2024 World Rallycross

[BertMk2]

Interesting annoucement for 2024 ICE cars are back in world rallycross:

https://www.fiaworldrallycross.com/a...a-for-World-RX

The top category will run electric and ICE cars alongside each other, the ICE cars will run sustainable fuels. It'll be interesting to see how many cars of each type are entered - the annoucement mentions 16 cars in the field but not if there are limits on numbers of each power type.

There still doesn't appear to be an answer to the cause of the fire at Lydden so is this a way of ensuring the championship can still run even if the electric cars don't get the all clear?

[FIRE]

Source: https://www.fiaworldrallycross.com/a...ship-contender

Skoda Fabia RX1e from ESmotorsport.

[FIRE]

Originally Posted by BertMk2

so is this a way of ensuring the championship can still run even if the electric cars don't get the all clear?

Looks like but do the RX1e teams still have ICE cars?

And they need to BoP the cars.

[tbtstt]

Originally Posted by BertMk2

There still doesn't appear to be an answer to the cause of the fire at Lydden so is this a way of ensuring the championship can still run even if the electric cars don't get the all clear?

I am curious if the electric cars for the new season will be RX2E (running with Supercars in a similar vein to RallyX Nordic), or RX1E cars with some sort of restriction/penalty.

As said though, the latter depends on the RX1E getting the all clear. Personally I have my doubts that the investigation will reach a conclusion any time soon. I wonder if there might be some dispensation to run them "at the owners risk"? (Or perhaps more likely with enhanced safety procedures in place?)

Originally Posted by FIRE

Looks like but do the RX1e teams still have ICE cars?

KMS had the "Killer Pig" up for sale; not sure if it sold but, even if it did, they should have one of their own Polos (plus apparently they have a VW Motorsport Polo on show in the workshop, but I presume they can't use that?).

I think GRX/CE Dealer Team have sold everything now as we know four ex-GRX i20's are out in the wild.

Possibly one GCK Megane still with Guerlain?

Possibly an older 208 (or two?) left with Hansen? I think the Peugeot Sport cars have all found new homes?

Don't think ES sold their Fabia, so that is still around.

And All Inkl have more Supercars then they know what to do with!

[CS1]

Any news on the 2024 Calendar ?

[tbtstt]

Originally Posted by CS1

Any news on the 2024 Calendar ?

Nothing seen yet. I have read a few comments on FB and elsewhere that are saying something will be announced at the end of the month, but I haven't seen anything official to support that.

[flatlandsman]

It was very late last year I would imagine they are just desperately trying to get people to pay to host rounds, most series are already sorted, shows that really it is clinging on to life by a thread.

[ArnageWRC]

It's not good when we're already at the end of February, and no calendar for 2024 has been published.
No way to run a series - but what do you expect from them? They're hopeless at most things they do......

[Pozi]

Calendar is out but not a lot to get excited about with 5 rounds in Europe and 1 in Australia.

https://www.fiaworldrallycross.com/a...-2024-calendar

[BertMk2]

Not sure how they retain the 'world' championship status with only two continents hosting events?

Interesting to see that all of the European rounds are also rounds of the European Championship. Presumably they've realised that the world championship doesn't have the depth to carry a stand alone event.

[CS1]

I actually see the shortened calendar as a positive.......... Seems pretty evident to me the next two years are going to be transitional years and it will go back to a European Championship probably dovetailing with Rallyx Nordic

There are enough cars that have filtered down to have a good championship again we've just got to be patient and let the electric thing pass

[BertMk2]

Originally Posted by CS1

I actually see the shortened calendar as a positive.......... Seems pretty evident to me the next two years are going to be transitional years and it will go back to a European Championship probably dovetailing with Rallyx Nordic

I think it's certainly a sign that the World Championship isn't really viable as a stand alone entity. With no local championships anywhere outside Europe it really doesn't make sense.

Originally Posted by CS1

There are enough cars that have filtered down to have a good championship again we've just got to be patient and let the electric thing pass

There do seem to be plenty of cars about - and of course this season they're running ICE alongside the electric cars in the World Championship so more new ICE cars are a possibility. Maybe the electric cars will just be quietly phased out and never mentioned again.

[flatlandsman]

The deal used to be that you had to have at least two rounds in a continent away from the base.

This was the case in the past but only very loosely, Canada and even Turkey once as it was in Asia loL!

This was when the series was booming, it is very far from that now and is waiting to be killed like a lion that has been drugged by a hunter!

I would expect this is also contractual.

There were a few people sounding the death knell even in the heyday.

[DoMw94]

Originally Posted by CS1

probably dovetailing with Rallyx Nordic

You won't see World RX working with RallyX Nordic any time soon. World RX looks down its nose at other series, and with RallyX closely aligned with Nitrocross, that's enough for World RX to arrogantly stay away.

World RX won't work with anyone and sees every other series as competition, whereas all the other championships realise there needs to be collaboration and cooperation to grow the sport as a whole.

That's one of the big reasons why World RX has gone downhill fast with this new promoter. They're stubbornly going it alone for the sake of it and it's not working

[flatlandsman]

I said at the time IMG left the sport in tatters, let it die, and it is even more so the case now, it will come back as it was a great little sport for wealthy amateurs, that is what is always was and will always be from now on.

[DoMw94]

Originally Posted by flatlandsman

I said at the time IMG left the sport in tatters, let it die, and it is even more so the case now, it will come back as it was a great little sport for wealthy amateurs, that is what is always was and will always be from now on.

I think it's definitely one of those 'don't know what you've got until it's gone' scenarios. IMG wasn't perfect, and a lot didn't like what they did, but they did create World RX and it was in a damn site better shape under their stewardship than it is under the useless current promoter

[steve_r]

Is WRX still only 9 drivers? If so, for goodness sake, they need to do something about it. Heat after heat after heat, and in the end everyone still running makes it into the Semi final. Pointless.

It used to be good.

[flatlandsman]

I would disagree to some extent. IMG did a lot of good for sure, but they also did too much and did very little that did not directly benefit them, that left the sport in the tatters it is in now, Red Bull cannot be blamed for that really, they inherited an absolute no hoper and are simply trying to flog any vestige of propfit from it and packed it into a WRC schedule.

But the real,damage was done when WRX forgot what it was, and that is ALL IMG's fault sadly.

[ArnageWRC]

Originally Posted by DoMw94

I think it's definitely one of those 'don't know what you've got until it's gone' scenarios. IMG wasn't perfect, and a lot didn't like what they did, but they did create World RX and it was in a damn site better shape under their stewardship than it is under the useless current promoter

The same Promoter who have run the WRC into almost irrelevance.....Only the ERC seems in reasonable health.

[DoMw94]

Originally Posted by ArnageWRC

The same Promoter who have run the WRC into almost irrelevance.....Only the ERC seems in reasonable health.

Exactly right. People continue to complain about IMG but it's blatantly obvious that WRCP is useless. It's killed WRC, and it's buried an already weak World RX.

[FIRE]

I assume initially IMG was pouring lots of money into it but after a couple of seasons there was no return on investment and they left.

[flatlandsman]

I think the reasons for RX failure are several.

Initially there was a huge boom of success, the sport needed a media push and it got it, it also coincided with a dull era in other Motorsport and rallycross filled a gap.

Sadly this left IMG thinking they were on a gold mine and after initially sticking to what ERC were doing they went their own way, going to new venues, making it a world series which was a dumb, idiotic idea.

Mainly because the venues would pay out the hosting fees, and then make no money as there was no base for rallycross in Canada, South Africa, Turkey, Barcelona, and numerous other venues.

Secondly they became obsessed with manufacturers and linking the sport to F1, so they went to a lot of F1 venues like Hockenheim, Silverstone, Spa, Barcelona, Abu Dhabi, Turkey. they presumed fans were dumb and linked the sport to existing big venues while dropping most of the old, traditional ones (and making the hosting fee unattainably high for places like Holland and Poland), this was great initially until those venues lost money on the events and bailed. Silverstone being a classic example they tried to make a sort of Glastonbury but the initial pricing was so ridiculous the entire event flopped within two years.

Finally they tried to run before they could walk, they made a few quid and then tried to make WRX a giant world level motorsport when in reality it only ever will be a European based series, the FIA should have stepped in but they didn't.

Red Bull came in after IMG abandoned it and are still basically trying to flog it to anyone who will pay, the manufacturers have all gone, the drivers have in most cases yet it is still being bundled in with rallying as a sort of off season entertainment thing.

Saddest part of all, the people who made these decisions and helped IMG totally ransack the sport were people involved in the peak periods of the 90's they should have known better, but they allowed themselves to be pulled in by the glitz and money from IMG, who have now pretty much dropped all motorsport from their portfolio.

[MotorsportMentalist]

Three months later, and a lot has happened. The Australian round was dropped for China, which in turn has been dropped for a return to Istanbul. The European champions have been crowned and next years prospective calendar has been unveiled, with planned returns to Canada, Finland and the UK, all to new venues (so sadly no Lydden it would seem). The promoters are also quite keen to go to Australia too, as that’s back.

[steve_r]

Originally Posted by MotorsportMentalist

Three months later, and a lot has happened. The Australian round was dropped for China, which in turn has been dropped for a return to Istanbul. The European champions have been crowned and next years prospective calendar has been unveiled, with planned returns to Canada, Finland and the UK, all to new venues (so sadly no Lydden it would seem). The promoters are also quite keen to go to Australia too, as that’s back.

Any news on any new cars to swell the sparse grid? And dare I mention, perhaps some non-Scandinavian drivers, so that people actually look at this like a world series?

[FIRE]

Dump the World status and go back to European Championship.