A field of just six championship-registered two-wheel drive cars in the second round of the Australian Rally Championship (ARC) in Western Australia last weekend has got social media buzzing about the problems facing our national championship.

Theories have been widespread over the last few days. Some say costs are the problem, others are pointing the blame at the current class of cars being used at the top end, while there are others who believe the cars are simply not exciting enough to watch.


RallySport Magazine
caught up with ARC Director, Scott Pedder, to discuss those perceived problems, and to find out where Pedder believes the ARC is heading, and if he thinks the championship is at crisis point, as many believe.

“To start with, in terms of the excitement of the cars I really believe that good drivers make the cars look good to watch. For sure there are perhaps less top drivers in the outright cars compared to some previous periods of the ARC, but I truly believe that the ARC is far from boring,” Pedder said.

“From a personal point of view my Renault is by far the most exciting car I have ever driven.

“Perhaps we need to do more education of photographers and TV crews and event organisers, as these 2WD cars are far more exciting to watch and film on the faster sections of roads than in the slower corners. With no disrespect to any current competitor, we have lost a lot of drivers with incredible driving talent over the past few years, but I still think what we have now is very exciting.”

Scott-Pedder-Rally-AustraliaScott Pedder driving his Renault at Rally Australia in 2013.As a case in point, reigning champion, Eli Evans, appeared in the first round in Canberra, and is weighing up his options for the remainder of the year.

“Eli has decided to follow a pathway into an international event this year, and as a national championship that should always be the goal, to act as a stepping stone to the next level of the sport,” Pedder stressed.

“Young Tom Wilde is another, who, at 25 years of age, has used the benefits of the ARC successfully to follow his dream and contest the Asia-Pacific Championship as the next step in his career.

“We acknowledge that our entry numbers are low at the moment, however I don’t believe that there is a lack of eligible cars out there, as has been suggested by some. There are lots of options to choose from.

“We must remember that smaller than normal ARC fields have always been the case in WA.”

So what about costs of the cars? Nothing’s getting cheaper, certainly not rallying. Pedder disagrees.

“I’ve done a lot of paying for my own rallying over the years and I can guarantee you that the current outright 2WD cars are much cheaper than running a 4WD turbo car in Group N at a similar outright standard.

“Okay, if you’re running a 4WD car in club or state events then the costs are less, but to run for outright positions at ARC outright level you were replacing diffs, clutches and turbos before every event – and sometimes during the events in order to keep up with strong competition during that era.

“When the championship was running Group N cars, an outright contending car could cost around $225,000. The Renault I’m running this year is half that price, and the running costs are much, much less.”

Building those entry numbers, then, is the next step, and is something Pedder and his fellow ARC management team are continually looking into.

“Despite what a lot of people think, we spend a lot of time analysing the championship and thinking about ways to improve it,” he said.

“At the moment we have some ideas on how to increase entry numbers, but I’m positive that the eligibility of the cars in the ARC is not the problem.

“The ARC has to remain market relevant, and going back to 10-year old 4WD cars like Lancer Evos and Subaru WRXs in the outright category is not the way forward, however, it is, always has been, and always will be the aim of the ARC to find ways to accommodate all types of cars and competitors that want to compete.

“We are excited to have Citroen Australia join the ECB ARC this year and have teams with continued support from Mazda and Renault, and through our endless discussions we know that there are many manufacturers that believe the ARC still has good market relevance.”

There have, however, been critics of the money being spent on television coverage, but Pedder strongly defends this.

“Our TV reach and our audience numbers are strong, and the coverage we’ve been doing on YouTube has been a success so far. Our 96-hour television package is the single most important commercial aspect of the sport, which continues to benefit the promotion of the ARC, its teams, and, in fact, the wider sport, including our events.

“Without television we would run the real risk of losing our top teams, drivers and events that rely on this medium for promotion and funding.

“TV is critical to the success of the sport and is vitally important for teams and sponsors, so I think the basics of what we are doing are correct and I think the program we produce is world-class.”

Despite criticism, Pedder still believes the ARC is in good shape.While RallySport Magazine ran an editorial highlighting the ARC’s current low entry numbers, it’s social media where comments on the state of the sport have gone viral.

“Social media is something that we can’t get away from and it provides an opportunity for people to have their say, and to have a whinge,” Pedder adds.

“Of course we take note of what is being said and pay attention if there is a groundswell of support on a certain subject, but you often find that there’s a lot of bitterness on social media, often because people are uninformed or that a rule change or something similar hasn’t suited them.

“But there’s no getting away from social media commentary on the sport and we will continue to embrace it as a communication medium and continue to provide a forum for comments to assist in our development.”

The current problems aside, Pedder remains committed to the ARC, both as a competitor and an administrator. However, he knows that there’s a fine line between the two, particularly when there is so much passion in the sport from competitors and fans.

“Certainly for me the hardest thing is finding the balance between the sporting side of the ARC and the commercial side of the championship.

“When I first started in the ARC my focus was on the sporting side, but obviously now more of my focus is on the commercial happenings.

“I’m still incredibly passionate about the ARC and not a day goes by without phone calls and discussion on the future of the sport and how we can improve it.

“We’re definitely not sitting on our hands, and growing the sport is our number one goal,” he said.

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