The 2017 Rallying thread
Discussion
One of the views muted in Motorsport News was the Citroen's ride height was too low. I think they had such an unusual event it's hard to actually get a true reflection of their speed.
Lefebvre - is still returning from the mother of all shunts in Germany last year, crashed into a ditch on SS2 and as a result broke the clutch - so in reality he crashed on SS1 - and then spent the rest of the event testing.
Meeke was 4th on SS2, 15s off Neuville and 7s off Ogier. Then 3rd on SS3 2.3s off Ogier on a 19 minute stage. Crashed on SS4, then on the second stage on Saturday the car broke down for 20 minutes - hence he really was testing.
Meeke does seem to get downbeat quite easily - although it was a strange event for him, especially as Breen did so well. For Sweden Meeke must be hoping for an uneventful run finishing in the top 5. I think it will be really interesting to see how much pressure Breen ends up putting on Meeke - as he is clearly very quick (they both are) - just wonder who is the mentally tougher.
Really looking forward to Sweden.....the Yaris has really grown on me, secretly hoping for a JML win, Evans 2nd....wonder who big the odds would be on that unlikely combo
Lefebvre - is still returning from the mother of all shunts in Germany last year, crashed into a ditch on SS2 and as a result broke the clutch - so in reality he crashed on SS1 - and then spent the rest of the event testing.
Meeke was 4th on SS2, 15s off Neuville and 7s off Ogier. Then 3rd on SS3 2.3s off Ogier on a 19 minute stage. Crashed on SS4, then on the second stage on Saturday the car broke down for 20 minutes - hence he really was testing.
Meeke does seem to get downbeat quite easily - although it was a strange event for him, especially as Breen did so well. For Sweden Meeke must be hoping for an uneventful run finishing in the top 5. I think it will be really interesting to see how much pressure Breen ends up putting on Meeke - as he is clearly very quick (they both are) - just wonder who is the mentally tougher.
Really looking forward to Sweden.....the Yaris has really grown on me, secretly hoping for a JML win, Evans 2nd....wonder who big the odds would be on that unlikely combo
Yeah it was a proper Monte this time. Great atmosphere, hot brakes/exhausts and a mix of dry and snowy tarmac!
Finally uploaded my pictures today!
WRC Rallye Monte Carlo 2017 by Alastair Cummins, on Flickr
WRC Rallye Monte Carlo 2017 by Alastair Cummins, on Flickr
WRC Rallye Monte Carlo 2017 by Alastair Cummins, on Flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/allyc85/albums/72157...
Finally uploaded my pictures today!
WRC Rallye Monte Carlo 2017 by Alastair Cummins, on FlickrWRC Rallye Monte Carlo 2017 by Alastair Cummins, on FlickrWRC Rallye Monte Carlo 2017 by Alastair Cummins, on Flickrhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/allyc85/albums/72157...
Allyc85 said:
Yeah it was a proper Monte this time. Great atmosphere, hot brakes/exhausts and a mix of dry and snowy tarmac!
Finally uploaded my pictures today!
WRC Rallye Monte Carlo 2017 by Alastair Cummins, on Flickr
WRC Rallye Monte Carlo 2017 by Alastair Cummins, on Flickr
WRC Rallye Monte Carlo 2017 by Alastair Cummins, on Flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/allyc85/albums/72157...
Stunning images Alistair !! But tell me, who's the idiot that photo-bombed your piccy of Andreas Mikkelsen ? ? ? ! ! ! I think I'd have had words with him for ruining what could've been a super image Finally uploaded my pictures today!
WRC Rallye Monte Carlo 2017 by Alastair Cummins, on FlickrWRC Rallye Monte Carlo 2017 by Alastair Cummins, on FlickrWRC Rallye Monte Carlo 2017 by Alastair Cummins, on Flickrhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/allyc85/albums/72157...
It looked a cracking event. I have to say I'm shocked by the sheer volume of excellent videos of this years event on YT already. Everyone having a mobile phone these days clearly does have some benefits !
Slippydiff said:
Stunning images Alistair !! But tell me, who's the idiot that photo-bombed your piccy of Andreas Mikkelsen ? ? ? ! ! ! I think I'd have had words with him for ruining what could've been a super image
It looked a cracking event. I have to say I'm shocked by the sheer volume of excellent videos of this years event on YT already. Everyone having a mobile phone these days clearly does have some benefits !
Cheers guys It looked a cracking event. I have to say I'm shocked by the sheer volume of excellent videos of this years event on YT already. Everyone having a mobile phone these days clearly does have some benefits !
There's always one idiot who gets in the back of a shot, maybe I should have lobbed a few snowballs at him!On the night stage we had 2 Italian lads come stand right in front of us, just outside of the spectator tape, not long before the first car. In the end shining my ultra bright head tourch right in their eyes seemed to have the desired effect of moving them out the way of people who had been waiting patiently and in the right place
Allyc85 said:
Cheers guys There's always one idiot who gets in the back of a shot, maybe I should have lobbed a few snowballs at him!
On the night stage we had 2 Italian lads come stand right in front of us, just outside of the spectator tape, not long before the first car. In the end shining my ultra bright head tourch right in their eyes seemed to have the desired effect of moving them out the way of people who had been waiting patiently and in the right place
We had the same thing happen the first time we went to watch Rally Deutschland. Having found a cracking spot, we sat on a small bank in Baumholder for a couple of hours waiting. Twenty minutes before the first cars were due, two German lads came and stood right in front of us !! Bored, they then sat down, at which point we proceeded to fill their coat tails full of soil by "bulldozing" it with our feet down the bank we were sitting on. They moved shortly after ..... There's always one idiot who gets in the back of a shot, maybe I should have lobbed a few snowballs at him!On the night stage we had 2 Italian lads come stand right in front of us, just outside of the spectator tape, not long before the first car. In the end shining my ultra bright head tourch right in their eyes seemed to have the desired effect of moving them out the way of people who had been waiting patiently and in the right place
I'll leave you with a quote regarding the Germans courtesy of Edmund Blackadder :
"Their Teutonic reputation for brutality is well-founded. Their operas last three or four days. And they have no word for "fluffy" (and they have little in the way of manners when it comes to rally spectating etiquette !!) I'm kidding.
Some great photos question to those who were lucky enough to be there how do this years cars compare to the last coupe of years when you are standing by the stage so they look or sound notably quicker or is it much as before?
They certainly looked good on the BT rally report.
The new Finnish built Yaris must be one of the ugliest rally cars ever - it's right up here with that horrible Evo8 with the nasty rear end and the Bx4x4 group B pig.
They certainly looked good on the BT rally report.
The new Finnish built Yaris must be one of the ugliest rally cars ever - it's right up here with that horrible Evo8 with the nasty rear end and the Bx4x4 group B pig.
You can really see the extra power, they launch out of corners much harder now and leave more black lines on corner exits!
They all sound far more aggressive, especially on the overrun, with more pops, burbles and blow off noises. The Hyundai and Fords are a bit louder than before, while I would say the Citroen is pretty much the same.
Can't really comment about the aero as we didn't really watch from any really fast corners where it really kicks in.
They all sound far more aggressive, especially on the overrun, with more pops, burbles and blow off noises. The Hyundai and Fords are a bit louder than before, while I would say the Citroen is pretty much the same.
Can't really comment about the aero as we didn't really watch from any really fast corners where it really kicks in.
Nail in the coffin for the 2017 Polo WRC.
Poor decision all round.
The way Volkswagen have been dealing with this is pretty embarrassing for the company.
To go so far to build and develop the car and then pull the plug without even thinking about allowing private drivers the chance of using the 2017 WRC car was bad enough but then trying to get it through at the last minute is just unbelievable.
Anyway here is the full article
Volkswagen's 2017 specification Polo R WRC will not compete in the World Rally Championship after a ruling passed by the FIA on Tuesday.
Having missed the original January 1 deadline, Volkswagen Motorsport had hoped to gain a late homologation for the car from the governing body to allow the Polo to be used by private teams in the WRC.
A manufacturers' meeting in Monaco last month raised more questions about how such an extraordinary ruling could work and, despite a fortnight of meetings between the FIA and Volkswagen, the decision is not to allow the car to be homologated.
Volkswagen Motorsport director Sven Smeets said: "Following customer inquiries, we asked the FIA for a waiver of the homologation of the 2017 Volkswagen Polo World Rally Car, with the purpose being to rent it out to private drivers and teams.
"It now turns out that this is not possible under the current WRC regulations.
"We fully accept the result, but at the same time regret it in the interests of our customers.
"We would like to thank the FIA for the very constructive discussions."
Volkswagen Motorsport's plans to hire its 2016 specification cars remain unaffected by this decision.
Volkswagen withdrew from the WRC at the end of last season, ending its unbroken run of world championship dominance stretching back to 2013 when the Hannover team first arrived in the series.
Poor decision all round.
The way Volkswagen have been dealing with this is pretty embarrassing for the company.
To go so far to build and develop the car and then pull the plug without even thinking about allowing private drivers the chance of using the 2017 WRC car was bad enough but then trying to get it through at the last minute is just unbelievable.
Anyway here is the full article
Volkswagen's 2017 specification Polo R WRC will not compete in the World Rally Championship after a ruling passed by the FIA on Tuesday.
Having missed the original January 1 deadline, Volkswagen Motorsport had hoped to gain a late homologation for the car from the governing body to allow the Polo to be used by private teams in the WRC.
A manufacturers' meeting in Monaco last month raised more questions about how such an extraordinary ruling could work and, despite a fortnight of meetings between the FIA and Volkswagen, the decision is not to allow the car to be homologated.
Volkswagen Motorsport director Sven Smeets said: "Following customer inquiries, we asked the FIA for a waiver of the homologation of the 2017 Volkswagen Polo World Rally Car, with the purpose being to rent it out to private drivers and teams.
"It now turns out that this is not possible under the current WRC regulations.
"We fully accept the result, but at the same time regret it in the interests of our customers.
"We would like to thank the FIA for the very constructive discussions."
Volkswagen Motorsport's plans to hire its 2016 specification cars remain unaffected by this decision.
Volkswagen withdrew from the WRC at the end of last season, ending its unbroken run of world championship dominance stretching back to 2013 when the Hannover team first arrived in the series.
Gassing Station | General Motorsport | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff