They are still in striking distance and sticking with the front runners. :fingerscrossed: Good job Steve. Jim
Political Considerations. :eek6: In other words "We have to make money on this event and the crowds are more important then you drivers are". Jim
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.
Leg 1 highlights. Beautiful video, there are even some cars in it. :smilewinkgrin: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QkI1ifmiF8]Leg1 Highlights - 2011 WRC Wales Rally GB - Best-of-RallyLive.com - YouTube[/ame]
Bad news, Sordo went straight on at a hairpin and ended up in a ditch. Car had to be collected and they don't know whether he'll be able to continue, but he's dropping like a stone down the order. 34th after this stage. Meeke is 6th. SS5: Hirvonen closes on Loeb (wrc.com) Sordo crashes out (wrc.com)
Meeke's car lost its alternator belt. They had a spare and replaced it but lost a couple minutes, finishing the stage 40th. He's now listed in 11th place overall, 3:17.3 behind 1st place Loeb and 4.3sec ahead of Ken Block in 12th. SS7: Loeb regains top spot in Wales (wrc.com)
They're still stressing the car to see what can be improved, etc, as well. Remember, "development year." There's also a lot of this rally left to run, could be interesting.
Very good point. This is the time to identify the problems and clear them up for next year. The cars and drivers are clearly competitive and there is no doubt about that. Not sure what is happening with Dani. This is clearly the "Rally from Hell", judging by the conditions they are facing, so perhaps he is a little unsure of things. Kris has done this one before and is a bit more aware of things perhaps. The way it is going, 11th might be within striking distance, if the front runners keep running into grief and lose time. I'm sitting on the edge of my seat, waiting for the next installment. Jim
This is what I was talking about, Meeke was 2nd on stage 8 and it looks like he won stage 9! He's still 11th because the finishing times for those stages are close, but still good stuff! Though I'm sure this won't make him feel any better Sordo wasn't the only driver to go off the road on that particular hairpin corner. Must be a tough/messy one.
Damage to Sordo's car is "not major" so they're fixing it. I'm not sure how it works when you skip stages and rejoin but it looks like that's the plan. If nothing else, it's more testing and more experience.
Love Kris's attitude and desire....the whole team as well!! Coming back to click off a fastest in stage is sweeeeet!!