[ÆX]

duval to go to citreon

petter fans

here why

 

[steve45]

watched the highlights of the rally AU the other night, good stuff!!!!
also on thursday night i was listening to the live rally australia radio coverage of the first day. not very exciting but it was good uptodate info.



i've completley lost track of who's driving for who next year, its just far to confusing now.
so far i think its.
driver 1 driver 2
peugeot - gronholm and markko
citreon - loeb and duval
subaru - solberg and ?????????
ford - ???????? and ?????????
skoda - armin?? and ?????????(so far mcrae seems to be a good bet)
mitsubishi - i'm pretty sure both of the seats are taken but i cant remember the names.

i've seen so many conflicting reports.
i know McRae/Meeke was linked to a second seat at skoda, but there seems to be no further info. also heard rumours that ford may be taking hirvonnen from subaru.
These are the conflicting rumours i've heard of.(remember these are RUMOURS that i have heard)
subaru - sarrizan, hirvonnen, even mcrae.(he's driving for them in a memorial rally next month, but i cant see him moving here.)
ford - hirvonnen, wilson, again mcrae(but i highy doubt he'd go here.)

i hope mcrae gets a seat with skoda next year, it would be good to see him develop the car to a point where they can consistantly challenge for podium places.

 

[ÆX]

i hope mcrae gets a seat with skoda next year, it would be good to see him develop the car to a point where they can consistantly challenge for podium places.

me too.
skoda has hung in there and deserves a winning team!

 

[lovebunny]

man that 1st pic is insane

 

[mack]

good times in front of the toob.

 

[Andyman_1970]

Sadly this was the only rally this year I did not watch on Speed :angry: besides Finland, Austrailia is my favorite gravel rally.

I hated to see Petter crash out early, but he rocked the rest of the rally posting fastest times on quite a few stages.

It will be interesting to see who ends up where next year. I just hope the new rally rules will not castrate the teams.

 

[steve45]

I just hope the new rally rules will not castrate the teams.

to be honest i think the new cost cutting rules that were proposed will do a whole lot of good for the sport,at least it might help keep some teams in the championship.
it will make it more entertaining at least, not that its short on it. if it means less grip and more sideways then who can complain.


bcd, or anyone else for that matter, are you signed up with the www.wrc.com forum? that always seems to have all the latest WRC info and gossip.

know of any other good rally forums?

 

[ÆX]

it will make it more entertaining at least, not that its short on it. if it means less grip and more sideways then who can complain.


bcd, or anyone else for that matter, are you signed up with the www.wrc.com forum? that always seems to have all the latest WRC info and gossip.

know of any other good rally forums?

yes, we will see a lot more "driving the cars" if the new rules go into place.

steve.

www.specialstage.com #1 in the states
www.rallyplanet.com has some good vids and pics.
www.revs.tv
www.crash.net
www.norodd.no



i hang at bmw forums a lot. same as everyone else, they visit what ever car
they have's forum.

 

[steve45]

yes, we will see a lot more "driving the cars" if the new rules go into place.

steve.

www.specialstage.com #1 in the states
www.rallyplanet.com has some good vids and pics.
www.revs.tv
www.crash.net
www.norodd.no



i hang at bmw forums a lot. same as everyone else, they visit what ever car
they have's forum.

cheers for the links

 

[steve45]

heres some news i read about the peugeot/citreon situation and how other teams feel about it.
you guys may have seen it already, but i found it intersting and thoght i'd share.

quote taken from a post on wrc.com, which was originally from WRN

Citroen Contemplates Rescue for C4

"Citroen Sport could rush the C4 World Rally Car into action next summer in a bid to gain some value from the car before the team's withdrawal from the World Rally Championship at the end of 2005.

Competitions supremo Guy Frequelin stated that it would be impossible to make the new hatchback ready to rally before July, but said that it was under consideration. World Championship rules ban testing in November, but C4 development is poised to resume in December.

Citroen Sprot's future has been cast into limbo by PSA's announcement a fortnight ago. Substancial budget cuts and staff losses are expected for 2005. While speculation is rife that sister company Peugeot will join the World Touring Car Championship, Frequelin declined to speculate on possible alternatives for Citroen.

It's impossible to say. We don't know exactly what the budget is for 2006. I don't know the budgets for other disciplines. We've got to reflect on it. Anything is possible, he said.

Citroen is not thought to have a suitable vehicle for two areas that PSA has exploited in the past, sports car racing and cross-county rallying."

Rivals See Life After PSA

"Opposing manufacturers believe that the withdrawal of Citroen and Peugeot will injet new life into the World Rally Championship.

Peugeot's and Citroen's budgets are clearly bigger than the teams' that remain, so it does look more attractive to new manufacturers and the manufacturers that are in, Prodrive Subaru Director David Lapworth said.

He suggested that PSA's departure would be the single greatest cost reduction of recent times, but added that the remaining teams would have to invest more in promotion.

M-Sport Ford chief Malcolm Wilson expressed disappointment, but felt that new manufacturers would seize the opportunity and maintained that the French retreat would make no difference to Ford.

Ford have done all the research in the last few months and as long as the deliverables don't change - the TV value stacks up - there's no reason to withdraw. There's been nothing negative from Ford's side, he said."

 

[Curb Hucker]

Nice pics Alex


rally cars are so cool, theres a guy in downtown chicago whos got a fully rallied out STi, damn is that thing sweet, ive never seen someone fly over a curb at around 45 before, damn that thing is awsome when hes flying around a turn you just see the whole body roll :evil:

 

[stinky|Dan]

I live in PErth and managed to go out to the PErth super stage in the city and party with all the Norwegians. Sooo many hot girls. They are one attractive race. I got really drunk and only saw a bit of the racing.

 

[steve45]

mcrae turns down skoda deal!!!!!
what the hell!!!!! :mumble:
i was so looking forward to seeing him back in a seat for 05, i geuss theres still time, but i highly doubt he'll get anything this late, there are still seats free but it dosnt look hopefull.


quote from a post on wrc.com forums

Former World Champion Colin McRae has admitted that talks between himself and Czech team Skoda have broken down.

The Scot, who tested a Fabia WRC at the end of October, was trying to do a deal to bring his protoge Kris Meeke a World Rally Car drive whilst participating in a limited programme himself.

German website Rallye-Magazin report the Scot as saying: "There was no suitable offer. The entire package was not what I need. Thus the thing is settled. No teams will offer a long-term contract, if in the coming year three top drivers will come on to the market," referring to the imminent withdrawal of the PSA marques and the subsequent availability of Sebstien Loeb, Marcus Gronholm and Markko Martin.

Ford, Peugeot and Skoda are expected to confirm all or part of their 2005 lineups at the end of this week.

Peugeot, most people presume, will announce Marrko Martin to partner Marcus Gronholm although there have been questions over the Estonian since Peugeot announced their plans to quit at the end of next year.

Both Skoda and Ford seem to be almost entirely open cases with only Schwarz having a confirmed contract with Skoda.

Toni Gardemeister is expected to get a full time seat with one of those two with Spaniard Daniel Sola also a possibility for both. The former Mitsubishi driver is able to bring valuable Telefonica sponsorship which both teams would find attractive.

Freddy Loix, Jani Paasonen and Harri Rovanpera are also still all on the market although Rovanpera is widely expected to be announced at Mitsubishi in the near future.

 

[ÆX]

mcrae turns down skoda deal!!!!!
what the hell!!!!! :mumble:
i was so looking forward to seeing him back in a seat for 05, i geuss theres still time, but i highly doubt he'll get anything this late, there are still seats free but it dosnt look hopefull.


quote from a post on wrc.com forums

i can't see mcrea going back to ford.

i am going to THE last SCCA rally in paris texas this weekend.

http://www.rallyengr.com/

weather in the 60's and a night stages.
should be fun. but i am sure i will wish
i was racing instead of on the side lines.

i was going to co drive for this guy but he
said it would cost $100! lol, i know i have
never COed but that is just funny.
it is not a full notes rally with recce or anything.

i will take lots o pics. and put some up.

 

[steve45]

i can't see mcrea going back to ford.

well its not completly a lost cause, i was checking up on the latest rally news and i found an artical on wrc.com
http://www.wrc.com/News.aspx?PO_ID=5451&flash=True&lang=en_GB
seems as though he is talking to them, but he's not very hopeful.
i'm not getting my hopes up anyway.

i will take lots o pics. and put some up.

excellent
sounds like lots of fun. wish i was there.