JACK BENYON
“Converted R5 move opens up BRC future debate”
Sense! Sense has been achieved. Or at least a movement towards sense.
News that the British Rally Championship will accept right-hand-drive R5 conversions makes perfect sense.
The calendar has moved back towards the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship this year with the addition of the West Cork Rally, and that too makes sense as there’s only a set pool of R5 cars in the UK and Ireland. Why not make the BRC as attractive as possible to those competitors too?
Such is the importunate of offering right-handdrive options in Ireland, the process of switching a car from left to right is nicknamed ‘Irishing’ in some circles, and the process has been undertaken as far back as any rally preparation firm can remember.
As long as the process is properly policed and the converted cars aren’t getting a performance advantage, then surely it makes perfect sense and there’s no reason to exclude cars like that, especially when the series is struggling to attract R5 entries.
And could that open the discussions on a better future for both championships? Discussions should start this year on what becomes of the British series and how it develops.
The fact that a non-homologated car will now be able to fight for the overall championship and compete side-by-side with homologated cars, proves there’s absolutely no need to stipulate homologated cars are the top class in the BRC.
I don’t back a return to a one-make or frontwheel-drive series at the top of the order, it would alienate many of the country’s drivers who don’t want to make a step back. Would some sort of rear-wheel-drive format keep those more experienced drivers interested? That’s something Mark Higgins has backed heavily when speaking on the Absolute Rally podcast earlier this year.
Surely the time has come to move on from R5? I’m the biggest fan of what I’ve seen achieved on the stages in R5 cars over the past few years and I’m certain in 20 years’ time people will be talking of the brilliant Manx finale of 2017 or Elfyn Evans phenomenal run in 2016. But rallying is cyclical like all motorsport. People become disinterested and move on, run out of money or target new challenges. Switching the BRC format would help with that for 2019.
The bone of contention with R5s is the cost. Not only the £200,000 it will cost to get a new one on your drive, but the five-figure engine rebuild costs, the expensive dampers, etc. You’re looking at well north of £350,000 for a year in the BRC, and with outside interest in rallying at an all-time low, trying to persuade sponsors and manufacturers to back that is unlikely.
The next year should be a year of forums and discussions. What is the way forward for the BRC? For all the despicable people who use any sign of negativity to spout off in forums, why not constructively debate the future of our national rally championship. It has one that has led the world in producing top class drivers. Why shouldn’t it lead in innovation and come up with a blueprint to safeguard its future?