flyingwelshman":1stdbqrl said:
hamster":1stdbqrl said:
flyingwelshman":1stdbqrl said:
It was never the same after the MK2 Escorts or am I just showing my age.
Quite agree...RS1800 with some lunatic Scandinavian at the helm...
That will be Ari Vatenen then, fair play he was wild when he first came over to the UK. I think he is some kind of politician now.
Yes Ari is a Euro MP now. The things I could tell you about Ari in his younger days- I won't as he's one of the finest human beings I have had the pleasure to meet. An absolute gent!
Turning the WRC into Group N would be the final nail in the coffin, look at that BRC now- yes the competion is tight but they are mind numbingly dull to watch.
My version of the WRC would be....
Medium size hatch, Astra, Focus etc. Rear wheel drive conversion. A common supplier of suspension, transmission, axle, brakes etc that is supplied by the WRC at a fixed cost. There would be one damper and spring set up for tar and one for gravel no special ratios or Tarmac brakes for example. There would be a control tyre-again one for tar and 2 for gravel ( wet and Dry). The only thing a manufacturer would provide is it's bodyshell and an engine ( engine would be normally aspirated 2 liter with common ECU and a rev limit of 9,000. rpm. Body design would be free and large wheelarches would be encouraged to make them look special. Rear wings would be limited to standard production items. Carbon composites would be banned except in safety critical areas.
The engine specs would be governed by the rule that they must be available to privateers and independant teams for less than £20,000 per unit- this would prevent over development. Reliable 280bhp should be the target.
The cars would be spectacular, fun to drive and very sideways. They would be comparatively cheap to build and run and as the running gear is standardized, testing and development budgets would be slashed.
They would run on 10 events a year of 4 days duration. These events would run over a wider area and central servicing would be scrapped. Sevicing would be limited to 3 engineers in a Vito/ transit sized van with a one metre cubes area within for spares- if the parts don't fit in this area they cannot have them- simple!
