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WRC set for 2017 major technical revolution to revamp the sport.


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#1 eronrules

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Posted 23 July 2014 - 13:37

WRC set for 2017 tech revolution

 

WRC Commission president Carlos Barbosa ..

 

"If you paint all of the [current World Rally] cars white, right now it's not possible to recognise which is which. We need to change that and we need to bring the spectacle back to our sport and make the cars more attractive."

 

AUTOSPORT sources have suggested there will be significant change in 2017 both in the size of cars -

 

potentially moving from the current segment-B cars up to segment-D - and in the engine power, with the rules centred on controlling fuel flow to allow manufacturers to, within reason, run whatever engine they prefer.

 

"We are at the beginning of the discussions for the 2017 car This is the principle [fuel-flow regulation] but out of this principle, things can still change.''

"We have had the meeting with the [FIA] technical working group and the manufacturers, and now it must go to the Commission.

Barbosa confirmed 2017 regulations would be prepared and most likely revealed at the December meeting of the World Motor Sport Council.

 

i think this will bring back some flare into WRC. i still sorely miss the sedans and coupes in WRC like Mitsubishi evos , subaru imprezas and toyota celicas of old times.

 

according to wikipedia. current WRC format revolves around B-segment cars which are essentially superminies.

Supermini (also called B-segment across Europe)[2] is a class of automobile larger than a city car but smaller than asmall family car.[3]

Superminis are usually available in hatchback body styles.

i.e cars like fiesta, polo , sandero, punto etc.

 

the idea is to go back to d-segment cars which according to WP is 

D-segment (or large cars) is defined by European Commission[1] as the fourth segment in European market car classification. It approximately corresponds to Mid-size car and Entry-level luxury car segment in North America, or Large family car or Compact executive car in British English usage.

 

the idea of run what type of engine you like entises me. we may see the old twin charged engines used by the lancias or 5 cylinder engines used by audi quattros. also, we need to loosen up the cars a bit and we need some visual and aero appendages like the final iteration of group b audis or lancia 037  :love:

 

280px-Audi_Quattro_-_2007_Rallye_Deutsch


Edited by eronrules, 23 July 2014 - 14:02.


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#2 JHSingo

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Posted 23 July 2014 - 13:46

Sounds like a good move. They need to bring back the spectacular cars of old and ditch the current, rather bland and boring, shopping cars.



#3 HaydenFan

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Posted 23 July 2014 - 13:55

Don't understand that proposed move with the cars. The compact level cars are fine. Everyone interested in WRC now have models that fit. This seems meant to temp the like of Subaru, Mitsubishi, and Peugeot back to the series. And Subaru, Mitsubishi, and Peugeot just don't seem interested. 

 

I think the FIA realizes the WRC is falling behind World Rallycross. Yes, the automakers haven't express major interest in that series outside Ford and Peugeot, the appearance of the likes of companies not seen in WRC in decades is a bit hurtful. 

 

The WRC needs to realize the youngest people who saw Group B are in their mid to late 30's. And while most rally fans seem to still fit into that group, it will not help the series. The cars are fast as ever. They are makes that are easy for the automakers to build and sell millions of. 



#4 taz

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Posted 23 July 2014 - 13:55

Quite a big step from B to D segment cars:

 

Current B-segment cars: VW Polo vs Citroen DS3 vs Ford Fiesta vs Hyundai i20

Current D-segment cars: VW Passat vs Citroen DS5 vs Ford Mondeo vs Hyundai i40

 

 

 



#5 PayasYouRace

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Posted 23 July 2014 - 14:11

It doesn't sound all that bad, but maybe a step up to what I must assume is C-segment would be better. Ford Focus size.

 

However this doesn't mean much if they use the silly final stage shootout system.



#6 August

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Posted 23 July 2014 - 14:13

i think this will bring back some flare into WRC. i still sorely miss the sedans and coupes in WRC like Mitsubishi evos , subaru imprezas and toyota celicas of old times.

 

+1



#7 Jovanotti

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Posted 23 July 2014 - 14:16

And add Free-TV broadcast please.

#8 AlexLangheck

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Posted 23 July 2014 - 14:52

It's not just the cars that need sorting; the events and formats need sorting. RedBull want all events to be the same running from Friday to Sunday, with the ridiculous 'shoot out' to decide the event. The WRC shouldn't be like that; it should be a mix of 2,3,4 day events.

As for the cars; it will be nice to see a mix of cars; different sizes, engines, etc

Who in all honesty dreams about owning an i20, Polo, DS3, or Fiesta???? When watching the WRC I don't have a sudden urge to go down to the forecourt to buy one of those shopping trolleys.

But as already said; variety is what we want.

#9 Frank Tuesday

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Posted 23 July 2014 - 15:08

 


However this doesn't mean much if they use the silly final stage shootout system.


Nothing else they do will make me interested in WRC if they insist on a shootout. Why bother having a whole rally if only the last 5 minutes count.

#10 HaydenFan

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Posted 23 July 2014 - 15:26

Who in all honesty dreams about owning an i20, Polo, DS3, or Fiesta???? When watching the WRC I don't have a sudden urge to go down to the forecourt to buy one of those shopping trolleys.

But as already said; variety is what we want.

 

But how does having an Impreza change that? Are we thinking with the rule change to what is more expensive cars, that the likes of BMW, Mercedes, Audi will ditch their touring car for rally? 



#11 BRG

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Posted 23 July 2014 - 16:43

Re-arranging the deckchairs on the Titanic.

 

Again.   :rolleyes:



#12 eronrules

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Posted 23 July 2014 - 16:58

It doesn't sound all that bad, but maybe a step up to what I must assume is C-segment would be better. Ford Focus size.

 

However this doesn't mean much if they use the silly final stage shootout system.

 

i think the wording of the article can be interpreted as 'from segment-B up to segment-D' meaning perhaps a wide range of vehicle might be allowed ... who knows

 

but i've always found coupes and sedans more attractive than hatchbacks. IIRC, the imprezas, evo 7s and xsara and focus all had the same wheel base. it's just the body shell were different. so a lot of different ideas can be implemented. who knows, might be a BMW M1 wrc car for all we know. 

 

but i always think that the WRC should have the subarus and mitshubishis. they are the iconic cars and without them, it's kinda like F1 without Ferrari. 



#13 sopa

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Posted 23 July 2014 - 17:11

Re-arranging the deckchairs on the Titanic.

 

Again.   :rolleyes:

 

I have reached the point where to question whether anything can be done at all to bring WRC back to glory days.

There are discussions that the popularity of motorsport is suffering in general. And rallying seems to be hit hardest by it.



#14 chunder27

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Posted 23 July 2014 - 17:23

I am really not sure where they can go with this.

 

As mentioned in previous threads about WRC, support for the actual events locally seems good. I don't think the cars are fabulous to watch, they need to be more powerful, 400hp+ and maybe bigger so they look harder to drive. But I do not think that's the major issue.

 

I do think the UK suffers from not having a driver to capture the imagination like a Clark, McRae or Burns.

 

And the GB rally also suffer from not being the GB rally, but the rules about locations and mileage don't help that, hands tied there.

 

Tv coverage seems a no no, it just doesn't work and hasn't for decades even in the best recent rea of 99/03 ish when there were tons of cars, big names and great events.  Since then it has been pushed from pillar to post and never found a home because it probably costs too much and doesn't pull in any viewers. 

 

In the UK it was always on Grandstand, boy how we miss that!  And then C4 got it at just the right Mcrae/Makinen/Burns time and then it fell on its bum.

 

I just think live it's fine, but tv it simply doesn't work. Rallycross was designed for tv and hey presto it works there, but maybe isn't as great live.



#15 Vepe1995

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Posted 23 July 2014 - 21:41

I really like the idea of using D-segment cars in WRC, because currently it's just A- and B-segment cars.

 

What I'd love is to rearrange the Group R classes.

 

R1: A-segment cars (Fiat 500, Renault Twingo, Opel Adam, etc)

R2: B-segment cars (Ford Fiesta, Hyundai i20, Peugeot 208, etc)

R3: B- and C-segment cars (VW Golf, Opel Astra, Toyota Corolla, etc)

R4: C- and D-segment cars (BMW 3-series, Audi A4, Subaru Legacy)

R5: C- and D-segment cars

RGT: Sports cars (cars like Porsche 911, BMW M cars and so on)

 

R1 through to R3 regulations remains as is, as they seem to work.

R4 is basically the current R5 class, remains as is

R5 is the new top class. Cars are more powerful versions of R4 cars (Think RRC to WRC difference)

RGT is, well, RGT. Any car that is fast and has real-wheel drive.

 

Currently the cars have to be homologated in order to be used in the WRC. In principle that's a good idea, but it's a bit too strict and it's hurting the national championships also. Therefore I'd allow for a national homologation in all classes, except RGT, where it isn't needed.

The nationally homologated cars would be allowed to take part in international FIA rallies, but no manufacturer points would be scored by them.

 

An example: Let's say that Audi enters the WRC. They homologate the A5. They also offer the car for privateers, but it is quite expensive to buy. Let's then say that a privateer would like to run the A5 in his national championship. He has backing from a local Audi dealership, so getting the factory team's support should be easy, right? Unfortunately the country isn't really a huge market for Audi, so no support from factory: "You want to run our A5? We can sell it to you, full price, of course." So what does the privateer do? They can't afford to buy the factory A5 nor they can get a national homologation for an A5. The best selling car the dealer has is the Audi A4. It would suit their purposes better, if they raced the more popular model and so they build a rally car from one of those A4s. Then they contact the ASN to get is nationally homologated. Now they have a homologated Audi A4 rallycar that they can even race at WRC events.

 

RGT doesn't need national homologation, because it doesn't really even need any homologation. My idea is to have any RWD car that passes the safety inspections is allowed to run. Maybe add a set power-to-weight ratio to limit the cars' performance a bit and to avoid overkills like having 800 hp in a car that weighs 800 kg.