Does the FIA want to kill the WRC?

16 rallies, 2 cars in the point... great! I don't know about u guys but I don't get their strategy there. :screwy:
16 rallies when most of the teams said they'll have to increase their budget to do them all (Ford even think it will not be able to do it), but the FIA is still talking about cutting cost?!??
2 cars in the points which means only 2 WRCs per team to watch on the rally when the FIA is trying to increase the popularity of the sport?!?? Great for those who already got a third driver.

There is already 2 cars in the points as it stands with the 2003 rules, the new ruling is that a team can only have 2 cars.

The FIA doesn't know what they are doing and you're not going to make them realise it either.

Well, the FIA made quite a mess of it. I wonder how the championship will look like next year.

Here's some more on what they voted on.


All competitors will use either absolutely standard road cars or their rally cars for all reconnaissance. Gravel cars will no longer be allowed.


Anyone have thoughts on this?


Currently, manufacturer points are scored by the best two results from three cars entered. From 2004 manufacturer points will be scored by two-car teams with both results counting. This will lower the barrier to new manufacturers, reduce the differential between the well and not so well financed teams and create a more level playing field.


1 car less (2 cars)(Subaru, Skoda and Hyundai already do that), 2 rallies plus (extra costs for the teams who have 2 cars). Reduce costs for "not so well financed teams"? :screwy:

Isn't there a different way to attract other manufacturers?


[edit]

What does the WRC/FIA president have to say on this?:

source: worldrallynews.com (http://www.worldrallynews.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1063000650,30898,)

President pleads FIA case
September 8, 2003

World Rally Championship Commission President Shekhar Mehta has defended the FIA’s latest, highly controversial proposals for the World Rally Championship on the grounds that the manufacturers had failed to produce workable ideas in response to the FIA’s request in June.

Mehta argued that new rules will reduce costs and said that the FIA will be prepared to grant waivers to streamline rallies. Organisers will no longer be required to base rallies round a single service area, they may be allowed to provide fewer than 400 kilometres of stages, and regular visits to service areas could be replaced by re-fuel and tyre-changing points.

Asked to defend stipulating two- rather than three-car teams only two months after the regulation was last changed, he said, “You wouldn’t normally do that, but you do it when there’s a compelling reason. The only proposal that we’ve got definitely on the table was that service time should be reduced by five minutes to 15 minutes.”

He foresees no serious problems with practising and rallying on the same day, which will be introduced to shorten the duration of each rally.

“Eighty-two per cent of the stages in the World Championship are done more than once at the moment, which means that you’ve got something like 180-190 kilometres of notes to write. You would have to start early. I don’t think there’s that many spectators early in the morning. No two rallies are going to be the same,” he said.

He conceded that the proposed 2004 calendar was “unbalanced” and that the Rally of New Zealand’s mid-July date was undesirable, but said that doing away with recce cars would usefully cut manufacturers’ freight costs.

Both the Monte Carlo and Argentina Rallies cancelled Saturday morning stages this year owing to spectator problems.

So does this mean that Freddy Loix's contract for the 3rd seat at Peugeot is now worthless?

Somebody needs to give the FIA a damn good slap! Every week they seem to be coming up with some crazy new rule. If they're not interering with the WRC then F1 is being meddled with.

On a plus point, the decision to allow more than one service area may encourage event organisers to introduce more stages, rather than repeating a small number of stages close to the services.

Here we go... thanks to this brilliant ruling Mc rae doesn't have a sit at the moment as Citroen decided to keep Sainz. He's even thinking going to Nascar or Superbike...
Does FIA stand for "Fédération Internationale des Andouilles" (idiots)? What will they come up with next year?... "Hold on guys! I just got an idea... Why not replacing the WRC by pedal cars?"