WRC, ERC and national rallying 2024Rally 

Finland has been tough so far on day 2, Pajari has been on the trees in his Yaris Rally1 and lost most his aero, Taka has been off and done some major damage to his suspension and Tanak has had a monster crash. Tanak is OK, Jarvejoa has been taken to hospital for further checks.


The 3 scoring Toyotas are top, Rovanpera leads Evans with Ogier 3rd (in his first Rally1 Finland start).
 
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The RBR vs every other rally game argument has now been elevated to international broadcast on WRC All Live :lol:.

After SS8, in the stage-end interview, Gryazin said he knew the stage from playing Richard Burns Rally. However, the official site quoted him as saying EA Sports WRC. He complained about being misquoted in the interview following SS9 and now the official site has replaced it with [rally game].

Screenshot_20240802-182754_Moto App Launcher.png
 
Pfei
The RBR vs every other rally game argument has now been elevated to international broadcast on WRC All Live :lol:.

After SS8, in the stage-end interview, Gryazin said he knew the stage from playing Richard Burns Rally. However, the official site quoted him as saying EA Sports WRC. He complained about being misquoted in the interview following SS9 and now the official site has replaced it with [rally game].

View attachment 1377742
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Saw that, found it amusing. It's a faux pas either way from whoever was doing the text as the stage in question isn't in EA WRC, so was silly to suggest it anyway. Today's SS12, Paijala, is in the game.
 
MagpieRacer
Saw that, found it amusing. It's a faux pas either way from whoever was doing the text as the stage in question isn't in EA WRC, so was silly to suggest it anyway. Today's SS12, Paijala, is in the game.
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I found it quite strange tbh. It's hardly a direct competitor and is only really played nowadays thanks to to the RallySimFans mod. It's very niche and not a threat to EA WRC in the slightest. Given EA WRC is a primary sponsor with quite heavy branding front and centre I kind of get it but still... It was strange. :lol:

According to the RSF website only 23 people are in game
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No hate to the RBR and the RSF mod. Its great, The car list and stagelist they have amassed is incredible, If I had a wheel I'd spend a whole lot of time on it probably driving all the cool weird stuff like Ladas, Trabants, Old Skodas and even a Wartburg!
1722740803987.png


How cool is that :lol:
 
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RYAN
I found it quite strange tbh. It's hardly a direct competitor and is only really played nowadays thanks to to the RallySimFans mod. It's very niche and not a threat to EA WRC in the slightest. Given EA WRC is a primary sponsor with quite heavy branding front and centre I kind of get it but still... It was strange. :lol:

According to the RSF website only 23 people are in game
View attachment 1378099

No hate to the RBR and the RSF mod. Its great, The car list and stagelist they have amassed is incredible, If I had a wheel I'd spend a whole lot of time on it probably driving all the cool weird stuff like Ladas, Trabants, Old Skodas and even a Wartburg!
View attachment 1378102

How cool is that :lol:
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You're right it's not a threat but they don't exactly want to advertise it regardless.

Meanwhile, absolute drama today as Rovanpera has rolled out of the lead in what looked to be a safe home win for him. Crew ok.

This leaves Ogier in the lead overall in his first rally Finalnd at the wheel of the Rally1 Yaris, Neuville P2 and Formaux P3.
 
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What a wild rally. I was not expecting an OGI NEU FOR podium!

I wonder what Latvala was thinking as he drove his Rally2 past the wrecked cars of Elfyn and Kalle.

Looks like the season will finish with Ogier hunting Neuville for the title.
 
Pfei
What a wild rally. I was not expecting an OGI NEU FOR podium!

I wonder what Latvala was thinking as he drove his Rally2 past the wrecked cars of Elfyn and Kalle.

Looks like the season will finish with Ogier hunting Neuville for the title.
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Would be remarkable if Ogier took the title on a part time drive.
 
MagpieRacer
Would be remarkable if Ogier took the title on a part time drive.
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Would be embarrassing for almost all the drivers involved especially Elfyn. I get the sense Elfyn isn't much if a favourite at TGR anyway and with the pair of close 2nd place finishes in the championship and this dissapointing year maybe both might want a change of scenery.

Or am I just making excuses for ways of a Elfyn - M-Sport reunion 😂
 
This rally was chaos from the start. Crazy that no Finn was on the podium. I agree with Seb to be honest. The new Super Sunday thing is good, but should have replaced the Power Stage instead of in addition to it. It takes away from the PS, in my opinion.
 
TheHun99
OK, so are we starting a GTPlanet gofundme or patreon to buy it? I don't have high hopes, we didn't buy Willow Springs either :)
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With an operating profit of 4.7mil € its only about 106 years until its profitable for whomever buys it?
I certianly shouldnt be running a business if I either dont see how this is going to be good or I am calculating something wrong (no matter which of both it is) 🤪
 
Pfei
Bad news from Hyundai. This could mean they're pulling out.

dirtfish.com

Abiteboul admits private team could run Hyundai’s WRC effort in 2026 – DirtFish

WRC – Speculation continues to surround Hyundai’s future in the World Rally Championship
dirtfish.com dirtfish.com
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I thought I'd read that Neuville had signed an extension with them. It would genuinely suck if they pulled out. They may be on the verge of finally doing it, surely they can find the funds to do both this and WEC like Toyota.
 
Rossell2
I thought I'd read that Neuville had signed an extension with them. It would genuinely suck if they pulled out. They may be on the verge of finally doing it, surely they can find the funds to do both this and WEC like Toyota.
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I think funding is only part of the issue, the WRC doesn't seem to align with Hyundai's wider automotive goals at the moment. Plus with the limited championship success they have had (or haven't had), it doesn't surprise me.
 
Rossell2
I thought I'd read that Neuville had signed an extension with them. It would genuinely suck if they pulled out. They may be on the verge of finally doing it, surely they can find the funds to do both this and WEC like Toyota.
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Yes, Neuville just extended his contract for a year, until the end of 2025. However, he wanted a two-year extension.

Unfortunately this is another sign pointing to Hyundai possibly pulling out at the end of 2025.
 
There are now a couple new articles on DirtFish regarding Hyundai drivers that add more fuel to the "Hyundai leaving" fire.

One is "Tanak concerned by Neuville's one-year Hyundai deal" and, while Ott didn't specifically say he was concerned, when asked if he was concerned he answered "yes". Ott's contract is up at the end of 2025.

Other article is Neuville denying having his own team involved in running Hyundai Rally1s in 2026. He also said that a private i20 Rally1 team for 2026 would be the "best solution", leading me to believe that Hyundai, despite having committed until end of 2026, is looking for a way to exit early without reneging on their contractual commitment.

There is plenty of speculation from other outlets worldwide ranging from 'announcing soon that 2025 is the last year' to 'committed until end of 2026'. Whatever is really going on, it does look like the WRC will lose Hyundai within the next two years.

The third i20 seat is open and Abiteboul has stated he prefers to have a permanent driver there instead of two or three rotating ones. Fourmaux is rumored to be in talks to move to Hyundai from M-Sport but given all this uncertainty around Hyundai surely he must be preferring to stay with M-Sport now. I would hope so.
 

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