Potential about turn on Central Servicing

[SJ Spode]

It is been reported on www.worldrallynews.com that the FIA's WRC Commission will be asked to consider less restrictive servicing rules, such as 10min limited services / refuelling points that would allow stages to be used which are further away from the central service areas.

As well as adding variety, this could spread spectators out and not have them concentrated on a few stages.

This seems to be an about turn from the idea of central servicing and running a limited number of stages to stop the spectators jamming up the roads in between stages.

[Alpina]

I agree about the U-turn on policy. I do think this central servicing is decimating some rallies, in particular the rally GB. I used to follow from Donnington to Innerleithen to Grizedale to Clocaenog. It was fantastic. No double useage and you got to see some fantastic parts of the country. Central servicing has killed that.

[alfasud]

Hopefully it's not too late. Many rallies have already been destroyed with stupid rule changes. Rally of New Zealand used to be a 4-5 day event that covered most of the current rally route and most of the stages of the current "Rotorua Rally" too. Over the years, this has been reduced to a rally of three days.

Finding time to view the rally was difficult for me, but I've almost always managed to see at least one day - the first day when they do the Raglan area stages south of Auckland city. If you see pictures of rally of New Zealand, it's often the Whanga Coast stage (about 30km) from that first day, where you see the cars race along the side of the hills with the sea in the background.

But now in the interests of centralised servicing, I have heard it has been decided (for 2003 event) to make day one and two both centred on the same roads to the north. So they lose some of the more interesting stages and the rally becomes even more of a shadow of it's former self.

How long before the cars are simply racing around 2 or 3 stadiums that look close enough to proper rally stages so as to fool the TV audience? In fact, why not produce the whole TV series in one country and just change the props, to make it look like different conditions (fake snow etc)?

[Alpina]

I understand why central servicing was introduced. Cutting costs was vital to the survival of rallying but they are getting to the stage where they are throwing the baby out with the bathwaterand destroying events.

[alfasud]

But it has undesirable side effects.... instead of 10 stages in a day, these days it is more likely to be 3 stages (repeated twice)...... so everyone crowds onto those 3 stages and at least one of the stages is cancelled due to overcrowding.

If it's to cut costs, is running a works rally program really so much cheaper these days than in the 1980's with almost unlimited servicing?