WRC

[John McCarthy]

If it ain't broke...

I'm just going to put this out there and see whether I am part of a minority. But what have they done to the World Rally Championship???!!!!!

I (struggle to) rally in our State Championship and am a long time follower and supporter of the sport - and I cannot remember feeling so cheated as a fan (and a competitor!).

If Max and his buddies are trying to have WRC compete with F1 they should forget it. The 2 sports are very different and likewise draw a vastly different following. I can only predict that with colorful personalities such as Colin McRae no longer competing, this following will fade in the coming 12 months.

So it's thumbs down to the FIA and WRCOM from me, what do all of you think?

Cheers!

Technical Manager,
QUT Motorsport.
www.qutmotorsport.com (http://www.qutmotorsport.com)

[John McCarthy]

If it ain't broke...

I'm just going to put this out there and see whether I am part of a minority. But what have they done to the World Rally Championship???!!!!!

I (struggle to) rally in our State Championship and am a long time follower and supporter of the sport - and I cannot remember feeling so cheated as a fan (and a competitor!).

If Max and his buddies are trying to have WRC compete with F1 they should forget it. The 2 sports are very different and likewise draw a vastly different following. I can only predict that with colorful personalities such as Colin McRae no longer competing, this following will fade in the coming 12 months.

So it's thumbs down to the FIA and WRCOM from me, what do all of you think?

Cheers!

Technical Manager,
QUT Motorsport.
www.qutmotorsport.com (http://www.qutmotorsport.com)

[PatClarke]

Personally, John, I think WRC has been cruisin for a bruisin for a long time. You can't keep firing cars through narrow gaps in the crowd at 200kph and keep getting away with it. When Levegh's Mercedes went into the crowd at Le Mans in 1955 it caused catastrophic effects that are still felt today.
However, thats not what you are talking about =]
I think the drivers rule is dumb. Supposed to foster the emergence of young drivers, but at the cost of losing the Stars! In the case of Hyundai, they discovered Loix had signed with Peogeot and so couldnt score a point...so he simply wasn't trying! I understand why Hyundai took the chequebook and went home!
The holologation of the cars is nonsense. They are supposed to keep the cars below 200kW, but thats a joke, although the loss of turbo superchargers will effect that I guess, as well as making the cars more driveable.
Breaking the event into two and allowing the Stars to start again on the second day seems like a reasonable compromise to me.
Pardon me, but I have developed a very sceptical view of motorsport when the FIA is concerned (or the FIM, the CIK etc etc etc)
FSAE rules!
PDR

The older I get, the faster I was.

[John McCarthy]

Thanks Pat.

I Agree totally with you on the drivers rule. Look at our new World Champion! I find it hard to believe that there was or is a problem finding fresh new (young) talent, have they forgotten about F16?

Perhaps more Manufacturers will follow Hyundai.

Anyone else?

Technical Manager,
QUT Motorsport.
www.qutmotorsport.com (http://www.qutmotorsport.com)

[Eddie Martin]

I think the World Rally Championship and World Sportscars have been deliberately pushed aside by the FIA so F1 can prosper.
The WRC was getting good, lots of manufacturers, good drivers, a nice number of events and then they come in with a wrecking ball.
Why can't they cut costs by having the NZ and Oz rounds together, for instance? Why can't they have a budget one make series to find the next stars instead of the expensive 1600 class?
But they bring in some silly measures that have seen some manufactures leave.
Look at Subaru for example. Where would they be without rallying? Win on Sunday, sell on Monday. They are a great demonstration of how motor sport can change the image and sales of a company.

There are some great forms of motor sport out there that need some direction and leadership.

[Driver_chick]

Yeah Ed,
Merge the NZ and Oz rounds together...Then have it allll in NZ! Then the rest of us Aussies might be able to see some rally first hand instead of having to troop all the way to Perth!

No offence WA boys, but seriously... Didn't the first explorers say "Forget about it...!" when they first landed on Oz and what they saw was WA? http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

[Flash]

We'd be all for that!! 6 Days of action on the best roads in the world http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

The only problem is, the NZ Claude Rouelle Seminar this has been scheduled for the same weekend as the NZ rally!

Its a tough call, miss the seminar and a whole lot of knowledge, or offend my religon!

At the end of the day, I think the seminar will make the car go faster. I wonder if Claude would want to watch the rally during the day...

Matt Houston
University of Auckland

[Brent]

The WRC is one of the most exciting forms of motorsport in the world. The drivers have just as much talent as Schumacher and Montoya, just in a different form. To resond to Suddenlee, true fans of rallying are nuts. They want to get as close to the action as they can. IF they get hit, its their fault. The stages are far too long to erect barriers or have security to keep people from getting on the course.