cjl9 12 Posted February 18, 2017 KevM said: cjl9 said: I'm not forecasting "doom." I just think we're going in the wrong direction.Rallying would be a lot healthier if we used production-based cars which ordinary people could afford to own and drive. It's better PR for a manufacturer to race a beefed-up volume sector supermini Fiesta/Polo/i20/C3, than try to push a £27k, group 20 insurance, £500 a year tax Escos/Impreza Turbo/Evo 10/Celica GT4 in fairness Really? I can't see why. When I was rallying Escort Twin Cams and BDAs (we grow old) Ford had a large network of Rallye Sport dealers selling large numbers of Mexicos and Escorts.Look how many MkII BDAs are STILL being rallied.And the HUGE crowds and TV coverage we had in the '70s, too. In one of the last RACs I did they estimated that over 5 million spectators had walked into the forests and watched: that's 10% of the population in those days. And there was a spot every night on the Beeb. I don't think you see that any more. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tbtstt 2,385 Posted February 18, 2017 BadD0g said: Jalopnik just did a write-up about average speed limits in rally for those interested: http://blackflag.jalopnik.com/why-rally-has-speed-limits-the-necessary-evil-no-one-t-1792456937 Nice to see an article where they actually address the comments made, rather than just post an inflammatory headline to get peoples attention. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tbtstt 2,385 Posted February 18, 2017 KevM said: cjl9 said: I'm not forecasting "doom." I just think we're going in the wrong direction.Rallying would be a lot healthier if we used production-based cars which ordinary people could afford to own and drive. It's better PR for a manufacturer to race a beefed-up volume sector supermini Fiesta/Polo/i20/C3, than try to push a £27k, group 20 insurance, £500 a year tax Escos/Impreza Turbo/Evo 10/Celica GT4 in fairness Yeah. Sad that this is the case, but that's the world we live in today. The number of manufacturers who push performance cars in that sector seems to be slowly dwindling. There is still interest there, but most manufacturers will lean towards producing cars for the masses, not a niche audience. cjl9 said: Really? I can't see why. When I was rallying Escort Twin Cams and BDAs (we grow old) Ford had a large network of Rallye Sport dealers selling large numbers of Mexicos and Escorts. I daresay that's a slightly unfair comparison: the cars were far less complicated back then and a special edition of a car like the Mexico was a far less extreme derivative of the production Escort than say a 4WD Polo or Fiesta would be today. Consider what goes into developing and modern car versus a car back then, costs have grown exponentially over the years. Insurance and road tax were far cheaper back then as well, so owning an everyday performance car was far less punishing on your wallet than it is today. Those cars had far more mass appeal back then, hence why so many of them were sold. On the subject of Ford, I personally have a huge amount of respect for them as they are one of the few manufacturers who still include a range of performance cars in their showrooms, many of which (loosely) reflect competition cars. I'm still waiting for that Fiesta RS though Ford... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SirPhilMcKraken 279 Posted February 18, 2017 Insurance I think is definitely a killer today, I'm 24 and looked up insurance for a 2003 wrx wagon yesterday which I saw on ebay, quotes were around 2k and made me kri, the car itself was about 3k Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tbtstt 2,385 Posted February 18, 2017 SirPhilMcKraken said: Insurance I think is definitely a killer today, I'm 24 and looked up insurance for a 2003 wrx wagon yesterday which I saw on ebay, quotes were around 2k and made me kri, the car itself was about 3k I was in my late 20's when I got my STi and some of the insurance quotes that came back were utterly crazy. I had two years NCB at the time, but some quotes were in 5 figures! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KevM 44 Posted February 18, 2017 cjl9 said:Really? I can't see why. When I was rallying Escort Twin Cams and BDAs (we grow old) Ford had a large network of Rallye Sport dealers selling large numbers of Mexicos and Escorts.Look how many MkII BDAs are STILL being rallied.And the HUGE crowds and TV coverage we had in the '70s, too. In one of the last RACs I did they estimated that over 5 million spectators had walked into the forests and watched: that's 10% of the population in those days. And there was a spot every night on the Beeb. I don't think you see that any more. The Escort Mk2 was a mass produced car, rallying it was marketing genius! Tom, Dick & Harry down the steet all had one, and a car that looked just the same was dominating rallies! It was so accessible, Billy Coleman was able to buy a production car, build an engine on his kitchen table, & compete with & beat works cars & drivers! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cjl9 12 Posted February 18, 2017 Rally on Sunday, sell on Monday...the old marketing maxim.Stuart Turner said the only reason that Ford went rallying was to sell cars. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RallyDriven 398 Posted February 18, 2017 Unfortunately this isn't how things work today! I just can't see it being a big enough market for it today. You've got the people that actually watch the championship, the ones that can afford to buy that type of car, and the ones that actually do want to buy it. That's a bit of a niche market Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SirPhilMcKraken 279 Posted February 19, 2017 tbtstt said: SirPhilMcKraken said: Insurance I think is definitely a killer today, I'm 24 and looked up insurance for a 2003 wrx wagon yesterday which I saw on ebay, quotes were around 2k and made me kri, the car itself was about 3k I was in my late 20's when I got my STi and some of the insurance quotes that came back were utterly crazy. I had two years NCB at the time, but some quotes were in 5 figures! Haha I didnt even bother looking at the STIs, way too much I expected. This is currently out of my price range as well haha Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jepsertti 26 Posted February 20, 2017 Interesting...https://www.facebook.com/rallyparadise/posts/1260047170753377 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dytut 89 Posted February 20, 2017 Skoda Polo Fabia WRC? :-D Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tbtstt 2,385 Posted February 20, 2017 Jepsertti said: Interesting...https://www.facebook.com/rallyparadise/posts/1260047170753377 That is interesting, though I suspect it's connected to the Polo R5 development rather than a Skoda WRCar. VW did a lot of testing with the Fabia R5 when they were first developing the Polo WRCar. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KingOfCoins 286 Posted February 20, 2017 It wouldn't surprise me if they are using the fabia as a base for the new polo R5But I really hope it's a new wrc developement. But then again skoda would probably have used the polo 2017. Or they could be building a new wrc from scratch. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KevM 44 Posted February 20, 2017 VW always seem to develop under the Skoda brand. Possibly why Mikkelson was out for a cut in the Fabia in Monte and looking fairly calm about being seatless when co-presenting on RBTV? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tbtstt 2,385 Posted February 20, 2017 KingOfCoins said: It wouldn't surprise me if they are using the fabia as a base for the new polo R5But I really hope it's a new wrc developement. But then again skoda would probably have used the polo 2017. Or they could be building a new wrc from scratch. There were suggestions about reshelling the 2017 Polo WRCars and entering them after VW announced they weren't returning for this season. If I recall correctly the official line from Skoda was that they weren't interesting from stepping up from WRC2 to WRC. I'll try and find the article when I get a moment! EDIT: Found it, here you go:http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/127113 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dytut 89 Posted February 20, 2017 I wonder how much they could transfer from the Polo WRC to a potential Fabia? If they went that route a Skoda Qatar WRT might be what's cooking. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KingOfCoins 286 Posted February 20, 2017 tbtstt said: KingOfCoins said: It wouldn't surprise me if they are using the fabia as a base for the new polo R5But I really hope it's a new wrc developement. But then again skoda would probably have used the polo 2017. Or they could be building a new wrc from scratch. There were suggestions about reshelling the 2017 Polo WRCars and entering them after VW announced they weren't returning for this season. If I recall correctly the official line from Skoda was that they weren't interesting from stepping up from WRC2 to WRC. I'll try and find the article when I get a moment! EDIT: Found it, here you go:http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/127113 Thanks. I remeber that they said that they weren't interested. But in these times, maybe they have changed their mind? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tbtstt 2,385 Posted February 20, 2017 Dytut said: I wonder how much they could transfer from the Polo WRC to a potential Fabia? If they went that route a Skoda Qatar WRT might be what's cooking. The Fabia and Polo are both based on the same platform, so I would imagine the engine and drivetrain would drop straight in. Set of extra wide R5 arches and a big wing and you are ready to go! :smiley: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dytut 89 Posted February 20, 2017 KingOfCoins said: tbtstt said: KingOfCoins said: It wouldn't surprise me if they are using the fabia as a base for the new polo R5But I really hope it's a new wrc developement. But then again skoda would probably have used the polo 2017. Or they could be building a new wrc from scratch. There were suggestions about reshelling the 2017 Polo WRCars and entering them after VW announced they weren't returning for this season. If I recall correctly the official line from Skoda was that they weren't interesting from stepping up from WRC2 to WRC. I'll try and find the article when I get a moment! EDIT: Found it, here you go:http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/127113 Thanks. I remeber that they said that they weren't interested. But in these times, maybe they have changed their mind? Interesting. But as their primary concern is WRC being expensive, they might change their mind if Qatar puts up the cash for it. One can dream, at least :-) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KevM 44 Posted February 20, 2017 Oh dear Jari.... https://youtu.be/QfIbZzKmIs8 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dytut 89 Posted February 20, 2017 KevM said: Oh dear Jari.... https://youtu.be/QfIbZzKmIs8 Nonononononon!!! Not nervous crashvala! We want smiling happy JML! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ferranis 54 Posted February 20, 2017 Happens during Testing (Ogier did it too before monte) - also seemed like a relatively gentle roll. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FloatingGrass 0 Posted February 20, 2017 I bet he said "ei voi olla totta!"No big deal, though. It looked like a gentle roll, as Ferranis said; Ogier won Monte after a much heavier crash in PET so it's okay. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KevM 44 Posted February 20, 2017 KevM said: Oh dear Jari.... https://youtu.be/QfIbZzKmIs8 Mondays be like.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
juu1ius 5 Posted February 20, 2017 FloatingGrass said: I bet he said "ei voi olla totta!"No big deal, though. It looked like a gentle roll, as Ferranis said; Ogier won Monte after a much heavier crash in PET so it's okay. That's no gentle roll :D The roof didn't even touch the ground. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
