6 Jun 2013

Why The WRC Ain’t What It Used To Be

Once upon a time, the WRC was to go-to place for young boys with petrol in their veins looking for heroes to worship. The cars were monsters and the drivers spat in danger's face as they tackled borderline suicidal night-stages stages. I remember sitting watching with my jaw on the floor at the driving I was witnessing as my heroes cemented themselves into my psyche: Burns with his never-say-die attitude, McRae and his "if in doubt, flat-out" mantra, Makinen the machine, Gronholm the lanky Finn and the crazy Panizzi brothers who once, on the way to victory, did a few donuts mid-stage just to please the crowds. Go back further and you had the great Ari Vatanen and Walter Rohl and the infamous Group B cars. These days however, it just doesn't do it for me in the way it used to, and I think there a few reasons for this.

The Drivers

I've already mentioned some of the greats, but these guys were and still are household names. Even my mum knows who they are. Stop somebody on the streets and show them a picture of Colin McRae and Sebastian Ogier and I'm fairly certain of the outcome. Not that this is the fault of the drivers as such, but there was an extended golden age of the WRC where we were blessed with genuine characters who made for not just great drivers, but interesting human beings. And out of this formed immense rivalries - Sainz v Makkinen, McRae v Burns. Now I get this is subjective, but my next point isn't: the WRC doesn't even have the best drivers. Yes Ken Block is good and Petter Solberg was once World Champion, but the best rally driver is Sebastian Loeb, and he doesn't play anymore. He comes back once in a while and batters the opposition with barely a bead of sweat forming on his brow. Not his fault, but I want to see the best drivers in the world racing each other. Not the best driver getting so bored of winning (because it was that easy for him) that he goes elsewhere for his kicks.

The Cars

So which WRC cars do you lust for? Delta Integrale? Subaru Impreza? Evo? Audi Quattro? Me too. These were intimidating, hard-as-nails cars which made just as good poster cars as any piece of Italian exotica. These days a 1.6 VW Polo just doesn't evoke the passion in me. I don't for one second doubt the capabilities of these cars, but they lack the "wow" factor and have an air of junior racers about them. One of the joys of the WRC has always been that you can buy the road-going version of the cars we see jumping and sliding their way through Finland, even if it's just a £500 used Impreza you were still buying into the heritage. Less so with a VW Polo. Furthermore, there are only two works teams present with VW and Citroen. Companies that once traded out of the WRC like Subaru, Toyota, Skoda, Ford, Hyundai and Mitsubishi have long gone making the sport more for gentleman racers who can knock together a bit of cash.
Would you rather own this?
Or this?

I used to watch the WRC on the BBC on Grandstand - a channel with an enormous target audience. Back when we had British drivers competing at the very top, there was genuine national interest in the sport but now I'm not so sure. These days ITV4 run a highlights show, which is all well and good, but ITV4? Really? It just feels like it's been relegated and that nobody really cares too much. Perhaps the lack of potential audience is ultimately behind the WRCs decline, with manufacturers and drivers alike receiving less exposure and therefore less incentive to partake.

The Future

It's a shame that times have changed because I genuinely miss the WRC and with money and eco-awareness coming more to the fore of motorsport, the cars are unlikely to change. Perhaps what we need is an influx of British heroes to re-ignite the national interest in the sport and more manufacturers to take the plunge.

Until then, watch Ari Vatanen demonstrate what bravery looks like. Behold the Climb Dance.

Article by Ben Hawkins

You can read more of Ben's work, and the original copy of this article, at his website http://wheelnutter.wordpress.com