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Mid-stage 'pitstops' could be introduced into the World Rally Championship for the first time next season.
WRC manager Michele Mouton said she is aware of plans for compulsory mid-stage tyre changes and wants to discuss them further.
Two current rounds of the WRC are considering the move, with Rally Italy's Antonio Turitto keen to implement the idea for his event in 2015.
Mouton said: "We heard about this last year for the first time. I am not against this idea.
"Now we have to think about what we want from the rallies; we have to see a proposal for this idea and see what we think about it.
"If it works from a safety point of view then it could be exciting - it could add another dimension to rallies."
Turitto has identified an extended version of the Monte Lerno test as the Rally Italy stage he wants to use for the new plan.
Monte Lerno, included in the Sardinian event earlier this month, was the longest stage of the 2014 WRC season so far at 36 miles, but Turitto wants to boost that to 50 miles (the longest possible under current WRC regulations) and put the 'pitstop' in at the mid-point.
"After the first half of the stage, we would find somewhere in the middle of a village or somewhere where we can make an atmosphere with the people and the fans watching," said Turitto.
"Then we allow the teams to bring two or four mechanics - and obviously this is outside of the usual servicing regulations - and they can change the wheels.
"The time it takes the team to change the wheels is included in the total time for the stage, this is part of the competition.
Henri Toivonen, Lancia, Monte Carlo WRC 1986
"One of the concerns we have is to make sure the wheel is fitted correctly, this is obviously very, very important for the safety and this is something we are looking at.
"But it could be very nice, very exciting for the people to watch - it would be like Formula 1.
"This is our idea and we are talking to the FIA to try to find the solution for this kind of thing."
Mid-stage wheel changes in the WRC are not unprecedented. Lancia did this with the 037 and Delta S4 on the Monte Carlo Rally between 1983 and '86.
Regulation change tightened up servicing rules soon after, making it impossible for the team to work on the car outside the central or remote service park.
Source: Here
What Motortorque say:
Roll-up, roll-up- anyone want to watch the World Rally Championship? How can we turn it in to a spectator sport? We have competition from World Rallycross and don’t know what to do – we need to make it a TV spectacle?
What about introducing compulsory tyre changes? You think I am having a laugh, right. However, esteemed motorsport outlet Autosport has broken the story and the WRC bods are keen to implement this scenario from 2015.
Rallying is a sport where driver/co-driver and machine go up against the clock – the quickest time over the test wins the stage while the fastest crew overall wins the rally.
Let’s throw compulsory tyre changes into the mix – why? To make it more exciting, of course. Compulsory tyre changes in F1 work don’t they? Do we not remember the arguments about tyre last year?
When I was growing up, it was common for teams to have chase cars and regularly see crews change the tyres before and after stages on the road routes – this was later outlawed and everything now takes place in a central or remote service park.
Changing tyres in the middle of a stage in a beautiful Italian village – aaaw sure it will look lovely with all the media and crowds in attendance. That’s not rallying, might as well invite a few clowns, lions and tigers and make it a proper circus. Pitstops, pitstops you say, now that is a step too far. There are better steps to make this championship work.
Better promotion, create stars, let them speak out – we need characters if the sport is going to survive – like McRae, Sainz and Alen – give Ogier, Meeke and Latvala a voice, free them of the PC world that we have gotten into.
If the FIA love the sport then it will look at better ways to create more interest – pit-stops mid-way through is the end of the end. Why was the championship so popular in the eighties? Let’s get it back to those heady days?
Even in the nineties there were at least seven manufacturers involved – c’mon guys and girls you are a smart bunch of people, surely you can do better than pitstops?
The WRC for me is on a tightrope, I await the outcome with some apprehension…
Source: Here
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