Dirtfish Elfyn Evans interview on YT

Anyone else watched it? I do hope it resonates with Richards and the MSA however in many ways its nothing new sadly. I think maybe its time to acknowledge the chances of us securing a round of the WRC have long since sailed and its more important to look at how the sport can be sustained in the prevailing climate. Its interesting that one of the by-election seats yesterday was decided it appears on the basis of the expanding no/low emissions zone in London meaning the car and its use is still an emotive topic however rallying by its nature tends to visit "the countryside" which makes it an obvious target. Its not just that there isnt a WRC round or a structure to support young drivers with ambition to compete on the World stage its about how we protect what we have now rather than see it fade away even more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHKhK3mEZ8Q

Yeah, I watched it the other day. The sad thing is, as you say, none of it is really news - the warning signs have been there for 10+ years, but nothing was ever done.

Take Rally GB; since taking the Welsh money, the event has existed purely for the benefit of the WRC; there was the 'conflict' when it looked like the event could be left off the WRC calendar in about 2009/10....and they wanted to take their money away if it wasn't included. And after losing the Welsh backing, we have no RallyGB, not even as a smaller 'National' event. Major sports sponsorships tend to last about 10 years if you're lucky; the Welsh backed the event for nearly 20 - it was never going to continue. MSUK couldn't find new backers......not helped by the sport/event falling off the radar in the last 15-20 years. I think the least MSUK could have done is actually set up a 2 day club event in November.....but that seems beyond them. Hasn't stopped Colin Heppenstall from doing something in the years the Roger Albert doesn't run, by hoping to run a new event. If he can, then why can't they?

As for sustainability, I really have no idea, it should have been thought about a while ago - the status quo can't continue. I think we probably need less events, but of a better quality. Combine gravel events in similar regions; run the Plains & North Wales together over a weekend. You could do the same for Severn Valley & Nicky Grist, etc

I think everybody is looking at this the wrong way. Until there are competitors who want to do more than 40 stage miles in an event on a regular basis these bigger "quality" events are never going to get off the ground. We need to be asking how we can get larger numbers of entrants for longer events. Don't forget that the old style BRC and ANCRO championships died because nobody wanted to do them. The RAC is an exception because it's a once in a couple of years adventure that some people are prepared to pay for. Don't forget that the entry fee for a typical BTRDA event is around £800, and that's before you look at accommodation, running the car (fuel, tyres repairs &c) and getting a team to and from the event. Sadly, I don't know the answer - if I did I'd be after Dave Richards job!

Yes, a combination of costs, and a lack of ambition.....I'm not sure how you can do anything about either.

Somebody on Twitter posted the entry of a French series round; it was impressive......

I watched this too. As well as all the issues mentioned above, it's also a shame that Elfyn Evans is no big personality (as he admits) . He really does nothing for raising the profile of the sport here in the UK. He also has no interest in being any kind of ambassador. Even if he were to win the WRC I doubt it would make an iota of difference.

Brit Chris Ingram winning the ERC in 2019 could've been used to get interest in the wider population but nothing was done and he still struggles to even continue to this day.

The mainstream media are really only interested in F1, and to a lesser extent, MotoGP, although Le Mans did get a bit of coverage, but anything else has no chance.

And it must be said, rallying as a sport, in the UK hasn't helped itself to sell the sport more. The decline started in the mid 00s, and nothing was done........

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AndyRAC

Somebody on Twitter posted the entry of a French series round; it was impressive......

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I was just thinking the French championship is an obvious example of a domestic series that is doing very well indeed. The MSUK Rally Strategy Review should look at France and see what they do differently - I think the answer to that might be: everything.

The only way I can see drivers being interested in doing a full season of 2-day 150-200ish km rallies in the BRC is getting the kind of drivers who have this year flocked to the ERC interested. To do that it needs to be commercially viable for them and the events themselves. To do that you’d need a big-bucks series promoter involved, like Red Bull or similar. And the only way that’s gonna happen is if MSUK make a concerted effort to make it happen because they genuinely believe the BRC could be on par with the ERC if given the right platform.

Maybe as Steve has suggested its the current nature of the beast and I'm beginning to wonder if the sport though has reached its ideal level for the times. Perhaps it isnt worth decrying the lack of a WRC or ERC round and one day BRC rounds because that is what the current rallying community are happy with. One day rallies with 40ish miles seems to fit for both current machinery owners and historics alike be it on forestry/tar or single venue. Looking at Rallies.info the entry lists seem to be healthy for most events and there are more Rally 2/R5 cars out there than there were 2 litre WRC/F2 kit cars and the like so no lack of ambition car wise.

The days of the after rally party seem to have gone down the path of " different times" so there isnt that social feel anymore so maybe its time to accept we are a niche now and our days in the sun of WRC champions and the rally everyone wanted to do (the Lombard) has gone the way of most things the sport used to be. Its not bad just different.

I think you're probably right; those with the money, and the Rally2/ R5 cars are usually the successful businessmen, who just want a short one day event. And those that want more, can't afford the cost of those events.

https://automovilismocanario.com/202...n-competicion/

Toyota Espana seem to think rallying is still worth the investment!