rallying; too many rule changes

[racing snake]

does anyone else think that the introduction of morning practice (mille pistes). shorter stages. fewer stages and WRC car rules (lighter panels etc). what we are going to be left with is RALLYCROSS.
i think it's a shame we lost an RAC route including visits to Wales, Cumbria, Scotland and Yorkshire including night stages.

[steviebee]

I don't confess to have a huge knowledge bank of Rallying but it does seem to me that it's been a case of "it wasn't broke but we fixed it anyway!"

I suspect that they are trying to make it more TV freindly which at the moment, as good as the coverage is, it's not!

[steviebee]

....while I'm on the subject....

I think it would broaden the appeal of Rallying if they ran more stages further south - East Anglia, Kent, Hampshire..etc

Think of the crowds you'd get at Epping Forest or on the South Downs.

[racing snake]

as i live in kent , i would have to agree. but unfortunately we don't have enough forest land to put on a large rally.the rally of kent is a far cry from rally gb

[Andy mac]

Hopefully Dave Richards will come up with a situation where coverage is a ot better than it has been for many years. It used to be great to watch as a spectator, but the televison coverage was more often than not a one corner thing, watching all the drivers pass it... very dull. What would be interesting is a F1 pay per view where you could pick which ar you went in, different veiws etc... that would make for fascinating viewing.

[The DJ 27]

The FIA is doing the same thing with Rallying that they did with Group C in the early nineties. They're killing the sport to try and get the manufacturers into F1. Think about it. General Motors, the world's largest car firm, is not in F1. It is, however, in world rallying, with Subaru. Ford's F1 budget would loook a lot healthier if they didn't rally as well. PSA (Peugeot and Citroen) withdrew from F1 a few years ago, but I have a feeling the FIA would like them to come back. Its a disgrace what is happening to the WRC. It wasn't broke. Why are they fixing it?

[The DJ 27]

The FIA is doing the same thing with Rallying that they did with Group C in the early nineties. They're killing the sport to try and get the manufacturers into F1. Think about it. General Motors, the world's largest car firm, is not in F1. It is, however, in world rallying, with Subaru. Ford's F1 budget would loook a lot healthier if they didn't rally as well. PSA (Peugeot and Citroen) withdrew from F1 a few years ago, but I have a feeling the FIA would like them to come back. Its a disgrace what is happening to the WRC. It wasn't broke. Why are they fixing it?

[Izza]

The worst thing is for the spectators. With fewer stages crammed in the afternoon, it makes it alot harder to see as many stages.
Last year I saw at least four stages a day at Rally NZ, roughly 14 for the weekend.
I worked out this year I was gonna see about 2 a day, so 8 for the weekend.
Funnily enough I didnt bother going.

Also this year they ran the Super Special stage 4 times! yaaa, I love looking thru binoculars watching bright ligths whiz around, in the dark, dont you?
Grrrrrr