US to start rallycross series in 2010

[tbtstt]

Rally America are going to launch a US rallycross season next year; its going to start as an exhibition series in 2010 with 3 rounds, with a view to having a complete season in 2011.

Looks to be two catagories for it, which seem to be the equivalant of the "Supercar" and "Super Modified" in the British Championship. Full story can be found on the Rally America site:

http://www.rally-america.com/story.php?article=540

Personally I think this is great news; maybe the "extreme" background the US are likely to give the sport is not to everyones taste, but anything that can raise the profile of the sport has to be a good thing.

[Barrie]

In theory this should be great news, but as weve seen with other sports they ve got a habit of messing around with the original concept due partly to the fact most Americans have got the attention span of a nat, and of course the endless ad breaks and the annoyance of drivers spending most of there interviews bigging up there backer, plus as you mentioned tbtstt it would be regarded as an extreme sport.

[mountainstar]

Originally Posted by Barrie

In theory this should be great news, but as weve seen with other sports they ve got a habit of messing around with the original concept due partly to the fact most Americans have got the attention span of a nat, and of course the endless ad breaks and the annoyance of drivers spending most of there interviews bigging up there backer, plus as you mentioned tbtstt it would be regarded as an extreme sport.

Part of why all this came about is because other than the Subaru factory supported team, sponsorship is weak for the RA championship. For the X games though most of those that qualify have been able to source decent funding, so the past few years the game has been to do enough in the first half of the season to qualify for X games and then once done, possibly not complete the rest of the RA championship in the fall. The X games hence being more important than the overall championship and the fact that all the privateers can't run with the Subaru team on a consistent basis throughout the championship.

There are a number of great rallies here in the USA well supported by locals, but it hasn't crossed into mainstream yet.

The rallycross concept is interesting but I don't think they'll abandon stage rally completely.

In regards to Americans having the attention span of a gnat, rallycross is a european sport so there much be a bunch of europeans over there with attention deficit disorder.

[Burnsie]

Originally Posted by Barrie

In theory this should be great news, but as weve seen with other sports they ve got a habit of messing around with the original concept...

My thoughts exactly Barrie. I'm not sure of the relevance of this, but in the Colin McRae DiRT 2 game (which was developed by the likes of Ken Block & Travis Pastrana) the "rallycross" events have got huge jumps which you would expect to see at an X-Games event!

Originally Posted by Barrie

...most Americans have got the attention span of a nat

Sadly that might be true in terms of mass-appeal. Unfortunately the organisers might feel the need to meddle with the original concept in an effort to make the sport more marketable to the American market, but I sincerely hope they don't. Rallycross is a fantastic sport to watch already, leave it alone! Having said that, anything that creates an increased interest in motorsport can only be a good thing.

[F.O.F.]

Well you don't really need much of an attention span to enjoy rallycross! Races are over long before they get a chance to become boring and you can be watching another one 1 minute later.It's why I've always thought it could be a success in the states.I would expect them to meddle with it a bit though.

[nickyf1]

Should be interesting, and I can tell you, it will NOT be like what it is here, give it a few years, and it will pretty much be run in Arena's all over the country, rather than at tracks like Road Atlanta, Sonoma, Watkins Glen and the likes.

Fans can support their favourite Energy Drink!

[mountainstar]

Originally Posted by Burnsie

My thoughts exactly Barrie. I'm not sure of the relevance of this, but in the Colin McRae DiRT 2 game (which was developed by the likes of Ken Block & Travis Pastrana) the "rallycross" events have got huge jumps which you would expect to see at an X-Games event!


Sadly that might be true in terms of mass-appeal. Unfortunately the organisers might feel the need to meddle with the original concept in an effort to make the sport more marketable to the American market, but I sincerely hope they don't. Rallycross is a fantastic sport to watch already, leave it alone! Having said that, anything that creates an increased interest in motorsport can only be a good thing.

Well I understand what Rally America is trying to and basically it all comes down to generating revenue and increasing the fan base. I have mixed feelings about it due to the fact 3 national level rallies got canned but otherwise if done well it would be a good thing.

One RA rally I am very closely familiar with they went to a superspecial in the evenings on both days of the rally. It worked out great because every night they sold thousands of tickets for $5 each. Also it brought a lot of people out that would not otherwise be trooping out into the forest to see the stages. And I think due to the casual fan being exposed it also generated more local interest and also I felt the spectator #'s on the stages were higher this year.

As long as Rally America doesn't abandon stage rally but uses X Games like events to broaden the appeal, I'm fine with it.

[tbtstt]

Originally Posted by Burnsie

My thoughts exactly Barrie. I'm not sure of the relevance of this, but in the Colin McRae DiRT 2 game (which was developed by the likes of Ken Block & Travis Pastrana) the "rallycross" events have got huge jumps which you would expect to see at an X-Games event!

Its funny you mentioned that as, when I was playing that LA track in DiRT 2, I wondered if the X-Games would pick up on the rallycross format rather than the crossover style events they run now. DiRT 2 is all about the Battersea rallycross circuit though!

As for the extreme sport thing; yeah, there are some negatives to this approach, but extreme sports are big money these days and with that comes sponsorship and the like. Not saying that I want to see rallycross turned into a mass of advertisement and Americans throwing silly shapes to the cameras (no offense!), but more backing is likely to result in more competitors and, irrespective of what logos are on the side of the cars, thats what I want to see as a spectator.

Originally Posted by mountainstar

As long as Rally America doesn't abandon stage rally but uses X Games like events to broaden the appeal, I'm fine with it.

Well said; people often criticise the X-Games "rally" as they see it as representative of the Rally America series as a whole; if they can use the X-Games to promote rally (and perhaps rallycross as well) then good luck to them - if they succeed then it can only give us more motorsport to watch, which is always a good thing!

[mountainstar]

Originally Posted by tbtstt

Well said; people often criticise the X-Games "rally" as they see it as representative of the Rally America series as a whole; if they can use the X-Games to promote rally (and perhaps rallycross as well) then good luck to them - if they succeed then it can only give us more motorsport to watch, which is always a good thing!

The reality is that the X games is the only realistic chance any of the rally privateers have of raising funding of a reasonable amount that might help pay for the year. X games also has prize money as well, which is also a nice bonus.

There was one driver outside of the Subaru team that before this financial crisis hit, he was able to obtain sponsorship of $700,000 from an energy drink company. That was more than enough to run the car for the year and bank some $ as well. None of that would have been possible without the X games.

Ideally I'd like to see RA at the Winter X games in Aspen as well. I guess if you had several X game type events with rallycross, six or seven stage rallies and maybe the Pikes Peak hillclimb again, then it's be a interesting championship.

[tbtstt]

Originally Posted by mountainstar

Ideally I'd like to see RA at the Winter X games in Aspen as well. I guess if you had several X game type events with rallycross, six or seven stage rallies and maybe the Pikes Peak hillclimb again, then it's be a interesting championship.

I've never even considered Pikes Peak as part of the RA Championship - great idea, though I wonder if the event would be too much for the RA competition cars? Mind you, they'd all be at an equal disadvantage, so perhaps not.

Be a great way of getting Pikes Peak a bit more attention as well - I've said it before and I'll say it again, but Pikes Peak is such an underrated event. I still can't believe how poor the coverage of it is.

[Hickey]

Would have thought that rallycross fits in nicely with the States' dependence on adverts every 5 minutes - one race, two ads - without missing any action. Perfect!

I share Mountainstar's concerns though. Imagine if the WRC and the ERC were to merge over here (for starters running the same cars would mean significantly less powerful ERC machines). There would be a real danger of one taking preference, and entries suffering. Unfortunately for the stage rallies, rallycross is more TV friendly (it was designed for TV afterall) and when money speaks, the stage rallies won't get a word in edgeways.

Also shared the same views re Dirt 2 - very different style of rallcross to Dirt 1!

Hope it works out well for the sport and the US public/competitors. Just another small victory for rallycross - it is definitely going through a purple patch.

[mountainstar]

Originally Posted by tbtstt

I've never even considered Pikes Peak as part of the RA Championship - great idea, though I wonder if the event would be too much for the RA competition cars? Mind you, they'd all be at an equal disadvantage, so perhaps not.

Be a great way of getting Pikes Peak a bit more attention as well - I've said it before and I'll say it again, but Pikes Peak is such an underrated event. I still can't believe how poor the coverage of it is.

Rally America used to run Pikes Peak for a few years as their own class. I can't remember the reasons they pulled out though. I was there for one of the events in 2005 or 2006. The only thing was by the time the "production" cars got up to 12000 feet in elevation there wasn't much of a spectacle as the lack of air had robbed the engines of horsepower.

However with some tweaks to air restrictors, I'd like to see it back.

[mountainstar]

Originally Posted by Hickey

Would have thought that rallycross fits in nicely with the States' dependence on adverts every 5 minutes - one race, two ads - without missing any action. Perfect!

I share Mountainstar's concerns though. Imagine if the WRC and the ERC were to merge over here (for starters running the same cars would mean significantly less powerful ERC machines). There would be a real danger of one taking preference, and entries suffering. Unfortunately for the stage rallies, rallycross is more TV friendly (it was designed for TV afterall) and when money speaks, the stage rallies won't get a word in edgeways.

Also shared the same views re Dirt 2 - very different style of rallcross to Dirt 1!

Hope it works out well for the sport and the US public/competitors. Just another small victory for rallycross - it is definitely going through a purple patch.

The deal I worry about with rallycross is that it has never been able to maintain the public attention for very long nor has it made it to the mainstream. In Australia for instance in the 1970's it became very popular for a few years with great tv coverage and lots of competitors and fans, but then died out for various reasons.

Stadium off road truck racing in the USA was much the same, with a peak in interest and then a quick fade out.

So I'll keep an open mind about this and as long as there is a good mix of events then I am fine with it.

[NaBUru38]

Originally Posted by mountainstar

Ideally I'd like to see RA at the Winter X games in Aspen as well.

Something like the Andros Trophy, i.e. rallycross on the snow, would be great for the WInter X Games. The issue with rallying and rallycross in the United States is that they aren't so fond of compact cars in motor racing. Taxis, open-wheelers, sports cars and pickup trucks are far more popular there. How about allowing GT3-like cars?

[NaBUru38]

Originally Posted by mountainstar

Part of why all this [i.e. European-style rallycross] came about is because other than the Subaru factory supported team, sponsorship is weak for the RA championship. For the X games though most of those that qualify have been able to source decent funding, so the past few years the game has been to do enough in the first half of the season to qualify for X games and then once done, possibly not complete the rest of the RA championship in the fall. The X games hence being more important than the overall championship and the fact that all the privateers can't run with the Subaru team on a consistent basis throughout the championship.

That problem would get fixed because the 2010 championship ends in July and Summer X Games are held in early August:

2010 Rally America National Rally Championship schedule
1. January - Sno*Drift Rally - Atlanta, MI
2. February - Rally of the 100 Acre Wood - Salem, MO
3. April - Olympus Rally - Olympia, WA
4. May - Oregon Trail Rally - Hood River, OR
5. June - Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally - Wellsboro, PA
6. July - New England Forest Rally - Newry, ME

Besides, the Rally America competition director, Mike Hurst, is quoted saying: “The six-event schedule will not only make it more affordable for the teams, but allow for better competition as well as allow Rally America to introduce European-style rally cross competition in the fall.”

[M.Lowe]

Rallying in America is good and different with regards to class structure.
I was watching my American rally tapes from when drivers like Mark Higgins, Mark Lovell, Johnny Milner, David Higgins, Lauchlin O'Sullivan and others where flying around the US forests.

The Irish ex pats do well and the US drivers in the championship plus the ex pat British brothers that compete and ya man Lestage.
Rallycross will be good for the crowds as it will be different to watch, but I hope that Rallying stays part of the US as there are some dam good events to watch

[Barrie]

Um.

[rs 200]

what are the car regs in usa is it anything goes or resticted power /space frame etc

[rx-guru]

Originally Posted by rs 200

what are the car regs in usa is it anything goes or resticted power /space frame etc

http://www.global-rallycross.com/wp-...crossRules.pdf

[rx-guru]

Originally Posted by rs 200

what are the car regs in usa is it anything goes or resticted power /space frame etc

The top cars have engines as in the ERC, if turbocharged max. 2058cc and also 45mm restrictor. But there is more freedom for the chassis.

http://www.motoiq.com/magazine_artic...ubaru-sti.aspx

[rs 200]

Originally Posted by rx-guru

The top cars have engines as in the ERC, if turbocharged max. 2058cc and also 45mm restrictor. But there is more freedom for the chassis.

http://www.motoiq.com/magazine_artic...ubaru-sti.aspx

Thankyou