WRC 2009 season...
Discussion
Could someone give me a brief rundown on the ongoing WRC 2009 season?
Will be attending the Finnish rallye in 2 weeks time as a teambuilding event with work (sometimes running a company has its perks
).
I know Kimi will be taking part in a Punto however I'd like to be fairly up to date on who else to watch out for.
Will be attending the Finnish rallye in 2 weeks time as a teambuilding event with work (sometimes running a company has its perks
).I know Kimi will be taking part in a Punto however I'd like to be fairly up to date on who else to watch out for.
Finland is a bit of a law unto itself - the event has only ever been won by 3 non Scandinvian drivers, including last year's winner Sebastien Loeb.
Loeb started this year as he ended last, winning everything in sight, however the last 3 events he's made some uncharacteristic errors and has not won since Argentina.
He will want to get his championship back on track and will be very quick in Finland
Hirvonen's consistency whilst Loeb faltered has opened up championship posibilities for him and he is number one to watch in Finland this year, the history of the event favours the Scandi drivers and he is a proven winner
Jari-Matti has been very McRae-esque this year, blindingly fast at times and with obvious talent, however a number of silly mistakes have cost him dearly and his mental demons have him questioning his own place in the team - he'll be more concerned with finishing than winning in Finland, but he will be good to watch.
Besides the 3 above, keep an eye on Petter Solberg, his car's not at the top level, but he likes the stages in Finland and will drive the wheels off it to try and get a result.
Further down the order, look for Al-Quassimi being out of his depth again and Seb Ogier driving faster than a rookie ever should!
The Super 1600 battle will be fierce in Finland, with all the championship contenders in attendance - watch out for Kosciuszko and Abring - their drives in Poland were stellar and Kosciuszko will be looking to make up for his lack of result.
Also keep an eye open for Burcu Cetinkaya (car 101) as she's eye candy that can drive!!!
If you get the chance, go spectate on Ouninpohja at the yellow house jump - you'll need to get there early, but it's well worth it.
If you want something to do outside of rallying (I'm not sure why you would... but hey) then head to Kuopio - a really nice market town a short drive away.
Speaking of driving, if you're going to be out early then make sure you have a designated driver who doesn't drink the night before - the Finnish police often sit out of sight just off the motorway junctions and random breath test everyone - I stopped counting the number of cars (mainly Estonian) that they confiscated on the way to the early morning stages.
Whatever you do and wherever you go, you'll have a blast - Finland is my favourite foreign WRC round to attend and is fantastic fun. (avoid the superspecial at the stadium though, it's mickey mouse)
Loeb started this year as he ended last, winning everything in sight, however the last 3 events he's made some uncharacteristic errors and has not won since Argentina.
He will want to get his championship back on track and will be very quick in Finland
Hirvonen's consistency whilst Loeb faltered has opened up championship posibilities for him and he is number one to watch in Finland this year, the history of the event favours the Scandi drivers and he is a proven winner
Jari-Matti has been very McRae-esque this year, blindingly fast at times and with obvious talent, however a number of silly mistakes have cost him dearly and his mental demons have him questioning his own place in the team - he'll be more concerned with finishing than winning in Finland, but he will be good to watch.
Besides the 3 above, keep an eye on Petter Solberg, his car's not at the top level, but he likes the stages in Finland and will drive the wheels off it to try and get a result.
Further down the order, look for Al-Quassimi being out of his depth again and Seb Ogier driving faster than a rookie ever should!
The Super 1600 battle will be fierce in Finland, with all the championship contenders in attendance - watch out for Kosciuszko and Abring - their drives in Poland were stellar and Kosciuszko will be looking to make up for his lack of result.
Also keep an eye open for Burcu Cetinkaya (car 101) as she's eye candy that can drive!!!
If you get the chance, go spectate on Ouninpohja at the yellow house jump - you'll need to get there early, but it's well worth it.
If you want something to do outside of rallying (I'm not sure why you would... but hey) then head to Kuopio - a really nice market town a short drive away.
Speaking of driving, if you're going to be out early then make sure you have a designated driver who doesn't drink the night before - the Finnish police often sit out of sight just off the motorway junctions and random breath test everyone - I stopped counting the number of cars (mainly Estonian) that they confiscated on the way to the early morning stages.
Whatever you do and wherever you go, you'll have a blast - Finland is my favourite foreign WRC round to attend and is fantastic fun. (avoid the superspecial at the stadium though, it's mickey mouse)
K50 DEL said:
Whatever you do and wherever you go, you'll have a blast - Finland is my favourite foreign WRC round to attend and is fantastic fun. (avoid the superspecial at the stadium though, it's mickey mouse)
The superspecial is a right good laugh if you want to get into the "spirit" of the event with the locals, the cars going round the stadium are very secondary to the antics going on the other side of the fence. Take some mossy repellant if you want to attend, it's deadly out there near the lakes. If you can, get there a few days early and drive the route, it's fantastic fun.As stated watch what you drink if you intend to drive the next day, i was stopped on the day after the rally finished and thankfully didn't feel like drinking the night before so didn't have a problem, the limit for an offense over there is quite low compared to the UK. It's a very expensive rally to spectate on, drinks cost an arm and a leg and the accommodation is very basic for the cost ( i stayed at the university digs they rent out for the rally which a lot of teams use to save on cost), but it's all well worth it, it's a brilliant place to watch rallying.
Gassing Station | General Motorsport | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff