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[What's Burning?]

It's not Loeb, it's the lack of manufacturers making competitive cars... Like i said 10 years ago you had Ford, Peugeot, Subaru, Mitsubishi, Toyota, Seat, Citroen... now basically only Citroen, their drivers will just win all the races next season.

Why do you think that is? I mean from an economic standpoint it's got to be pennies on the dollar to race in the WRC as compared to other series and the perplexing this is that these are real cars that directly translate towards real sales on the new car showroom for all of the manufacturers.

I have no explanation for it.

[scotty]

I think there's one main point - manufacturer involvment (in some cases the lack of this can be attributed to the economic situation) and road relevance to their car ranges. I mean i can't see why a VW Polo would need extensive offroad R&D (which make no mistake is a large part of why manufacturers get involved in motorsport), although i guess they must have some logic that i don't know about. Also i think the rule changes that effectively have outlawed Impreza's and Evo's and such cars have closed a lot of doors. It was a sad day when Subaru left, cause their motorsport division exists to go rallying in my view.

Although it's hard to say in true detail really, there are far too many factors that play a part (i don't really fancy writing out my thoughts in a full explanation cause it'd be such a massive essay ).

Another problem is that it seems to me like the WRC has ongoing problems with TV coverage, which surely doesn't help. It's good for those manufacturers to get their names all over the TV after all...

But perhaps it's not all that bad, it seems manufacturer involvement in motorsport moves in cycles so maybe it'll come back around to us in the future. And if Ford and Mini had stuck around in the WRC, then alongside VW and Citroen that could have developed into a pretty cool battle.

[Frontrunner]

Can't see how WRC is going to get back on the map, having seen no coverage, highlight shows or not even a mention on sport reports during this year. The sport seems dead. well... in a world championship sense

[scotty]

Funny, we have this mini discussion, and then...

Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz believes the time has come to tap into the potential of the World Rally Championship.

Red Bull Media House and German firm Sportsman Media are in the process of acquiring the global media and promotional rights to the WRC on a long-term basis.

For the first time, Mateschitz has explained some of the reasoning behind Red Bull's decision to move beyond driver and team sponsorship and get involved in series promotion.

In an interview in the FIA's new magazine AUTO, Mateschitz said: "It's true that we believe the potential of the WRC to be bigger than it has appeared in the media in recent years. We will try to uncover its potential and tap into it.

"Only time will tell how it pans out and how successful our efforts will be."

One of the key areas Mateschitz is keen to develop is the human side of the WRC.

"Big personality drivers are always important in any motorsport," he said, "which, of course, also means you can cover the various drivers' profiles in the media and set priorities accordingly."

In contrast to FIA president Jean Todt, who is keen to revive longer distance rallies with a greater emphasis on endurance, Mateschitz sees no reason to return to bygone eras of the WRC.

"I don't think it makes sense to relive the past," he said. "Rally driving should definitely not be any more dangerous than it already is."

The WRC has been accused in the past of being fixated on top-line manufacturer involvement.

In the past, the championship has run with seven main carmakers, but with Ford's decision to withdraw its support, only Volkswagen and Citroen remain - and the latter comes with considerable commercial backing.

It is the model of Citroen's Abu Dhabi backing and M-Sport's Qatari funding that Mateschitz feels is more relevant to the WRC now.

"Of course," said Mateschitz, "a broad range of marques is important to the WRC; it doesn't really matter whether they're works teams or privateer teams backed by works outfits.

"The important thing is that the teams and their drivers should perform well, are competitive and put on a good and exciting show."

Sources in the FIA have confirmed the agreement between the sport's governing body and Red Bull Media House and Sportsman Media has still not been signed.

At least someone is showing interest in getting the WRC back where it belongs i guess. However, as usual, Mateschitz perhaps has questionable motives - ie more business than motorsport reasons. If Todt said he wanted to see the old school enduro rallies back, i agree they should have a couple back on the calendar, they mix it up a bit. Something like the Safari Rally is utterly legendary, and should never have left the calendar.

By the same token, i thought there were some really neat ideas coming through recently - the Power Stage is pretty cool, and the idea for drivers to 'qualify' for certain events where running first causes problems.

[Jabberwocky]

I love Redbulls business plan.

Buy a team in a sport.
Make it a viable team so it supports itself.
Free advertising for you drinks

[scotty]

Monte soon... and it's gonna be snowy! The motorsport year is kicking off.

[What's Burning?]

WRC as much as we love it, is a red headed step child. Hear me out, from a business side, it's difficult to televise, it's even more difficult to charge spectators to see an event and the state of the sport over the last few years with manufacturers pulling out has profoundly hurt the promotion of the sport outside of the WRC world. Today it's all about profits.

What will happen remains to be seen, but I fear that to monetize it the way the Red Bull empire wants to, may leave us with a very unrecognizable shadow of it's former self. Profitable, but unrecognizable.

[LewEngBridewell]

I remember watching WRC on ITV1 (one of the main UK channels). What has happened since... there seems to have been a massive drop in popularity

[Albenarth]

Does anyone know where I could find t.v. coverage of the WRC this season? Highlights would do if nothing better was available.

[racechick]

Doesn't seem to be anything confirmed for England yet but I think it's being shown on S4C in Wales if you can get access to that.

[scotty]

I use Racing For Me to torrent hard to find motorsport footage. Problem is you need an invite, and i don't have any...

[LRW]

I use Racing For Me to torrent hard to find motorsport footage. Problem is you need an invite, and i don't have any...

Well thats just selfish....!

[Albenarth]

Doesn't seem to be anything confirmed for England yet but I think it's being shown on S4C in Wales if you can get access to that.

I can get S4C on my Sky Box - I think.

The world's premier rally championship, and you would have a better chance of seeing televised coverage of some minor local rally. What a crock of ....!

[andrew]

Rallying ain't what it used to be but I wish it was still on TV. I remember when the BBC used to show F1, BTCC, WRC, superbikes, MotoGP and motocross. Now they struggle with decent F1 and MotoGP coverage. Bad times.

[What's Burning?]

I blame the British audience. Since You say WRC ain't what it used to be why would the BBC air it?