Could Spa’s cameo offer the WRC a new avenue to exploit?

Rally cars drifting around Stavelot and plunging into Eau Rouge certainly made for an incredible sight as the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit provided a memorable spectacle to close out the World Rally Championship’s first visit to Belgium.

Rallying on stages incorporating permanent circuits is not for the rally purists out there, and while Spa’s inclusion as the final leg of this month’s Ypres Rally divided opinion, showpiece stages at iconic motorsport venues may actually be an avenue worth investigating further for the WRC.

Let’s face it, we all want to see the world’s best drivers going hell for leather on some of the planet’s harshest terrain, producing feats that leave the onlooker simply astonished at the ability of the crews to navigate mind boggling roads at such speed and precision.

It is that awe of driver skill coupled with the danger that forms the very fabric of rallying and why the sport is popular in the first place. In many ways it is the ultimate test of man and machine.

But the Ypres Rally’s Spa finale allowed the sport to perhaps tap into a new audience as two motorsport disciplines combined at one of the sport’s most iconic venues.

While the WRC remains popular, it is fair to say that it is not reaching the heights during the Group B era in the 1980s followed by Group A in the 1990’s and early 2000’s, that saw manufacturers pumping big money into fielding factory teams.

Today we are down to two fully fledged works outfits in Toyota and Hyundai and only 10 top flight WRC entries, a far cry from the seven marques that contested the WRC at the turn of the new millennium.

Craig Breen, Paul Nagle, Hyundai Motorsport Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC

Photo by: McKlein / Motorsport Images

There are many reasons for a drop off in popularity in certain nations and hosting stages at famous permanent circuits is not the answer to reclaim past glories, but it could be a concept that can help spark a connection with a fresh audience.

That being said Spa’s cameo at Ypres Rally seemed to strike a chord with fans particular on social media as posts during and following the event have resoundingly indicated.

It is pertinent to point out that permanent race tracks hosting stages in the WRC is nothing new as the UK’s Oulton Park hosted stages at the 2019 edition of Wales Rally GB. Even the storied Monza circuit - host of the Italian Formula 1 Grand Prix - had an entire rally built around it for the climax to last year’s COVID-19 impacted campaign. Again this produced sights of rally cars tackling the iconic Monza banking - a photographer’s dream.

Before making any judgements as to whether permanent circuits should feature on the calendar at more events where possible, it is important to understand why Spa was included in the Ypres Rally itinerary in the first place, and why it ultimately delivered one of the highlights of the season to date.

It was not overwhelmingly well received by teams and drivers; complaints largely centred around the fact the rally’s base in Ypres was almost three hours from Spa. This necessitated an incredibly early start on Sunday morning

The inclusion of Spa as the final leg of the Ypres Rally is an interesting case study that divided the service park. The rally itself, while iconic in rallying circles, was drafted onto the WRC calendar last year after COVID-19 had forced organisers into a huge re-shuffle. However, the pandemic once again delivered another punch as the 2020 event was postponed to this year.

The event’s unexpected 2020 inclusion would have seen Belgium host the WRC on the same weekend as the FIA World Rallycross Championship’s meeting at Spa-Francorchamps’ bespoke rallycross circuit. In a bid to create the ultimate spectacle, rally stages were constructed beginning in villages around the circuit leading onto sections of the track, culminating in a blast around the rallycross venue as the climax to the Power Stage.

Alas, COVID-19 had its wicked way with that plan but the hard work by rally organisers had been put in, and so this year’s event featured a Sunday leg around Spa. Two special stages were constructed, one using the Les Combes to Stavelot section, while the other utilised the pit complex, start/finish straight and the run down to Eau Rouge.

Sébastien Ogier, Julien Ingrassia, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC

Photo by: Toyota Racing

However, this was not overwhelmingly well received by teams and drivers but complaints largely centred around the fact the rally’s base in Ypres was almost three hours from Spa. This necessitated an incredibly early start on Sunday morning to allow crews to complete the 270km journey to navigate four short stages to complete the rally. After two full on days of action on Ypres’ tough tarmac roads this is a big ask and many drivers felt it was a huge effort to drive on untraditional stage for the sake of the Spa imagery for WRC. A view that is totally understandable.

“It is what it is. It seems like a long way to go to drive a rally car and it is an early start,” said Toyota’s Elfyn Evans pre-event when asked about the Spa stages.

“It is just another race track at the end of the day. We did the same in Monza and I didn’t think it will produce the most exciting rallying we have seen in years. It might be a good place to get spectators into but I don’t think it offers something remarkable in terms of rallying images.”

Although sceptical, his point about spectators is valid as such a stage allows for crowds to congregate to get more than a fleeting glimpse of their rally heroes. Surely, a reason why organisers elected to push forward with the plan.

In many ways it would have made more sense to put this leg at the start of the rally but that would have robbed the bumper local Belgian crowd a truly memorable WRC moment at the nation’s most famous ribbon of tarmac.

While the sight itself of WRC cars navigating Spa’s access road before taking to the circuit was a dream for the championship on social media and for television, the climax was the jackpot. Home hero Thierry Neuville was greeted to an almost rockstar welcome to win on home soil, which he then sealed with a spectacular series of donuts - something hard to replicate on a normal rally stage.

It was the perfect finish. Local favourite wins to end an 18 month victory drought, reigniting a title fight in the process.

Podium: Winner Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai Motorsport Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC, second place Craig Breen, Paul Nagle, Hyundai Motorsport Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC, third place Kalle Rovanperä, Jonne Halttunen, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC

Photo by: Austral / Hyundai Motorsport

PLUS: How Hyundai's home hero delivered overdue WRC success in Belgium

That spectacle is a championship’s dream as it creates that gold dust vision which not only shows off the series’ strong points, but will ensure that event is unforgettable for crews and fans. It will no doubt attract those neutrals to perhaps delve a bit a deeper and foster a more meaningful connection with the world of rallying.

Certainly from our social media numbers, Spa proved a real hit, with vision and images of the cars among our most popular posts that week. The numbers generated are usually reserved for Formula 1 and MotoGP content, so that suggests perhaps more high profile circuit cameos is something WRC should consider.

“I really enjoyed the part on the race track as the grip was really high and you have to adapt your driving as our cars are very soft and high and groaning a little bit too much" Thierry Neuville

Now it would be foolish to think this kind of grandstand finish at an iconic motorsport venue is a silver bullet. But it is a concept that perhaps should be used sparingly and when it makes sense logistically at future rallies.

While the Spa-Francorchamps stages were not traditional they were by no means less challenging as Hyundai’s Craig Breen found, as he misjudged a corner on one of the circuit’s access roads and hit a bank. Luckily he got away with it but he admitted that a similar incident would have ended his rally had the grassy bank not been soft due to the deluge of rain that recently hit the region.

It was inevitable that rally winner Neuville would deliver high praise for the Spa stages given he’d just won in his backyard, but he confirmed navigating the circuit was not without challenges.

Craig Breen, Paul Nagle, Hyundai Motorsport Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC

Photo by: Austral / Hyundai Motorsport

“I really enjoyed the part on the race track as the grip was really high and you have to adapt your driving as our cars are very soft and high and groaning a little bit too much,” said Neuville. “It makes you slide at high speed. It was very fun.”

Spa provided a great way for the WRC to mix things up and offer something different, but it is unclear if we will see something similar in the future. Although, there are certainly options for the WRC to investigate should it deem that Spa was a success.

For example, in the future, Rally Japan could consider taking on Suzuka or Fuji International Raceway, or maybe Rally Spain could follow Spa’s plan with the Circuit de Catalunya hosting a stage using its track and rallycross venue. The possibilities are definitely there.

Pre-pandemic there was even talk of Rally Australia rejoining the calendar, with its base moving to Bathurst and perhaps incorporating the stunning Mount Panorama circuit. Now who wouldn’t want to see rally cars sideways through McPhillamy Park and Brock’s Skyline? It would create possibly one of motor racing’s lasting great images.

If the WRC’s jaunt to Spa has taught us anything is that rallying’s traditional stages should be respected and provide the cornerstone for the WRC, but the power of cameos from some of the world’s most famous circuits shouldn’t be underestimated.

Elfyn Evans, Scott Martin, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC

Photo by: Toyota Racing