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Old 6 Jun 2016, 17:18 (Ref:3647737)   #5
crossfades
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Join Date: Apr 2013
Sweden
Posts: 957
crossfades should be qualifying in the top 10 on the grid
They would need a total revamp and to bring back privateers in order to save the series. There are so many things wrong with it IMO. I too have wondered how the series stays alive but with Red Bull as main backers and other big sponsors along with big teams like OMSE, Andretti, Ganassi etc., it somehow keeps going. But probably not for too long.

I'm not sure what my feeling are about GRC really. Partly it takes away interest from teams and drivers for WRX but it does bring rallycross to an American audience which I think is quite cool. The main thing I don't like about the series though is how they "americanized" rallycross. Silly jumps, tracks, rules, along with other things is just too much, even if I understand that things needs to be different in order to reach a greater audience, especially in the US. But for me it has become something else than genuine rallycross.

The series seems to depend a lot on Europe for cars and know-how. For example the Subaru's which last year that was US-built didn't stand a chance against the other cars. Volkswagen just built two Beetle's and handed it over to Andretti to race with and Honda dosen't really seem to be involved in the project from what I've seen. The other cars (Fiestas) in the series has been bought and built from and by OMSE and M-Sport, and Millen's Hyunday utilizes an engine from Julian Godfrey. The lack of American built cars shows the lack of interest in rallycross from Americans IMO.

I know that IMG is heading the WRX in a similar direction but at least it has a growing interest and is situated in Europe where rallycross has a history and base. Besides, IMG has not interfered with track layouts (for what I know at least) or tried to change the rallycross into something more extreme, although they've done some bad things like raising costs through the roof strangling some tracks and privateers. Hopefully WRX won't go as wrong as GRC, which seems to be dead within in a year or two.
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