WRC Most liked posts in thread: WRC - 2015

Steve · Jul 7, 2015

Toyota to WRC: ‘Help Us Make Better Cars’ (autoguide.com)

By Stephen Elmer | Jul 07, 2015

Toyota is fielding a car in the 2017 World Rally Championship, but the glory of victory isn’t the primary reason.

Toyota wants to use the lessons learned during each WRC race to help with development of future cars.

“For Toyota to make ever-better cars, we have to get a feel for all the kinds of roads that are out there,” said Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda. “Rallying requires us to drive on the very roads our customers use every single day, and I believe it is the perfect training activity, ultimately helping us to strengthen our products.”

Toyota has enlisted Tommi MÃ¤kinen, a WRC veteran, to act as the team principal and help with development of the car. After helping to coach Toyoda in the ways of WRC racing, the Chairman decided it would be a good idea to bring MÃ¤kinen on board. “Tommi has abundant experience and fresh ideas for vehicle development, both of which will be valuable assets to us,” said Toyoda. “I want to work with him; I want him to help us make better cars.”

Toyota will be entering a rally-prepped Yaris that uses a 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, cranking out more than 300 hp.

The brand’s WRC effort has already had an effect on Toyota’s road cars, as at least 2,500 rally-spec versions of the Yaris must be sold to public to meet FIA homologation regulations. The small hot hatch will make less power than the race version, using a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine to make around 230 hp. It will feature large wheel arches, a large rear spoiler and a full aerodynamic makeover.

“I have huge respect for the manufacturers, drivers, team members, and fans that make this wonderful competition what it is, and I’m thrilled to bring Toyota back to WRC,” said Toyoda.
Click to expand...

Steve · Jul 7, 2015

I lost track of my favorite source for HD rally videos a while back. Found it again yesterday and thanks to that combined with the larger than typical amount of video posted, as I think is typical every year for Poland, means an embarrassment of riches. I'm trying to be choosy but probably still over-posting. Meh, pick and choose.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXr-OvBsvgQ"]Rally Poland 2015 HD WRC - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Jul 7, 2015

Toyota are further along than I expected.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezyS37Q_jK8"]Toyota Yaris WRC test in Finland - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Jul 8, 2015

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iST7pMFlZQs"]WRC LOTOS 72nd Rally Poland 2015 - Action / EvoStudio / - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Jul 31, 2015

Elfyn Evans hit a big rock and broke his suspension, he and his co-driver had to try to fix it themselves on the stage.

Comment from M-Sport:

We always knew Elfyn Evans was a genius! This is how he fixed his broken suspension for SS5-10!
Click to expand...

Steve · Aug 5, 2015

When Kubica went out near the end of this rally he went big (pics of the car/aftermath in this post).

Crashton · Aug 5, 2015

Holy Carp!!!!!!!!!!! :eek6:

Steve · Aug 7, 2015

This one is ..... different.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-9SDgqRrxI"]WRC Rally Finland 2015 - JUMP, ACTION & FLATOUT - YouTube[/ame]

Crashton · Aug 8, 2015

Not having to worry about the costs of mistakes & wearing parts out does make a difference I'm sure, at least it would for me. That being said those guys are farking amazing & it is all about flat out no matter what.

Steve · Aug 11, 2015

More great footage.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2m5EWTGARvQ"]WRC Rally Finland 2015 - Motorsportfilmer.net - YouTube[/ame]

Crashton · Aug 21, 2015

Looks like Kubica came prepared.

Steve · Aug 22, 2015

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2BLyVb28Eg"]WRC - ADAC Rallye Deutschland 2015 Stages 5-6 - YouTube[/ame]

Crashton · Sep 1, 2015

It was Bernie's fault.

Crashton · Sep 9, 2015

When I saw that damage to the A pillar I figured it was hard. Plus the word truck was used.

Crashton · Sep 10, 2015

Not the fast way around the corner, but he sure did earn big style points!!! He is a driver & he kept driving, a lesser one would have been on their lid.

Steve · Sep 10, 2015

Clear evidence of how a slowly self-destructing tire can tear a car apart. Evans hit a bank in Stage 4 and ran some miles with the remains of the tire clearly taking its misplaced anger out on the rest of his car. Tough tires.....

Steve · Sep 17, 2015

There's a strange dearth of good video out there, esp. considering it was Australia.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmZo8_5dqV8"]WRC - Rally Australia 2015 - Highlights - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZH2WSyYrm8"]WRC - Coates Hire Rally Australia 2015: Paddon Onboard - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRsF3xj0x3E"]WRC Coates Hire Rally Australia 2015 - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Oct 4, 2015

Stage 9 (L) and final standings (R).

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOO18z02RD4"]Highlights - 2015 WRC Tour de Corse - Best-of-RallyLive.com - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Oct 6, 2015

I knew the weather was bad but apparently you could think of Corsica being in the same sort of shape as South Carolina. Shocking rain totals and lots of damage.

Here's a good summary of the rally, esp. if you like hearing about Elfyn Evans' first official visit to a WRC podium.

MAXRALLY Corsica wrap maxrally.com

by Anthony Peacock / 6th October 2015

Weather-wise, it could actually have been worse. During the days of the Tour de Corse, 16 people were killed in the south of France because of freak weather that turned the glamorous streets of Cannes into a white water rapid. The scenes of carnage were unbelievable: you just donâ€™t expect monsoons in the Mediterranean. Yet this was exactly what we got, turning the service park at Corte into what appeared to resemble the battlefield at Passchendaele: reminiscent of the bad old days of Rally GB.

Still, at least those in the service park only had mud to contend with. Australian driver Molly Taylor, on safety crew duties for Kevin Abbring, was trapped by rising water on day two and had to retreat onto the roof of her recce car before being rescued by a passing fireman. And here we were thinking that Australians loved the nautical lifestyle.

In Corsica it rains a fair amount â€“ thatâ€™s why Napoleonâ€™s birthplace is so green â€“ but it rarely rains to this extent. And in that respect, the rally was unlucky.

Or was it lucky? Because had it just been dry asphalt from start to finish, there was a reasonably high chance that we would have seen yet another Volkswagen one-two-three. And while Jost Capitoâ€™s team thoroughly deserves all the success it has earned, what actually happened in Corsica turned out to be a lot more fun.

By opting to run just nine long stages, thereâ€™s an element of risk. Firstly, if any of those stages are cancelled, you lose a chunk of mileage. Secondly, this format often makes it more likely that stages will be cancelled in the first place; particularly when allied to a chunky start list. If you have a problem in the stage, such as a competitor going off and blocking it (letâ€™s say towards the end) you suddenly risk ending up with a 40-kilometre traffic jam full of rally cars. Sorting that mess out takes time, meaning that you canâ€™t run the stage for those following behind. Cue notional times and/or stage cancellation: a fate that has befallen Sanremoâ€™s spectacular 60-kilometre Ronde stage on more than one occasion. Does that mean they shouldnâ€™t run such monsters? Of course not.

In the end, it was the weather that forced the cancellation of two stages (SS2 and SS4 â€“ which was the same road) rather than any on-stage incidents. So from nine planned stages we were down to seven. A number of the drivers felt that SS3 on day one should not have run either: surprisingly enough, those who stood most to lose from any potential silly mistakes.

But rather than have the first dayâ€™s action concluded before lunchtime, the decision was taken to run SS3 â€“ and it was there that the tone of the rally was decided. Fastest on the stage by 10 seconds was M-Sportâ€™s Elfyn Evans, and behind him was Abbring in the Hyundai. Both of them were 20 seconds clear of the nearest Polo. Not a classification that you see every day. As a result Evans led overnight for the first time in his career, on his very first visit to Corsica: a feeling that he described as â€œslightly surreal.â€

It was clear that the further down the field you ran, the better the road conditions were, although the reasons for this were not entirely clear: maybe the loose rocks from the landslides were getting gradually swept off the road and creating a cleaner line, or maybe the cars in front were drying the road out for those following behind. In any case, Elfyn was convinced that his time on the stage was nothing special, so he was as surprised as everybody else to see his name at the top of the list. Predictably, the Volkswagen rollercoaster came back at him, but with just one day and three stages to go, Elfyn headed into Sunday just two seconds behind. Far less time than itâ€™s taken you to read that last sentence.

So that gave him a difficult decision. After a disappointing Australia, Elfyn clearly needed a solid result â€“ and second would not only be his career-best result, but also the best result for M-Sport all year. On the other hand, you only ever have one chance in a lifetime to win Corsica on your debut.

The very worst thing to do would be to go off though: both from a of personal safety point of view (in some places, by the time you hit the bottom youâ€™d need to shave) and from a career point of view. M-Sport is currently locked in a battle for second place in the manufacturersâ€™ standings, which is very impressive given the fact that they are no longer a manufacturer.

So Elfyn decided to hedge his bets, made clear from his tyre choice on the final day: three soft-compound tyres, and three hard-compound. Ready for anything, with eggs evenly distributed in more than one basket.

It was the sensible choice, because by then he had Andreas Mikkelsen breathing down his neck: the fact that he held the Norwegian off (who has been to Corsica before, in a Ford Focus WRC, donâ€™t forget) more than makes up for the fact that he wasnâ€™t able to preserve his advantage over Latvala.

And yetâ€¦

â€œThings didnâ€™t really go our way: we should never have let him get so close in the first place,â€ concluded Evans. In a world where drivers generally tend to talk up their achievements, Evans is genuinely his own harshest critic (a bit like Latvala to some extent).

Jost Capito described Latvalaâ€™s Corsica win as possibly his best-ever, but Latvala actually spent a large part of his victory celebrations talking about how impressed he was with the achievements of the young man from Dinas Mawwdy, and how good it was to see M-Sport back where they belonged.

Mikkelsen, beaten by both of them, was outwardly the happiest man on the podium: pointing out that thereâ€™s no shame in giving best to the calibre of competition that had taken place in front of him. And that was probably the best thing about the Tour de Corse. The top three were genuinely all delighted for each other. And they all appreciated the historical significance of what they had accomplished.
Click to expand...

Steve · Oct 6, 2015

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rs3hobDBC0"]Rallye de France Tour de Corse 2015 WRC - YouTube[/ame]

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