Proposal of a new type of rally series: give your opinion!! [Archive]

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9oneone

24th February 2011, 16:54

Hi everyone,
I am currently doing a group project for my MSc at Cranfield University in Motorsport Engineering & Management. The aim of the project is to develop a new rally series which would be sustainable and environmentally friendly.
We therefore came up with a concept, but before trying to develop it further, we are trying to see the opinions of motorsport enthusiasts on it to determine if such a project would be viable. So if you could just give your opinion on it, like if you would attend such an event, it would be really helpful!
Here is our concept: the idea is to organise a one day event in a major stadium in the UK (like Wembley for example). Small loops around the stadium would be created, where the drivers would compete against each other like in rally cross. The drivers would use small city production based cars (Ford Fiesta, Renault Clio, Peugeot 207, etc), with a hybrid system (flywheel or battery based) and running on an alternative fuel (alcohol for instance). The loops would be designed around the stadium with some parts going inside, with different surfaces; for instance some parts could be made wet or slippery with sand. The races would start in the middle of the afternoon, and finish during the night. The idea is to entertain people near a city so that they could come with public transports, and watch something really exciting (based on the recent success of gymkhana and events like the X games) with eco-friendly and daily city cars they can buy.
Cheers!

Mirek

24th February 2011, 17:04

Sorry, but such competition can't be called rally as it doesn't meet it's fundamental principles.

Mark

24th February 2011, 20:11

Agreed. It isn't rally at all. Perhaps it's a form of rallycross.

PLuto

24th February 2011, 23:56

Yes, this isnt rally, but mixture of rallycross, race of champions show and X Games. I think this scheme should be used in USA, but in Europe there is no chance for big success.

Allyc85

25th February 2011, 15:24

^ What that man said :)

bluuford

25th February 2011, 15:52

Put similar format on the city streets and so that the stage is approximately 10 km long. Design spectator areas near the bus stops etc. Then only rally cars can drive in the middle of the city and there is less impact to the nature. You can put the cars in one minute intervals or two at the same time at separate streets with identical distance. Then put the cars (and spectators) on the train and carry them to the next city and continue the same (if you have electric powered cars then you can recharge during the train trip - service is also on the train). And then make it like rally series that visits different regions and many cities during the season:-), So, that is more like a rally.. only difference is that all the stages are located inside the cities...

Givme one more beer and I will give you even better ideas :-P

Zeakiwi

26th February 2011, 20:30

There was a time when the RAC and BRC events used some of the British race circuits for special stages. Used car tyres were laid out on the tarmac to create bends etc. I cannot remember what attendance was like but race circuit stages like stately homes stages were accessible and there weren't the oak trees to crash into.

There have been a few hybrid rally cars http://www.green-car-guide.com/news/new-honda-civic-hybrid-unveiled.htm constructed already the Citroen C4 Hybrid rally car perhaps the most high profile.

Car park rallies have been held in places like Singapore with the tyres and plastic barriers laid out to create a stage that is repeated. Not really riveting viewing for a spectator.

For competitors oddball events can hold an interest. Is the citroen 2cv still raced ?

NZ - Drifting, street sprints and tyre burnout competitions are the populated area motorsport events these days.

The Otago rally does have one short town stage.

MrJan

27th February 2011, 13:55

Sounds like the Race of Champions format (which has been at Wembley).

Not sure how it'll work, there was a time when the Silverstone Super Special stage was used for a proper series (think it was back in the times of F2 and there were 4 types of car that the drivers would use). DIdn't last long so evidentally not good enough to catch on.

The majority of hardcore motorsport fans wouldn't want to see production cars with gimmicks like watering down the track, that's for go-karting at beach resorts. Besides that the brief of an environmentally friendly motorsport seems to go aginst the reasons that many watch the sport. Say there was something like this at the Millenium Stadium, I personally wouldn't travel to it, but I am willing to watch the Wyedean or travel to Epynt for a proper rally. But then I've always been a bit of a traditionalist, as far as I'm concerned the best rally of the season is the Roger Albert Clark.

big_sw2000

27th February 2011, 20:28