Well after two events for the USRC and 3 events (nearly 4) for Rally America we are nearing the mid season and I think with all the change in the sport it is now time for a mid-seasonish report card. A word of caution I wold hope that this thread is constructive not destructive we can all engage in a pissing match or try to offer constructive pointers I would favor the latter. Organizers and Sanctioning bodies you may take some lumps in this thread (assuming anyone else chimes in) try and just read it and think before you respond, there will be posts that are just here to bait you so read and think before you get defensive.
Now here is my report, (I have only been to Rim this year so I cannot comment on CHerokee trails at all, Sno Drift, and I have a few things about oregon but we did not run there. I was at Rim so that is probably the event I can comment on the most effectively.
USRC you have done a very good job putting out press releases and letting us know where you are headed and the Motorsport Mundial thing was very nice. THe broadcasts are good though ramada could have done with some helicopter shots it was one of the better US rally programs I have seen in the last say 4 years. I like the fact that you promote Recce since I like it and I think you do try and put on a good show, the second day's super special at Rim was a huge improvement over the previous years and I think that shows more initiative. I personally feel that the events in the USRC (Cherokee, Ramada, Rim, and Rally NY) are too spaced in time and distance, you should work with your organizers to try and schedule the East coast events together and the west coast together with rising fuel prices it is too expensive to tow across the country a minimum four times a year for a 4 event championship. I am also dissapointed by the lack of new events and I think that is one thing that you folks need to develop. Super stock is a great idea and I think that RA will have to follow your lead on that one or loose competitors.
Rim: As the crown jewel of rally in the US (purely from the fact that it is really the only rally in the US that is very close to a huge population center I guess I am continually dissapointed. Maybe it is me but since 2002 it feels like Rim as steadily lost appeal to people in this area. I realize that bad weather, and other factors have conspired against the organizers I am continually dissapointed by turn out to an event that is so close to LA. In 2002 the thing was packed there were people on every spectator stage and it was a very fun atmosphere, now I realize that Sawhmill did change the spectator stuff but you still had a large turn out (even more so when you consider the horrible weather of 2003) the people still came. Now I realize that this was not your fault but it happened so I will mention it the towing of people in 2003 left a horrible taste in the mouth of a lot of people and I am afraid some of those people will never come back others can come back. This brings me to the shift to the fairgrounds in 2004 (I feel this was a huge improvement from Pelon vista or the lot behind the Holiday Inn, new location better spectacle but the confusion over charging an entry fee and teh lack of directions to the buses for the spectator stage (a good idea that way spectators could not be towed) but it didn't work there was not enough infrastructure but an improvement of 2003 but still fewer spectators than 2002. This brings me to my 2005 review, while I understand that the weather basically ruined everything you had planned I cannot understand why you did not take steps earlier to find alternate roads, for months I have know that the fire season followed by heavy rain was going to wreak havoc on the rally and it did. Your entry fee was not cheap and you did not deliver enough stage miles or enough different stage miles and I think more than anything else this is the most important thing you will have to address in the next year you need more roads and adding super specials is hardly a substitute. Canceling spectator stages is pretty much the worst thing an event can do because it leaves people frustrated and confused and I htink it hurts the overally marketability of the rally. I do think that registration went better this year especially the location of tech which was convenient and I liked the ease of going and getting information on our drivers so we knew who we would have to retrieve and the like. There is a lot of stuf to be done folks but I see you working.
Rally America came in with a bang and lots of potential which is why I was so excited about it but I have been excited about some things and somewhat confused by others. First of all Rally America you hit the ground running and took over an enormous task so on that note alone I give you a lot of praise and thanks. Rally America was able to find a television package that shows forward thinking and I think as a whole will be better than the Speed broadcasts so once again a thumbs up. The addition of stage miles to Pikes Peak also is a huge bonus ( we will hold judgemnt on this till after the event). Now I am very dissapointed by the fact that no deal could be reached with RIm I do not profess to know all the details but I do know that without RIm there is a huge hole that Rally America now has to fill. For west coast people there is now a whole lot of Nasa events and really one big RA event and a few club events which is bad for business. Being based in the west RA seems like a championship that is almost exclusively based east of the Mississippi (Yeah yeah colorado but for people on the west coast Colorado is the midwest). With nobody else to turn to Nasa is gaining a huge foot hold here on the west coast and that is a bit sad. I have been dissapointed by the the lack of development as far as the RA website goes (I thought that this was the type of thing that you guys brought M360 in for) and while the TV package was different and has potential to be better it was a deal that should have been done way before Sno Drift because people trying to put programs together at the beginning of the year got killed because of this. Hopefully you guys put together a multi year deal so we will not be staring at a repeat of this every year. RA has been able to get Stig to come and race this year which I feel is a good thing but I was hoping that with him coming here we would have had more international teams show up which hasn't been the case so far. We will see what the year will bring us.
RA C+
USRC C
Now here is my report, (I have only been to Rim this year so I cannot comment on CHerokee trails at all, Sno Drift, and I have a few things about oregon but we did not run there. I was at Rim so that is probably the event I can comment on the most effectively.
USRC you have done a very good job putting out press releases and letting us know where you are headed and the Motorsport Mundial thing was very nice. THe broadcasts are good though ramada could have done with some helicopter shots it was one of the better US rally programs I have seen in the last say 4 years. I like the fact that you promote Recce since I like it and I think you do try and put on a good show, the second day's super special at Rim was a huge improvement over the previous years and I think that shows more initiative. I personally feel that the events in the USRC (Cherokee, Ramada, Rim, and Rally NY) are too spaced in time and distance, you should work with your organizers to try and schedule the East coast events together and the west coast together with rising fuel prices it is too expensive to tow across the country a minimum four times a year for a 4 event championship. I am also dissapointed by the lack of new events and I think that is one thing that you folks need to develop. Super stock is a great idea and I think that RA will have to follow your lead on that one or loose competitors.
Rim: As the crown jewel of rally in the US (purely from the fact that it is really the only rally in the US that is very close to a huge population center I guess I am continually dissapointed. Maybe it is me but since 2002 it feels like Rim as steadily lost appeal to people in this area. I realize that bad weather, and other factors have conspired against the organizers I am continually dissapointed by turn out to an event that is so close to LA. In 2002 the thing was packed there were people on every spectator stage and it was a very fun atmosphere, now I realize that Sawhmill did change the spectator stuff but you still had a large turn out (even more so when you consider the horrible weather of 2003) the people still came. Now I realize that this was not your fault but it happened so I will mention it the towing of people in 2003 left a horrible taste in the mouth of a lot of people and I am afraid some of those people will never come back others can come back. This brings me to the shift to the fairgrounds in 2004 (I feel this was a huge improvement from Pelon vista or the lot behind the Holiday Inn, new location better spectacle but the confusion over charging an entry fee and teh lack of directions to the buses for the spectator stage (a good idea that way spectators could not be towed) but it didn't work there was not enough infrastructure but an improvement of 2003 but still fewer spectators than 2002. This brings me to my 2005 review, while I understand that the weather basically ruined everything you had planned I cannot understand why you did not take steps earlier to find alternate roads, for months I have know that the fire season followed by heavy rain was going to wreak havoc on the rally and it did. Your entry fee was not cheap and you did not deliver enough stage miles or enough different stage miles and I think more than anything else this is the most important thing you will have to address in the next year you need more roads and adding super specials is hardly a substitute. Canceling spectator stages is pretty much the worst thing an event can do because it leaves people frustrated and confused and I htink it hurts the overally marketability of the rally. I do think that registration went better this year especially the location of tech which was convenient and I liked the ease of going and getting information on our drivers so we knew who we would have to retrieve and the like. There is a lot of stuf to be done folks but I see you working.
Rally America came in with a bang and lots of potential which is why I was so excited about it but I have been excited about some things and somewhat confused by others. First of all Rally America you hit the ground running and took over an enormous task so on that note alone I give you a lot of praise and thanks. Rally America was able to find a television package that shows forward thinking and I think as a whole will be better than the Speed broadcasts so once again a thumbs up. The addition of stage miles to Pikes Peak also is a huge bonus ( we will hold judgemnt on this till after the event). Now I am very dissapointed by the fact that no deal could be reached with RIm I do not profess to know all the details but I do know that without RIm there is a huge hole that Rally America now has to fill. For west coast people there is now a whole lot of Nasa events and really one big RA event and a few club events which is bad for business. Being based in the west RA seems like a championship that is almost exclusively based east of the Mississippi (Yeah yeah colorado but for people on the west coast Colorado is the midwest). With nobody else to turn to Nasa is gaining a huge foot hold here on the west coast and that is a bit sad. I have been dissapointed by the the lack of development as far as the RA website goes (I thought that this was the type of thing that you guys brought M360 in for) and while the TV package was different and has potential to be better it was a deal that should have been done way before Sno Drift because people trying to put programs together at the beginning of the year got killed because of this. Hopefully you guys put together a multi year deal so we will not be staring at a repeat of this every year. RA has been able to get Stig to come and race this year which I feel is a good thing but I was hoping that with him coming here we would have had more international teams show up which hasn't been the case so far. We will see what the year will bring us.
RA C+
USRC C
