Carlos Sainz has echoed the concerns raised by MOTORSPORTFORUM last month (29th January) about the current TV-friendly format of the World Rally Championship. Speaking to AUTOSPORT magazine Sainz suggested the current trend of compact format WRC events is damaging the sport.
"These days the rallies can be quite boring. Look at the second day on Monte Carlo - we did a 200-kilometre road section for a 25km stage. That doesn't make sense"
Though critical, the double World Champion was also keen to stress the importance of maintaining the sport's drive for television coverage. The Spaniard said he understood the need to alter the format and length of World Rally events in order to accommodate increased television coverage.
Nonetheless Sainz still supports the view raised by MOTORSPORTFORUM that the compact rally format, and in particular repeated use of special stages, could be taken too far and cause severe damage in the coming years.
"First we go one way around them, then we go the other way. This isn't what rallying used to be about. Seven different stages in a rally is not exciting. We have to be careful not to go too far."
Last month, MOTORSPORTFORUM raised concerns over the possibility that the changes necessary to make the sport more TV-friendly, could harm the very elements of rallying that make it so attractive to spectators and TV viewers alike. While increased television exposure is necessary to safeguard the sport's future, changing the current format that has made the sport so competitive will damage rallying to a greater extent than a lack of TV exposure.
The comments from Sainz are sure to add weight to the argument that it may be time to halt any further changes to the format of WRC events and seek a period of stability before further TV-led changes are made.
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