Team-BHP - The Indian Rallying scene

guys ,

so far that i have observed - there are only 2 manufacturers who are in the indian rallying scene - MUL and Honda.

the esteem was the car for rallies earlier and now it is the baleno everywhere !! the honda city (old) was in there between the 2 MUL products for some time !!

why dont other manufacturers have their products in the rallying scene here ??

whats the reason?? is it not lucrative enough?? are their products not upto the mark ?? or are they simply here to make money ( well who isnt) hehe

but we have skoda , ford , gm , fiat - why dont we see their cars in rallying here ??

cheers

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so far that i have observed - there are only 2 manufacturers who are in the indian rallying scene - MUL and Honda.

Correction. We only have ONE manufacturer in rallying and that is Maruti. Although the Vtec was used by MRF, and was a very successful rally car, Honda as a manufacturer did not lend any support whatsoever to the team. Not even providing them with subsidised parts. So it would not be correct to refer to them as manufacturers.

Maruti on the other hand provided MRF with their Baleno's free of charge, and are also fully supporting their rallying effort. Incidently they are also sponsoing the overall prizes for the winners of the INRC, 1400cc and RSC categories by giving them a Baleno, Alto and M800 as prizes.

Rallying is really gaining in popularity. There are 9 rounds listed on the 2005 INRC calendar, with places such as Meghalaya and Mysore being added. There is also going to be a North/North-Eastern Regional Championship for events only in those areas of India.

Entries are touching 30 cars per event now, which is an impressive number considering the costs involved in the sport.

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but we have skoda , ford , gm , fiat - why dont we see their cars in rallying here ??

Well, you may be surprised to learn which manufacturers are showing interest in homologating their products for the 2006 season...can't say anymore though.

The fact is that the strained relationship between the FMSCI and the MAI did lead to a sort of uncertainty for sponsors, but that is all changing. 2004 saw the entry of India's largest manufacturer in the sport, 2005 will see other new sponsors and 2006 will see new manufacturers entering. Its all happening...

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Originally Posted by iceman91

also..honda cannot enter the rallying scene with its old hondas anymore...since the rule book says that the car must be in production. hence from the 2005 season u wont see anymore hondas. unless they use the new honda which i doubt will happen. ford is planning to enter the rally scene..lets see what happens then.

Not entirely correct ice.

While you are right that Honda would not enter because its curent city is not competitve, privateers can still use the old City. The rules state that a car's homologation is valid for 7 years AFTER its production has been stopped.

So, the old City can be used till about the year 2010 or so.

Rtech, Its gud to hear that more manufacturers r getting into the rallying scene -- tell me if fiat is planning to enter, coz if they are I'm gonna take my bed and plonk it outside their office --- I wud luv to take the 1.6 onto the circuit. I wud have done otherwise too but the spares r so damn expensive Ill b scared 2 push it to the limit knowing at the back of my mind that the bill later will end my future prospects .. lol !!

Team-bhp shud encourage sponsors 2 come out with support for the rallying circuit and mayb give prefernece to our members .. I'm sure there r members out there who r in a position 2 help !! Ive been thinking of doing the INRC but one most of the events r in the south and logistics will b a tuff task , also its really expensive !! Been thinking of doing it in a gypsy as thats cheaper but then not very comfortable in that though i started rallying in that machine.

Rtech, u seem ti have inside info so how about sharing it with us ... that ways we can approach before others do ... PUHLEEEEZZZZ !!!

Cheers

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tell me if fiat is planning to enter, coz if they are I'm gonna take my bed and plonk it outside their office --- I wud luv to take the 1.6 onto the circuit. I wud have done otherwise too but the spares r so damn expensive Ill b scared 2 push it to the limit knowing at the back of my mind that the bill later will end my future prospects .. lol !!

well, I can't say if Fiat is going to enter. They are too wrapped up in their own internal problems right now and have to worry about the survival of the company more than motorsports at the moment. However, if and when they do wake up and decide to enter, I'm afraidit would be with the newer Palio. Sorry bro...!

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Ive been thinking of doing the INRC but one most of the events r in the south and logistics will b a tuff task , also its really expensive !!

Well, not anymore. As I mentioned, there is a new Northern Regional Championship that will take place this year. This would be ideal for you to enter. I would suggest a gypsy as it is simply the cheapest. However, used Esteem's are really cheap up north too, so you could consider one of those?

Rtech, where can one get more details about the Northern regional Championships from ?? I too have been thinking of the gypsy as its cheaper to mantain and run and there guys here who cud prepare them well but the esteems wud have to b prepared down south as the mech/tuners are far better there .. !! Up north most of the guys follow a fixed formula so not advisable ... But pls give me the add or site of details about the mentioned series ...

Lets hope thngs do work out ...

Cheers

Come to think of it, what better (and cost effective) way for Fiat to drive the point home than to have a ........Fiat Palio 1.6 enter the rallying scene? I know of too many enthusiasts who would opt for the Palio if they see renewed commitment from Fiat, start production again and sort out their internal issues.

Easier said than done, eh?

GTO

Q: Whats Wrong with Indian rallying scene ..... ??
A: Everything ....
Q: Why dont we see more Car Manufacturers in Rallying ?
A: there is no "Real" gain for the manufacurers cos Motorsport is not yet a popular sport ... Costs simply do not work out for them ....
Q: what about privateers ?
A: MAI is a MRF front organisation ..... Privateers get jacked ... there is no encouragement by other Sponsors namely FMCG , Oil , IT and other BIG Businesess as there is no Wide Support and exposure for the sport ... It is still a RICH MAN"S sport ..
Q: What is the status Of Indian Rallying in 2005 ???
A: God only knows and his messenger is Nasir Hoosein and MAI ... and the Devil is FMSCI , a front for JK Tyre ...
May the Privateers save themselves ....