2023 rallying thread (WRC, ERC, national and historics)
Discussion
Ogier is a class apart, isn't he?
He says he's doing the next rally in Croatia... another win there and I just wonder if we might suddenly find him on a full season WRC effort? I haven't googled what his official plans are for this season but I notice he was rallying rather than doing WEC Sebring, and it's probably fair to say that he hasn't (yet) set the sportscar world alight.
Oh, to be a fly on the wall in the M-Sport rally HQ last night...
He says he's doing the next rally in Croatia... another win there and I just wonder if we might suddenly find him on a full season WRC effort? I haven't googled what his official plans are for this season but I notice he was rallying rather than doing WEC Sebring, and it's probably fair to say that he hasn't (yet) set the sportscar world alight.
Oh, to be a fly on the wall in the M-Sport rally HQ last night...
greeny12 said:
Ogier is a class apart, isn't he?
He says he's doing the next rally in Croatia... another win there and I just wonder if we might suddenly find him on a full season WRC effort? I haven't googled what his official plans are for this season but I notice he was rallying rather than doing WEC Sebring, and it's probably fair to say that he hasn't (yet) set the sportscar world alight.
Oh, to be a fly on the wall in the M-Sport rally HQ last night...
He did a short Sportscar programme last season, including Sebring & Le Mans, and let's be honest, he was pretty average. Not particularly quick, and plenty of mistakes....He then cut it short when it became obvious he had no chance of a Toyota Hypercar drive. He says he's doing the next rally in Croatia... another win there and I just wonder if we might suddenly find him on a full season WRC effort? I haven't googled what his official plans are for this season but I notice he was rallying rather than doing WEC Sebring, and it's probably fair to say that he hasn't (yet) set the sportscar world alight.
Oh, to be a fly on the wall in the M-Sport rally HQ last night...
Being good in one discipline doesn't mean you're good in another; we've seen F1 drivers struggle in rallying....only a few can be good in more than one.
fttm said:
Bucket list event . Be surprised if Paddon and Hirvonen (is he in the black escort?) don’t win their respective categories.
I'd be inclined to agree (barring random mechanicals/incidents), though Hirvonen has some quick local competition in the classics - especially Deane Buist, who has won it a few times before and has just built a new Escort.Hirvonen will be in the black Escort, its the one the Rossendale wines team usually run for European drivers as its LHD. The list of famous drivers who have driven that car over the years is quite something! I suspect it would be hard to find another individual car which has been driven by as many different WRC drivers.
Some entertainment value should be provided by a couple of Aussie entries in old V8 Commodores they might struggle a bit on the tighter stuff.
Edited by GravelBen on Friday 31st March 03:30
GravelBen said:
fttm said:
Bucket list event . Be surprised if Paddon and Hirvonen (is he in the black escort?) don’t win their respective categories.
I'd be inclined to agree (barring random mechanicals/incidents), though Hirvonen has some quick local competition in the classics - especially Deane Buist, who has won it a few times before and has just built a new Escort.Hirvonen will be in the black Escort, its the one the Rossendale wines team usually run for European drivers as its LHD. The list of famous drivers who have driven that car over the years is quite something! I suspect it would be hard to find another individual car which has been driven by as many different WRC drivers.
Some entertainment value should be provided by a couple of Aussie entries in old V8 Commodores they might struggle a bit on the tighter stuff.
Edited by GravelBen on Friday 31st March 03:30
Was a great weekend of rallying, plenty of action out on the stages.
Even did some recovery duty towing a competitor out after they plonked it into a ditch right in front of me - halfway through the most remote stage of the rally, minimal spectators on that stage other than start and finish, no phone reception, and they managed to have their crash not only in front of a photographer, but one with a 4wd to pull them out once the stage was clear. Fortunately the car was still driveable so I didn't have to tow them all the way through.
This is what I mean by a remote stage - https://www.google.com/maps/@-44.9576337,170.45185... - start there and then zoom out for context...
Now to come down off the old 'rally high' and spend my evenings processing/editing bucketloads of photos for the next week or two...
Even did some recovery duty towing a competitor out after they plonked it into a ditch right in front of me - halfway through the most remote stage of the rally, minimal spectators on that stage other than start and finish, no phone reception, and they managed to have their crash not only in front of a photographer, but one with a 4wd to pull them out once the stage was clear. Fortunately the car was still driveable so I didn't have to tow them all the way through.
This is what I mean by a remote stage - https://www.google.com/maps/@-44.9576337,170.45185... - start there and then zoom out for context...
Now to come down off the old 'rally high' and spend my evenings processing/editing bucketloads of photos for the next week or two...
Edited by GravelBen on Monday 3rd April 01:47
Very sad news, Craig Breen has died in a testing accident.
https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/craig-breen-passes-...
https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/craig-breen-passes-...
thepawbroon said:
Very sad news, Craig Breen has died in a testing accident.
https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/craig-breen-passes-...
Desperate news. https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/craig-breen-passes-...
Great sportsmanship from Toyota who will only nominate two cars for points this weekend in Croatia in light of recent events . Closer to home we have the Tendering and Clacton rally , some old mates running car 1 so will be following closely . Looking ahead I've a brief trip to Ireland in August and have managed to tie it in with the Cork 20 , awesome can't wait .
Can't bring myself to watch this weekend. Had been really looking forward to Croatia as tarmac rallies are my favourite plus Breen was competing ....
But did see some Dirtfish highlights, Neuville was leading and binned it while 20 seconds out in front, not good. He really needed a good result to take advantage of Rovanpera having a bad time back in 5th.
He really needs to stop making these types of mistakes, did similar in Sweden but got away with no damage.
But did see some Dirtfish highlights, Neuville was leading and binned it while 20 seconds out in front, not good. He really needed a good result to take advantage of Rovanpera having a bad time back in 5th.
He really needs to stop making these types of mistakes, did similar in Sweden but got away with no damage.
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