Photo Credit: Hyundai Motorsport Last month I wrote a piece discussing whether the FIA European Rally Championship was dying, listing a number of reasons as to why I felt it isn't what it used to be, especially not when you look at how strong the Intercontinental Rally Challenge was for a few years.
What do you do on a Tuesday night? Well if your name is Luke Barry, which mine is, and you aren't working, which tonight I'm not, then you'll end up lying on your bed, looking through social media on your phone and then your mind will start to wander. That is the exact situation I am in right now as I type away, and what I have thought of is by no means a solution to the ERC's problems because it's highly unlikely to happen, but my idea is to me the perfect solution to extracting the true potential the R5 formula holds. Because I don't think it's just the FIA ERC that is struggling, WRC2 isn't too great either. Don't get me wrong, the entry list for Monte-Carlo last weekend was particularly impressive with Andreas Mikkelsen, Jan Kopecky, Pontus Tidemand, Eric Camilli, Bryan Bouffier and Kevin Abbring (pictured above) all taking the start. And the talent it has helped to promote with the likes of Craig Breen, Elfyn Evans and Esapekka Lappi all coming through the ranks with Teemu Suninen seemingly following suit too, it is impressive. But the entertainment value isn't there. More often than not, because drivers have nominated points scoring rounds, you fail to see a close battle for a rally win. The main issue WRC2 faces is it is kind of resigned to its fate. As the main feeder series to the World Rally Championship it is always going to bring aspiring drivers into the big league, but because of this it is never going to draw media attention, provide the spectacle, or truly flourish to its maximum potential because if it did it may draw level with the World Rally Championship and the FIA wouldn't be having that. That is what basically renders my plan as non-negotiable, but my proposal would be for one supreme FIA R5 Championship, effectively combining the European Rally Championship and WRC2 together. The FIA wouldn't 100% have to be involved but it would give the championship that bit more credibility and help it pull in the best possible events. Again because this isn't entirely realistic allow me to dream. Below is a drafted calendar for the season, which combines the best events from the European Rally Championship with European events from the WRC. This way the drivers could still learn certain WRC events in preparation for potential promotion. 1. Rallye Monte-Carlo 2. Rally Sweden 3. Rallye Azores 4. Tour de Corse 5. Acropolis Rally 6. Ypres Rally 7. Rally Finland 8. Rallye Deutschland 9. Rallye Sanremo 10. Wales Rally GB I appreciate Rallye Sanremo isn't on the European or World Championship calendar and that some would argue the balance of gravel to tarmac is a little out with some preferring less gravel events, but that to me is a pretty solid calendar including 6 WRC events. If the Circuit of Ireland was still running I would add it in in place of Sanremo, but at this point in time the rally is fighting for funding. But a crucial ingredient this championship would have is full manufacturer supported teams. If you've read any of my previous posts you will know how much I like manufacturer support. It was one of the main things that made the iRC so great and definitely improved the epic Formula 2 era in the British Rally Championship. Privateer entries would obviously still be included but 2 car manufacturer teams from M-Sport, Skoda, Hyundai, Peugeot, Citroen and VW when they launch the Polo R5 in 2018 would be absolutely fabulous. Eric Camilli and Teemu Suninen at M-Sport and Jan Kopecky and Pontus Tidemand at Skoda is totally feasible given these drivers already drive for these teams, and I'm fairly sure Hyundai could find a partner for Kevin Abbring. This proposed championship I believe would fully utilise the R5 formula, because with the vast array of cars available the competition would be fantastic and with the number of competitors and championships current using the cars the reach would be huge. The Belgian Rally Championship, Prestone MSA British Rally Championship and the Irish Tarmac Championship all proved in 2016 that the R5 formula produces epic contests, and epic contests are what have been missing from both the European Rally Championship and the WRC2 of late. And from these local, national championships drivers could progress into the Super R5 Championship and ply their trade. So come on FIA if you're reading, make it happen! A boy can dream...
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ERCArticles covering the European Rally Championship Archives
April 2017
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