Just a totally miserable 34 car entry..as on 31/12/04..with NO group N cars entered at all. :eek:

Just a mere shadow of it's former self,and who's to blame I ask? Manufactures? FIA? Drivers demanding high wages? Or is interest simply just fading with the public?

I find it very sad and can't see a way to turn this dreadful decline around. The organisers just seem to turn a deaf ear to all the critisism and appear to be only interested in TV rights/money

Starts a week on Friday...wouldn't blame you for forgetting.

Will their be any decent coverage on normal TV?

maybe more people would be interested if they brought back group b.

Glad i'm not the only one who calls it 'normal 'tv .rallying just wipes the floor with boring formula i circle pursuit driving.hope it is on telly .think it's a great advert for manufacturers and those that pull out are mad!i even respect citroen when i see that car driven by a maniac

maybe more people would be interested if they brought back group b.

That will never happen bearing in mind the reason it was banned in the first place, i.e. several spectator deaths and the accident that killed Toivenen.

The WRC was dead from the day Ecclestone got involved.

WRC problem is that fwd based 4wd cars are boring... rallying is not a spectator sport... make it rwd again and all would be fun!

they would get more interest in televising rallycross...

plus i think nobody is interested in a championship between the french and the japanese... add back some decent euro mfrs having a proper go... ( give skoda some more budget VW!!!!!) say Ford Vauxhall and MG for example and people would take note... look at touring cars... as soon as you have 5 or 6 decent mfrs in the series really takes off... with 2 or 3 nobody cares as is usually one sided...

Would it be an idea for the spectators at group B events to sign mandatory disclaimers to clear the manufacturers of any liabilities i.e. at your own risk.

Televised rallycross would be a brilliant idea, its much more exciting than watching xsaras and 206s going from stage to stage.

I also enjoyed watching dutch touring car racing back in the day with the 155's, clks and the calibras.

A few months back I was watching some cockpit footage of an audi s1 in the 1980s, ive never seen anything so fast in all my years of slouching in front of the tv eating bourban biscuits and tea. Spectators just blurring past it was that fast.

and the accident that killed Toivenen.

I heard that was due to n.o. being used illegally and that's why the car virtually blew up upon impact. Don't know how true this was.

Weren't Toyota banned from the WRC for a year or two for being found out for carrying the same stuff in the roll cages?

Nowt to do with group B if that was the case, just cheating.

I heard that was due to n.o. being used illegally and that's why the car virtually blew up upon impact. Don't know how true this was.

Weren't Toyota banned from the WRC for a year or two for being found out for carrying the same stuff in the roll cages?

Nowt to do with group B if that was the case' date=' just cheating.[/quote']

Toyota were banned after the scrutineers found they were running an oversize turbo.

Toyota were banned after the scrutineers found they were running an oversize turbo.

I stand to be corrected in that case...going/gone senile!

The rule changes to limit the number of top drivers at each team was the start of the downfall. Its still a very good championship, its just a pity theres so little top team, the costs are so big its no wonder.

Men & Motors show all the Rallycross rounds, well they did last year.

The WRC needs better TV coverage, a 1/2 hr slot late at night is not good. And how about resurrecting the true rally of great britain. Having stages throughout the whole of GB like it was a few years ago, instead of a small section of Wales.

The WRC needs better TV coverage, a 1/2 hr slot late at night is not good. And how about resurrecting the true rally of great britain. Having stages throughout the whole of GB like it was a few years ago, instead of a small section of Wales.

I don't think that would work, a logistical nightmare for the crews.

I don't think that would work, a logistical nightmare for the crews.

True, but it would potentially open the sport up to a wider audience of people who may otherwise not get to see it on the tv.

The WRC needs better TV coverage, a 1/2 hr slot late at night is not good.

your very right but then alot of the motorsport is on at really bad times! Even F1 has to have breaks in it......football doesn't why should it.

I like rallying, it's a good sport to watch...........when you can find it on the tv!

F1 never had breaks on the BBC....and then the TV rights went to ITV.

WRC needs more Super Special stages for TV. They should go to a 5 day format with a live super special on days 1, 3 & 5 with extended highlights each day.

True, but it would potentially open the sport up to a wider audience of people who may otherwise not get to see it on the tv.

But I thought the more compact format was for the spectators eg re-running stages means spectators can stay on the same stage. I know when I was in Cyprus it was very easy to get around stages as they were very close to each other. I'd was the first 10-15 cars then go to the next stage or the one after to see them again. Although there wasn't any issues with traffic jams like other events

Also I'm sure its getting harder to close off roads and marshalling them making it easier to run the events

Toyota were banned after the scrutineers found they were running an oversize turbo.

did someone mention my name?? :wave:

I heard that was due to n.o. being used illegally and that's why the car virtually blew up upon impact. Don't know how true this was.

Weren't Toyota banned from the WRC for a year or two for being found out for carrying the same stuff in the roll cages?

Nowt to do with group B if that was the case' date=' just cheating.[/quote']

havn't heard that one :eek: would have thought it would be hard to hide nos in a rally car that gets the sort of inspection a international car gets - i would thinks thats no more than a myth ...but you never know....

I thought there was a major concern also about the amount of materials like magnesium used and their potential in a fire

regarding NOS in rollcages...

MSA blue book(2005) regulation Q 1.1.4....(rollcage) "tubes must not carry liquids"

marc

did someone mention my name?? :wave:

Yea, now shutup and go back and pour yourself another large G & T. :P

Cost has to be a big part of it in my view.

How much do the cars sell for 300K or thereabouts - and that's second hand. The development costs are out of this world so is it no wonder that teams are pulling out or only comitting to a partial season.

C.J. what was the name of the guy at the quiz who was a WRC ginsoaked scrutineer (hi Marc )?

He was under the impression that radical changes were in the pipeline otherwise it was going suffer even more.

Then your tales of sleeping in your car (no doghouse then?) for a week on the RAC reminded me how good it used to be when it was all over the country.

I think it's sad the way it has gone.

And they there is the Dakar which is under threat now because people die.

Warning motorsport can be dangerous - isn't that part of the attraction to the competitors?

Yea, now shutup and go back and pour yourself another large G & T. :P

:moon: :bigcry: :bigcry:

thats the problem with being a scrutineer - about as popular as a traffic warden....or a gatso operator

Would it be an idea for the spectators at group B events to sign mandatory disclaimers to clear the manufacturers of any liabilities i.e. at your own risk.

Have you ever spectated on a international event? The RAC* (*I know its not called that anymore) was for many years the largest spectator event in the UK. How you you get everyone to read and sign a disclaimer?

Cost has to be a big part of it in my view.

How much do the cars sell for 300K or thereabouts - and that's second hand. The development costs are out of this world so is it no wonder that teams are pulling out or only comitting to a partial season.

Not like the days when you gould go into your local friendly Ford AVO/RS dealer and by a copy of "How to prepare your car for rallying" A rather excellent document which told you basically all you needed to know to build a group1 or group4 Escort rally car Which parts you needed, how to put them together etc. etc. OK so they cars were far more basic but I wonder if your local Subaru dealer has such a document available.

Have you ever spectated on a international event? The RAC* (*I know its not called that anymore) was for many years the largest spectator event in the UK. How you you get everyone to read and sign a disclaimer?

even worse marshalling it :eek:

i did several times a few years ago and gave up - mainly down to trouble with spectators who wanted to stand in suicidal places and got the hump when made to move...and the traffic probs didn't help.but as you say trying to get all those to read and sign would be impossible......although with it being all or mainly ticket only it could be part of the ticket application process to sign a disclaimer.