Official WRC thread

Apparently Solberg was caught doing 112km/h on a 80km/h road!
 
I missed the end of this crazy crazy rally because I had to go to bed (stoopid uni). :-( Can't believe the stuff I'm reading! :lmao:

Hirvonen and Ostberg were awesome, I hope that result won't be a one-off and it's a first of many podiums for Mads. His driving really impressed me (albeit on what is clearly his favoured surface) and he seems like a really level-headed down-to-earth guy.
 
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just watched the replay of SS22.... that was indeed a wtf moment with Patterson & Solberg.

Like PK and the other commentator, i was focused on the co-drivers hand on the handbrake in the inital on-board shot, but just before they cut away i thought "hang on, that does not look like Petter behind the wheel....is that...his....co-driver...? surely not! " :)

FYI, for those interested, an article with quotes from Petter:
Petter Solberg's driving ban won't affect his participation on the remaining rounds of this season's World Rally Championship, the Norwegian has said in a statement.

Solberg has had his driving licence suspended in Sweden after he was clocked travelling at 112kph in an 80kph limit on the road section heading to the fifth stage of the country?s WRC round on Friday.

The ban kicked-in at 14:00hrs yesterday (Sunday) and meant Solberg?s co-driver Chris Patterson had to get behind the wheel of their Citroen DS3 WRC for the rally-closing Power Stage.

Solberg, who has admitted his guilt and accepted his punishment, explained: ?I was delayed leaving the service park after the midday service on Friday. I was of course eager to arrive at the start of stage five in time and I drove too fast.

?I was stopped by the police officer and immediately declared myself guilty as charged which meant that the police withdrew my driving licence. However I, like everyone else, had the right to drive a car for 48 hours after the licence was withdrawn. I was therefore allowed to keep on driving until 14:00hrs on the Sunday but not thereafter. Therefore I and my co-driver Chirs Patterson changed place in the car.

?I tried to get an exemption so that I could drive the last stage as well but this did not work. I have admitted my fault and will pay the fines. I will be prohibited from driving in Sweden, but only in Sweden, for one to two months. So there are no worries, my dedication to the WRC will remain in full force.?

Solberg and Patterson finished fifth overall on the event and claimed three stage wins in the process. Their next event is Rally Guanajuato Mexico from 3-6 March.

http://wrc.com/news/solberg-driving-ban-wont-affect-wrc-campaign/?fid=14167
 
WRC coverage has gone a bit downhill in the UK. Dave hasn't got it anymore, and we are left with substandard Motors TV footage, or ESPN Premium Channel.
 
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WRC coverage has gone a bit downhill in the UK. Dave hasn't got it anymore, and we are left with substandard Motors TV footage, or ESPN Premium Channel.

Yeah the Motors TV coverage was pretty shit and apparently no one is planning on uploading the 3rd day of ESPN coverage to the fish site. So if anyone happens to have source of an ESPN premium Swedish Rally Day 3 torrent that would be fan fucking tastic.
 
The drivers were still downshifting without the clutch right? Does anyone have any info about the type of gearboxes/electronics these new cars use? You'd imagine clutchless downshifting wouldn't work for long, at least not on tarmac.
 
The six-speed sequential gearbox and the front differential are integrated in an aluminium housing. These are connected to the rear differential via a longitudinal drive shaft. The central differential is now prohibited, but a system may be used to disconnect the rear wheels when using the hydraulic hand brake. Semi-automatic, steering wheel-mounted controls are also outlawed, and have been replaced with a totally manual gearshift lever.
 

I know that but I find it strange that they all downshift (in all onboards I saw, if I'm not blind) without clutching. I'm quite surprised if it's a typical dogbox and can take clutchless downshifting all the time with the gearbox limitations in place (was it 3 boxes per 2 rallies or 2 boxes per 3 rallies or something?). Of course it's possible that they weren't clutching because of they were on snow, I'd imagine that'd be pretty jerky on tarmac.
 
the espn coverage is basically the same one thats on OneHD over here, and what was on Eurosport before the switch to MotorsTV

I cant talk to this years MotorsTV coverage, but last season it was a longer program (~45mins), but the commentating ruined the experience IMHO

The ESPN one has the best commentator in WRC, Paul King, so thats where you wanna be :)
 
Which coverage would you guys recommend getting? I watched the motors TV coverage for the first round, but you reckon espn is better?

OneHD, because of Paul King.

Fuck Simon Hill's commentating :mad: I'm quite surprised that someone can ACTUALLY make WRC coverage boring with nothing but voice. Heh, reminds me of James Allen And Legard.

I cant talk to this years MotorsTV coverage, but last season it was a longer program (~45mins), but the commentating ruined the experience IMHO
 
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@Madcow - it seems this season the OneHD and ESPN coverage is essentially the same show, just different broadcast countries (OneHD = here, ESPN = UK)

And i noticed with the live power stage ESPN UK is the only option, as its not broadcast here (mind you, it turned out that almost half of the Day3 package was devoted to the power stage - maybe just because there was alot of drama?)

And speaking of commentators, I caught a bit of the live coverage of the IRC Monte Carlo Rally earlier this year - was that Simon Hill in that, or someone else? it was on Eurosport down here, and it was a commentary duo who i thought were pretty good
 
Whoever is doing the IRCcommenting needs to be doing the WRC coverage, because the WRC commenting is AWFUL! You could not tell what was going on with the drivers at all.
 
No, no, please not Carlton Kirby. That man's commentary is horrible. At least Haven tries hard on everything he commentates (including bobsleigh, surprisingly), Kirby can't be bothered.
 
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