The WRC 2012 Thread

[TankRS]

great news on the Tv Deal!!

i hope however it doesnt turn into the RedBull/Citroen/Loeb show! . . . . well anymore than it already is!

Emeye said:

Petter in a factory DS3? Would have loved it.

as good as that sounds. i still dont think it will change Loebs dominance. if Mikko cant mount a challenge by this point in the season then Petter in the same car wouldnt make a difference. and i'm a huge Solberg fan but sadly his best years were lost during the shambles that was Subaru's last 2 or 3 seasons in the sport. which happened to be at the begining of Loebs dominance.

[Emeye]

PSBuckshot said:

emeye said:

I'm not convinced he is the best driver of all time. No way.

What an earth does he have to do?

He needs to do some proper long rallies - like the Safari and the old RAC. He may be the best of his generation, but it's not proper rallying is it? The cars hardly ever break, especially the Citroen as they don't have to go very far. Do you reckon he is better than "Turbo" Tommi Antero Mäkinen? (yes I nicked that) or any of the other greats? I also don't think he quite has the balls of the guys from the old days when safety wasn't anywhere near as tight - something that seemed to be proved in Finland with reports that he was quicker in the technical stages, but not in the faster stages - the cars are a lot safer than they were so he has that safety net that maybe the guys in the past didn't benefit from.

So maybe he is the neatest, most technically competent driver of all time, but the best ever? One thing is for sure, he is not in the top 10 of the most exciting drivers ever. But then that doesn't win rallies does it?

[EDLT]

He'd still win longer rallys because he has the most reliable car. He's done a fair bit of endurance racing too, so I can't see him collapsing because he has to do a few extra stages.

[GravelBen]

As I've said before it would be interesting to see him rallying something that isn't (a)a Citroen practically designed around him, and (b)a modern WRC car.

I realise he can't help the era that he's driving in, but when you compare with the likes of Kankkunen who won rallies against top level competition over 20-odd years in various group-4, group-B, group-A and WRC cars, winning everything in practically the same car isn't quite the same.

Edited by GravelBen on Thursday 9th August 07:23

[EDLT]

So all of the wins in junior categories, Porsches and other racing series don't count? When he started in WRC he was the third driver and still managed to do well despite not having a car that was "built for him". Hirvonnen must have a very similar driving style to Loeb* if he can keep the custom-built loebmobile in 2nd place.

*He very obviously doesn't

Edited by EDLT on Thursday 9th August 11:49

[touring fan]

EDLT said:

So all of the wins in junior categories, Porsches and other racing series don't count? When he started in WRC he was the third driver and still managed to do well despite not having a car that was "built for him". Hirvonnen must have a very similar driving style to Loeb* if he can keep the custom-built loebmobile in 2nd place.

its a common and tiresome theme on these forums about most series (F1,WRC,Sports Cars,BTCC etc etc); today is crap, yesterday was better.

[anonymous-user]

touring fan said:

its a common and tiresome theme on these forums about most series (F1,WRC,Sports Cars,BTCC etc etc); today is crap, yesterday was better.

Nail. Head.

[Allyc85]

GravelBen said:

I realise he can't help the era that he's driving in, but when you compare with the likes of Kankkunen

Edited by GravelBen on Thursday 9th August 07:23

Speaking of Kankkunen, he is out on the Neath Valley Stages this Saturday in a Mk2 Escort. If I can finish work by 8.30 I should be able to make it to stage 2 with a decent run up the M5

[TankRS]

Allyc85 said:

Speaking of Kankkunen, he is out on the Neath Valley Stages this Saturday in a Mk2 Escort. If I can finish work by 8.30 I should be able to make it to stage 2 with a decent run up the M5

He's being co driven by Nicky Grist too
David Llewellin is out in a mk2 too!

If you can't catch the stages then they will be having a forum in the evening hosted by Howard Davies. Sadly I have to miss that. But will be on a stage start to set them off

[Emeye]

TankRS said:

Allyc85 said:

Speaking of Kankkunen, he is out on the Neath Valley Stages this Saturday in a Mk2 Escort. If I can finish work by 8.30 I should be able to make it to stage 2 with a decent run up the M5

He's being co driven by Nicky Grist too
David Llewellin is out in a mk2 too!

If you can't catch the stages then they will be having a forum in the evening hosted by Howard Davies. Sadly I have to miss that. But will be on a stage start to set them off

Is any of this going to make it onto TV?

[Emeye]

PSBuckshot said:

touring fan said:

its a common and tiresome theme on these forums about most series (F1,WRC,Sports Cars,BTCC etc etc); today is crap, yesterday was better.

Nail. Head.

I'm not sure it does - WRC is in a complete mess at the moment - no one can argue against that. I just hope Red Bull really sort things out, but I think WRC should be about endurance and not just making it television friendly. I'm worried Red Bull will want to try and make WRC America friendly and turn it into the X-games.

It really pissed me off that Loeb is against longer rallies, it seemed to me that he couldn't be arsed putting the effort in. I much prefer Mikko and Jarris' more grass roots, passionate attitude. I love Petter's enthusiasm too.

I guess we need Red Bull to employ real rally enthusiasts, rather than just money men. There needs to be a balance, and with all recent attempts to reinvigorate rallying not appearing very successful, obviously not helped by the current economic climate, it is not going to be an easy job.

I wish them all the luck.

[MartinM]

New to this thread but a massive rally fan. Great news on the promotion front. The WRC still really needs some decent terrestrial/free-to-view coverage.

Also, on a slightly different note. Do any of you guys listen to The Rally Show podcastfrom the makers of World Rally Radio and iRally? They're taking an 'Olympic break' at the moment but they should be back on Monday 7PM live on iRally.

[TankRS]

Emeye said:

Is any of this going to make it onto TV?

Unless Special Stage run anything for their motors tv programme I doubt it will besides usual fan filmed YouTube stuff

[ArnageWRC]

Emeye said:

Is any of this going to make it onto TV?

Yes, actually it is.

http://www.threecountiescarclub.com/

BBC 4 …. 17th AUGUST 15 to 20 mins

RALIO …. 23rd AUGUST 15 to 20 mins

SKY SPORTS MID SEPTEMBER 1 HOUR… 5 OR 6 TIMES

[Emeye]

ArnageWRC said:

Yes, actually it is.

http://www.threecountiescarclub.com/

BBC 4 …. 17th AUGUST 15 to 20 mins

RALIO …. 23rd AUGUST 15 to 20 mins

SKY SPORTS MID SEPTEMBER 1 HOUR… 5 OR 6 TIMES

Cheer for that - shame I don't have Sky Sports. Is Ralio on S4C or BBC Wales? I think I get the Welsh channels. I remember trying to watch some of the RAC last year in Welsh but not really enjoying the subtitles.

[stew-S160]

Just seen the Red Bull are to be WRC promoters. This can only be good for the sport surely? I don't know if it's been said, but with their capacity to market something being unrivaled, surely WRC will get more TV coverage now and better interaction capacity with the fans.

[anonymous-user]

Where are the closest points I can get to the cars on the sat/sunday stages at Wales next month?

I've only been to WRC wales once! Shamefully.

[Emeye]

PSBuckshot said:

Where are the closest points I can get to the cars on the sat/sunday stages at Wales next month?

I've only been to WRC wales once! Shamefully.

I remember the good old days when you could stand wherever you wanted in the stage and almost get run over!

Not been since they started shutting the back roads and limiting access.

ETA: I lied - I forgot my bro took me to the stage inside Cardiff stadium about 5 years back. Even though it was inside it was still frickin' freezin'!

Edited by Emeye on Monday 13th August 16:20

[Allyc85]

Get yourself to the stages on the Epynt Military ranges. Unless you stand somewhere rediculous the marshalls are usually spot on up there!

[TankRS]

Allyc85 said:

Get yourself to the stages on the Epynt Military ranges. Unless you stand somewhere rediculous the marshalls are usually spot on up there!

i'll 2nd that. and as one of those marshals that usualy does the ranges stages i'd like to say thanks for the respect

all stage info and times are available here - http://www.walesrallygb.com/spectators/overallmap....

theres a 'spectator stage' designed at the Celtic Mannor this year if you dont want to travel too far into the forests.

having just looked at prices for tickets this year, i think its getting slightly rediculous!! £20 in advance or £25 on the day is just stupid! especially for stages like the Celtic Mannor which at only 3km is going to be over before you know it! they could easilly do £5 a ticket there.


its no wonder spectators have resorted to parking their cars in car parks miles away from a stage and walking up the mountain, out of view of the entry gates, and finding a spot to watch. if i wasnt marshalling i'd be one of them!!
you cant be thrown off a stage for not having a ticket, not as far as i know anyway.