Has anyone heard any whispers of the rally returning to its former format? dont get me wrong wales it great and has some great stages, but i would love to see them in keilder, grisdale and dolby again, one of my favorites was called eye in scotland that they ran quite a few years ago.

For me alot of the fun was trying to get from one stage to the next to see the cars then travelling down (or up) to the next part of the country.
i understand the cost cutting that they wanted to do but come on spread it around a bit! the spectators never used to complain about the extra expense and miles travelled,! it was more fun, and i am sure rally teams can afford it.

Would love it to return to somthing like its former self because it was more fun.

Has anyone heard any whispers of the rally returning to its former format? No point even thinking about it as it's not going to happen anytime in the forseeable future. The geographical format is dictated by the World Rally Championship sporting regulations, and there is certainly no chance of them reverting to "how they were".

Thus, the only way the Rally GB could fundamentally change "back" is if it somehow dropped out of the World Championship, which doesn't seem especially likely.

There may be minor tweaks to the WRC template in future years which allow a slightly wider geographical area to be covered, but for as long as it remains sponsored by "Wales", at the very least, it's going to remain within the Principality.

Would love it to return to somthing like its former self because it was more fun.You should maybe look into the Revival or Roger Albert Clark rallies then, as these take on the "pan UK" format of past editions. You won't see the likes of Solberg or Gronholm out in them tho.

It will never happen.
Event formats will basically not revert back to the "old" style due to several reasons Inc but not restricted to;
Cost down initiatives
Permitted stage and or leg lengths
Manning levels
Route restrictions
Servicing restrictions
Etc.

It hurts me to write it but the days of a 'proper' RAC are gone forever aren't they? The best we can hope for is that the MSA have some balls and follow the ACM route (Monte Carlo Rally) and have one day of stages in a totally different area. This would be difficult in wales however as there's no real main (dual) road stucture inland of the Cardiff-Swansea-Neath area.

On the Monte they relocate on the Thursday night inland some 4 hours to Gap and then have the Friday stages around there in the mountains, as a nod to tradition amongst other reasons. They return to Monte Carlo Friday evening. It's a bit of a pain but good fun and most of the drivers seem to at the least tolerate it!

The other thing, and the main reason why the governing body in the Uk is happy to have the rally in south wales is that it's easy to cordon off the forests, keep the stages well in the middle of the complexes and hence charge us all to watch it. Some of the old stages like Cropton, Wythop etc would be impossible to police properly, 1000's of fans would jsut pour in off the main roads, side roads etc and walk in thorugh the forest. Can't do this in south wales because they have relocated the stages to the middle of the forest in the main.

Add in the goodish roads round Cardiff-Swansea, money from the EC via the Welsh Development Agency and a few other little 'reasons' and I'm afraid we're stuck with what we've got for ever! AAAAggggghhhhhhh!!!!!

I'm afraid the old RAC will just be teary eyed memories, that we will (or are) boring the younger generations with....
"I remember when it was a 5 day hack round the whole country, 5 mile walk to avoid paying entry fee's on the 'spectator day', filthy dirty car, flask of coffee, squashed sandwiches, bad weather, snow up to your nuts, jumpers for goal posts"

This generation of rally spectator have got it too easy, where's me pipe and slippers gone?

Also it would be nigh on impossible to mount and control that sort of event today, just think how many speed cameras it would need!

Yep its a shame but they should centralise it a bit more, still a good rally. But the officials come up with the same excuse that its saves the teams in money! Thats rubbish. For a start most teams who enter the Rally GB are not short of a few quid! I don't think the millionare teams like Ford or Subaru would notice those costs either! Whatever they would spend in travelling, servicing and accomodation etc, doesnt have any significance on what they make in money!!

Correction to my last reply. I mean they shoud centralise it in the UK! Not as it is or we will be penned in! aaaaaahhhhhh :o

http://www.rogeralbertclarkrally.co.uk (http://www.rogeralbertclarkrally.co.uk)






(http://www.rogeralbertclarkrally.co.uk/)

Well said StreetlyOne.

Would you like to see Hannu Mikkola in a Ford Escort sideways in the snow in Scotland !!! If not you are either not old enough or follow Formula One.

The old RAC Rally is gone forever as said before ,but the Roger Albert Clark Rally is the next best thing, and its in November !!! Dark nights and freezing !

Rumour has it, there may be hope on the horizon for the new Rally GB when the Wales contract runs out (2007 ?) Gateshead is close to Kielder and the Lakes but it will be a major fight to match the Welsh facilities.

..

I am a Welshman and proud to see the rally here! But if Cardiff Secure a new contract, I hope they also stick some stages in North Wales and make it a bit more fair for people travelling down from the North of Wales, England, Scotland etc! Its exspensive to pay for the tickets as it is and would save a bit of money in the petrol kitty! Get the old Rac back and everyone is happy and has a fair chance to see it!

Time Control - if you want to see that happen then make it a priority for Gateshead to match the facilities.

As has already been said, the event has to stick to a particular format to be part of the WRC and therefore that limits the geographical spread of the event. If Cardiff keeps a contract then its unlikely to move far within the current rules. Hoever if the rules can be changed to allow further distances to be travelled, anythings possible.

Paul..

I work in Cardiff and they seem to take all the glory and get thier own way, especially Cardiff Blues Rugby Province who sold the Bridgend/Pontypridd Celtic Warriors Rugby Province down the river, once they get thier hold on things thats it! I would love to see the rally more geographically spread across the UK more! I like the travelling around which is part of the rally, which adds a bit of adventure, but thats the way it stands at the moment!

Y Mylaen Y Castell Nedd!
Come on the Neath/Swansea Ospreys!!!

WGR