2013 World Rally Championship - Page 8

NaBUru38 · 26 Mar 2013, 11:32 (Ref:3224928)

That's easy to say

AndyS · 12 Apr 2013, 14:01 (Ref:3232958)

Anybody following what's going on in Portugal? Ogier at the front as Ostberg has chucked it off the road while leading and Sordo now in second.

For those in the UK coverage on ITV4 next Thursday (18th April). I think it was 8pm.

**BertMk2** · 12 Apr 2013, 14:22 (Ref:3232967)

I've not been keeping up with it today - where's Latvala?

Good to see it's on ITV4 too - I'll have to remember to record that.

tbtstt · 12 Apr 2013, 14:58 (Ref:3232999)

I was rooting for Ostberg, but he does love throwing his car at the scenery!

Top 6 as of SS4:

Ogier
Sordo (+ 2.4)
Latvala (+ 11.3 on first)
Hirvonen (+ 17.1 on first)
Neuville (+ 28.1 on first)
Novikov (+ 1:08.7 on first)

AndyS · 15 Apr 2013, 07:44 (Ref:3234402)

Another win for Ogier. Looks like Latvala had mechanical issues and Hirvonen didn't have the pace to challenge. I keep waiting for the championship to burst into life this season but its not quite happening at the moment. Nobody seems to be able to get it together and have a good enough event to really give Ogier a run for his money, yet.

cg7aa · 19 Apr 2013, 08:45 (Ref:3236549)

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndyS

Another win for Ogier. Looks like Latvala had mechanical issues and Hirvonen didn't have the pace to challenge. I keep waiting for the championship to burst into life this season but its not quite happening at the moment. Nobody seems to be able to get it together and have a good enough event to really give Ogier a run for his money, yet.

I fear Ogier's points advantage may already be too big to close. Like you say, nobody seems to be able to consistently challenge him, Ostberg has to drive over the limit to keep up or beat him and that leaves him with very little room for error.

It will be interesting to see how hard Ogier goes when Loeb turns up again. As for Mirkko, I've long given up the prospect of him setting the pace.

**BertMk2** · 19 Apr 2013, 10:59 (Ref:3236596)

Quote:

Originally Posted by cg7aa

I fear Ogier's points advantage may already be too big to close. Like you say, nobody seems to be able to consistently challenge him, Ostberg has to drive over the limit to keep up or beat him and that leaves him with very little room for error.

It will be interesting to see how hard Ogier goes when Loeb turns up again. As for Mirkko, I've long given up the prospect of him setting the pace.

Agreed on Hirvonen - he just seems to lack that extra 'something' that would take him to the top of the tree, he's had chances to win the title and not taken them.

As you says Ogier seems to have it easy at the moment doesn't he? Hirvonen isn't quite there, Latvala is still too inconsistent, Ostberg is too close to the limit (and often past it), Loeb is part timing - there's just not enough of a challenge. When Loeb is back Ogier won't need to beat him - he'll be able to beat everyone else anyway and rack up the points he needs.

So that's that then - congratulations to Ogier 2013 WRC champion

Portugal highlights were on ITV4 last night - I just caught the end of it so I'll have to watch the full program on catchup.

AndyS · 22 Apr 2013, 07:52 (Ref:3237731)

Decent coverage again on ITV4 and the commentary was mercifully less cringe worthy this time!

I thought Latvala looked a lot closer to the pace until he lost 4WD. Anybody know if he will be allowed to challenge Ogier or is Ogier the outright no.1 in the team?

cg7aa · 23 Apr 2013, 11:05 (Ref:3238337)

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndyS

Decent coverage again...

It was still worth watching even if we all knew Ogier was going to be very hard to beat, the pictures were great.

chunder · 26 Apr 2013, 06:53 (Ref:3239544)

Sadly after an initial burst of interest, this has rapidly become as boring as the last 10 or so years! lol

NaBUru38 · 6 May 2013, 00:45 (Ref:3243311)

It's 21:45 here in Uruguay, and the main Fox Sports feed is showing the Rally Argentina show (60 minutes I guess). It's a decent improvement from previous years, where it was often shown in early Monday.

Fox Sports now has three feeds. I'm surprised that the WRC is still in the main.

AndyS · 9 May 2013, 07:35 (Ref:3244684)

Anybody picked up the article on the Autosport website suggesting that they are considering having the power stage as the rally decider ie: the finishing order of the power stage is the finishing order of the rally.

It is only being discussed and I can only assume that it was a throw away comment by somebody that has been picked up by the journo's and turned into a story. Not that the highly professional world of journalism would ever sensationalise of course.

Does beg the question of whats the point of having the rest of the rally, other than to set the running order of the power stage. Seems to have stemmed from them wanting a better return on their investment and looking at different ideas. Well here's one, try promoting it properly then people might watch it!

cg7aa · 9 May 2013, 09:22 (Ref:3244729)

El Condor and Mina Clavero looked impressive as always in the TV pictures, so many people in the stages!

Despite their protestations, I think the two Sebastiens drove on the rugged edge! All hell seemed to break loose on day 3 with all manner of incidents and accidents.

pettersolberg29 · 9 May 2013, 10:55 (Ref:3244767)

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndyS

Anybody picked up the article on the Autosport website suggesting that they are considering having the power stage as the rally decider ie: the finishing order of the power stage is the finishing order of the rally.

It is only being discussed and I can only assume that it was a throw away comment by somebody that has been picked up by the journo's and turned into a story. Not that the highly professional world of journalism would ever sensationalise of course.

Does beg the question of whats the point of having the rest of the rally, other than to set the running order of the power stage. Seems to have stemmed from them wanting a better return on their investment and looking at different ideas. Well here's one, try promoting it properly then people might watch it!

While a ludicrous proposal, that's not quite what they're saying. It would decide whether you finish 9th/10th, 7th/8th etc in shootouts. Still a crazy idea, but not quite as crazy as letting it decide the complete top 10 order!

AndyS · 9 May 2013, 11:54 (Ref:3244792)

Quote:

Originally Posted by pettersolberg29

While a ludicrous proposal, that's not quite what they're saying. It would decide whether you finish 9th/10th, 7th/8th etc in shootouts. Still a crazy idea, but not quite as crazy as letting it decide the complete top 10 order!

Ah yes, I only skim read it, should have looked more closely. Still seems a daft idea though.

AndyS · 9 May 2013, 11:57 (Ref:3244793)

Quote:

Originally Posted by cg7aa

El Condor and Mina Clavero looked impressive as always in the TV pictures, so many people in the stages!

Despite their protestations, I think the two Sebastiens drove on the rugged edge!

Its such a shame we are not going to see them go head to head over the next couple of seasons, it would have been intriguing and could have been just what the WRC needed.

pettersolberg29 · 9 May 2013, 15:24 (Ref:3244869)

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndyS

Its such a shame we are not going to see them go head to head over the next couple of seasons, it would have been intriguing and could have been just what the WRC needed.

Agreed. Loeb may not be at his best anymore but him and Ogier are undoubtedly in a class of their own even now. Across a whole season it'd be fascinating - money would be on Loeb I still think due to his asphalt pace.

NaBUru38 · 9 May 2013, 17:18 (Ref:3244910)

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndyS

Anybody picked up the article on the Autosport website suggesting that they are considering having the power stage as the rally decider

I can only assume that it was a throw away comment by somebody that has been picked up by the journo's and turned into a story. Not that the highly professional world of journalism would ever sensationalise of course.

I don't consider the Autosport website to publish rubbish. People often discuss ideas - some get done and some aren't.

"The potential for the powerstage element of a WRC round being used to decide who wins a rally will be discussed by the WRC Commission later this month." - I don't doubt that fact.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndyS

Seems to have stemmed from them wanting a better return on their investment and looking at different ideas. Well here's one, try promoting it properly then people might watch it!

Well, they world has changed. Red Bull is running this stuff, and their target market isn't suited to actual rallying. They would love a new race format. Rallying, like endurance racing, is a niche. The World Rally Championship is meant for the masses, and they are trying to achieve that.

Having said that, the proposal sounds terribly stupid. For 2-minute main races, there's rallycross and off-road trucks. Rallying is about surviving tough road stages for days, or even weeks.

I wouldn't mind having a separate championship, be it power stage or rallycross. They even can have a single resuts table. But that can't mix rally wins with the other stuff. Plus, I hate having multiple winners in a weekend. They should do the other way around: have a special format on Thursday or Friday, and after that the regular rally stages.

AndyS · 10 May 2013, 07:39 (Ref:3245178)

Quote:

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

I don't consider the Autosport website to publish rubbish. People often discuss ideas - some get done and some aren't.

"The potential for the powerstage element of a WRC round being used to decide who wins a rally will be discussed by the WRC Commission later this month." - I don't doubt that fact.

Well, they world has changed. Red Bull is running this stuff, and their target market isn't suited to actual rallying. They would love a new race format. Rallying, like endurance racing, is a niche. The World Rally Championship is meant for the masses, and they are trying to achieve that.

Having said that, the proposal sounds terribly stupid. For 2-minute main races, there's rallycross and off-road trucks. Rallying is about surviving tough road stages for days, or even weeks.

Well, with what we've seen in the UK in the last year or two with the profession of journalism, you'll have to excuse my cynicism. As to Autosport, well as a regular reader over the years, they don't always get it right. Further comment that I am seeing though tends to suggest they have got it right this time.

I've been around long enough to remember when WRC used to be as big as F1. It was simple really, good TV exposure, top drivers going head to head, longer events which reached more spectators and no gimmicks.

Anyway, I'll stop moaning now

. Finished watching the coverage of Argentina last night and it really is a fantastic event. Great stages and huge crowds and some really good action. They are doing something right

.

tbtstt · 10 May 2013, 11:20 (Ref:3245302)

Finished catching up on the weekends motorsport last night! Have to say, although seeing Ogier dominate is as boring as watching Loeb dominate, I was hoping Ogeir would win this time out.

If Ogier beats Loeb on the occasions they race together this year then, when Ogier takes the WRC title this year, it will seem like he has really earned it rather than winning it purely because Loeb isn't running a full season.

Enjoyed the ITV4 coverage though!

cg7aa · 8 Jun 2013, 11:55 (Ref:3259312)

It looks like I'm not the only one who missed the Acropolis then!

Not wanting to sound like a stuck record regarding the state of the WRC in terms of people's awareness but if people like me who follow a wide range of motorsports and could tell you which rally was on at which time of the year a decade or so ago without having to refer to a calendar are completely unaware of events coming and going (with the exception of the Monte and Finland possibly), then the promoters (I presume there is one!) have an almighty task on their hands!

Anyway, I just saw the highlights, I won't mention the results incase anyone cares! Nice TV pictures as we've come to expect this year although I wish they would stop 'trailing ahead' before advert breaks, spoils it a little bit when you can identify who just rolled over!

Looks like there were a few protests are the event too. http://www.wrc.com/news/archive/vw-s...sts/?fid=18643

**BertMk2** · 8 Jun 2013, 15:26 (Ref:3259377)

Quote:

Originally Posted by cg7aa

It looks like I'm not the only one who missed the Acropolis then!
...
Anyway, I just saw the highlights, I won't mention the results incase anyone cares! Nice TV pictures as we've come to expect this year although I wish they would stop 'trailing ahead' before advert breaks, spoils it a little bit when you can identify who just rolled over!

I've been catching every event on the highlights so far this season, I've not really kept up to date as they've been happening. The highlights show is on series link (as are plenty of other motorsports on channel 4 and itv

) and I just watch whatever is sat on there unwatched whenever I get the chance.

The protests are a bit odd - sounds like VW stick an extra battery on the car overnight in parc ferme. I'm surprised they're allowed to do that to be honest.

NaBUru38 · 1 Aug 2013, 11:50 (Ref:3284623)

Tomorrow is the Rally Finland first day of racing.

WRC entries include Mikkelsen (VW), Meeke (Citroën), PG Andersson (Ford) and Hänninen (Ford). Al Attiyah and Bouffier are missing.

In WRC-2, Hayden Paddon will run a Skoda and Robert Kubica a Citroën.

AndyS · 1 Aug 2013, 12:15 (Ref:3284636)

One of the best events of the year. Loved the on board they did from Hirvonen's front grill last year. About five minutes of a very fast stage with no other sound except the engine and road noise, boy did it look fast.

kober · 1 Aug 2013, 17:24 (Ref:3284736)

Very close times, as usual in Finland. Shame that Latvala went out that soon. And the misfortune of Hirvonen on SS5 most likely took him out of the contention.

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