[WRC] Central European Rally 17-20.10.2024

[Andre Oliveira]

[mknight]

Good to see Solberg (even outside WRC2) he definitely needs tarmac starts.

Will be interesting to see Pajari in Rally1 when he was nowhere near top in Rally2 last year.

[becher]

44 entries for a WRC round in the middle of europe is quit weak isn't it?

[mknight]

Yes, but "normal" these days. Poland had 42, Latvia 38. Croatia 67.

[wyler]

44 entries for a WRC round in the middle of europe is quit weak isn't it?

honestly, looks good to me. a decent number, all cars rally1/2/3 (and a rgt), good average quality of the drivers, an easy amount of car to be managed by the marshalls to avoid delays, and manageable also for spectator to have time to move between ss.

i think around 50 car from the top 3 classes is a good call for wrc round looking for an "elite" rally event.

[Jarek Z]

honestly, looks good to me. a decent number, all cars rally1/2/3 (and a rgt), good average quality of the drivers, an easy amount of car to be managed by the marshalls to avoid delays, and manageable also for spectator to have time to move between ss.

So poor entry list is now an advantage? You must be working at FIA

[becher]

I mean I'm not really complaining, just surprised. Not so long ago you had 80-90 entries on european events and Mexico was considered a bit silly with only 38 entries for example.

[wyler]

So poor entry list is now an advantage? You must be working at FIA

mate, why don't you focus on the arguments instead of making cheap irony...

there's a lot people here complaining that the sport is dying but never gets where the return of interest everybody seeks is.

i don't think short=poor. in this case poor is very wrong wording: There's only rally1/2/3 cars (top tiers, all awd). the average quality of drivers is high (wrc, wrc2, erc contender. good regional player, manus backed drivers in the lower tiers (i.e clio rally3). that's very marketable for the promoter.

event wise in handling world tier event lower number + high quality is the best case. (almost all world championships are limited, being team sport or individual -take olympics as example -).

we can pretend is not true, but a vast majority of people attending wrc race live moves to other ss after 10/15 cars, generating quite some management and safety issues.

for logistic of marshalls and course director, is the same: more cars=more running time, more crash/delaying issue probability, less time to set up and restore the ss and arrange the spectators. like it or not, focus of wrc event is on top 1/2 tiers. all the activities prioritize wrc/wrc2.

shorter run time also means shorter road closure (not only for ss, but regroup, media zone, tyre fitting, etc) getting less fuss from residents and local administration, as well as with space logistics in towns to host service areas, parc fermè. (also smaller parc fermè can be installed in iconic places/landmarks in town, generating pr/marketing value)

and so on, there's more...

point is: promoting-wise, it's the quality that makes the roi, not the number. a smaller event is more manageable and way more marketable IF quality is high.

[Andre Oliveira]

44 entries in 3 coutries with so much rally history can't be good. Say what you want. It is bad, very bad. WRC is dying.

In Saudi Arabia we will have 9 cars and 2 camels?

[rallyfiend]

I don't think this entry list is a reflection on the WRC - and I think that's a harsh comparison. The entry list for WRC2 and WRC3 throughout the season is at a record high (or close to). The elite level is doing well.

I think this entry list is a clear reflection on this event and the complexity, cost and ballache that it creates. It's a nightmare to move constantly for recce, then for the event too.

Competitors have clearly voted with their feet and decided this event is just not worth it. It's a failed experiment in format. I'd be surprised if it continues - or is allowed to continue....