To know all discussions behind FIA’s decision is almost impossible for anyone not being right in the center of them. But first, let’s think about what global promotion and broadcasting means for the championship. We probably all know that rallying is an expensive sport. To be a runner, skier or swimmer on world level you need good shoes, clothes, some staff around you and a lot of travelling. I’m not an expert but you all get the point that in rallying you need to bring a car worth at least €500.000 with you, a whole school-class of mechanics, coordinators etc. with you and just the entry fee for a rally may cost you more than the swimmer needs to spend on gear in a year.

So, I spent a few years working with Daniel Carlsson’s bid in the WRC  and another year working with promotion at Rally Sweden, and I can tell you that in both organisations we hadn’t been worth many pennies in our discussions with sponsors without the global coverage. With Carlsson, we used statistics from a global market research company that provided various measures as well as an exact value in euros of the TV exposure from Rally Sweden 2006, where Daniel ended up on the podium. And at Rally Sweden, we could point at exactly how popular the sport were in Sweden (which is far more popular than most Swedes would guess!), the hundreds of millions of people the WRC reaches worldwide during a year, etc. And I can tell you, despite having very strong figures on our side, we still had a hell selling our stuff because the sport is just extremely expensive. To sell exposure (that’s exactly what we do when talking to sponsors), a thing you can never taste or even feel in your hand, with bids that must start at over €10.000 to even be interesting, is extremely difficult. At least in Sweden, but I have a strong feeling the situation is very much the same in most countries and for most drivers, rallies, etc.

That was how the situation was. Now, we don’t have the global promotion or broadcasting. I can’t say FIA screwed it up because I don’t know what happened. But in my opinion, FIA has two major responsibilities above all others regarding the World Rally Championship. Those are: 1) To keep sporting on a good level with regulations, etc. 2) To make sure there is a connection and co-branding between the organisers in the championship, mostly by arranging global promotion and broadcasting. So, now I can say it: FIA screwed it up.

No matter whose fault it was this means that the strong arguments, that was all our strong selling points, are gone. Of course organisers and drivers can refer to TV-coverage arranged by the local organiser. But if I’m a driver and want to do Rally Finland. What shall I tell my sponsors? “Uhm, I hope the event will be covered world-wide”? Or “Uhm, I hope the event will be covered in [put your home country here]“? Or “Uhm, I hope the event will be covered in Finland”? Or the truth: “Uhm, I have no clue if the event will be covered at all”?

That’s the team/drivers perspective. And what about the organisers. They need to start looking for production partners. That’s probably not a big deal, there are plenty of them. But what quality can they deliver? And are they all capable of handling the enormous logistical problem covering a WRC event is? And still the real problem for the organisers are another one. That they need to find buyers of the production, to distribute it to the world and cover the expenses. I’m no expert in this, but I guess that wont be one buyer. They need to call all possible TV networks and channels and negotiate with them. Oh my, I’m so happy I’m not reponsible for that.

Now, let’s assume the organisers are those superheros they probably are, and able to solve all this. Then we still have the problem of problems left. The problem that FIA created yesterday, when doing their announcement. It’s the fact that they show everyone that they are willing to really do the thing that most people probably feared but thought were totally impossible. To let all the championship sponsors, manufacturers, team sponsors, drivers’ sponsors and everyone else that are spending their money on the World Rally Championship down. The one single value that makes the WRC exist is the promotional value, where speed meets skills that meets rough circumstances and mixes up into action and adrenaline enough to glue people in front of their TVs, computers, magazines and phones just to follow it. No investor cares about speed, skills, circumstances, action or adrenaline after all. They care about the money. And no exposure, no money. At least not any money in, just a hell lot of money out.

All other problems can be solved. By organisers arranging their own stuff. Maybe by FIA making a last minute deal. Etc. But the big problem is a mistake that can’t be undone. Who wants (or dares?) to invest in a championship where the main organiser has proved to be ready to devaluate all value in the product for a year or so? I wouldn’t be.

No, in my opinion the announcement is a total mental breakdown by the FIA indicating that they are totally unable to handle the World Rally Championship.

Background information:

Pressrelease by the FIA, 3rd of February 2012

Autosport: WRC event organisers told to finalise their own TV deals after Eurosport talks break down

FIA says no promoter deal in place for WRC

Pressrelease by the FIA, 8th of January 2012

Russian finance man and Spyker investor Vladimir Antonov with co-driver Denis Giraudet driving a SAAB 99 in Midnattssolsrallyt earlier this summer. Foto: Mikael Hjerpe

According to Autosport.com, the loose rumours about SAAB thinking about a comeback into the WRC has now went on to real talks with the WRC organisers and the TV promotor North One.

The car models tipped to be used by the Swedish brand is 9-1 or 9-2 and the engine would probably come from BMW, that has already developed the 1.6L engine for the new MINI team entering the championship from 2011.

The rumours about a comeback into the WRC first started when Spyker was introduced as a potential buyer of SAAB from General Motors – probably much based on Spykers sporty profile and the fact that the brand had a big and expensive, but not very successful, team in Formula 1 just a few years ago. Also, SAAB MD Jan Åke Jonsson and Spyker MD Viktor Mueller recently took park in the classical Mille Miglia rally in one Saab 93 each. The Russian finance man and Spyker investor Vladimir Antonov wasn’t late to follow them and entered the classical Swedish competition Midnattssolsrallyt in a SAAB 99 in July (see photo above). Considering SAAB’s heritage in the rallying circus, one could at least hope for a better success in the World Rally Championship than in Formula 1, despite the economical troubles that is still very much a reality to the company.

Autosport’s sources claims that Spyker representatives has already been speaking to the WRC organisers and North One Sport, and will continue the talks in connection to Rallye de France in October. However, North One MD Simon Long refuses to comment on any specific brands but admits that MINI’s decision “has given people a lot of confidence in the sport”.

Now, even Rally NZ seems to have understood the truth. Chris Carr, chairman of the rally, says that “it’s always fire behind the smoke you see”. Interesting enough, Neil Allport, former NZ Rally Champion, says that lack of money is behind the decision and that the government should put the adequate money in. Strange, since NZ from what I know always have been backed by nothing else than a loooot of government money… However, I can understand they’re disappointed – and I am too. NZ is a traditional rally with wonderful views and an exotic kind of environment… The thing is probably that their market is too small.

The big fail in this discussion may be Rally Norway. They’ve made two good rallies – but they’ve also done mistakes. They have overestimated themselves big time (and that’s their biggest mistake if you ask me). I remember their plans for 2007 that I once got presented – and it was utopia. They had got quite a lot of government money, but they also calculated huge incomes from spectators, sponsoring, etc.The figures was almost 10 times the corresponding numbers of Rally Sweden. Norway did all kinds of extravagancies that year, and of course they blew it totally from a financial point of view – no matter any government money. From what I know, they lowered their calculations drastically for their next event, but obviously not enough. There was less delight of the news from the public in Norway in 2009, and the reports I got from competitors in the rally was that there was really few spectators.

No matter the economics, you can’t take from the Norweigans that they have arranged two really good events – with the media coverage in the 2007 event being my favourite point. Their problem now is unstable economy, the fact that they’re not a traditional event and the fact that they’re running on snow. But maybe even management!? They have always been so overconfident. Now it seems like their managers expected Norway to be first reserve for 2011 – but according to the latest news Poland (that has been completely silent so far!) is the first reserve. Erik Veiby, chairman of the Rally Norway board, says this is just speculations and of course it is, but honestly… I agree that nothing is decided and that things can for sure change – but it’s obvious to everyone that Rally Norway is now in deep shit. I bet that (no matter what Erik Veiby says!) they are now working hard with lobbying on all kind of levels and trying to get to know why they’re out of the calendar and how they can change it.

The approach from organisers struggling to find the grip needed to stay in the calendar is starting to look like an interesting game. The silly thing is that all this started a few years ago with the FIA letting people “buy” candidate events to the left and right by just paying a big fee to them (read more in my post on the rotation system from last year). After the organisers have paid those fees, they of course expected to get an event for it! So, FIA made this stupid rotating calendar and everyone got their events. Now, they have realized the obvious – that it doesn’t work. And many of the payers (and some others) stand there without their events again like they never had one… It’s stupid multiplied by a thousand.

No matter what, I’m looking forward to see how this game continues – and I hope (but doubt – Abu Dhabi on special built roads, come on!?!) it ends up with the best events!

PG Andersson on the Friday's super special stage. Nobody in the class had a chance to really challenge PG during the rally. Photo: Rasmus Bjerén

So, I went to Rally Sweden. Actually it was the first WRC rally I have visited without working in one way or another since Rally Sweden 2005. And it was amazing!!!

Here are a few reflections from the rally:

• Petter Solberg was mentally stuck in his pre-rally business. He surprised with a silly mistake already on the super special stage and he continued to do them throughout the weekend. You could virtually hear where it all was going when Petter talked to the Swedish Radio early on Friday and started to talk about his mistake without even being asked. That’s not really the mental approach you need… I had high hopes on Petter for this season – and I hope he can be better prepared and repair the impression in Mexico.
• PG Andersson – give that man a works seat, now! He punished well-established drivers in better cars last year in the Fabia WRC and this year he totally undressed his competitors in the S-WRC class. Unfortunately, not results and neither Star of the Rally-awards can be used to pay bills. PG knows that for sure, and I’m afraid his Swedish fans will have to learn it if they don’t already know. However, I hope PG is lucky and that this opens up some eyes for the rest of the season and 2011!
• Patrik Sandell failed to stand the competition of PG Andersson when given the same car. I’m afraid I can’t say this surprised me – but it’s disappointing to see considering that Sandell has one year experience with the car and two years experience of S2000 compared to PG that sat in the car first time just days before the rally. Sandell’s comments during the rally started to sound very much like excuses – and what else could he say? However, afterwards he has paid his respect to PG’s impressive driving and that’s the kind of sportsmanship I like!
• Patrik Flodin did what he was supposed to do and just delivered – but got totally placed in the shadows by the new S2000 class and PG’s drive. He would have needed a real PR boost – but at least it looks like the winds are warmer back in Russia at the Uspenskiy team. Maybe Flodin can get a few drives or perhaps even the whole PWRC championship this year?

• Kimi Räikkönen and media… Ok – the guy isn’t really a media whore, but honestly… It’s Kimi Räikkönen, what did you expect? And at the same time it’s his personality. Isn’t a little bit about the media interest in Kimi also the interest in the shy, airy Kimi that you can hardly get to speak at all?! I think so, and I think that even a quiet Kimi is a huge boost for the WRC. Just let the guy be and suddenly he will talk…
• Kimi Räikkönen and rally driving… I don’t understand how people can be so disappointed!? After just a few rallies in his career and the second ever WRC rally – what results can you expect? I’m impressed that Kimi reached the finish, considering that he attacked quite OK. Posting multiple stage times withing the top 8 must be considered good for a newbie, no matter how talented he is. I have high hopes for Kimi’s driving!

• Mikko Hirvonen showed that he wants to challenge for the win this year. I hope and actually I also think that he will be up for the challenge this year and able to match Loeb in the charge for the title. He was really close last year and I don’t know if he will make it this year – but I think it will be close. And honestly… How fun wouldn’t it be with a new champion? Mikko has grown from silly mistakes in Subaru in 2004 to a mature driver. He really proved it by taking his own, gambling decisions regarding the setup of the car during the rally. Go Mikko!

• The surface discussion was just ridiculous. Paid drivers complaining about some frozen gravel and even saying it’s not winter conditions?!?! Nothing can be more stupid. This winter has been the coldest since 1986 or more in Sweden and we’ve had snow and sub-zero temperatures since early December in the rally area. Drivers complain because they want easy driving, but as spectators we want difficult driving! What should the WRC really be about if not difficulties?? The team managers understand it, at least, since they say Rally Sweden must stay in the calendar. It was pure winter conditions this year and the drivers just have to accept that winter isn’t synonymous with ice. On top of that the conditions were just perfect for spectators and TV – that in numbers represent the number of competitors multiplied by thousands…

• The media coverage sucked – as we’re used to with North One Sport. The WRC season opener are oceans away from the live coverage of the IRC season opener. Of course it’s difficult – but guys, you need to try at least! Why wasn’t all the super specials and sprints live covered on the web, as well as the Värmullsåsen stage (that was live in Swedish TV)? That should be a piece of cake, at least compared to airing a whole rally live. When will North One start to deliver???
• The Abu Dhabi people indicated that they may need to get better both in understanding rally and in writing press releases. To talk about PG Andersson’s performance as a result of local knowledge and home support sounds more like an insult than an award to me considering his earlier performances on the international arena?! His two J-WRC titles and his performance in the lousy Suzuki SX4WRC in 2008 is good proof that this isn’t about being some kind of snow expert. PG Andersson is one of the world’s best drivers, and to not give him that recognition cannot be called an award.
• The Rally Sweden organisers have had a really hard time almost totally out of money. They had some luck with the weather, but they also managed to do a really good rally despite the resources that has been a lot more limited than ever before (in “modern time”). World class!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Last year, Rally Monte Carlo and the IRC organisers brought the definitions of rally coverage one step forward by including their superb live coverage on Eurosport. This year, they’ll do it even better (as it seems) and cover almost the whole rally live. Just one stage (SS10) will be a little bit delayed. Here are the ways of following the rally…

Television
You can follow the rally live on Eurosport. If you don’t have it in your channels, try out the excellent Eurosport Player – it’s cheap and worth it! Eurosport will cover all stages as follows (times are in CET):

Wednesday 20th of January

11:45-14:00, SS1 Burzet-Lachamp Raphael (27.50 km) + SS2 St Pierreville-Antraigues (46.00 km), Eurosport 2
14:45-16:00, SS3 Burzet-Lachamp Raphael (27.50 km), Eurosport 2
16:00-17:00, SS4 St Pierreville-Antraigues (46.00 km) Eurosport

Thursday 21st of January

10:00-11:45, SS5 Labatie D’Andaure-St Pierre sur Doux (25.30 km) + SS6 St Bonnet-St Bonnet (25.67 km), Eurosport 2
12:15-13:15, SS7 Lamastre-Gilhoc-Alboussière (21.92 km), Eurosport 2
15:15-16:00, SS8 Labatie D’Andaure-St Pierre sur Doux (25.30 km), Eurosport 2
16:00-17:00, SS8 End + SS9 St Bonnet-St Bonnet (25.67 km), Eurosport
19:30-20:00, SS10 Lamastre-Gilhoc-Alboussière (21.92 km), DELAYED,  Eurosport 2
23:45-00:15, SS10 Lamastre-Gilhoc-Alboussière (21.92 km), REPEAT,  Eurosport

Friday 22nd of January

19:00-20:45, SS12 Peira Cava-La Bollène Vésubie (18.30 km) + SS13 Lantosque-Lucéram (19.13 km), Eurosport
23:00-00:45, SS14 Peira Cava-La Bollène Vésubie (18.30 km) + SS15 Lantosque-Lucéram (19.13 km), Eurosport

Tuesday 26th of January

23:00-23:30, Review: Rally Monte Carlo, Eurosport

Rally radio

Will be present at www.rally-irc.com during the event.

Online

www.rally-irc.com – Official IRC series website
http://www.acm.mc – ACM / The organisers website
http://www.irc-results.com – The IRC results service provided by AutoSport.cz – this seems really nice!
http://www.rallybuzz.com – Good coverage of most things related to IRC and WRC.
This blog – You’re here, so you should know what it is

Phone

The IRC organisers have developed a nice iPhone application.
Download it here [ link will launch iTunes ]

Thanks to RallyTheBest for the video.

Magnus Samuelsson, probably the strongest man in a rally car?! Photo: Gustafssons foto

Now it’s confirmed. As I revealed earlier today, Magnus Samuelsson (World’s Strongest Man) will start Rally Sweden 2010. The team aims to start in the World Rally Championship round, but since they still don’t have a full budget a Swedish Championship start may  be the case instead. Magnus is backed by Fredrik Eljas and Olof Eljas, and the later of them will be responsible for giving Magnus the training needed (not physical, huh!?!) to do the start.

The team will run a 280bhp Subaru Impreza group N of latest spec. Magnus Samuelsson himself comments the start as follows:

- This is my dream as a young boy coming true. I’ve tried “folkrace” before but the dream has always been to drive a real rally car. It will be a true adventure and just the thought of being at the start line along with Loeb and the other boys is breathtaking.

Read the article (in Swedish) at RallySweden.com

Click here to view the embedded video.

No matter the results, the addition of Ken Block and the Monster WRT is a huge boost for the championship. Ken is a superstar in America, which is a very important market for car manufacturers as well as for most global brands. Rallying has always been seen as a European sport over there (Block also says that himself to USA Today), and with a boosted interest there – doors may open up for wider US TV-coverage, new investors in the sport and a better reputation of the championship world-wide. Also, if Block stays in the championship and if maybe even Pastrana joins, I would be surprised if we didn’t get a US round of the championship within five years.

Besides that, I’m quite sure that the Monster WRT will uppen the level of the marketing and PR connected to the World Rally Championship. I’m not a big fan of many US motorsports, with Nascar as a good example, but the skills in PR and marketing is better in the US than anywhere else. Already today with the launch you can notice that everything is prepared; presence on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube (with a launch clip!), branded clothes and connections to all important sponsors. To underline the difference, just read the main goal of the Monster WRT:

“To become the most visible team in the sport, both through our efforts in racing and creative marketing”

Some people may consider this goal bad as it puts the sports performance a little bit to the side, but hey? Anyone that has been involved in rallying on a higher level knows that the money in the sport (which is necessary for the championship to exist) comes from sponsors that aren’t in the sport just for fun – they wanna make business out of it. So in fact nothing has changed, it’s just a more straightforward way of seeing it.

As a conclusion, I’m really excited to see Block and Räikkönen in the World Rally Championship. Core rally drivers like Sebastien Loeb, Marcus Grönholm and the other guys must exist and will always exist – but to broaden the view and get superstars from other disciplines and championships into the sport will just improve the championship and also create better potential for the core guys to become big stars. With a huge boost in star quality and a new formula (WRC1.6T) coming up for 2011, I  can’t wait to see the future of the World Rally Championship seen over a few years. If you as me, I think it’s brighter than ever!

The charge by Block, who is the first American ever to do a larger assault for the championship, seems to be on a long term, since he says that he’ll not promise any podiums the first year:

- Racing in the WRC has always been a dream of mine, but, I’m not going to promise podiums in my first year. I’ll be going up against the best drivers in the world. My main objective for 2010 is to develop into a competitive driver for 2011, and beyond, says Block.

Sad enough, Block – who is co-founder of DC Shoes and a former snowboarding, skateboarding and motocross star – is set to skip Rally Sweden and start of his WRC challenge with Rally Mexico in March. No matter what, the WRC will really be boosted this year with two superstars in Raikkonen and Block joining the championship.

I’ll get back later on with more info and some reflections on Ken Block and his chances in the championship.

Monster World Rally Team launch video:

Click here to view the embedded video.

More info at: http://monsterworldrallyteam.com/

Check the maps out here: http://planetemarcus.free.fr/googleearthmap.htm (link to iPhone app to the left on the page)

According to Bertil Klarin, m.d. of Rally Sweden, it means that both the Swedish Championship and the WRC event will get a lot of coverage.

Exact details regarding the coverage of Rally Sweden is not know, but the plan is TV broadcasts for four days during the rally, including live coverage of the Karlstad Super Special Stage in the start of the rally and also the finish at the new, spectacular Värmullsåsen stage in Hagfors.

(Source, in Swedish: SR)

I’m not sure if a long stage like Baumholder is stunning news, but there’s an interesting principle in it because it’s fun, and most important; it’s allowed. In the last years we’ve seen some comebacks of stuff associated with ralling in the past, that brings diversity to the WRC. Previously, the FIA and rights holders have seemed to pack everything together to one streamlined package by stipulating some stupid rules, making each and every rally as similar to the other ones as possible. Now they’re slowly switching to another way, that organisers should be free to bring more personality to events. One thing is the possibility to run night stages, one thing is the new thing that an event can be run over 2,3 or 4 days and another one is that the total distance of special stages now can be between 300 and 500 km’s with no upper limit on a special stage’s length – more than that it can’t be more than 80 km’s of competitive stages between services.

All those things opens up for a better WRC, where Monte Carlo for example can run their classic night stages, where Germany can have the Baumholder stage and where organisers can profile themselves with a short, intensive 2 day rally – or a marathon rally with 4 days. To bring back old stuff doesn’t at all mean you take a step back, I think this is a perfect step forward where modern stuff like super special stages, stages run twice and other things can be combined with the old classic’s thats deeply rooted in the minds of many fans. Thumbs up to FIA for finally taking some actions to improve the championship!

Besides good tendencies on the coverage, the competition has really seen a boost this year. Of course I’m much thinking of the superb performance of Mikko Hirvonen, who managed to maintain really thrilling competition until the very last round of the WRC. It was quite a few years since we saw that – and no matter what happens in 2010, we know that 2011 will be a hell of a year when all the current drivers will need to adapt to new cars – the WRC1.6T spec.

Also, Petter’s new team has been a great success. He hasn’t been on the top of the podium, but honestly noone expected that – especially not in the Xsara (I’ve written a lot about this, for example: Xsara WRC – Petter’s smart disappointment). But what does that matter? In the media and on the TV coverage, Petter has been a regular and his new team has been a good injection to the championship. I’m the first one to admit I’m impressed by what he has put together!

So, that’s just a few of the highlights in 2009, but to sum it up everybody expected a middle-year – and in many aspects it was. But it was also a starting point where the championship reached it’s bottom somewhere in the shift 2008-2009, and then a lot of good things started to happen.

For 2010 I’m looking forward to having Kimi Räikkönen in rallying. Of course he will struggle a bit before he starts to set really decent results, but his star-quality is exactly what the WRC needs. We must admit that even if Loeb may be the best driver in the world to us, a Formula 1 driver attracts 10 times the coverage. Let’s hope that Kimi succeeds to such an amount that he decides to stay in rallying. Actually, I’d be surprised if we wouldn’t see him back in 2011…

In 2010, we will also see the comeback of Marcus Grönholm for a one time outing in Sweden – that will rock. Added to that, FIA has started the S-WRC championship for Super2000 cars. I guess this isn’t ground-breaking, but it’s a good thing to help some drivers keep their names up until 2011 – when they can compete (with money and skills) about a WRC1.6T seat. At the same time, IRC will probably go for a new all time high this year, as I’m sure many drivers will take the chance to do the same thing there.

Well, that’s a few good points looking back at 2009 and forward to 2010. I’ve left a lot out, I know that, so feel free to add your highlights and thoughts in the comments. As always, it’s much about money. We need to get even the good drivers into the WRC1.6T in 2011, not just the rich ones. All kinds of coverage must get better, and let’s hope that we get to see effects such as the Meeke-effect in GB after his superb IRC performance in more countries.  In total, I think a lot of steps has been taken this year to allow for that. 2010 may be the second year-in-between and a start of the climb up, so let’s use it to start even more good things to make the sport better. I think the future of rallying is bright, and it will start for real in 2011…

Among the challenges for the drivers I rank tyre choices highest. The stages are fast and flowing where cars can reach quite high speeds – which means the unpredicatable weather with rain forecasted will make tyre choices crucial. A wrong tyre choice will mean slower acceleration, earlier braking points and will for sure go directly into the results table.

Anyway, the most interesting thing with this rally is the format and location, where Eurosport Events continue to set new standards regarding innovative marketing. The rally service will be co-located with this weekends World Touring Car Championship premiere in the Curitiba cirquit. The rally is ran from Friday morning to Saturday lunch – making it end just before the WTCC qualifyings. This means motorsport fans (there are quite a lot of them in South America) as well as media can cover both events in a very easy and cheap way.

The conclusion is that IRC has once again tried out a new grip promoting their championship and getting it easy and interesting to watch, with a chance of attracting new fans to the rally sport (mainly those ones that have got into racing but not yet understood that rally is far better). I’ve said it before, but it’s good enough to be repeated: FIA should really watch and learn from the IRC organisers and take all those good things into the WRC.

Wanna see how the Curitiba is? Watch my previously posted videos.

In my opinion the WRC needs high quality events, not a big number of events. We all know that the quality of the current events differ much. I wont name good or bad – since I don’t always agree with the measures used. Driver bash some events, FIA bash others. The drivers most often want perfect conditions, while FIA want strange things such as media stands fitted exactly – on the centimeter – right according to their rules. Sponsors and spectators want events with spectacular conditions and big drama. This doesn’t always match the will of FIA, ISC or drivers. The ranking system needs to be improved – and then maybe the two worst events in years calendar can placed on a special list for a few years, with the potential of replacing it (after a few years) if it doesn’t get better. Potential new events could still be ran as candidate events, but never with a guarantee of getting into the championship. That would give organisers continuity but still keep a good opening of getting in new events.

I don’t have the perfect answer to this, but I know that selling out events in the championship to anyone willing to pay is stupid. Really stupid.

I’m not sure why they are delaying their coverage, but of course it’s hard to produce live TV. I was responsible for live coverage on the Swedish Rally website in 2007, and there was a lot of problems. However, it is possible. It can be done the old-fashioned way with satellites or an aircraft relaying images from the stages – or it may be done in more modern ways, as I proved with Nordisk Mobiltelefon and Daniel Carlsson in last years Swedish rally (see previous post). That solution was based on mobile technology and data transfer using a mobile network with really good coverage. It worked perfectly well!

However, a big part of ISCs problems is their old-school solution taking images from in-car cameras. At least when I worked at the Swedish Rally in 2007, ISC used camcorders in the cars and retrieved DV-tapes from the recorders during service brakes. Of course that’s hard to broadcast live. I guess they’re looking at better options after seeing Eurosport’s coverage from Monte. It’s quite obvious with the technology of today that it’s perfectly possible to do live coverage – you just have to want to work hard and invest. And that’s where the problems seems to have been with ISC… Let’s hope they shape up now.

Photo: Tomas Hejdenbäck/patriksandell.com

Rally Ireland ends today, and with only two weeks to go before Rally Norway get’s running – many drivers are starting to warm up. One of them is Patrik Sandell, who recently presented his newly signed contract with the Red Bull team doing the full PWRC season in a Skoda Fabia Super2000. Patrik has driven the Fabia S2000 once earlier in  a very small test, but during the next week Patrik will be testing it for real in Sweden, most probably close to his home in Kall, Jämtland. It will be interesting to hear about his feelings in the car, especially considering the impressive performances of the Skodas in Monte and since I expect the class to be really close with a lot of good drivers in Norway.

A few days ago, Patrik launched his new website. He has always been good in PR and marketing, and – no offence – I think this has often saved him in the hard rally business. I know people have doubted his driving skills, but he has always been a very good representative for his sponsors brands. His new site is contains an MMS-blog, a video section and quite a lot of info – so Patrik keeps up his good marketing work. More can absolutely be done, but if all privateer drivers had a look at Patrik’s site – I think many of them would give a little bit more professional impression to their sponsors and potential sponsors. No matter what people think about Patrik’s driving skills and style, it’s quite obvious that he has proved that he has a place in the world top.

Check out Patriks website: www.patriksandell.com

I’ll get back later with my thoughts regarding this decision and what it means to the WRC.

Géraldine Filiol, Managing director of Eurosport Events, says that they are very happy with the coverage and figures, and also adds:

- We look forward to continuing our development and innovative approach over the rest of the season.

So, hopefully we’ll get to see more live coverage of IRC during the season. At least I know the Monte coverage was freaking good!

Read full story on IRC website: 
http://www.ircseries.com/html/readNews.asp?id=1076

See some nice clips of Räikkönen (made by Kimismely) in his Punto here:

Click here to view the embedded video.

I think this is a good grip trying to change and promote the sport. I mean, everyone knows that super special stages are arranged to entertain the spectators – so why not let them choose which heats they want to see? It gives spectators a chance to influence the competition, and at the same time it gives the organiser new inspiration – because the other option is for them too choose themselves…

I’d like to see the same thing tested in the WRC, so I asked Bertil Klarin, m.d. of the Swedish Rally, and got the following answer:

- As an organiser, we have the freedom to decide the heats ourselves even in the WRC, so it should be possible to do even there.

Now, that’s great and I hope that Bertil really tries it out next year – when the WRC is back in Sweden. In the end… How can it be bad? Until then, read more at www.swedishrally.com and make your own suggestions. I’ve already posted mine…

• Rally radio – I’m really missing this from the WRC. A quite cheap (I guess) way to keep distance-followers up-to-date all over the world – not only regarding results but also regarding accidents, retirements, driver comments etc.
• An IRC results system including split times that is common to the whole championship and reachable directly on ircseries.com – not something that each organiser can/must do in different ways.
• A “short live news” service – preferably with short, journalistic comments made by a crew member and also driver comments from the stages (maybe taken straight from the rally radio?).
• Digital stagemaps with zoom-in/out ability and maybe – oh my god – live car tracking.

Those points are just a few, and for sure there are a lot more that can be done. But if IRC could fix this – then North One TV (the WRC rights holder) would have to speed up a lot to keep their fans. But… Is it possible? Of course it all depends on money, but in principle it should be. So, how do I know that? Well, the answer is I’ve done a lot of it myself. I’ll explain…

• Rally radio – No, I’ve not done that. But the WRC crew have. For sure it costs some money, but it should be good value too.
• Point two and three – Results system and short news service. When I worked at the Swedish Rally I was responsible for developing the results system used in 2007 with live updating of results integrated with live journalist comments and driver comments. I just wish we had time to integrate the live video player that streamed video from the rally into it too…
• Point four – In 2008 when I worked with Daniel Carlsson, I was part of the development of a live system (in cooperation Swedish teleoperator NMT, Jemba, and more) where a stage map showing a live GPS position of Daniel’s were combined with live incar streaming video/sound. There are some communication issues, but the technology is quite simple.

So, rock it IRC! It’s not more complicated than producing live TV. Rally coverage online has been so neglected in the WRC that it now feels that we are a few years behind other sports. I’m so curious to see where we can be in just a few years…

- The main difference is very important: the IRC is definitely something that is more easy to manage than a WRC event. We have all the other stages, which can be completely different. We can manage more easily the last ones together. You can see the last night of Turini, which could not be in the WRC… 

Dotta get’s straight onto the problem – that the FIA has made the WRC an expensive championship covered by strange rules for both manufacturers and organizers. Instead they should focus on making the championship cheaper, easier to understand and more consistent regarding regulations and costs.

I promise to get back to this subject soon with more opinions…

Rally Monte Carlo has for years been the season opener of the World Rally Championship, but with the WRC stepping down to 12 events per year Monte is now in the IRC calendar for 2009 – and it will for sure be great. In 2009, IRC will have seven manufacturers commited to go for the championship – compared to WRC’s two. Abarth is the old guys in the game running their Punto Super 2000, while Skoda is the latest addition running two Fabia Super 2000 with Juho Hänninen and Jan Kopecky at the wheels. Besides them, also Honda, Citroen, Mitsubishi, Peugeot and Volkswagen are going for the IRC title.

With a number of new drivers, the 77th Monte Carlo Rally should be an open affair. Reigning IRC champion Nicolas Vouilloz is of course one of the favourites – but he will for sure be challenged by Abarth’s Basso, Skoda’s Kopecky, Peugeot’s Freddy Loix, Didier Auriol and Stephane Sarrazin as well as Kris Meeke in the brand new Kronos/Peugeot UK-run Peugeot 207. But maybe the biggest danger to Vouilloz in Monte is his own countryman, upcoming youngster Sebastien Ogier. Ogier has been awarded the Monte Carlo start in a Peugeot 207 Super 2000 in the BFGoodrich Drivers Team but is set to compete in the Citroen Junior Team in the WRC the rest of the season.

No matter what happens, the event will be a huge show to the public. It’s run in three legs during Wednesday to Friday and four stages will also be run in night conditions – like in the good, old times. Everyone having access to Eurosport should be happy, since the event is covered probably better than any previous rally, counting both the WRC, IRC and others. Rally Monte Carlo will get no less than 6h 15min of live television and added to that 2×15 minutes of short highlights from day one and two. More about that (including TV times) in my post regarding Eurosport TV coverage.

More info about the 77th Rally of Monte Carlo (external links)

Entry list
Itinerary
Stage maps
IRC Official website

A few weeks ago I registered for the Eurosport Player – a Eurosport player where I can always watch Eurosport, Eurosport 2 and Eurosport News in my computer. I’ve connected my computer to the TV (this is of course optional) and oops… Now I can watch Eurosport at home on my TV, at work on my screen and anywhere – and it works great.

So, if you’re concerned about missing out on the drama from Monte Carlo or the action from this years WRC stages – go to Eurosport.com and register for the player – is cost’s a little, but you should get away with around 40€ a year which to me is quite affordable (it’s less than a ticket to Rally Norway).

And, no – I’m not paid by Eurosport to say this, I just like their commitment to the IRC and their Player service.

As a teaser – here are the TV times for Rally Monte Carlo (all times in CET):

Wednesday 21th of January

• 1600 – 1700 LIVE SS3 St-Jean en Royans-Col de Gaudissart (Eurosport & Eurosport Asia-Pacific)
• 0000 – 0015 Highlights of Day 1 (Eurosport)

Thursday 22th of January

• 1030 – 1115 LIVE SS5 St- Bonnet le Froid-St-Bonnet le Froid (Eurosport 2 & Eurosport Asia-Pacific)
• 1545 – 1630 LIVE SS8 St- Bonnet le Froid-St-Bonnet le Froid (Eurosport & Eurosport Asia-Pacific)
• 0000 – 00h15 Highlights of Day 2 (Eurosport)

Friday 23th of January

• 1930 – 2115 LIVE SS11 Sospel-La Bollène Vésubie (Eurosport2 & Eurosport Asia-Pacific)
  and LIVE SS12 Lantosque – Lucèram (Eurosport 2 & Eurosport Asia-Pacific)
• 2300 – 0100 LIVE SS13 Sospel-La Bollène Vésubie (Eurosport & Eurosport Asia-Pacific)
  and LIVE SS14 Lantosque-Lucèram (Eurosport & Eurosport Asia-Pacific)

However, there is one thing I really don’t get here. Eyvind hasn’t even put a press release regarding his drive on his own website? He’s got BrynhildsenTV there, but he hasn’t got any updated news on his new deal!? That’s quite… Strange. I thought he along with the other Norweigan guys were those supermanaged, professional young guns knowing exactly how to play their cards to get on top of the World Rally Championship – at least to know that they wont fall on anything other than pure driving skills. You need to do better, Eyvind!

After this little burst, I just wonder one more thing. Is Brynhildsen still working on the rumoured Lancer WRC05 (with ’07 upgrades) deal for the Norweigan Championship along with MML Sports? If he could manage to secure that, he seems to have done his homework quite well anyway (but why not Super2000?), allowing him to drive both group N and WRC during 2009. The Lancer is a good car and he should be able to perform good in the Norweigan Championship. Maybe that’s why he hasn’t had time to update his website…

Economics
Economics is the big thing that makes IRC successful. Super 2000, which is a specification and regulation made by the FIA that covers both racing and rally cars, has been coming up for a while. Technical restrictions on the cars make the a lot cheaper than the extremely advanced WRC-cars that are used today. Cars based on the S2000 spec – however with some modifications – will be main class in WRC from 2010, but that wasn’t decided by the FIA until 12/12/2008. That has, until now, made IRC a cheaper championship to compete in for drivers and manufacturers not willing or able to spend the amounts needed for a season in the WRC.

Geography
IRC has – and have had – an interesting geographical spread regarding the rally locations combining classical venues with new ones. For example the China Rally has been part of the championship, which is important to car manufacturers as China is a huge and growing market – and for 2009 Brazil is new to the calendar. A good sign, since the South American rally interest is really high, proved during the years in the WRC round of Argentina.

Media
With Eurosport as partner and official network IRC have a good – not to say excellent – media coverage. Eurosport is actively working on televising the championship, and for the upcoming Monte Carlo Rally they have announced 6 hours of live coverage – while North One Television have been saving money on the WRC coverage. Helicopter images was removed on the WRC rounds a few years ago, even though it seems to be slowly coming back. In the IRC, Eurosport is continually improving the coverage and uses spectacular helicopter images, live feeds (from Monte) as well as providing their channels live on the Internet etc. We all know that TV time is almost everything to a sport like rally, so here we go: all championships needs a good promotor channel.

The challenge for the championship now should be to get better coverage in regions not covered by Eurosport. Attracting channels (and getting Eurosport to accept them) in North and South America as well as Asia should be high on the promoters list.

Well, this was just a few points, but for sure I will return to the subject… Until then, I’d be happy if you wanted to add your own points and perspectives in the comments!