The scores and league tables have been updated with the results of the Acropolis Rally.

Matti L holds on to the rally win with a score of 2614. Matti jumps 19 positions to sit 9th in the overall league standings.

Jaakko P continues to lead the overall standings with Markus K (our 2018 runner up) moving in to second position 206 points off the lead pace. Sami R moves down to third a further 24 points adrift.

Finland moves up to 2nd in the country league table only 66 points behind league leaders Spain. Finland are also making progress in the Personal League Table with Antti L's Flying Finns moving in to second position 296 points behind Jorge Fotoracing's RallyCast league.

It's Rally New Zealand next up in a little under 3 weeks. You can now update your driver line-up ahead of this rally.

Sunday 11th September 2022 12:43:56 pm UTC

A huge thank you to those that have made a donation this year. For the first time ever, Fantasy WRC has been 100% funded by you, the players.

Therefore, for the remainder of the year, viewing restrictions have been lifted for all players during a rally weekend. Any additional donations are welcome and will go towards next years fund raising target.

Your kind words and fabulous support is very much appreciated!

Danny

Friday 9th September 2022 18:34:24 pm UTC

A new website theme has been added and is available for selection for those with a Manufacturer account.

If you're a Loeb Fan, or an M-Sport Fan, or just like Purple, the theme is available for selection via the Account » My Account » Game Settings.

Other themes can be added on request - I'm nice like that.

Friday 2nd September 2022 08:08:43 am UTC

In order to secure the future of Fantasy WRC, and to keep a lid on costs, some changes are coming here soon. Thanks to those that took the time to respond to the previous post on this subject - your feedback is appreciated and has helped shape the changes I am proposing.

Thank you also to those that have made donations recently - many of whom had already donated. Your continued support is very much appreciated.

First up - there will be no advertisements. Many people have said they would be happy to tolerate the adverts but I've seen how the site will look with ads and I didn't like it. So that's not going to not happen. Therefore the only real option is to try and encourage players to donate towards the costs of keeping this competition up and running. So the following changes will apply to those with a Privateer account only.

From 2023 onwards there will be a limit on the number of players that can participate. That number will be driven by the level of funding available. Once this limit has been reached only those with a Manufacturer account will be able to enter.

With immediate effect certain pages will be unavailable during a Rally for Privateer accounts. This will include the LIVE league table during a rally, and the ability to view other teams drivers during an event. You can still view all of these details once the rally is complete.

There are other benefits to donating too. You can choose to rebrand your version of Fantasy WRC using the themes available in the My Account section. 3 alternative themes are currently available - Scooby, Kalle and Elfyn. I am also working on a DARK contrast theme which will be available soon. Others themes can be created on request (within reason).

This is not about making money from Fantasy WRC, but it's important to try and make it self sufficient. If all costs are covered by donations then any restrictions will be lifted for all players.

The short term future of Fantasy WRC is safe. I am committed to running the competition next year, but beyond that it will be dependant on the level of support offered by the players.

Again, any feedback on this is welcome via the contact page. I promise to stop moaning now.

Wednesday 31st August 2022 08:28:36 am UTC

First off - I enjoy running Fantasy WRC. I hope to be able to do so for many more years to come. But there is a small issue that puts the future of this competition in doubt.

I give up my time freely. It's a hobby I enjoy, and have done so for more than 20 years - and it's great that some of you have stuck around throughout. I am thankful you for your support.

The current cost of running Fantasy WRC is now around £1,000 / €1200 each year. It's not a huge amount, and thankfully donations cover about 30% of that. But it's becoming increasingly difficult to justify the personal cost.

So what are the options?

Option 1 : Advertising

Personally, I hate advertisments on websites. They can be intrusive and also mean I have to keep asking people to accept cookies and other tedious actions. But if it can help cover the funding shortfall it may be a necessary step.

Option 2 : Donations

I was hoping donations would be enough to cover the expenses of running this site but every year this falls some way short of what is required. This year I have received 39 donations totalling £326. Is there anything Fantasy WRC can improve on to encourage more donations? I'd love to hear your ideas.

Option 3 : Time to call it a day?

I truly hope it doesn't come to this, but as things stand I cannot continue to fund the website at the current levels for too much longer. Like everything else it's getting more and more expensive each year and is becoming increasingly difficult to justify.

Option 4 : Any ideas?

I don't have an option 4 but if you have any ideas I'd be delighted to hear from you.

It's an awkward message and I had hoped it would never be necessary, but there it is. The struggle is real.

If you have any ideas or feedback on the above please get in touch via the contact page.

Danny.

Sunday 21st August 2022 16:03:41 pm UTC