There are a lot of things to correct in the World Rally Championship. Instead of just playing mouth, Jari-Matti Latvala says his own solutions.
According to Jari-Matti Latvala, there are things to be corrected in the World Rally Championship. He also has suggestions for improvement. Mikko Huisko
- Rally1 class is troubled by a shortage of participants. The possible departure of Hyundai forces you to make a hard decision.
- Rally cars need to be cheaper and more spectacular.
- Viewers who arrive on the spot should not be forgotten.
How would the World Rally World Championship be made again?
That’s the question that everyone wants an answer, but no one can answer.
There are as many opinions as it does. Some speeches only have more weight than others.
Like Jari-Matti Latvala, for example. As a Toyota team manager, professional driver and, above all, as a passionate rally friend, he is just the right person to tell about the future of the sport.
What does Hyundai do?
Rally1 cars build only three characters. One is in the starting pits, the other in the spirit of life. Aop
The biggest problem with the current World Rally Championship is the small number of participants. Only three car brands are included in the main class, Rally1. Toyota and Hyundai operate with a factory stable status, M-Sport, who is driving Ford, is alongside them.
According to Latvala, everyone is now concerned about the Hyundai solution. The Korean brand has already announced that it will invest in the Sustainability Competition World Championship Wec in the future. It may occur at the expense of the rally project.
According to Latvala, there is only one option in the World Series if Hyundai decides to start rallying.
-In that case, there is no choice but to raise the Rally2 cars in the main class.
According to Latvala, the World Series could not justify its existence if only Toyota fought for the World Cup title. For many years, M-Sport, who has been overwhelmed by a shoe budget, is unable to offer any kind of resistance to the world’s largest car manufacturer.
And there are no new stables in sight. The reason is less surprising.
-The Rally1 cars are awesome, but also terribly expensive, says Latvala.
Too expensive
In the classroom, the factory drivers of the 2002 World Championship Rally Age with their map readers. Zumawire / mvphotos
The rally has always been expensive, but today the prices are cheeky. Latvala gives an excellent example of what costs are being talked about today.
-In the early 2000s, the WRC car was purchased for around € 200,000. Today, at the same price level you get a Rally2 car.
In fact, the Rally2 car costs closer to € 300,000, but the point of Latvala is clear. Previously, the “cheap” car, nowadays, got a second -category running game.
-For example, in the first World Rally of my career in Wales 2002, I left for number 35. Everyone who started me drove with a WRC car, Latvala recalls.
Today, getting ten Rally1 cars on the starting line would be a case where the champagne bottles would be opened in the World Series office.
Spectacle back
In Toyota Celica, the driving lines are spectacular. The clock may not like it, but the audience too. Aop
Rally1 cars are the skill of engineers. They are sure to drive them.
But maybe they are too perfect. Many rally viewers who have been in the woods and the field hopes to see going and going. So the car should be taken “the handle above”.
Latvala understands this perspective. He drives Toyota Celica, a familiar from the 90s in the historic class. The driving lines are spectacular and the audience likes.
– Celica has no back wig, so it goes easily transversely. I agree that the share of aerodynamics in rally cars should be eliminated, says Latvala.
Latvala believes that FIA of the International Automobile Federation is on the same line. In future rules, certain parts have been considered to standardize and price roofs.
– Aerodynamics and parts made of carbon fiber in a modern car. Missing these could get the price down and increase the spectacular driving, Latvala says.
Who will be driven?
The rally has long tried to hit itself as a TV product. Has the species forgotten the viewers who arrived on the spot? Toni Ollikainen / AKK
The place of reflection is also in the rally racing format.
The rally was before the endurance procedure. However, long and abundant snippets are no longer a memory.
– Short special tests work on television. Sure, the endurance angle would be important, but it is bad for the viewer experience, says Latvala.
The rally asks a tremendous amount of voluntary work. It is a disappearing folklore in today’s world. The problem does not only apply to rally.
– The organizers are already in a difficult position.
But to whom will the World Cup rally be done? Latvala challenges the World Championship promoter to think about whether it is more important to get viewers in front of or on the spot.
-Recent reforms have been caught in the TV people, but maybe then the other audience is a little forgotten. However, it is the group that pays the organizer’s expenses, says Latvala.
Rally and hockey offer a completely different viewer experience. According to Latvala, the rally should turn it into its strength.
– In the woods, cranking is a challenge for the sport, but it also makes it fascinating. The sport should be so entertaining to follow that people can work hard to arrive on the spot.
More relaxed
Latvala hopes for bolder solutions from rally decision -makers. Now there is a detection of stabbing in the formulas.
– For example, television has gone for years with the same formula. Maybe it’s time to try something new to make the rally be interested.
Latvala hopes for relaxation in the atmosphere of the sport.
-In Group B era, the drivers joked and the going was more relaxed anyway, even though it was just as serious about the special stages. The personalities came to light, and the general public liked it.