WRC Most liked posts in thread: WRC - 2015

Crashton · Jan 24, 2015

Judging from what the other video showed I can understand the canceling of the stage. Hope that is the only one they have to do that to.

Wasn't the Monte dropped off the WRC schedule for a few years due to this very spectator problem? History about to repeat itself?

Steve · Jan 24, 2015

I didn't know the reason it dropped from the schedule. Would be a shame if it happened again.

Steve · Jan 24, 2015

Monte Carlo Day Three (iRallylive.com)

24.01.2015 16:05

At the end of the third day of action on this yearâ€™s Rallye Monte Carlo, Volkswagen Motorsport maintained a podium lock-out in the overall standings, with Sebastien Ogier leading from Jari-Matti Latvala and Andreas Mikkelsen.

It wasnâ€™t quite the dominance the overall results might suggest though; the leader won none of the stages today, which were each taken by a different driver: Kubica, Loeb and Meeke. However, Ogier seemed to be pacing himself. He started the day with a 1m45s lead over Latvala and by the time they finished the final stage of the day and began the long road trip to Monaco, was still 42.8s ahead of his Finnish team-mate.

Mikkelsen held on to third, just over a minute further back but importantly, 53s ahead of fellow Norwegian Mads Ostberg in the only â€“ yet ironically, not points-nominated â€“ Citroen DS3 WRC still effectively in the running. Due to the time loss for Elfyn Evans following his suspension damage, Dani Sordo climbed to fifth in the first of the Hyundais, just ahead of team-mate Thierry Neuville.

The crews now head for Monaco and straight into parc ferme with the teams performing the traditional end of leg 45-minute service tomorrow morning instead, before the dayâ€™s action begins. This gives them time to travel from Gap and set up the service park on the harbour-front in Monte Carlo tonight.
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Monte Carlo SS10 (iRallylive.com)

24.01.2015 11:00

The longest stage of this yearâ€™s Rallye Monte Carlo and the first of the day after the earlier test was cancelled, saw Robert Kubica surge through the stage, taking the win with a time more than 30seconds faster than any other driver.

The former Grand Prix winner was using supersoft Pirelli tyres and set the split time boards alight throughout the stage, saying he felt he did nothing special, â€œjust drivingâ€.

Second fastest was Kris Meeke, saying that he found more ice than he was expecting with Sebastien Loeb, running under Rally2 regulations from his retirement on Friday, third fastest, a further 8 seconds back.

Andreas Mikkelsen was fourth with Dani Sordo fifth, despite having a slight off as he tried to pass Martin Prokop in the stage.

However, overall leader Sebastien Ogier in the Volkswagen Motorsport Polo R WRC was well off the pace, finishing ninth and losing almost two minutes to Kubica. Crucially though, second-placed team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala was also well down the order, more than a minute behind Kubica.

There was bad news for Sebastien Chardonnet, who slid into a wall on a patch of ice while Ott Tanak also went off and into the ARMCO barrier but manage to get back on the road, dropping huge amounts of time in the process.
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Monte Carlo SS12 (iRallylive.com)

24.01.2015 15:49

Kris Meeke took the win on the last stage of the third day of action, the Sisteron-Thoard test. And to add to the celebrations, he suffered a spin in the stage and should have been even quicker.

Robert Kubica again looked to be on a charge but ultimately failed to claim another win, as the handbrake on his Ford Fiesta RS WRC failed and he had to try to get the car round some of the tight hairpins.

Meeke, behind on the road, clearly had the combination of slicks and studded tyres working for him, going through 8.5 seconds faster than the Pole. In third was Thierry Neuville, taking Hyundaiâ€™s best stage performance of the rally so far, saying that the balance of his i20 WRC was very good and that he could possibly have done better on studded tyres.

Jari-Matti Latvala was fourth, taking a further 20 seconds from Sebastien Ogierâ€™s lead and admitting surprise, as he wasnâ€™t driving with that in mind. Fifth was Dani Sordo, also saying that studs would have been better despite an excellent time.

Elfyn Evans dropped time as he was driving slowly, having repaired the rear suspension of his Fiesta that he damaged on the previous stage while Henning Solberg went off the road and was passed by Ott Tanak.
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Steve · Jan 24, 2015

Stage 12 results (L) and overall going into the final day (R).

Crashton · Jan 24, 2015

Looks like Seb Loeb would be leading the rally if not for his 10 minute super rally penalty. I'd say he's still got it.

VW's 1 2 3, wonder if we will see team orders. Looks like Latvala is catching Ogier.

Steve · Jan 24, 2015

MAXRALLY heroes and zeroes (Monte Carlo, Saturday) (MaxRally.com)

by Anthony Peacock / 24th January 2015

Our guide to the good and bad on Saturday (we can already provide the ugly).

Hero: Robert Kubica

Consider this: 33 seconds. According to a recent newspaper report, that’s how often every Amazon warehouse employee is expected to pick up a new order in the course of their shift. It’s also the winning margin that Robert Kubica enjoyed on the 51-kilometre SS10, over Citroen’s Kris Meeke. Even more staggeringly, he took 1m49s out of Sebastien Ogier. And Robert actually said that he was going “slowly”. When it all comes together for Robert – and one day, it will – nobody will have an answer for him.

Zero: Ott Tanak

It started off so, so well for the Estonian (above). Malcolm Wilson said that he could hardly believe it. And that’s because it was probably too good to be true, as Tanak dropped a colossal 18 minutes today in SS10. In his own words, he explained: “It was just a long corner over a crest. We went over and there was a patch of gravel. We lost the front and went into a ditch.” Easily done, but the last thing he needed when a top result was his for the taking.
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Crashton · Jan 26, 2015

What a piece of road, handbrake heaven for sure. :arf:

Steve · Jan 26, 2015

Crashton said: ↑

Great video, can't want to try that in my good friends 996. :smilewinkgrin:
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You better post video. :biggrin5:

Steve · Jan 26, 2015

So much slippery fun. Well, not all fun, I suppose...

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ELveY0MrhM"]Highlights rallye Monte Carlo 2015 by Ouhla lui - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Jan 26, 2015

Tenth and Power Stage win for Meeke (crash.net)

26 January 2015

Britain's Kris Meeke battled back to secure tenth place and win the Power Stage on Rallye Monte Carlo last weekend, the 2015 WRC season opener.

Meeke had been running fourth until around halfway through SS8, the final test on Friday, when he slid wide and went off into a ditch. He was unable to re-join and had to retire from the leg.

That dropped him to 21st, but under Rally 2 he came back, winning three stages – including the final one – to leave with four points on the board, one for tenth place and three bonus points for the Power Stage win.

“The aim was to try and score some points in the Power Stage in order to end the rally on a high,” Meeke said.

“I managed the tyres on SS14 [the penultimate test]. That undoubtedly helped me to keep a 0.2-second gap at the end of the last stage.”

“I won a few stages this weekend and we were quick,” he added. “So that is a very pleasing point, because it means we clearly have the speed to compete.”

Speaking about his off in SS8 - the same test that claimed team-mate Sebastien Loeb - Meeke explained that he was unable continue as the incident left his DS 3 WRC with damaged suspension.

“In the middle of SS8, I slid wide on a fast left-hand corner. The car went sideways. I tried to steer into the skid to correct the trajectory, but we ended up in a ditch where we hit a small tree," he recalled. "We were unable to get away again because the rear suspension was broke."

So what is his verdict on the weekend overall?

“It has been an event of promise but also frustration,” he summarised on his official website. “Of course Friday's incident was disappointing, and it cost us the chance of a really good fight and finish. After that, we showed good times against Sebastien [Loeb], and it is great to get those Power Stage points – but I want to get results this year too.”
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Steve · Jan 26, 2015

Final stage (L) and overall results (R), top 15.

Steve · Jan 26, 2015

Looks like this is at the awards ceremony. Ogier and Ingrassia brought gifts for Prince Albert's new twins.

Steve · Jan 27, 2015

Hey, Toyota, please make up your mind(s)!

Toyota rejoining the WRC? (iRallylive.com)

27.01.2015 11:56

It has been one of the most hotly-debated rumours in recent months; the return of Toyota to the FIA World Rally Championship. It now seems that by the end of this week, the rumour will either be confirmed or dispelled for good â€“ or for at least, a few months.

First there was the rally version of the Toyota GT86. Then there was a four-wheel drive version of that car. Then there was a Toyota Yaris â€˜World Rally Carâ€™.

The first two were â€˜officiallyâ€™ recognised, with Toyota President Akio Toyoda personally witnessing and then driving the four-wheel drive version at Rally Finland last year, effectively endorsing the car prepared and run by Tommi Makinen Racing.

Since then, there has been volumes of video on the internet of the Yaris â€˜WRCâ€™, prepared by Toyota Motorsport GmbH, testing on a variety of surfaces. However, Toyota itself, officially, has refused to be drawn on the nature of the car although various sources have reported interest and the involvement of Toyota itself in forward planning for the future of the WRC.

However, it now seems that there may be some clarification after all. Rumours â€“ again â€“ began circulating late last week, as Rally Monte Carlo was taking place, that there would be an announcement made in Japan on Friday.

Toyota has subsequently confirmed that there will be a live press conference in Japan on Friday to announce its motorsport plans. In particular, this notes that it will be â€œconcerning its participation in and support of motorsports activities in 2015.â€

It could be the rally rumour-mill is jumping the gun a bit â€“ it seems there is little chance of Toyota joining the WRC this year. They may, of course, speak about future plans, which appear to revolve around their arrival in 2017, when the technical regulations of the WRC change.

However, something else to bear in mind is yesterdayâ€™s announcement, by Toyota, that the specification of the GT86 CS-R3 car â€“ the two-wheel drive version of the coupes - has been finalized. According to the manufacturer, it has â€œâ€¦ moved closer to its full-blooded rally competition later this yearâ€¦â€.

It could be that Fridayâ€™s announcement will centre on this category, as the GT86 CS-R3 will be homologated to FIA R3 regulations at the start of July and will then be eligible for European and WRC events, according to the announcement.

Hopefully, Fridayâ€™s conference will shed more light on the matter.
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Crashton · Jan 27, 2015

I'd love to see Toyota's back on the stages. :fingerscrossed:

RallyMini370 · Jan 27, 2015

I have WRC+ which is about $6 a month. I was watching the Monte today but I knew before the Monte Robert was going to crash! WRC needs Robert and Ken for the crashes! hahaha

I've seen a lot of stuff on the Yaris WRC testing , some stuff on an Audi A3 WRC and Mitsubishi http://www.carthrottle.com/post/this-evo-xengined-mirage-signals-mitsubishi-return-to-the-wrc/

Steve · Jan 28, 2015

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08yqtUcFRvI"]LOEB Monte CRASH Ã¢â‚¬â€ 3 ANGLES | Crazy Leo edit - YouTube[/ame]

RallyMini370 · Jan 29, 2015

Yes I hope Robert can do it one day, I suppose if you look back Colin was pretty much the same! Plenty of crashes before he found his pace. Ken ,as you say just has a pace for crashing! I think if Ken could do the stages at high speed about 5 times to practice he would be fast...haha

minirab · Jan 29, 2015

For me, especially Toivonen. I can still see it.

RallyMini370 · Feb 1, 2015

That's the job for me! I can convert them to STI suspension to save $$$$$! hahaha That job will be a no pressure job...not

Steve · Feb 1, 2015

Seb’s set for Toyota (MaxRally.com)

by Giles Wade / 1st February 2015

No, not that one. No, not that one either… This Seb’s Sebastian Lindholm – he’s one of three drivers chosen to ready Toyota’s Yaris WRC for the big day in 2017.

Lindholm’s team-mates will be Stephane Sarrazin, former Subaru World Rally Team driver and current Toyota World Endurance Championship racer and 27-year-old Frenchman Eric Camilli. Camilli joins as part of Toyota’s young driver development programme.

Speaking in the wake of Toyota president Akio Toyoda’s announcement of the firm’s WRC return, Toyota Motorsport president Yoshiaki Kinoshita said: “It is a great honour to be asked to bring the TOYOTA name back to the World Rally Championship alongside our continued participation in the World Endurance Championship.

“To run two works motorsport programmes simultaneously is of course a challenge, but we believe we have the expertise and determination to succeed. There is much to do as we make the journey back to WRC, but to have received the support of Toyota Motor Corporation and our president Akio Toyoda is already very encouraging.

“We are looking forward to taking the next steps with an extensive development plan and a junior driver development programme. It is an exciting time and we are looking forward to this new challenge with great anticipation.”
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