WRC Most liked posts in thread: WRC - 2015

Steve · Jan 15, 2015

Hyundai and Citroen look very familiar but M-Sport (last, below) look like they went with nearly the reverse of VW's new livery.

Crashton · Jan 15, 2015

They all look very good. When I see them sideways covered in dirt they will all look great! :arf:

Angib · Jan 16, 2015

Firebro17 said: ↑

I'm gonna see if I can rent one of those in Hawaii in April...
Click to expand...

My guess is there may be just one or two itty-bitty differences between a rental Fiesta and a WRC Fiesta.....

Steve · Mar 4, 2015

Rally Guanajuato Mexico: Recce Notes (WRC.com)

04 MAR 2015

Tuesday and Wednesdayâ€™s pre-event recce was the first opportunity for competitors to see the stages they will tackle at full speed later this week.

We drove them as well, to give you a driverâ€™s eye view of the challenge ahead. Here are some of the highlights:

Dust in Los Mexicanos
Mexican stages are notorious for the loose dirt and gravel that covers them and Fridayâ€™s 9.9km Los Mexicanos was particularly bad. The corner below is about 800 metres from the start and the surface is covered with a deep layer of fine, powdery dust. Not only will this make things slippery for the front-runners, it also has the potential to cause dust clouds, hampering visibility for the cars following. Organisers can increase the start gaps from two to three minutes if this becomes an issue.

The Guanajuato Street Stage tunnel
Soon after the start of Thursdayâ€™s opening stage, crews will dart into Guanajuatoâ€™s subterranean tunnel system and attempt the tricky right-hander the bus is negotiating below. Even though itâ€™s dry as a bone outside, leaky drains keep the cobbled road wet here. Ken Block has been one of the many casualties of this corner.

High altitudes
This rally features the highest altitudes of the season, with Fridayâ€™s El Chocolate stage peaking at 2,781metres above sea level. Weâ€™re on the way up that climb in the picture below - the GPS showing 2,647metres.

El Brinco under construction
Crews will tackle the famous jump on the El Brinco stage three times - twice on Saturday and once on Sunday as part of the Power Stage. The jump is in the foreground in the picture below - in-line with the blue and red painted pole. By Saturday, the concrete hump will be painted Guanajuato blue (you can just make out some of last yearâ€™s paint). The fields to the side have been turned into campsites and up to 10,000 spectators are expected to flock to the area to watch the cars fly.

The deceptive Ibarrilla kink
Saturdayâ€™s Ibarrilla stage has caught out many drivers in the past, and this high-speed section in particular has proved tricky. Cars approach downhill from the right and tackle this deceptive left-right kink before a long left-hander. Ken Block and Ott Tanak have both ended up in the deep ditch that lines the left-hand side of the road.

The Otates descent
Another tricky downhill section on Saturday's itinerary. Pictured near the top is the spot where Andreas Mikkelsen clipped a corner and rolled his Volkswagen Polo last year. Nasser Al Attiyah has also had a moment here - slipping off the road and along a bank in 2013.

Click to expand...

Steve · Mar 5, 2015

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6xU5gDu4Bw"]Shakedown - 2015 WRC Rally Mexico - Best-of-RallyLive.com - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Mar 8, 2015

Steve · Mar 8, 2015

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6i5kjeltUs"]Highlights - 2015 WRC Rally Mexico - Best-of-RallyLive.com - YouTube[/ame]

Ogierâ€™s Mexican hat trick (best-of-rallylive.com)

08/03/2015 7:59 pm

SÃ©bastien Ogier, Julien Ingrassia and Volkswagen/Michelin triumphed in Mexico for the third time running by more than a minute today. They were joined on the podium by Norwegians Mads Ostberg (CitroÃ«n, +1m18.8s) and Andreas Mikkelsen (VW, +1m25.1s). WRC2 honours went to the classâ€™s defending champion Nasser Al-Attiyah (Ford Fiesta RRC/Michelin).

Given the new WRC rule which stipulates that the championship leader must run first on the road until the end of the second leg, Ogier believed he had little chance of winning Rally Mexico, the first dirt event of the season and one where the phenomenon of road sweeping tends to be a particularly big handicap.

But that didnâ€™t prevent the Frenchman and Hyundaiâ€™s Thierry Neuville (who were first and second in the championship after Sweden) from completing the first competitive loop in front. They took advantage of Friday morningâ€™s cool temperatures to fit a combination of hard- and soft-compound Michelin LTX Force tyres which provided them with outstanding grip on the gravel-coated stages.

Ogier then benefited from the accidents of his two biggest threats Neuville (on SS8) and team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala (SS12) to emerge comfortably in front at the halfway point. From that point on, the Frenchman was able to cruise home to his third Rally Mexico success and his third win of 2015. He also pocketed the three Power Stage bonus points.

This yearâ€™s Rally Mexico proved as tough as ever. In 2014, 10 drivers had to thank the Rally2 ruling for reaching the finish, while this yearâ€™s event saw 12 cars â€˜retireâ€™ over the weekend, including five World Rally Cars which crashed on Leg 1.

The most spectacular accident was that of Ott Tanak who crashed his Ford Fiesta RS WRC into a lake. The video of the incident has been watched 6.2 million times on the WRCâ€™s social media. M-Sport managed to get the car back on the road for Sundayâ€™s action.

The last day was marked by a duel for second place between Ostberg (CitroÃ«n) and Mikkelsen (VW). The silver medal ended up in the formerâ€™s hands, helped by a fastest time on the rallyâ€™s longest stage (55.82km).

As in 2014, the consistency of Welshman Elfyn Evans (Ford) was rewarded with fourth place, while Spaniard Dani Sordo - who missed Sweden - rounded off the top five to save Hyundai Motorsportâ€™s honour.

The 2015 Dakar winners Nasser Al-Attiyah/Matthieu Baumel (Ford Fiesta RRC/Michelin) came first in WRC2 after early pace-setter Yurii Protasov went off in his Ford. Nicolas Fuchs (Ford) and Jari Ketomaa (Ford) joined the Qatari on the podium.
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Justa Jim · Aug 4, 2015

That was great thinking. They didn't even have to hook a computer to the OBDII port to see what was wrong. :lol:

Steve · Aug 23, 2015

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouvhiL0VsXg"]WRC RALLYE DEUTSCHLAND 2015 | HIGHLIGHTS BY RALLYSUPPORT - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Sep 10, 2015

Nice save by Mr. Ogier during the shakedown. I saw some still pics yesterday of the car basically on its side with text that said he kept it from going over and hoped there would be video of the recovery avail today.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2-9IaWCzTo"]The pressure is onÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Oct 2, 2015

Evans holds surprise lead in Corsica (WRC.com)

02 OCT 2015

Elfyn Evans was the shock leader after Fridayâ€™s truncated opening leg of Tour de Corse â€“ Rallye de France in which appalling weather forced the cancellation of one speed test.

The Welshman, who has endured a torrid recent run, won the last stage in his Ford Fiesta RS to leap from sixth to first. He was 18.7sec clear of another surprise package, Kevin Abbring, with Jari-Matti Latvala completing the top three a further 4.2sec behind.

More than 24 hours of heavy rain flooded parts of the Corsican countryside. Rivers burst their banks and torrents of water poured down the craggy mountains as a medicane, a rare weather phenomenon similar to a tropical storm, hit the Mediterranean island.

The opening stage near Ajaccio ran without interruption, but as the 11th round of the FIA World Rally Championship headed north to Corte conditions worsened. The 43.69km second stage was cancelled as storm debris littered the narrow, twisty asphalt roads.

The third and final stage was held as planned but conditions were dreadful. Drivers battled streaming water, mud and damaged roads and simply surviving was an achievement.

But Evans excelled to lead a WRC event for the first time and paid tribute to his route note crew, father and former British champion Gwyndaf and 2003 world champion co-driver Phil Mills, who provided advice on conditions before Evans tackled the stages.

â€œIâ€™m a bit surprised,â€ he admitted. â€œThe first stage was difficult, but not due to the conditions as it had dried a lot. In the last stage I had a good rhythm but when thereâ€™s that much water, gravel and dirt you concentrate on staying on the road rather than attacking.â€

Abbring is driving only his second asphalt event in a World Rally Car and second fastest time in the last stage promoted his Hyundai i20 from seventh to second.

Latvala adopted a risk-free policy in his Volkswagen Polo R to head CitroÃ«nâ€™s Mads Ã˜stberg in fourth by 15.9sec. The Norwegian reported no ill-effects from the rib injury that ruled him out of the previous round in Australia.

Robert Kubica shared the lead with SÃ©bastien Ogier after the opening test, despite being unhappy with his Fiesta RSâ€™ set-up. But the Pole slipped to fifth, 1.5sec behind Ã˜stberg and 2.8sec clear of previous Corsica winner StÃ©phane Sarrazin.

Andreas Mikkelsen was seventh after struggling with his carâ€™s brakes, with Kris Meeke, Bryan Bouffier and Ogier completing the leaderboard. Ogier plunged down the order after changing a rear-left puncture in SS3 after showing stunning pace early in the test.

Dani Sordo dropped two minutes after hitting a rock and puncturing, but Hyundai team-mate Thierry Neuville encountered worse. He hit a bridge 1.2km into the first test and retired with broken rear right suspension.

After overnighting in Bastia, competitors face three stages tomorrow covering 128.58km. This afternoonâ€™s cancelled test begins the action and is followed by a repeat of the final test and a monster 48.46km stage, the longest of the event.
Click to expand...

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFxRybXFsyo"]Leg 1 - 2015 WRC Tour de Corse - Best-of-RallyLive.com - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Jan 10, 2015

Mr. Loeb has a bit of an off during his pre-Monte test.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pam42Rkja8Y"]Loeb out off road during test for Monte-Carlo 2015 [HD] - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Jan 15, 2015

The VWs will look very different this year.

Crashton · Jan 18, 2015

My God that man has a very large set of attachments.

Steve · Jan 21, 2015

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82KDiPs6SEY"]Shakedown - 2015 WRC Rallye Monte-Carlo - Best-of-RallyLive.com - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Jan 22, 2015

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfbC9IOVZDM"]Rallye de Monte Carlo 2015 Gliss and Jump Shakedown - YouTube[/ame]

Crashton · Jan 22, 2015

minirab said: ↑

You're right but remember back to the crazy Group B days. Now that was

nuts!
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Reminded me of the crazy Group B days too. Rally Portugal was the worst of them.

Angib · Jan 23, 2015

It has always been my policy to only watch rallies when I am standing next to/behind a tree I consider strong enough to stop any rally car. You can also sidle behind the tree as the car goes past to avoid being sprayed with gravel, which hurts.

Crashton · Jan 26, 2015

Thanks for the updates Steve, I really enjoy reading them.
Lets hope Sweden has a bunch of snow. :fingerscrossed:

Steve · Jan 26, 2015

I appreciate that. Have been taking advantage of the unusually good and prolific coverage available for this rally (don't expect it to continue like this through the season :fingerscrossed but was busy yesterday. Planning to catch up, here's a start.

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