Most liked posts in thread: WRC: Wales Rally GB

Angib · Oct 26, 2011

Facts and figures
Surface: Gravel
Click to expand...

I would like to correct this misinformation. It should read:

Facts and figures
Surface: Mud (may have some gravel underneath... or sometimes not)

Steve · Nov 3, 2011

Pre-GB testing.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKm2XkTkc8s]Dani Sordo testing in MINI WRC at Walters Arena - 1 November - YouTube[/ame]

Angib · Nov 5, 2011

jbewley said: ↑

Sounds like this one is similar to the older ones, where it is start to finish in a direct line, or did I misunderstand that?
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I don't think you'll find any national/international rallies like that any longer - here is the official overall map (PDF) - nowadays virtually every rally stage gets used twice in one day, so the effort of preparing and controlling it can re-used.

And to give flavour, here is a lovely quote from the Unclyclopedia entry for rallying:

Talk to any rally enthusiast and they will happily tell you that nothing beats getting up at 4am, driving 200 miles into the breacon beacons, abandoning the car in the middle of nowhere, walking across country for several miles, finding the stage, then hanging around for 6 hours freezing your conkers off before an unrecognisable car, covered from sill to roof in mud, tears past at 100mph, covering you in stones and mud.
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Steve · Nov 8, 2011

Rallying: Meeke and the Mini revival (independent.co.uk)

Irish driver hopes to fuel car's remarkable return at this weekend's Wales Rally

Richard Rae | Tuesday 08 November 2011

The name is the same, and the shape, while altogether bulkier and more muscular, remains unmistakable. Otherwise, as Kris Meeke acknowledges, the resemblance between his Mini Cooper World Rally Championship car and that which won the Monte Carlo rally in 1964 and which, courtesy of the 1969 film The Italian Job, remains fixed in the national psyche as an example of a peculiarly British triumph against the odds, is minimal.

Certain parallels are, however, irresistible. The 2011 Mini may be the product of several years of research and development aimed at producing the perfect rally car, but the expenditure on the project, compared with the budgets of the big works teams of CitroÃ«n and Ford, has been relatively small. Yet this season, Mini's first back in the WRC and intended to be very much part of that development with just six out of 13 events entered, has been remarkably successful. Steady improvement over the year culminated in Meeke finishing last month's Rally de EspaÃ±a in fifth, one place and just one minute 40 seconds â€“ after more than four hours' driving â€“ behind his vastly experienced team-mate, the Spaniard Dani Sordo.

For both Mini and the 32-year-old Meeke it was a hugely encouraging result, and if the team can follow up with a similarly competitive performance in the very different conditions that will prevail in this weekend's Wales Rally GB, a meticulously planned smash-and-grab raid on next year's championship may not be an entirely fantastical proposition.

"Well, there's still a long way to go before we can think about that sort of thing," pointed out Meeke, while waiting to take his turn behind the wheel at a pre-race test in a Welsh forest last week. "It's certainly fair to say we're ahead of where we expected to be, though. We're still learning about the car, so to be fighting for podiums and even wins [Meeke won the Power Stage in Spain, while Sordo finished second overall in the Rallye de France Alsace] is exceptional.

"At the same time we're not as fast as CitroÃ«n yet, so we have to keep things in perspective."

The learning curve for Meeke has been, if anything, steeper than that of the team in respect to the car. A Northern Irishman brought up around the sport â€“ his father, Sydney, is regarded as the doyen of the country's rally engineers â€“ Meeke had no thoughts about becoming a professional driver when he graduated in mechanical engineering, and was working in a motor sport design department when his mother, Carol (now sadly deceased), entered him in a "Find a rally driver" competition at Silverstone.

Receiving the trophy from compatriot Paddy Hopkirk â€“ who drove the Mini to its 1964 triumph â€“ was, with the benefit of hindsight, a nice coincidence, but it was the experience gained and steady progress made over the following 10 years which persuaded David Richards, whose company Prodrive is behind the Mini project, to make Meeke one of his drivers. That included receiving early support â€“ financial and otherwise â€“ from Colin McRae, and in 2009 winning the 2009 Intercontinental Rally Challenge with Peugeot.

But as a driver, Meeke is first to admit this has not been the easiest of years. Richards, who between 2003-05 was team principal of the BAR team which in many respects resuscitated the Formula One career of Jenson Button, is a tough taskmaster, and at times Meeke has probably tried too hard, both to impress and to keep pace with his much more experienced team-mate.

In France, for example, he was running fifth when he rolled the car on stage 13. "I was pushing, and I pushed a touch too hard. I was angry with myself, but it came about because I was pushing the boundaries, which in a car you're developing is at least a bit excusable if you're not fighting for the championhip. But it was a lesson learnt.

"In fact, every rally, every stage, has been a lesson learnt, because I've never driven in the WRC. Dani has had six years, and was No 2 CitroÃ«n driver to [world champion] SÃ©bastian Loeb for five of them. That's one of the reasons I'm looking forward to this rally â€“ there are a lot of brand new stages, so for once we'll be on something like a level playing field."

Richards understands. "Kris has made mistakes because he thinks he should be competing with the likes of Dani when he probably can't expect to, yet, but we've seen in some events this year he's been right up there. He can't expect to win events from the outset, he needs to be a bit more pragmatic. His time will come."

Richards' track record is one of a man who is very rarely wrong although, if Meeke's time may well come, it may not be this weekend.

Exceptional on asphalt, the new Mini is so far remarkably competitive on gravel, and the team would also like a bit more power from the BMW engine. In fact, they'd like more backing from their German parent company altogether, to ensure they have the budget to compete in every rally next year.

The annual budget of the top works teams is close to Â£50m: this year Mini has probably spent around a 10th of that sum.

From a marketing point of view, given the brand's unique image and what has been achieved this season, it seems something of a no-brainer, but times are hard. Another good result in Britain, and the publicity it would attract, might make all the difference.

Mini: Major achievements

The Mini Cooper S won the famed Monte Carlo Rally on three occasions, in 1964, 1965 and 1967.

In the 1966 Monte Carlo Rally Minis were initially placed first, second and third, but were disqualified by the French judges for illegal headlights â€“ the CitroÃ«n DS awarded first place also had illegal white headlamps but escaped disqualification.

In 1965 the Mini won a total of 17 international rallies and picked up no fewer than 116 major awards in international rallies and races.

In the early Minis, oil tended to leak on to the clutch plate from the main crankshaft oil seal. Rally drivers overcame this problem by throwing handfuls of sand into the clutch housing â€“ sometimes it was the only way they could finish the race.

5.3 million Minis were sold, making it by far the most popular British car ever made.

The Mini made very little money despite the number of sales â€“ Ford once dismantled a Mini and determined that BMC must have been losing around Â£30 per car.

The breathtaking escape through the Turin sewers by gold bar-filled Mini Coopers in 'The Italian Job' was filmed in Coventry.
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Steve · Nov 10, 2011

Not a lot of action today, just three quick stages and they're done. Meeke is currently 5th, 18.7 sec behind the leader (Loeb) and Sordo is a further 8.6 sec back in 6th.

I expect some videos to show up from today's action, otherwise we wait to see what happens tomorrow.

In the meantime, here's some video of the MINIs on yesterday's shakedown.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=By7Ffpk9w1I]WRC Wales GB 2011 - Mini Shakedown [HD] - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Nov 10, 2011

Yup, but I figure the drivers will be alright. The competition suffers because some are slowed down by conditions others don't have to deal with. They have no control over changing weather but the angle of the sun is completely predictable. The only thing stopping them adjusting the timing to make light level conditions similar for all competitors is the organizers' priorities; apparently neither competition nor drivers' well-being top the list.

Steve · Nov 11, 2011

SS9: Meeke sets the pace (wrc.com)

11 Nov 11

Wrc.com stage summary

Stage data: SS9, Dyfi East 2 (6.72 kilometres)

Stage description:
By M-Sport Stobart

Ford Rally Team co-driver Scott Martin: “We used Dyfi in the British championship when it was one stage. It’s split into two now and there are lots of places where you have to be careful not to one wide. The stage has the same character as Gartheiniog, quite flowing and undulating but it’s not as fast. The road has a good base so there should be no problem with it cutting up for the second pass.”

How the action unfolded:
Kris Meeke has gone fastest on stage nine of Wales Rally GB in his MINI John Cooper Works WRC.

In deteriorating weather conditions the British driver was 1.0s faster than Ford pilot Jari-Matti Latvala, who has trimmed Sebastien Loeb’s overall lead to 10.6s.

“I’m quite happy to be honest,” said Meeke. “It was a lot more slippery than this morning but it was easier to judge the grip. The car is working well.”

With title rival Mikko Hirvonen retiring this morning, Loeb has adopted a more cautious approach and settled for the fifth quickest time in his Citroen.

Mads Ostberg continues to head Petter Solberg in the battle for the final podium spot after beating his fellow Norwegian through the stage.

Key moment:
Meeke fastest, Latvala closes on Loeb.
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minimark · Nov 11, 2011

Love Kris's attitude and desire....the whole team as well!! Coming back to click off a fastest in stage is sweeeeet!!

minimark · Nov 13, 2011

Steve = resident "RALLYMASTER!!"

Yep everyone involved from BMW, MINI, Prodrive and the drivers can hold their heads high, as they have had an astounding developmental season!

Well done!!!

Crashton · Oct 25, 2011

For me this is the grand daddy of them all. Should be fun.

minimark · Oct 26, 2011

Can't wait, bring it on!!

Justa Jim · Oct 26, 2011

This is going to be very good.

Jim

minimark · Oct 26, 2011

Sounds a bit like the ingredients to cement....lol

Justa Jim · Oct 26, 2011

Mud could be interesting indeed. I would guess that mud would make changing the set up that much harder when in service, not to mention having to do a repair on the side of the road. :eek6:

Jim

Steve · Oct 31, 2011

Huge entry for WRC finale (wrc.com)

31 Oct 11

Close on 80 cars will contest the final round of this season's World Rally Championship, Wales Rally GB.

The gravel event, which runs from 10-13 November over a new route from north Wales to the capital Cardiff in the south, has attracted 78 registrations with 20 World Rally Cars in action, including two for home-grown stars Kris Meeke and Matthew Wilson.

Meeke is one of five drivers competing in MINIâ€™s John Cooper Works WRC, which Brazilian Paulo Nobre will use in competition for the first time. Wilson, meanwhile, is one of 10 Ford Fiesta RS WRC exponents competing on the season finale. The list of Fiesta drivers includes Super 2000 World Championship graduates Martin Prokop and Ott Tanak.

There will be five Citroen DS3 WRCs in Wales with Sebastien Loeb heading the entry as he bids for his eighth world crown against Fordâ€™s Mikko Hirvonen.

In addition there will be 16 drivers contesting the Production Car World Rally Championship on Wales Rally GB and 17 vying for glory in the new-for-2011 FIA WRC Academy, although only 14 of those will be eligible for WRC Academy points under the terms of the entry deadline requirement.

New recruits to the young driver-training division include Valentin Hummel from Germany and Christopher Duplessis from America.

Other notable entrants include Production Car world champion Hayden Paddon, who switches to an R4-specification Subaru Impreza for the first time, Volkswagen Motorsport duo Kevin Abbring and Sepp Wiegand and rising British talents Elfyn Evans and John MacCrone.
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Steve · Nov 2, 2011

Meeke to focus on strong GB result (wrc.com)

02 Nov 11

Kris Meeke is determined not to let nostalgia get in the way of a strong result when the World Rally Championship concludes on Wales Rally GB next week.

Meeke will form part of the two-strong MINI WRC Team entry on the event and is expected to attract a huge following, particularly from British fans for who MINI remains an iconic brand.

â€œItâ€™s going to be very special doing my home rally and, added to that, doing it with Prodrive and MINI,â€ the Northern Irishman told Wrc.com. â€œBut ultimately we have to keep the main goal in mind, getting to the finish in a good position.â€

Meeke last took part on his home round of the world championship in 2006 when he contested the Junior world championship in a Citroen C2 Super 1600.

â€œItâ€™s a rally Iâ€™ve always enjoyed but I havenâ€™t done it for a while now,â€ said Meeke. â€œThe only one good thing is that the new stages at the beginning of the event are new for everybody so it should make it a level playing field. Also, itâ€™s always nice to go to a new territory rather than the same stages over and over and the roads in the north of Wales are some of the best in the world.â€

Meeke said he expected the weather to pose a significant challenge during the four-day event, which starts in Llandudno on Thursday 10 November and finishes in Cardiff three days later (13 November).

â€œThe weather conditions can play havoc and we just hope the weather stays sensible,â€ said Meeke. â€œThe weather is always a challenge and a sting in the tail at the nd of the year.â€
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Justa Jim · Nov 2, 2011

This should be very good.

Jim

minimark · Nov 2, 2011

jbewley said: ↑

This should be very good.

Jim
Click to expand...

Agree!!

Hey Jim, maybe would should chip in and have a pizza delivered to Steve for keeping us posted!!

Justa Jim · Nov 2, 2011

minimark said: ↑

Agree!!

Hey Jim, maybe would should chip in and have a pizza delivered to Steve for keeping us posted!!
Click to expand...

I'm game.

Jim

minimark · Nov 2, 2011

jbewley said: ↑

I'm game.

Jim
Click to expand...

Cool!

What's your favorite Pizza Steve?

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