World Rallycross Championship 2019

[tbtstt]

Probably a bit early for this, but stories seems to be trickling out about the 2019 season already so I thought I'd post in a fresh thread.

ES Motorsport are building a Skoda Fabia Supercar to run in the World Championship in 2019:

https://www.autosport.com/wrx/news/1...y-for-world-rx

To be driven by a “world famous racing driver”.

[mivec]

The first year that we have (a few) separate race dates for European Championship and World Championship?

Return for Hockenheim on the calendar?

[tbtstt]

Originally Posted by mivec

The first year that we have (a few) separate race dates for European Championship and World Championship?

Yeah, I wonder that as well. The comment from Pat (Doran) in one of the GRC articles suggested that split rounds were under consideration for 2018, so does that mean we will definitely see them in 2019?

Or will the delay of electric mean they will retain the existing event format for another year or two?

[Hickey]

Anyone who has attended an event with WRX supercar, ErX supercar and S1600 will say that it's a great weekend of action.

Recent grumble is that they keep reducing numbers of support classes. If a standalone event means we can get 35-40 ERX supercar (instead of 30) and 35-40 s1600 (instead of 25) and then you throw in a supernational category like in Belgium and Norway, then I say awesome. Let the WRX events keep their 25 supercars and 20 Rx2s. As you say Steve, until they have electric RX to plug the gap then I can't see them wanting to thin grids too much just yet. But who knows, they've shot themaelves in the foot before!

[chunder]

They wont want to lose ERX<> it bolsters the grids and keeps their coffers flowing as those idiots are happy to hand over thousands when they didn't have to before.

Until a proper rival series is started, this is how it will be

[mivec]

Some already started a rival series... It did not work.

Strange, they al want to do ERX, but they drive in the complete shadow of WRX.
Superb entrylsts, hardly some moving images to find on the internet.

[chunder]

Agreed mivec, I dont understand it either. They get very little credibility for doing so, yet spend tens of thousands on entry fees, cars and travelling to be there.

All it would take is for a group of guys to get the rights from WRX, (they wouldnt sell them, they are not that fair or decent) and a decent European series could start.

Let's hope electric takes off, they can disappear up their own arse with all their fanboys on here and proper rallycross might return in some form.

[Hickey]

These guys mostly can afford to race due to a benefactor or due to sponsorship. I still think that the biggest audience is the crowds on race day. The Facebook live figures are usually only 2000 at a time. Let's say that 10 times as many people watch later in the day. That's still on 20000, which is less than half the attendance at Holjes or loheac (both of which now have ERX supercars). Maybe sponsors want to stay in the series to ensure good crowds at those places.

I take your point about internet coverage but we must be missing something. People are driven by money not some allegiance to IMG. It must be working for them financially somehow for them to keep coming back in their droves. You need that critical mass which the Euro challenge just never had.

[chunder]

Where else are they goign to race?

National series other than Scandinavia are dead on their arse,

There are tens of cars out there owned by rich benefactors like Scott and the like, who just want to race among their so called peers.

It's a bit like running a clubby event at a MotoGP meeting, everyone would wnat to be there to race, simply to be there.

That will wear off eventually.

[tbtstt]

There was a short spell where expanded European coverage was appearing on You Tube, but that doesn't seem to happen any more. As said, it's surprising that the European Championship has so much appeal (for seemingly little attention) but, whatever the reason(s), I am glad they exist as the European Championship has provided some great racing the last couple of years.

I am holding out for split World and Euro rounds; standalone Euro rounds (hopefully at traditional circuits) would give the old fans what they want when electric arrives on the scene.

[crossfades]

According to a Swedish newspaper, Teknikens Värld (or The Technical World), Audi was the only manufacture in WRX at the moment that said no to electric cars and apparently they weren't interested in it all in 2021. The writer also mentioned a rumor that Audi weren't going to invest in EKS in 2019 and that Dieter Gass, head of Audi's motorsport division, wants him as a team boss for an Audi DTM team.

https://teknikensvarld.se/mattias-ek...baka-till-dtm/
https://teknikensvarld.se/elektrisk-...oss-far-vanta/

[tbtstt]

Originally Posted by crossfades

According to a Swedish newspaper, Teknikens Värld (or The Technical World), Audi was the only manufacture in WRX at the moment that said no to electric cars and apparently they weren't interested in it all in 2021. The writer also mentioned a rumor that Audi weren't going to invest in EKS in 2019 and that Dieter Gass, head of Audi's motorsport division, wants him as a team boss for an Audi DTM team.

https://teknikensvarld.se/mattias-ek...baka-till-dtm/
https://teknikensvarld.se/elektrisk-...oss-far-vanta/

I must admit I am very surprised by that. Given that Audi withdrew from the WEC and issued a press release at the time which referenced electric and rallycross I am shocked that they are not one of the manufacturers keen on electric rallycross.

[chunder]

They are quite happy spending money on the pointless exercise that is FE.

And letting VW spend millions on rallycross that was pencilled in for WRC in the Polo.

[Juntos]

Ok, we can count with Audi WRX departure from today. Will EKS keep running those cars as privateers? That is the question.

[rallycrossnl]

Originally Posted by tbtstt

I must admit I am very surprised by that. Given that Audi withdrew from the WEC and issued a press release at the time which referenced electric and rallycross I am shocked that they are not one of the manufacturers keen on electric rallycross.

Could be politics. Who knows what happens behind the curtain or under the green table cloth. If IMG wanted something Audi sees no profit in, or something unrealistic, they walk.

[tbtstt]

Originally Posted by Juntos

Ok, we can count with Audi WRX departure from today. Will EKS keep running those cars as privateers? That is the question.

Although it seems like Audi are pulling out, I would like to see the story reported by one of the major news sites before I take it as fact.

[crossfades]

Audi has announced two campaigns for next year, Formula E and DTM according to German Motorsport Total.

https://www.motorsport-total.com/wrx...m-ein-18082901

According to sources parcferme.no has been in contact with, Audi is pulling out. One source said that they are apparently not interested in rallycross anymore and added further that there weren't enough of committed manufactures to electric cars.

Parcferme has tried to contact Ekström but without luck and Bakkerud didn't want to comment on the matter.

Interestingly at the end of the article, Ekström told Pure Rallycross last year before the contract for this season that he had such a big interest for rallycross that if Audi weren't interested he would look for an another manufacture to work with.

https://parcferme.no/rallycross/andr...tten-fra-audi/

[FIRE]

Audi leaving EKS not good for EKS and WRX.
I don't see a new manufacturer join the series.
Next season at EKS: Ekstrom + paydriver?

I think the whole Audi factory backing was because of Ekstrom. They have a long history together and as a sort of gesture they joined EKS. There was no real strategy behind joining rallycross.

[NaBUru38]

Even if there are less manufacturers, privateers can get sponsors thanks to IMG's involvement, right?

[BertMk2]

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

Even if there are less manufacturers, privateers can get sponsors thanks to IMG's involvement, right?

Not enough to compete. It's the usual story - series is successful, manufacturers arrive, costs go up, manufacturers leave, series collapses as costs not sustainable.

[FIRE]

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

Even if there are less manufacturers, privateers can get sponsors thanks to IMG's involvement, right?

Yes but costs have exploded in recent years.

[chunder]

Costs ahve always been high

A top Supercar has cost well over 250k SECOND HAND for years now.

That was OK when the sport was populated by rich businessmen who could afford to buy one now and then.

But now they cost more and cost three or four times that to run.

The registration fees are insane, as are a lot of other costs.

it is not just the manfacturers, IMG went with it and never thought of the consequences, cretins like that never do.

Look at al the things that have risen and fallen over the years, Group B, Group C, ITC, Super Touring, WEC to some degree. Group A touring cars,

I always expected WRX to have a short life, you could just tell by the way it exploded, with no real content or thought. It was packaged, sold and totally changed before you had time to think.

[BertMk2]

Originally Posted by chunder

Look at al the things that have risen and fallen over the years, Group B, Group C, ITC, Super Touring, WEC to some degree. Group A touring cars,

Whilst I agree with most if that list Group B never made it to that stage - that was still very much in the "arms race" phase when it was killed off. Who knows what the final Group B cars would have been like if it had run its course.

[chunder]

Group B would have become Group S, that was the plan, and let us all remember it was not really the cars (other than Lancia) that were the problem, it was the events organisers and the spectators in some countries.

As Group B cars had a perfect safety record in rallycross, not many fires (Alamaki had a bad one in Austria) but their safety record was excellent.

What I meant was the manufacturer war, Group never really had a chance to decline, but you could see it coming.

Group A rallying certainly had a peak and decline as did the World Rally Car era, ending up with just Citroen and Ford. But at one time Skoda, SEAT, Peugeot, Hyundai, Suzuki, Subaru and Mitsubishi.

[tbtstt]

No Mettet in the 2019 calendar.

https://mailchi.mp/mpacreative/fia-w...9?e=b54d66c2f0

Not a great bit of news. I really liked the track plus it was an easy one to get to from the UK. Perhaps the rumours about Spa are true?