2004-10-02 #3

Rally Futures

So here is how things stack up in the World Rally Championship:

• Pugeot is set to stay involved.
• So is Citroen.
• So is Subaru.
• Ford is probably looking at withdrawing. It is unlikely that they would axe the Formula One effort just to finance a rally program.
• Hyundai is only having limited involvement, and is probably looking for a good reason to quit.
• Mitsubishi is probably also looking for a good reason to quit.
• Skoda is already gone.

So of seven teams, half of them are either gone or on the verge of cancelling their involvement. SupeRally rules and points schemes aside, there does not seem to be any incentive for another manufacturer to get involved. Pretty grim.