Mad-Machine

I still stand by my assertation that the current WRC cars are too fast and too far removed from their production roots. I just finished watching an hour and a half video on people rallying the original M3 (the boxy one) on some very very fast dirt and tarmac stages. incredible driving with incredible cars. Maybe they could not accelerate like the current WRC cars can, but with the limited traction of rear wheel drive, made the race all the more exciting and fun to watch.

M3 Rally Video <--- click me!

Zman

As ugly as it looks (and I don't mean to defend FIA because they are not always right) I think in one or two years, the S2000 would be faster, and then faster, and then faster... it's how it has always been.
Another thing to consider is that cars are also changing (production models I mean), they are heavier, taller, more MPV shaped... a few remain true to it's roots, but look at how Sebastien Loeb turned everyone else around with the only car that had a previous generation chasis...
I think this modification from the FIA actually is more oriented to level ground, everyone would have to start from scratch, and as cars wouldn't be so expensive, new manufacturers could be encouraged to enter the competition... if it was WRC only, after Subaru and Mitsubishi years of experience, plus the europeans as Citroen and Peugeot, probably no manufacturer would venture to enter a category where all the rest is way ahead.
I don't like to think WRC is going, but maybe in two years we would be more optimistic about the Rally.

Carrera

HKC, that vid of old rallying is sweet, before this, I had never known rallying was that cool, I had always seen it on speed and it was kinda boring but that looks phat.

Lusiphur

Yet more armchair drivers talking about the pussyfication of rallying, this never gets old, does it? Let me put it like this: Rallying is already the most dangerous sport in the world, after all the new FIA rules have gone into effect. More people get seriously injured as a result of rally racing, professional and club, than from any other motorsport in the world. The cars are some of the fastest in any closed-wheel racing series, and the tracks infenitely harder than anything faced by even F1 drivers.

Theres a point when a car simply becomes too fast to be driven. It's not something that can be fixed by eectronics or training, it just happens. Once it passes that point, an accident goes from being just a possibility to being just a matter of time, and at the speeds these guys are going, an accident is always serious. It's like playing football and arming the defensive line with baseball bats, someone is going to get seriously hurt every game, and eventually, there'll be no more players. While I think a lot of the FIA rules are stupid, a good portion of them have been desperately needed for a long long time, because every season before FIA takeover has claimed more drivers than the previous. It's the same reason Group B was called off. When a near-fatal accident occurs at least once every race, something has gone wrong.

So before anyone else talks about the pussyfication of rally, just think for a second how Parks family felt when they heard the news. Or Paul Mumford's (US club rally) or any of the countless others. A sport that is unsafe by design isn't a sport, it's just stupid.

HyundaiKitCoupe

I completely agree, even the slightest accidents are something so fanatical to see that you wonder how none of them make it onto normal television. I've only seen one rally accident on a crashes/crazy videos program and that's nothing compared to what you see or hear about online. aka WRC's close calls.

remember when Armin Schwarz and Manfred Heimer almost died in germany 2002 when they hit those concrete barriers? they showed only half of their Hyundai still intact--and that's pretty much normal for a one round per month.

is this not simply amazing? you kind of wonder how the car got there, i mean it must have been horrific, as well as thrilling. wonder how the drivers got themselves out of that one.


my problem is not with the cars or the drivers, it's with the F.I.A. having gone completely insane. I mean tell me why co-driver names shouldn't be on the rear window next to the driver's name? and tell me why they eliminated white/black rally car numbers on the side of the door panels? Michael Park died because the F.I.A. rescheduled the rally to an earlier date therefore the road conditions were dry and the driving much faster. They also eliminated Safari Rallye Kenya but added more rallies to the calendar instead. To me there was nothing better than seeing those cars in such a remote place in such a different culture. I loved that rally. I also loved Rallye San Remo... Two car teams?! The hell is that? Why oh why?!

Now F.I.A. is letting there be three car teams again, probably having realized their mistake.

Have you noticed there are only three manufacturers competing this year? Subaru (they're awesome) and Ford, and Citroen.

HyundaiKitCoupe

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Changes ahead for the WRC - Part one
The World Rally Championship has undergone enormous change since the first drivers' title was awarded back in 1979.
From two-wheel drive, to Group B, then Group A and now WRC, the top flight of rallying has never stayed the same for very long.
And the WRC is going to change again. In 2010 and 2011 the current specification of WRC cars will be phased out in favour of modified Group N and Super 2000 models.</div>

This news just came out today. My speculations were correct. No more turbos in Rallying.
bsflag.gif

bull ____ing sh_t.

HyundaiKitCoupe

as of 12/12/08:

"New World Rally Car details revealed

The FIA World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) has announced further technical details of the future World Rally Car.
After meeting today in Monaco, the council reconfirmed that the 2010 World Rally Car will be based on an S2000 specification car.
However, the scope of the removable performance kit, already adopted by the WMSC to bring the car to WRC specification, has been redefined - with no electronic benefits, or similar upgrades, allowed on cost grounds.
Instead, the WRC kit is believed to be limited to a turbo, revised inlet and exhaust manifolds, a quicker gearshift mechanism (with steering wheel paddle shift) and an aero package consisting of a rear wing and front spoiler. The bolt-on kit will cost under 30.000 Euros and should give the cars an extra 50bhp.

The WMSC also decided that the new S2000-based World Rally Car will only be permitted for use on World Rally Championship events, and that the P-WRC will remain open to Group N cars, including the existing S2000 car.
The FIA also revealed that it is in exclusive negotiations with Ralliart Italy to supply and service Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution cars for the Pirelli Star Drivers to contest the designated 2009 and 2010 FIA World Rally Championship events."

More cost cutting packages, removable additional kits, limitations, specifications, no electronic upgrades... sounds like the Bush administration is also in control of the FIA.

Limited to a turbo? That fact in the article is wrong, S2000 are N/A only. We'll have to see what this does to the sport. It would be boring as hell to watch a car not go fast on TV.