Wales Rally GB maximum attack: Time For Coffee?
The weekend's British WRC round was filled with bonkers fast rally cars going sideways through Welsh forests. Here's proof
It's all too easy to don a pair of rose tinted spectacles and proclaim that rallying ain't what it once was. Yeah, Group B gets all the glory, what with it being the period of Audi Quattros, Lancia Deltas and Peugeot 205 T16s. But ask World Rally Championship drivers themselves and they'll tell you how today's cars, not those of the mid-80s, are the most impressive of them all.
The weekend's rallying in Wales provided perfect examples of how epically fast today's machines are. Five-time champ Sebastien Ogier (who appeared to get his mojo back following a conversation with PH last week... coincidence?) put his M-Sport Ford Fiesta RS WRC to good use by winning the UK round, reigniting his championship chances and placing him within seven points of series leader, Hyundai's Thierry Neuville, with two rounds remaining.
You didn't have to focus your attention on the Frenchman to see what a modern WRC car looks like at full chat. You could pretty much pick any of the top dozen drivers to observe a master at work on the mucky stuff - a challenging, mixed surface of mud, dirt and stones - in their infinitely clever centre differential-wielding WRC cars that, as Ogier put it last week, are "definitely the fastest rally cars ever produced".
Want reminding? Who doesn't? It never takes long for stage-side videos from the weekend's running to be collated to form explosive "maximum attack" videos, and the one we've found today does a great job of showing the world's fastest rally drivers going sideways at full chat. Get the kettle on and see for yourself...
t..And the press release on the WRC web site doesnt help
"...before Ogier fought back to regain the initiative in the penultimate speed test and win the four-day gravel road encounter by 10.6sec in a Ford Fiesta.
Latvala, driving a Toyota Yaris, finished 24.5sec ahead..."
Maybe they will sell more cars of the back of this (??), but I dont see any "want one of those" like you did with the Imprezas, Cosworths, Evos etc
I say it should be all be GT3's like they do in the fatherland
"...before Ogier fought back to regain the initiative in the penultimate speed test and win the four-day gravel road encounter by 10.6sec in a Ford Fiesta.
Latvala, driving a Toyota Yaris, finished 24.5sec ahead..."
Group B cars were great but competition wasn't close at all. Group A was saved by Colin McRae and Richard burns. The Evos and Scoobies were good but 2 manufacturers doesn't make much of a series. First WRC cars were okay but very tame compared to new cars. Some people argue they should be based on family cars but the size of a fiesta now is already bigger than a 1999 focus.
Group B cars were great but competition wasn't close at all. Group A was saved by Colin McRae and Richard burns. The Evos and Scoobies were good but 2 manufacturers doesn't make much of a series. First WRC cars were okay but very tame compared to new cars. Some people argue they should be based on family cars but the size of a fiesta now is already bigger than a 1999 focus.
and Impreza's there was also the Celica and Corrolla, Escort and Focus, 206 and 307. Seat Cordoba, Skoda Octavia and Hyundai Accent.
Group B cars were great but competition wasn't close at all. Group A was saved by Colin McRae and Richard burns. The Evos and Scoobies were good but 2 manufacturers doesn't make much of a series. First WRC cars were okay but very tame compared to new cars. Some people argue they should be based on family cars but the size of a fiesta now is already bigger than a 1999 focus.
and Impreza's there was also the Celica and Corrolla, Escort and Focus, 206 and 307. Seat Cordoba, Skoda Octavia and Hyundai Accent.
Since WRC rules there has been no correlation between the rally cars and road cars. I mean during Group B unless you bought a one of the small number of "homologated" cars you got nothing close either.
I guess the argument could be at least the Evos and STIs looked like the rally cars but since 1997 (excluding group N but we will ignore that) that was a marketing decision by Subaru and Mitsubuishi and not a performance one.
edited for wrc years and spelling.
Then there is the free to air red bull TV with live stages and highlights programs every day.
You then have BT Tv with highlights and live stages daily, free with BT internet.
Yep, never on TV
Then there is the free to air red bull TV with live stages and highlights programs every day.
You then have BT Tv with highlights and live stages daily, free with BT internet.
Yep, never on TV
Tanak. My boys got a wave from the co-driver. They were chuffed!!
I collected the signs from the lane, all in the back of my truck.
I like cars, I'm posting on a car forum.
I have absolutely no idea what car that is.
Since WRC rules there has been no correlation between the rally cars and road cars. I mean during Group B unless you bought a one of the small number of "homologated" cars you got nothing close either.
I guess the argument could be at least the Evos and STIs looked like the rally cars but since 1997 (excluding group N but we will ignore that) that was a marketing decision by Subaru and Mitsubuishi and not a performance one.
edited for wrc years and spelling.
I've only dipped in and out of WRC this last few years but since the new regs came in and VW left it's hard to put an argument forward that it isn't the most competitive it's been in a long time. Realistically any car has a very good chance of winning the event before the start, Citroen less so at the moment, but even the old WRC was rarely that close, it was always one or two cars that were in the running with the rest going for just points.
Anything is better than the domination bought on by either fella called Sebastien in the last 10 years or so.
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