Pace Notes

Listen. Can you hear it? It's that noise again. It's the harbingers of doom. The World Rally Championship is, apparently, all over. Dead in the water. Citroen's going racing; it's the end of the world as we know it.

Nonsense.

Balderdash.

Poppycock.

Firstly, Citroen hasn't confirmed its plans for 2010. Citroen team principal Olivier Quesnel has made plain his desire to see a hike in the level of promotion in the World Rally Championship.

The FIA and the world championship's commercial rights holder International Sportsworld Communicators (ISC) are working on that and are thought likely to come up with a 10-year deal in the very near future.

Securing that deal safeguards multi-million pound annual investment from North One Television in the development of the media side of the sport. Once that ball starts rolling, the success of the WRC becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The key here is the rapid installation of ISC as the championship's promoters. There are a few of you out there who probably won't believe that the WRC doesn't actually have a pukka promoter. It's true. As a sport, we've blindly stumbled down the years, ensuring the awe-inspiring action we take for granted remains the world's best-kept secret.

Not any more. It's time to let the bloke next door know just how good the World Rally Championship is.

New Zealand last year, for example. Eighteen stages across the North Island in three days; 220 miles through some typically miserable early spring Kiwi weather and what was the outcome? Marcus Gronholm beat Sebastien Loeb by three tenths of a second.

And for those who think Gronholm's retirement at the end of last season turned this year into a Loeb benefit, come to Finland in August. You won't believe your eyes.

The Frenchman will be forced, once again, well out of his comfort zone in an effort to keep up with Ford's brace of young Finns, to whom hammering their Focus RS WRC07s between the trees and over blind crests on the limiter in top comes second nature. Gronholm might have gone, but the next generation is ready and waiting.

It's the same story with Citroen. If Citroen does leave, so be it. It's happened before and it'll happen again. French manufacturers are not known for their longevity in the recent history of the WRC.

Whether you agree with their smash and grab-style or not, it's worked wonders for them. Look at Citroen's PSA partner, Peugeot. Certainly, the 504 had been around for donkey's years, winning Safaris and the like, but it was never a serious threat to the established order.

Peugeot's first major assault on the WRC came with the Group B 205.

It arrived in Corsica, 1984 and departed - with the rest of Group B - after the Olympus Rally in 1986. In the intervening two and a bit years, the 205 (in 'standard' and evolution form) won 16 rallies, two drivers and two manufacturers' championships.

Peugeot left, dallied for a couple of seasons with the 306 kit car and then returned to rock the WRC with the 206. This time, it stayed slightly longer, with the 307 replacing the 206. The 206 was good enough for three manufacturers titles, 23 wins and two titles for Gronholm.

Then, at the end of 2005, it was gone. Again.

Citroen was already winning with the Xsara by the time Peugeot bade the series a cheery farewell. The Xsara has taken success to a new level, winning 55 per cent of the world championship rallies it started. At the end of 2005, however, Citroen, too, walked away. Regulation changes were not going the way the Versailles firm wanted and the C4 WRC (Xsara replacement) was canned.

A little over a year later and Citroen was back on track. The C4 had been modified and it won on its debut in Monte Carlo 2007. It then carried Loeb to his fourth straight title last season and keeps on winning to this day.

Citroen and Peugeot take a straightforward approach to rallying. Build the budget, develop the car behind the scenes and hit the ground running. And running very fast. Then, win, win, win.

Scoop up all of the domestic marketing kudos for victories in Monte Carlo and Corsica (although the 206s failure to win Monte was a source of constant and bitter frustration to Peugeot's likeable leader Corrado Provera) and the same across the world.

Then turn and run. Previously, they would run to rally raids, but now it seems the track is more attractive: sportscars for Peugeot and potentially DTM for Citroen.

If Citroen does go, make no mistake, the WRC will miss it. And miss it very much. But equally, be under no illusion that more manufacturers will come. The current rule changes to bring down the barriers to entry for new manufacturers will work their magic and firms with Super 2000 cars will spot a window of opportunity for affordable WRC glory.

With more manufacturers committing to 2010 and - hopefully - a new deal for the promotion on the sport, the WRC is on the up. And up and up.

So, tell your neighbours. Our secret's out.

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- The Autosport.com Team

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