Most liked posts in thread: WRC: Rallye Monte-Carlo 2012

Crashton · Jan 16, 2012

That makes a lot of sense. Le$$ TV le$$ money $pent there. It was simpler way back when.

minimark · Jan 16, 2012

Yep, had a conversation with a client of mine who is a producer for SPEED and that is what they said. Presently, future WRC TV coverage is rooted in very weak soil....not only financially, but from the poor ratings here in the US... :frown2:

Seems that WRC is in the proverbial Catch 22 here, it is, but it isn't.

Steve · Jan 16, 2012

Yup, that was my guess as to one of the reasons Ford wavered and then Prodrive/MINI held out to the point they originally missed the extended deadline to register the team for the 2012 season. I'd say the questionable nature of the season itself (i.e., whether it would happen at all) was the main reason but the way coverage has waned gradually over the years and the possibility of it shrinking drastically in 2012 came close second. I also think that experiment they ran with live coverage in France raised expectations to the point the uncertainty of coverage levels in 2012 seems an even more severe curtailment.

minimark · Jan 16, 2012

One would believe that all things considered, televising a WRC event is not an inexpensive endeavor....:eek6:

So if we reconsider it from a business perspective, we may have been a bit too harsh on BMW/MINI. After all it, it wouldn't serve them well to spend millions in WRC, to only have it on page two in the sports sections of the newspaper....no matter how much we, the fans want it.

B.A.D. · Jan 16, 2012

I wonder what the cost is for running in WRC versus DTM. Is the coverage of both that much different here in the US.

minimark · Jan 16, 2012

Bet WRC is much more, just a guess...

Steve · Jan 16, 2012

Don't know, but I'd guess DTM is much more expensive than WRC.

minimark · Jan 16, 2012

Why?

Considering all the transportation, logistics, the amount of support and that a Rally is more than a one day event....and I would venture a competitive rally car cost no less than a DTM.. WRC = more.

Justa Jim · Jan 16, 2012

You all make good points, but I am still having trouble with this. TV is a wonderful thing, but most of the people who would watch WRC on TV are going to follow it anyway on the web, news paper or what have you. I don't believe that having it on TV every week is going to convert that many folks to it. Sure, running a WRC car is not cheap, but BMW knew that going in last year. They made everyone think they were really going for this, then fizzled out. Did anyone consider that this might have been the plan all along? They tossed out some bucks, went for the big hype, got the name in lights and now they will just fade out of sight, claiming money problems, no TV coverage, questionable schedule or whatever. I don't think BMW was ever committed seriously to the WRC.

Jim

Stinker · Jan 16, 2012

Well what ever happens I for one will be checking my TV schedule for the first event and every event after. Its still the most entertaining motorsports event out there.

Justa Jim · Jan 16, 2012

Stinker said: ↑

Well what ever happens I for one will be checking my TV schedule for the first event and every event after. Its still the most entertaining motorsports event out there.
Click to expand...

I will be doing the very same thing. Just not necessarily pulling for the MINI factory, if you can call it that, team. Going more for the drivers, now that I know who they are, thanks to Steve.

Jim

Steve · Jan 16, 2012

minimark said: ↑

Why?

Considering all the transportation, logistics, the amount of support and that a Rally is more than a one day event....and I would venture a competitive rally car cost no less than a DTM.. WRC = more.
Click to expand...

You might be right. I just remember reading something a while back that said DTM was one of the most expensive motor sport series after F1. Of course that could have been written about the version of DTM that shut down in the mid-90s. I understand they did some things designed to lower costs when they resurrected it. They've taken significant additional steps for the coming season, including common carbon monocoque (therefore identical wheelbase, etc), common transmission, control tires, standard brakes, etc, so who knows?

I've read that manufacturers think of DTM as better value for money (esp. for German makes), because of the much greater coverage and exposure. That says nothing at all about the actual relative costs, just that they may feel every advertising dollar (or equivalent) nets a greater return from DTM.

minimark · Jan 16, 2012

Steve said: ↑

You might be right. I just remember reading something a while back that said DTM was one of the most expensive motor sport series after F1. Of course that could have been written about the version of DTM that shut down in the mid-90s. I understand they did some things designed to lower costs when they resurrected it. They've taken significant additional steps for the coming season, including common carbon monocoque (therefore identical wheelbase, etc), common transmission, control tires, standard brakes, etc, so who knows?

I've read that manufacturers think of DTM as better value for money (esp. for German makes), because of the much greater coverage and exposure. That says nothing at all about the actual relative costs, just that they may feel every advertising dollar (or equivalent) nets a greater return from DTM.
Click to expand...

Purely speculation on my part Steve so I could be way off. It would need to be broken down into cost per event and then how many events there is... Then a cost per potential customer thing...much to consider it is...:crazy:

Steve · Jan 16, 2012

I have no info at all, just general impressions from things I've read. The other thing that affects my impression of relative costs is the last sentence in this article....not that Abarth's other options include DTM, but it at least implies that WRC isn't relatively pricey.

Abarth linked to top-level rallying return (MaxRally.com)

12th January 2012 | By Charlie Contadeli

According to reports in Italy, Abarth â€“ wholly owned by the Fiat Group â€“ is planning a return to international rallying with the new version of the companyâ€™s Grande Punto in 2013 or 2014.

Abarth competed in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge with a factory team from 2007-2008, before moving onto a partial campaign in 2009. Factory drivers Anton Alen, Giandomenico Basso and Andrea Navarra were all winners in the Grande Punto S2000, but the car was progressively outclassed by more modern opposition and Fiat withdrew its factory team before the 2010 IRC season.

The brand new Punto road car will arrive in 2013, the earliest year in which Fiat could launch itself back onto the World Rally Championship scene, where it has not been present at the top level since the 1980s and the legendary 131 Mirafiori.

The current Grande Punto, styled by Giugiaro, has been in existence since 2005 and was the very first Super 2000 rally car to be homologated back in 2006. The new Punto is being designed in-house, and will use a range of Fiatâ€™s Twin Air and new Multi FIRE engines to make it the most ecological car of its class.

Abarth, however, has always concentrated on the performance arm of Fiat, and now has its headquarters in Fiatâ€™s former factory in the Mirafiori district of Turin. In order to enhance the companyâ€™s sporting credentials, a WRC campaign is perceived as the most cost-effective motorsport solution â€“ with the car going head to head against its key market rivals.
Click to expand...

Crashton · Jan 17, 2012

That is good news. More mfr involvement will be good for the sport.

Steve · Jan 17, 2012

The MINI WRC team faces its second season. (minimotorsport.com)

17 January 2012
The Rally Monte Carlo is back on the WRC calendar. Where the MINI brand celebrated great successes in the 1960s, today's MINI WRC Team is set to start its second WRC season.

The "Monte", as the legendary Rally Monte Carlo is known amongst competitors and fans alike, is back. After a three-year WRC gap the classic rally, this year celebrating its 80th anniversary, makes its return to the World Rally Championship. The history of the Monte is inextricably linked with MINI.

No true rally fan could ever forget the successes scored by the classic Mini Cooper S on the Rally Monte Carlo in the sixties, when the "three musketeers" and a tiny high performance car took the rally world by storm: Paddy Hopkirk won the 1964 event, with Timo MÃ¤kinen being triumphant in 1965, followed by Rauno Aaltonenâ€™s 1967 success.

Last year the Monte Carlo Historique saw the return of the MINI brand to this historic scene, with Aaltonen doing driving honours. However, the participation of the MINI John Cooper Works WRC in this yearâ€™s WRC round marks the first official entry on this legendary event by the works since 1968.

Dani Sordo and Carlos del Barrio will take the start in the MINI John Cooper Works WRC bearing car number 37. With 91 starts Dani counts amongst the most experienced drivers in the Rally Monte Carlo field. Last season he scored two podiums â€“ a third place in Germany, followed by second in France â€“ to emphatically prove his class. His performances played a major role in enabling the MINI WRC Team to exceed its expectations test and learning season.

"This is a rally I like very much as the stages are really nice. We have been testing and that has gone very well, so I am happy with the car," says Dani. "The most important thing is to do tyre testing â€“ which we completed very successfully, so we know we are well prepared."

Car number 52 sees Pierre Campana and Sabrina de Castelli start their maiden rally for the MINI WRC Team. In 2011 Pierre made his WRC debut in a private MINI, finishing ninth on Rally France. The Rally Monte Carlo is not, though, virgin territory for him: In 2011 he won the IRC 2WD Cup here, having contested the 2008 event as co-driver.

Pierre, too, is thoroughly looking forward to the Monte: "I am thrilled to have been selected by MINI to join its squad for Monte Carlo after our achievements of last year. It is a rally I know well and enjoy, so I am pleased to bring my experience and showcase my abilities on such a competitive event. I enjoyed my time driving the MINI John Cooper Works WRC car in WRC and French championship events in 2011. I am honoured to continue my association with this tremendous manufacturer into 2012, particularly with this Monte Carlo participation."

The shakedown has already gone well for the MINI WRC Team. After this test run both Dani and Pierre were very satisfied with the setup of their MINI WRC cars. Between Wednesday and Sunday the crews face 18 special stages totalling 433,36 competitive kilometres. The final â€“ and Sundayâ€™s only â€“ run is the Power Stage, a 5,16 kilometre sprint which sees the three fastest drivers awarded bonus points. The prize giving at Monacoâ€™s Place de Palais Princier follows immediately thereafter. The overall distance of the seasonâ€™s first rally totals 1780,47 kilometres.

The first special stage kicks off on Wednesday morning at 9.03 am local when the team will head off for "Le Moulinon â€“ Antraiques 1" which is 36.87 kilometres in length. Just like last season you can find live updates on how the MINI WRC Team fares at the Rally Monte Carlo on Twitter and the homepage of the MINI Motorsport website.

Apart from the MINI WRC Team two private drivers will also enter the event in a MINI WRC. Armindo Araujo from Portugal will have his debut with his own team, the "Armindo Araujo World Rally Team". In 2011, Araujo was behind the wheel in six WRC event for Motorsport Italia. Also driving a MINI WRC is Paulo Nobre from Brazil with "Palmeirinha Rally". Nobre did one WRC test run last season in a MINI WRC.
Click to expand...

Steve · Jan 17, 2012

This one is too much fun to not post.

Miniâ€™s Monte magic (MaxRally.com)

17th January 2012 | By Anthony Peacock

It may not appear obvious at first glance exactly what Princess Margaret of England, John Lennon, Peter Sellers and Rauno Aaltonen had in common â€“ apart from a love of hard liquor.

But when sufficiently sober to do so, all four of them were Mini drivers. The original Mini was a car that broke down social barriers, proving that almost anybody could be too cool for school. Think of swinging London in the 60s, when hip cats like the Rolling Stones were strutting their stuff on the hit parade. Flared jeans, Carnaby Street and the old-school Mini spring instantly to mind. Yeah baby!

The Austin Mini was such a hit that Ford of Britain actually bought one to pull apart and investigate making their own. Their conclusion was that Mini must have been losing around Â£30 per car. A load of cash when at the time a tin of baked beans cost four pence. And probably had better build quality.

Mini said that they lost money in some areas and made it in others, but that in the long run every Mini made money. Given that they managed to sell 5,387,682 of the things over the years they were probably correct.

They didn't need to advertise, for example. When Marianne Faithful turned up in one to Mick Jagger's drugs trial in 1967, that was all the publicity needed. Particularly when Mick sped off in it afterwards as a free man.

Austin also didn't bother spending too much money on safety equipment. Seat belts were an option on the original Mini, largely down to the insistence of the car's legendary designer, Sir Alec Issigonis, who claimed: "I make my cars with such good brakes and such good steering that if people get into a crash, it's their own fault."

In these politically correct days of risk assessment and lawsuits, it's refreshing to hear the views of somebody who clearly believed that health and safety were the final bastions of the intellectually challenged.

To prove the point, Austin decided to take its babies rallying. Forget the supermodels like Twiggy driving the Austin 7 (as it was originally known, which was at least snappier than the 'Austin Newmarket' that it was going to be): what really got people talking was when the diminutive Mini trounced the opposition on the Monte Carlo Rally. It won the event three times, which would have been four had not the Minis that finished first, second and third in 1966 not been controversially disqualified for a tenuous headlamp infringement, handing Citroen victory. Amazing how little changes in 50 years or so.

But MINI (as it is now known, in shouty German capitals) is out for revenge. Prodrive, the team that was the architect of Subaru's success on the World Rally Championship, lines up for the first time with two factory cars on the Monte Carlo Rally this week.

True, the Countryman is not quite as diminutive as the original car, being a sports utility four-by-four fashion statement (or something of the kind). When it comes to obscure models, BMW â€“ the new owner of MINI â€“ has created more niches than you would find in the average Greek Orthodox temple.

But this one somehow makes sense, although Dani Sordo and Pierre Campana have an enormous responsibility on their hands if they want to perpetuate the legend.

The Mini's last Monte Carlo win, in 1967, came thanks to Rauno Aaltonen: an unlikely Finnish hero with a haircut that was questionable even by 1960s standards. Nonetheless, with their giant-killing achievements and appearances on Sunday Night at the London Palladium â€“ the equivalent of the Jay Leno show at the time â€“ the Mini and its daredevil drivers became folk heroes all over the world. Question is: will they again?
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Steve · Jan 17, 2012

The pre-rally shake down was today. Coverage is sparse and wrc.com seems all but dead with little to no new information posted. I imagine the site is run and/or fed by folks from the sponsoring company in administration so I'll be looking elsewhere for info.

The rally proper starts tomorrow! In the meantime, here's a little video from the shake down (sorry about the dramatic music).

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFHx9bTJ2k0]Shakedown - 2012 Rallye Monte-Carlo - Best-of-RallyLive.com - YouTube[/ame]

Crashton · Jan 17, 2012

Great video Steve! Thanks for finding & posting all the great info you fine.

Where is the snow????

Steve · Jan 17, 2012

Crashton said: ↑

Great video Steve! Thanks for finding & posting all the great info you fine.

Where is the snow????
Click to expand...

Snow? May have to wait for rally #2 ... Sweden.

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