01 cover sbi 152.indd - FIFA/CIES International University Network

MOTORSPORT:
RALLY
ON
THE
RIGHT
TRACK
Rallying now has two thriving series, the World Rally Championship
and the Intercontinental Rally Challenge. Despite the economic
downturn, both series have developed and innovated in 2009 and,
for different reasons, finish the year in pretty good shape.
IN DECEMBER last year it looked
like the wheels were coming off
the World Rally Championship.
Within a 24-hour period it lost
two manufacturers as Suzuki
and Subaru announced that they
would pull their teams out of the
series. That left WRC with just
two manufacturer teams, Ford and
Citroen, puncturing its pride but
not exhausting it.
In fact, it gave WRC a clean slate
to create a path to fortune. Learning
from some of the problems in
Formula One, which has more
manufacturers than podium places,
Neil Duncanson, chief executive
of North One, the production
company which owns ISC, made a
crucial decision.
“I decided I didn’t want more
than four significant manufacturers
because any more than that and
they can’t win,” he said, adding:
“I’ve got one or two who I think will
come in.”
Fiat recently entered one
round of the Rally Finland with
Ferrari’s F1 driver Kimi Räikkönen
who famously rolled the car and
Duncanson says “if we mix it up
with Fiat and Volkswagen, and
whoever else coming in, they need
to win rallies.”
To give its chances an added
boost, WRC will introduce a
1600cc turbo engine in 2011. “This
brings WRC in line with the way
the automotive industry and public
opinion is moving towards more
energy efficient engines,” says
ISC’s chief executive Simon Long.
“At the same time, this will
further support our efforts to
attract new manufacturers and
car brands into our sport with the
prospect of more cost effective and
relevant WRC car regulations.”
“Subaru were a real part of our
DNA and that [their departure]
really hurt us. I’d like to think they
will come back to WRC at some
point,” says Duncanson.
As the road to economic
recovery becomes smoother
there are good reasons why car
companies may pull in to WRC.
“Manufacturers can subscribe to
World Rally at much less cost than
F1,” says Duncanson.
Running a top rally team costs
a car manufacturer around $20
million annually - around five per
cent of the investment required for
an F1 campaign.
“I think the future of World
Rally is very positive and the
reasons are because it is not
Formula One, it is real cars with
real drivers in real locations.”
The cars in the series are roadlegal
and race on tracks which are
more akin to everyday conditions
than F1 circuits. That means
manufacturers can legitimately
use success in WRC to advertise
the quality of the everyday vehicles
they sell.
These attributes are also
attracting other companies to
WRC. We will not go far away from
last year’s very small operating loss
for the next financial year and in
the current climate that is a very
significant advertisement for what
we are doing,” says Duncanson.
Motorsport’s governing body
the Fédération Internationale de
56 SportBusiness International • No. 152 • 12.09