Rallying Towards Capitalism: Why the World Rally Championship Needs North America

It is without a doubt that the WRC’s powerhouse lies in Europe. But no longer satisfied with current market sales, manufacturers are putting the heat on organising bodies to explore other options in order to engage a greater audience. Like Finland is the spiritual home to rallying, North America is the home of patriotic capitalism. A North American rally would be a grand addition to the championship, but it’s not just the locale of events rally sponsors want to change. North America is also the home of ‘made for TV sport’ that demands larger attendance and television audiences. Sponsors of the WRC are hungry, so let’s move Finland to America so we can all make more money.

I hope all readers were as uncomfortable reading that as I was writing it. I would not dare mention it but for shock value and to illustrate a point: why did it make you feel uncomfortable?

If we take a step backward and objectively evaluate our sport, I don’t see much wrong with it. Envision a rally car with the world’s best driver and co-driver on gravel or tarmac surface. The road their racing winds over remote mountain tops and cuts through deep ravines. Birds are chirping and fans are cheering. Echoes of a car can be heard for minutes before you see it. Whether you want to see a rally on your own or with 100,000 other people, you can! And you could do it all within the same day. The WRC has it all. So what are we chasing with all these changes? Quieter days? Busier stages? More Cars, teams and drivers? Our sport is perfect. Or is it money? Yes, its money.

For better or worse top tier sport is always driven by sponsorship. The sponsor’s goal is to look strong and perform well so people watching will want their product. The biggest sponsors in the WRC are the cars that Rally drivers compete in. Citroen, Ford, Hyundai, Toyota and Volkswagen are all sponsors of drivers that come with their own cars and teams to compete, in order to sell more cars.

Mucha Fiesta! I'd sure buy one. Car manufacturers have also expressed interest in another Latin American rally, due to its large car market.

There should be a healthy balance of give and take in all relationships. The world is either in or recovering from a great financial crisis (depending on your perspective) and sponsors have less money available to spend on WRC teams. Sponsorship is riskier so manufacturers are looking for greater security in their investments. Enter the FIA, the WRC’s governing body. Designed to keep the sport safe and fair, they are also responsible for keeping sponsors happy. Right now this means creating a larger viewership. We’re all familiar with 'made for TV sport'; Formula 1 and NASCAR. Rally Cross is a good example. These are single location Motorsports that are easy to film and broadcast live. There also “Less confusing” as has been suggested by some. Creating a larger audience is the stated goal of the FIA and the participating WRC teams. But at what cost will this endeavour come?

Talk of change is a great and positive thing. But as we discuss changes to rules and regulation for TV viewership we must remember there is a balance in every good relationship. This relationship is between the sponsors and the fans. The very fans that are buying their cars. Sponsorship is a good thing and it creates many exciting opportunities for sports. You’ll see me on the stage side wearing a Ken Block beanie and a NZWRT jacket on cold mornings because I know a small part of the money I paid will go towards the affiliated team. But without a governing body whose vision for a sport is uncompromised, sponsorship can dilute the very thing it’s trying to promote.

You're always in my way, Hella! But thanks for being a sponsor. I'd buy those lights too!

Changing the rules and format of a sport to better suit sponsors should be considered with great caution. Like a rally car approaching a blind crest without notes, it’s hard to tell what the result will be.

[Sponsors Message Here]

[WATCH THIS SPACE]

And with that I hope Rally America becomes a WRC event. It has huge potential to further promote the sport and attract more manufacturers. The sponsorship opportunities are endless. I’d also love the excuse to visit. Just not at the expense of Rally New Zealand.

Rallying Has Something Special About It: Colin McRae

Rallying has something special about it. An X-factor that is hard to put into words. For many millions of fans around the world that follow rallying in its various forms, it is the most exciting sport on earth. Rally is what they get up for in the morning, what they think about at work and what they dream about at night. Its an individual-team sport unlike any other. And that's what rally is like for me.

My first clear memory of rallying is of Rally Great Britain, November 2001. Carlos Sainz, Colin McRae, Tommi Makinen and Richard Burns were all fighting a four way battle for the driver’s championship. Makinen retired early in the rally and Sainz fell out of contention after losing time from a nasty puncture. This left two British drivers fighting for the title of World Rally Champion. McRae in a Focus and Burns in a Impreza. Both were at home and both were flat out. The exhilaration watching this battle gave me is unlike anything I have ever experienced.

After an abysmal start to the season Colin had achieved a hat-trick of wins that thrust him into title contention. It was Colin who was the underdog in my eyes, even though Richard Burns was yet to win his first world title. What made Colin the underdog is the same characteristic that makes him so exciting to watch on the stages. He has unquestionable talent, but his talent was fuelled with reckless abandon. When Colin saw an opportunity to win, no matter how slim the chances, he’d put his right foot to floor. This mentality made him famous and was been personified by a single line: “If in doubt, flat out”.

This is one of my favourite Colin moments. After a big drivers side impact in Corsica 2002, 
Colin was in the car for the next rally in Catalunya. The gear leaver was moved  to the left 
of the car so he could grip the wheel with his good hand.

To the shock of  Nicky Grist in 1997,
Colin had forgotten to mention he'd
activated the anti-gravity machine in
his Subaru at the start of the stage
 in Western Australia

I cannot remember why I was so fanatical about Colin as a driver. As a fellow countryman who left Scotland as a young boy it may have been national pride that filled my heart when watching him. And although I believe that to be a small part of why I identified with him, Colin also had a personal drive that is rare to see in any person. From afar it seemed at times he was notoriously difficult to get on within a professional environment. There are many moments in his career that show this: the lead up to his 1995 world championship title and his split from co-driver Nicky Grist to name only two. However these personality clashes always seemed to stem from frustration and his strong desire to win. I always got the feeling Colin could never make a rally car go as fast as he wanted it to go. The car was his limitation, that’s what I believe made him so exciting to watch. Colin was very ambitious.

I don’t believe this fan adopted slogan“If in doubt, flat out” was ever meant to be interpreted so literally. I like to imagine a 5 right blind crest, where Colin takes a wide line in 6^th gear knowing full well he is ignoring the instruction of his own notes. Its this blind faith he had that all four wheels would touch the ground on the other side that I identified with more. The Colin McRae philosophy has been pertinent in my life because Colin’s Ideology describes a balance between risk and reward. That if you do not seek, you will not find. If you do not attack you cannot win. Without ever consciously practising this, “If in doubt, flat out” was embedded within me and it began to motivate me in every venture I undertook.

This clear memory I have of November 2001 is only 15 seconds long. It is this short amount of time that I can see has forged my motivation for an education, the beginning of a career and a lifelong partnership. A love of rally sport that my emotions follow like a roller-coaster in a theme park; celebrating the highs and morning the lows. In short, this 15 seconds of television I saw as a boy has directly influenced the person I am today. Of course, I didn't know this at the time!

Video courtesy of 97chicane on YouTube

Colin's crash marked the end of his championship hopes. It would also be remembered as the last time he would come close to winning it. Richard Burns and Robert Reid were crowned the 2001 World Rally Champions. When I watched this ‘live’ in 2001 I couldn't help but feel if he hadn't been so stupid he could have won. He would have won. But with hindsight I see it had to be this way.

Colin became a world rally champion in 1995 because of his disregard for team orders and his liberal application of the Colin Philosophy. Conversely, had Colin eased off the gas and coasted around that corner he would have likely won in 2001. But Colin couldn't take his foot of the pedal when there was a second to be saved. I don’t think he knew how. And I don’t think he’d have been in the same position he was to win in either 1995 or 2001 had he known. Colin truly drove to what he believed.

"If you start thinking about accepting second, then you might as well go home. I am here to win. Nothing else will do."

When Colin crashed that focus I remember I was so mad at him. I didn't see his win in 1995 and I was so invested in his campaign that I felt it was a personal betrayal when he threw it off the road. But the passion I felt that afternoon is what has cemented my own passion for rally, for every driver and every championship around the world. Besides, I think Nicky Grist would have given him an earful enough for us both!

I followed Colin to the end of his rally career, fiercely flying the saltire for every event he competed in, especially when he came to New Zealand. Colin McRae is the reason I am so passionate about rally and why I am so driven to pursue milestones seemingly out of my reach. He's why I look forward to every rally.

I might just see the next Colin McRae.

Citroen's Biggest Mistake

Citroen's Biggest Mistake

Image Source: http://www.first4auto.com/slender-lead-for-volkswagen-driver-sebastien-ogier-in-portugal/

Red is a colour current Citroen Racing boss Yves Matton has been used to evoking emotions of love, passion, success and victory. For nearly a decade Citroen World Rally Team’s dominance of the World Rally Championship had been indisputable. Before Sebastien Loeb won his first drivers championship in 2004, a hat-trick of rally wins was news paper worthy and a career winning total of 23 rallies made you the best in the business. Oh, how Sebastien Loeb and Citroen have changed the face of rally.

Colin McRae became the most successful rally driver in history achieving 23 rally wins after a hat-trick ending in Greece, 2001.  In comparison Sebastien Loeb has since achieved 78 wins, with a win streak of 6 in 2005 and 5 in 2006,2008,2009 and 2012. Wow.

But now Yves is being forced to see Red in a different light. This new shade represents frustration and disappointment. With the knowledge that 2012 was to be Loeb’s last full time year in the WRC Citroen recruited Mikko Hirvonen/Jamo Lehtinen and Dani Sordo/Carlos del Barrio to remain competitive. Now at the midpoint of the season, Mikko and Dani have struggled to bank consistent results for their team. Citroen are currently second in the manufacturer’s championship having only won only two rallies this year, both of which were won by semi-retired Sebastian Loeb. This is the first year in a nearly a decade that Citroen Racing has not dominated the drivers or manufacturers championship. Over the past nine years Citroen have utilised the consistency and outright pace of drivers like Carlos Sainz, Colin McRae and Sebastien Ogier in combination with Sebastien Loeb to dominate both championships. So what happened? 

In 2011 Sebastien Ogier was promoted to Citroen WRT for what was arguably the team’s most successful year. Loeb and Ogier won five rallies each and Loeb went on to win his eighth consecutive drivers’ title. Any spectator would be forgiven for thinking that Citroen had another eight years of domination ahead of them. But behind 2011’s success there were team orders that caused the team to come unstuck. During the season both Loeb and Ogier had been on the raw end of team tactics and it became apparent that both Sebastiens had begun to feel threatened by one another. At the end of the year the top three drivers were only separated by 26 points – just over a single rally’s points haul.

Sebastien Ogier left Citroen at the end of 2011, still with two years left on his contract (Elizalde, 2011). Considering that Ogier was handpicked and groomed by Citroen WRT after winning the JWRC in 2008, this was pretty surprising. Whether Citroen showed Ogier the door or he left of his own accord, an uncharacteristic combination of mismanagement and short-sightedness left Citroen without their future star. Sebastien Loeb was nearing retirement and they had lost their most significant investment.

Sebastien Ogier under pressure from Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila on the last stage of Rally New Zealand 2010. This mistake and a spin approaching the finish cost Ogier the rally by 2.4 seconds.

Sebastien Ogier was immediately signed by Volkswagen, spending all of 2012 developing their new Polo R WRC and competing in a Skoda Fabia S2000 in the SWRC. Needless to say, Volkswagen’s development went well. Sebastien Ogier even made history whilst absent from the WRC by setting a stage time faster than all other turbo-charged WRC cars in the normally aspirated Skoda. By the time development had finished his blood must have been boiling at the chance of returning to WRC competition! Now half way through the season Ogier and Jari-Matti Latvala have taken over the winning persistence of Citroen and look unbeatable. Citroen’s decision to stop working with Sebastien Ogier has been their biggest mistake. It has compromised the strength of their team and quite possibly their ability to deliver a drivers or manufacturers championship win in 2013. For the second half of the year Yves will be hoping his Citroens will play the part of El Matador and lure the charging Red Bull Volkswagen’s in a direction other than the finish line. 

Then Red will have a new meaning for Yves altogether. 

A Solution To The WRC’s Problems

A Driver Points Model Could Be a Solution to the WRC’s Problems.

The World Rally Championship is currently going through growing pains. In fact, it’s been happening for a while. The rapid expansion and contraction of the sport over the last decade has left many investors and spectators confused as to the WRC’s profitability and the direction of its future.

Luckily WRC isn’t going anywhere – that we can be sure of. Phew! But the format and regulations that govern the sport are continually being questioned. For what it’s worth, here is my two cents on how I think part of this evolution of the WRC should take shape.

I propose a Driver Point’s model similar to salary caps seen in football and rugby league to balance the distribution of skill between teams. The difference with a Driver Points system is it will not directly handicap a driver’s salary, nor will it compromise the investment strategies of individual teams. The aim of the Driver Points model is to breathe life into the manufacturer’s championship and further incentivise the investment of new and existing teams. This is something the WRC desperately needs. I can’t wait for Hyundai and Toyota to return! But to ensure that these new teams see return from their investment and aren't immediately shut out by the big boys the FIA and WRC need to help them out a little bit. The Driver Point’s model is one way of doing that.

For the most part, Volkswagen have dominated this year's manufacturers' championship.

Many sports around the world employ salary caps for their competing teams in the name of keeping the sport fair. This works by limiting the amount of money teams can pay players to lure them to their team. When this happens it’s the team with the most money that wins. I don’t like that. Nobody likes that. So, salary caps enable new entrants and smaller teams to compete on a reasonably even playing field with veteran teams. Similarly the Driver Points model will evenly divide the skill of drivers between teams. 

Here’s how it would work:

Each WRC team at the beginning of the season is allocated a finite number of Driver Points to spend. This is separate from the salaries the drivers get paid and only represents the driver’s most recent performances. We could argue that one’s salary also does that, but that’s not the point! WRC drivers & co-drivers would be split into skill tier’s based on their past results. For instance, Sebastien Loeb, Sebastien Ogier, Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala may make up the top tier of drivers, Tier 1. Mads Ostberg, Thierry Neuville and Dani Sordo may make up Tier 2. Martin Prokop, Evgeny Novikov and Nasser Al-AttiyAh may make up Tier 3.  

Now stay with me for the maths! I promise it’s simple!

At the beginning of a season WRC teams are given 100 Driver Points (DP) to spend. Tier 1 drivers are the best in the sport and are worth 70DP. Tier 2 drivers are worth 40DP and Tier 3 drivers are worth 20DP. A team cannot exceed their allocation of driver points at any time throughout the season. Their total must remain under 100DP.

In 2013 Volkswagen has signed Sebastien Ogier and Jari-Matti Latvala. Incidentally Volkswagen is driving away with the manufacturers’ championship, much like Citroen have in the past years. Poor Ford. Both Ogier and Latvala are Tier 1 drivers worth 70DP each and by signing them both, Volkswagen’s total driver spend is 140. This combination would not be allowed under the Driver Points model. This means that Volkswagen would have to give up one of these drivers for another combination.

This wan't that exciting to watch in 2012, either.

The philosophy behind this programme is to evenly distribute driver skill between teams. This will have the benefit of preventing teams from dominating the manufacturers’ championship. It will also give developing drivers permanent seat time beside top tier drivers. However, the most significant benefit will be that new entrant teams like Mini, Toyota and Hyundai will have a better chance of consistently scoring manufactures points. This incentivises new teams to continue investment in the sport instead of withdrawing. This is a model that will likely smooth the rapid expansion and contractions we have seen of the WRC over the past decade which is to the benefit of spectators and external investors, like you and me!

The Driver Points model is designed to open the manufacturers’ championship up and make it a much closer competition. The Driver Points model does not address the domination of the drivers’ championship but it does create fairer policies for how drivers are distributed between teams. These teams after all, are the ones who provide opportunities for unproven drivers. The Driver Points model would also encourage teams to take a risk with young drivers.

Wouldn’t that be nice!

So come on, tell me! What are your ideas for improving the WRC. Would the Driver Points model work?

Rally New Zealand: As it should be

Rally New Zealand Is Dying. That was the working title of this article. Perhaps it is a little exaggerated. However, no matter the title of this article Rally NZ has many obstacles to overcome if it wishes to remain a regular part of the World Rally Championship calendar. Rally New Zealand has grown older; relying on its past affiliations to ensure its place in the WRC while other competing events have gotten younger and smarter.

The World Rally Championship is a competition

The competitive nature of the WRC extends well beyond the drivers, co-drivers and their teams that take part. Each Rally itself is in competition with other rally events for a place in the WRC calendar. Not dissimilar from the WRC manufacturers, these events compete on financial return; how many people they can attract to the event and how many cars they can sell in each region of the world.

For the first time in WRC history, 2009 saw Rally NZ relinquish its regular spot in the WRC calendar in order to share it with Australia. Now a WRC round is only held in New Zealand every two years, with the opposite year held in Australia.

There will be no Rally New Zealand this year.

We could speculate that it is because New Zealand is too small and it is too far away, but I refuse to believe this is the reason Rally NZ’s presence in the WRC is not as important as it used to be. After all, New Zealand has never been larger and it has never been less expensive for international teams to travel here.  I believe teams come to NZ because there is something magic about New Zealand. The New Zealand landscape shows off manufacturer’s cars and drivers skills like nowhere else on the planet. The spirit of NZ echoes that of the WRC’s vision too; adventure, challenge and spectacle. That is why the WRC comes here. New Zealand is special.

But Rally NZ has forgotten this:

How boring.

There has been plenty of talk over the last few weeks, including during this month’s Acropolis Rally about the future of the WRC. Discussion has centred on where to best focus the energies and investment of rallies and how to make the sport more exciting. I believe a large contributor to the excitement of a rally is seeing different makes of car competing on the stages. Widely regarded as the WRC’s most successful era was at the turn of the millennium, where there were seven manufacturers. In 2010 it had two, in 2013 there are four.

The WRC needs more manufacturers.

In an interview with Rebecca Williams on WRC.com team bosses gave their perspective on their WRC calendar. This is a perspective Rally NZ needs to take note of:

“We [the WRC] is in a difficult period” – Malcolm Wilson, M-Sport team boss

“The importance of new car markets cannot be ignored” – Jost Capito, VW Motorsport team boss

“ [We] can’t take a risk of a rally not being relevant” - Jost Capito, VW Motorsport team boss

You can listen to Rebecca’s interviews here:

http://www.wrc.com/fanzone/podcasts/capito-on-possible-wrc-changes/?fid=18635

http://www.wrc.com/fanzone/podcasts/matton-considers-possible-wrc-changes/?fid=18633

http://www.wrc.com/fanzone/podcasts/wilson-on-possible-changes-to-wrc/?fid=18631

All of their concerns are along the same lines; we need more people watching on TV, we need more people going to the stages and we need more people buying our cars. In order to keep the WRC in New Zealand, Rally NZ needs to adopt the concerns of the WRC and pioneer a new event which better shows off the cars and drivers of said teams.

How Rally NZ can re-establish itself

Reading MAXRALLY’s ‘The WRC Calendar as it should be’  by Jerry Williams I am inspired to discuss my thoughts on the issues faced by Rally NZ. Jerry’s article discusses the details this season’s WRC events have got right and what they can improve on. Rally NZ is not part of this year’s WRC calendar. So I have taken the liberty of creating my own list with hopes of inspiring discussion within our own rallying community for how we can improve New Zealand’s rallying image domestically and internationally.

Brand

Oh dear. Rally NZ has forgotten who we are:

Bland, cluttered and un-evocative.

The brand of any rally is one of its most important features. It is important because a brand communicates to consumers it’s proposition and its values. A brand is ultimately responsible for attracting customers.

Classic, simple and effective.

Cultural, modern and effective.

Imagine if Rally NZ had a brand like this:

Anticipated, exciting and passionate.

Or like this:

Courageous, proud and successful.

Rally NZ needs a brand that is attractive, fun, safe and exciting. Rally NZ needs an event sponsors will want to be a part of because it is revered by its hosts.  Rally NZ needs to be on the front foot with its presence in NZ. This doesn't require a larger budget. Team New Zealand proved that! It requires innovative thinking and involving young and passionate minds.

We must overcome the obstacles in the way of Rally NZ’s success, namely our size and our geographic location. Spectator numbers of Rally NZ pale in comparison to such events held overseas with comparatively little logistic expenses and issues. In order to compete for space on the calendar we must overcome these challenges by highlighting what is special about Rally in NZ. We must identify and promote the ‘magic’ which Sebastien Loeb himself called “The perfect rally”.

WRC promoters need to be reminded of the importance New Zealand (and Australia). In the past these two events had their own calendar slots.  Financial return on Investment is an increasingly important factor in the decision for teams to enter the WRC. Citroen boss Yves Matton selected Dani Sordo over Mads Østberg for their nationalities and chose to run Sebastien Loeb in Argentina because of the identified importance of the LATAM car market. Ford’s withdrawl as an official sponsor to M-Sport’s outfit is another example, citing a "refocusing of investment in other areas" as a reason for their withdrawal.

Rally NZ must acknowledge this if it wants to attract the attention of the FIA and its partners. The growing pains of the WRC discussed in Greece this month are also the pains of Rally NZ. If we want a world rally event in New Zealand every year we need to adopt the concerns of the FIA and WRC and cater for them. If we don’t we will lose our space in the calendar all together. I don’t think anyone is ready to let that happen.

Do you?