What has the World Rally Championship turn into?
26 October 2010, 10:03 PM
#31
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26 October 2010, 10:24 PM
#33
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Next year sees the introduction of world rally cars that are based on the S2000 formula.
The IRC ( Intercontinental Rally Challange ) has had S2000 cars for a while now, infact the champion in 2009 was Kris Meeke, a protege of Colin McRae and now signed up to drive the Mini WRC...
The new breed of car is much cheaper than the current cars and there will be more factory teams able to enter, Mini, Skoda, Fiat, Proton etc. This should hopefully make the championship more interesting.
The IRC ( Intercontinental Rally Challange ) has had S2000 cars for a while now, infact the champion in 2009 was Kris Meeke, a protege of Colin McRae and now signed up to drive the Mini WRC...
The new breed of car is much cheaper than the current cars and there will be more factory teams able to enter, Mini, Skoda, Fiat, Proton etc. This should hopefully make the championship more interesting.
26 October 2010, 10:29 PM
#34
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I love WRC - I was there for the final round in 2008 when the championship was down to the last race of the year. Sadly it was the last year that Subaru chose to join in the fun, and it was wet, windy and freezing - well it was Wales in December 
I also remember watching Hirvonen roll his Focus onto it's roof right in front of me, being close enough to Petter Solberg to high five him and watching Valentino Rossi drive the Children in Need car in his first rally, finishing 14th.
Granted, the last 2 years have needed a bit of a shake up - plenty of action though and next year should see some changes with the new cars and hopefully someone other than Loeb win with championship. Ken Block is confirmed, can't keep it on the road mind you, but isnt that the fun of it
I also remember watching Hirvonen roll his Focus onto it's roof right in front of me, being close enough to Petter Solberg to high five him and watching Valentino Rossi drive the Children in Need car in his first rally, finishing 14th.Granted, the last 2 years have needed a bit of a shake up - plenty of action though and next year should see some changes with the new cars and hopefully someone other than Loeb win with championship. Ken Block is confirmed, can't keep it on the road mind you, but isnt that the fun of it
26 October 2010, 11:36 PM
#36
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Its a pale imitation of what it was a few years ago, I rarely watch it on Dave nowadays.
The peak for me was 2001 when McRae, Burns, Makinen & Sainz both had a shout of winning the title going into the last round rally GB, it has gone downhill slowly since, especially when Subaru, Mitsubishi, Skoda & Seat pulled out of the sport.
The peak for me was 2001 when McRae, Burns, Makinen & Sainz both had a shout of winning the title going into the last round rally GB, it has gone downhill slowly since, especially when Subaru, Mitsubishi, Skoda & Seat pulled out of the sport.
27 October 2010, 08:51 AM
#37
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Yes and no here... FIa is getting it right with F1. Technology got so good that passing etc just wasn't possible. No ABS and no traction control now has made a difference with skill (like Rosberg was showing before he got taken out) coming back into it. Just need to get rid of Bernie the poison dwarf and his brown envelopes full of cash from all these new circuits and they might get the interest back.
agianst that, without the rules you'd get some great kit. Things like ABS which have made a big difference on the road were developed through motorsport so it stifles innovation not to let them loose.
5t.
agianst that, without the rules you'd get some great kit. Things like ABS which have made a big difference on the road were developed through motorsport so it stifles innovation not to let them loose.
5t.
27 October 2010, 08:52 AM
#38
Scooby Regular
Next year sees the introduction of world rally cars that are based on the S2000 formula.
The IRC ( Intercontinental Rally Challange ) has had S2000 cars for a while now, infact the champion in 2009 was Kris Meeke, a protege of Colin McRae and now signed up to drive the Mini WRC...
The new breed of car is much cheaper than the current cars and there will be more factory teams able to enter, Mini, Skoda, Fiat, Proton etc. This should hopefully make the championship more interesting.
The IRC ( Intercontinental Rally Challange ) has had S2000 cars for a while now, infact the champion in 2009 was Kris Meeke, a protege of Colin McRae and now signed up to drive the Mini WRC...
The new breed of car is much cheaper than the current cars and there will be more factory teams able to enter, Mini, Skoda, Fiat, Proton etc. This should hopefully make the championship more interesting.
27 October 2010, 06:43 PM
#39
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27 October 2010, 06:51 PM
#41
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27 October 2010, 07:14 PM
#42
I have also taken a back seat on spectating the WRC.
I use to love watching it in the Welsh forrests. I recall the days of the 'Manx' rallying too being some of the best times in my youth watching Ari Vatanen & Michèle Mouton to name two.
What happened to Travis Pastrana, did he ever get into the WRC?
Rob
I use to love watching it in the Welsh forrests. I recall the days of the 'Manx' rallying too being some of the best times in my youth watching Ari Vatanen & Michèle Mouton to name two.
What happened to Travis Pastrana, did he ever get into the WRC?
Rob
27 October 2010, 10:19 PM
#44
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Bring back Group B, as thats when Rallying was worth while.
With all the technology for safety there is now, they should be as safe as possible. Also if you restrict numbers for homologation small (even none), small companies can enter their cars, and large manufacturers can be tempted back as they could use it as a marketing exercise, where now it costs waaaaaaay too much.
I also think that the races should be longer, not the crap they are now, a real event.
I`m sure that Loeb has ruined the World Championships, as he has no real competition, and makes the older (imho better) drivers look amateur. Especially when the length of the rallies and strength of competiton made winning a World Championships hard, compared to the sprints.
The longer rallies made it easier for spectators to engage, as it wasn`t totally staged for TV. Also take the Wales Rally, it had a PERFECT location in Swansea. Large area close to the M4, allowing easy access for spectators etc to the service park. Politicians and money get involved, hey presto it goes to Cardiff, so ruining it for the genuine rally fan, and making it a corporate event.
As far as I`m concerned, WRC should be the F1 of multi surface racing, not a crappy side show.
With all the technology for safety there is now, they should be as safe as possible. Also if you restrict numbers for homologation small (even none), small companies can enter their cars, and large manufacturers can be tempted back as they could use it as a marketing exercise, where now it costs waaaaaaay too much.
I also think that the races should be longer, not the crap they are now, a real event.
I`m sure that Loeb has ruined the World Championships, as he has no real competition, and makes the older (imho better) drivers look amateur. Especially when the length of the rallies and strength of competiton made winning a World Championships hard, compared to the sprints.
The longer rallies made it easier for spectators to engage, as it wasn`t totally staged for TV. Also take the Wales Rally, it had a PERFECT location in Swansea. Large area close to the M4, allowing easy access for spectators etc to the service park. Politicians and money get involved, hey presto it goes to Cardiff, so ruining it for the genuine rally fan, and making it a corporate event.
As far as I`m concerned, WRC should be the F1 of multi surface racing, not a crappy side show.
27 October 2010, 11:57 PM
#45
Also take the Wales Rally, it had a PERFECT location in Swansea. Large area close to the M4, allowing easy access for spectators etc to the service park. Politicians and money get involved, hey presto it goes to Cardiff, so ruining it for the genuine rally fan, and making it a corporate event.
Even back then when it was the RAC Rally of GB, The Network Q etc Wales still had a stronghold in the Rally with stages like Penmachno North and South just to mention a couple of stages, what do rally fans in the north get these days when it comes to the world rally ?
Last edited by Rob_Impreza99; 27 October 2010 at 11:59 PM.
28 October 2010, 12:11 AM
#46
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This is another problem for me, Rally GB should get back to its namesake and be run around Britain and not just in Wales. You can't beat some of the stages of years gone by like Chatsworth, Grizedale and Kielder etc
Even back then when it was the RAC Rally of GB, The Network Q etc Wales still had a stronghold in the Rally with stages like Penmachno North and South just to mention a couple of stages, what do rally fans in the north get these days when it comes to the world rally ?
Even back then when it was the RAC Rally of GB, The Network Q etc Wales still had a stronghold in the Rally with stages like Penmachno North and South just to mention a couple of stages, what do rally fans in the north get these days when it comes to the world rally ?
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