RE: B v WRC - some thoughts

["Dave Eaton" <Dave.Eaton@clear.net.nz>]

my opinion after watching the sport at the top level for the last 16 years
is that speeds in group b are still much higher than the new cars.

the "wrc" cars are just much faster over a special stage, thats all.  they
are incredibly quick around corners.  the group "b" cars would huff and puff
down the straight bits then wheeze around the corners.  the new cars are not
as quick on the straight bits, but their speed around corners beggars
belief.  also, and in a big plus for spectating, the new cars are getting
pretty spectacular, and the crowds are returning to the sport.

certainly some stages and rallys are decided by mere seconds.  when mcrae
dnf'ed in nz, he was leading makkinen by 1.9sec.  however,
makkinen/mitsibushi has been the champ for the last 3 years running (albeit
rather fortuitously last year), and is inline for the crown again this
year - which is a level of domination than the sport has never seen.

i don't share your pessimism for the future of the sport.  this lies with
bernie.  he is keen to involve more and more tv.  the manufacturers appear
to be very pleased with the "wrc" rules, the crowds are returning and asia
is very keen for more rounds (china, malaysia).  with the exception of
toyota's pull-out in 2001, the sport seems to be in very good shape with 8
committed "wrc" manufacturers.  an all-time record.

dave
'95 rs2
'90 ur-q
'88 mb 2.3-16

-----Original Message-----

Date: Mon, 16 Aug 1999 10:03:05 EDT
From: QSHIPQ@aol.com
Subject: RE: B v WRC - some thoughts


The easiest way to dominate?  Cheat on horsepower.  Toyota proved it in WRC
1994 (and for those of you not following, toyota used a ingeniously designed
and constructed  lift off restrictor on the turbo, that actually pulled the
restrictor away from the turbo, allowing more air into the motor, which in
turn added horsepower over the competition, toyota won the 1994
championship...  Then it was taken away and toyota banned from the 1995
season).

So, yes everything is "refined".  But mostly because horsepower isn't the
war, you can't really cheat airflow thru a restrictor in terms of physics
(and btw, the restrictor allowed by FIA is smaller than allowed by SCCA here
in the states).  One could easily argue that the speeds are certainly in the
same realm as they were in the killer b era.  So what happens next to slow
the cars?  All those "refinements" to awd, just might make FIA come back to
2wd only.  It's slated for discussion again (from the 1995 punt) really
soon.


My optimism about awd in WRC is waning.  The killer B era came to an end
when
the top gun fighters exceeded the talents of the pilots ability to control
them (Stig had a great B story about wanting to put toothpicks in his eyes
to
keep his eyeballs from jiggling).  We are pretty much at the same crossroad
that we saw in 1986.  When a couple of seconds splits places 1 and 10,
statistically, the chances of pilot error are exponentially increased.  How
many will FIA take before pulling the plug.  The 2wd rules are already on
the
table...

My .02