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:
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?
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