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Old 26 Oct 2016, 11:53 (Ref:3682991)   #21
BertMk2
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Originally Posted by tbtstt View Post
I don't know if anyone else has seen the Audi press release this morning...

https://www.audi-mediacenter.com/en/...ad-of-wec-6980

...where they have made the (utterly stupid) decision to withdraw from the WEC and focus on Formula E instead. The press release also includes a few lines about the World Rallycross Championship, specifically:

"No final decision has yet been made concerning a future involvement in the FIA World Rallycross Championship (World RX). In the current 2016 season, DTM factory driver Mattias Ekström in his Audi S1 EKS RX quattro clinched the World Championship title early, competing against numerous factory teams. Up to now, Audi’s involvement has been limited to supporting the private EKS team. The brand is currently evaluating a possible extension of the commitment, the exciting topic of electrification being on the agenda in rallycross racing as well."

All electric World RX cars? I hope not!
Audi have just killed the LMP1 class. They've committed to DTM (but like the other manufacturers in DTM will run less cars) - I guess they're hoping the switch to 'class 1' regulations will bring in the Japanese manufacturers from Super GT that they've been courting.

Formula E seems to be the latest playground for manufacturers - but it's profile is negligible and (IMO) is a dismal series.

I guess there will still be plenty of GT3 machinery shipped out to customer teams and then there's the new TCR cars going out to customer teams. Audi could continue to ride the coat tails of EKS in rallycross all the time the results are there and get some promotion for very little real outlay.

Electric cars have already appeared in the Andros Trophy and I think VW were making noises about having them in Rallycross a while back. All electric racing doesn't appeal to me - the noise of internal combustion engines is part of the appeal of many racing series, electric whining just doesn't cut it. Anti-lag, induction roar, high revving n/a engines, turbo chatter - all good things that add to the experience.
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