alot more etc etc etc
Edited by TimmyArt on Monday 20th October 11:34
aeropilot said:
kevin ritson said:
Not a lot to add that hasn't been said above. I just find it ironic that in making the sport more TV-friendly in search of a wider fanbase, they seem to have pretty much alienated the core support. F1 take note...
+1An more bizarrely, TV created Rallycross as a TV motorsport after the cancelled '67 RAC, and then pretty much dropped it in favour of rallying after the FIA butchered it about and changed the sport out of all recognition, partly to create a TV motorsport which it had already had but wasn't interested in.....
Result.....both rallying and rallycross have become effectively dead ducks.....
Rallying desperately needs to get back to what it should be, an endurance/navigation oreintated motorsport that can attract manufacturers, and get back to promoting rallycross as a TV and spectator motorsport that can also attract manufacturers.
It ain't rocket science.....unless you are the FIA of course.
Gassing Station | General Motorsport | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff