Official WRC thread

Can't remember if this has been mentioned before but the last bit of info is very new.

Petter Solberg has secured a 2008-spec Citroen C4 for Spain and GB. For GB he will be also nominated for points for the Citroen Junior team. As long as he doesn't cost Mikko the title I'd love to see him win GB.
 
Now we know when WRC is coming to HD Theater: 10/4 @ 8/7c
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUIRMermwhg[/YOUTUBE]
 
Not sure if I will watch it. A lot of the excitement is lost after I've already seen it/know the outcome.

Still hopefully it will generate more interest in the sport over here.
 
Well I'll watch it with my dad, since he hasn't seen the races. I just want to see those cars in action in HD format.
 
This is the 2010 WRC Calendar. Your thoughts people??

1. Sweden: 14/02/10
2. Mexico: 07/03/10
3. Jordan: 04/04/10
4. Turkey: 18/04/10
5. New Zealand: 09/05/10
6. Portugal: 30/05/10
7. Bulgaria*: 11/07/10
8. Finland: 01/08/10
9. Germany: 22/08/10
10. Japan: 12/09/10
11. France: 03/10/10
12. Spain: 24/10/10
13. GB: 14/11/10

Also wondering, given that hopefully the change to S2000 based rules will mean more seats are available. What drivers do you think deserve a chance at the top level?? Say 10-15 drivers including current drivers. Just interested to hear a few names thrown about that I might not have thought of.
 
Apart from the lack of Monte Carlo I think the calendar is pretty good. A nice mix of tarmac and various types of gravel roads plus the snow in Sweden. Although I still can't understand the reasoning for having NZ in May and Japan in September, surely it would be better to have those bundled together so that the teams would not need to make two separate trips to the other side of the world?

As for S2000, I doubt there are going to be many extra seats since the S2000 cars will only run with 'Cup' status alongside WRC cars next year. Maybe some factories or major privateers will take on the challenge instead or alongside of IRC but I'd be surprised if there's more than a few teams.
 
I agree Hazardous but I meant more for 2011 and beyond when the switch becomes permanent. Thinking about going to NZ next year though.......
 
Back in 2011 gets swapped year on year with NZ
 
So, as per request, speculation on potential 2011 entries... Let's see now...

Out of current regulars, I'm pretty certain we'll see the following...
- Sebastien Loeb
- Daniel Sordo
- Mikko Hirvonen
- Jari-Matti Latvala
- Petter Solberg
- Sebastien Ogier

Out of the others...
- Chris Atkinson. Deserves another chance in WRC, the years at Subaru showed he has talent but how much exactly was really hidden by the machinery and Solberg's inconsistent results.

- Urmo Aava. Twice runner up in JWRC and few promising runs in WRC machinery despite never having a proper chance in top class machinery. Deserves a proper shot at the top.

- Toni Gardemeister. Sure, he might not be championship material but he is still plenty fast and very consistent. One of those guys who should be racking in solid results year in, year out, well into his forties.

- Per-Gunnar Andersson. Won the JWRC title few years back and last year gave very hard time to Toni Gardemeister in the Suzuki. And who could forget his brilliant effort in Norway this year...

- Francois Duval. Has matured since his days with Citro?n, he should get another chance in WRC...

- Gigi Galli. Has shown his skill but has had bad luck with Mitsubishi's withdrawal from the sport and then his injury last year.

- Jan Kopecky. I'd be surprised if Skoda is not in with the new rules and if Skoda is in they'll almost certainly give Kopecky a chance. He did some great things with an ancient Skoda Fabia WRC few years back and this year was one of the main contenders for the IRC title.

- Kris Meeke. Kris secured this year's IRC title this weekend in San Remo and has shown his talent in various machinery over the years. Support from Peugeot UK might take him far...

- Guy Wilks. Again, only few chances to show his skills but has used those quite well. Should get a chance at the top.

- Juho H?nninen. In the earlier years used an old Mitsubishi Lancer WRC to set times the car propably should not have been able to and this year has been a regular contender in IRC with Skoda. Could well be part of Skoda's WRC lineup should they enter again...

- Matti Rantanen. OK, maybe not for 2011 but who knows? This kid is someone to keep an eye out for in the future...

I count 16 names there, from the top of my head. I wonder how many I forgot...
 
Pretty much exactly the list I expected from you Hazardous and I can't really improve on it, I agree with all selections.

Interesting you don't mention Henning Solberg? Maybe like Gardemeister not championship material but consistent and very experienced.

Matthew Wilson? Getting there......slowly. A bloody good driver but lacking the last 5% that Jari, Dani have let alone Seb and Mikko and he's been in the WRC 5 years now.

Keith Cronin, this guy just wrapped up the British title at his first attempt. Has more or less matched times with Mark Higgins all year despite being 23 and Higgins is no slouch. Hopefully gets the funding for more.

I think we can all forget about Rauntenbach......

One thing I do disagree on is I think 2010 will be Seb's last unless the FIA pull a masterstroke and make the 2011-> onwards cars absolute weapons

So almost 20 names for maybe 12 seats??
Citroen-Dani Sordo, Sebastien Ogier
Citroen Jnr-Urmo Aava, Chris Atkinson?
Peugot-Kris Meeke
Skoda-Jan Kopecky, Juho Hanninen
Ford-Mikko Hirvonen, Jari Matti Latvala

Where are we going to put the rest??
 
Well hopefully Subaru returns...hell I want Mitsubishi back as well.
 
Necx0 said:
Back in 2011 gets swapped year on year with NZ
Click to expand...

Didn't know that, thanks for letting me know.

I'd like to see Subaru back next year as well, Mitsubishi back as well would also be good!
 
Trouble is what are they going to run??? New minimum weight is going to be in the region of 1100-1150kg apparently hence Ford going to Fiesta and Citroen to D3. You'll never get an EVO or WRX down to those weights within the regulations I don't reckon.

Still would be nice!
 
I bet you could get both Mitsubishi Lancer and Subaru Impreza down to the limit. I'd be surprised if they haven't reduced their car weights well below the current limit and played with ballast to get the car into minimum weight and optimize the weight spread.

Of course, that's only speculation and in any case they'll have harder time with it than their competitors will have with their smaller cars. Also, those models are a bit bigger than your average S2000 car, which might be a handicap. Then again, it could also be an advantage on some events...
 
Yeh I find it hard to believe that the 2007 spec impreza at least didn't come in under 1230kg. However pulling another 80kg out at that level could be quite an achievement!! They will also have longer wheelbase and wider track than the smaller cars. However I imagine the smaller cars will have more ballast to play with.

Trouble is a Group N Evo weighs 1600kg!!!! Pulling 450kg out is a big ask!!
 
Necx0 said:
Trouble is a Group N Evo weighs 1600kg!!!! Pulling 450kg out is a big ask!!
Click to expand...

I doubt that figure. The Group N spec Subaru tips the scales at 1355kg (according to Tommi M?kinen Racing who sell these cars) and it's pretty evenly matched with the Mitsubishi so I doubt there's much difference there.
 
Figure taken from Repco Rally Australia weigh in :) 1355kg would be dry weight I reckon.
 
Yeah I thought of that after posting. In any case, I assume dry weight for both cars in group N specification is around 1350-1400kg and I from what I understand I'd assume that dropping 200-300kg from that for Super 2000 specification should be doable. Of course, that still leaves the car's overall size as a potential problem.

Anyway, nothing stops either manufacturer from making their rally models smaller (or using smaller cars as a base. Say, Justy and Colt, for example) if they want to enter.
 
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