2024 Rallying

[tbtstt]

Originally Posted by Tel 911S

Found a program on TV last night called Sport Stuff TV .

Sporty Stuff has quite a bit of rally on it (and occasionally rallycross as well). Often on at odds hours, but worth a search every few weeks to see if there is anything worth recording on there.

Good weekend for M-Sport; Fiestas on top in West Cork and North Wales.

[AndyS]

Originally Posted by tbtstt

Sporty Stuff has quite a bit of rally on it (and occasionally rallycross as well). Often on at odds hours, but worth a search every few weeks to see if there is anything worth recording on there.

Good weekend for M-Sport; Fiestas on top in West Cork and North Wales.

Sporty Stuff? Not heard of that. Is it available anywhere on Sky? Sounds worth a look.

On another note, I was in the lakes the other weekend while the Malcolm Wilson was ongoing. It was a weekend away with Mrs AndyS so no chance of getting stage side, but saw plenty of cars moving around. Spent an enjoyable hour eating lunch in Ambleside, where I managed to position her so I could watch all the cars passing by outside!

[Tel 911S]

Originally Posted by AndyS

Sporty Stuff? Not heard of that. Is it available anywhere on Sky? Sounds worth a look.

On another note, I was in the lakes the other weekend while the Malcolm Wilson was ongoing. It was a weekend away with Mrs AndyS so no chance of getting stage side, but saw plenty of cars moving around. Spent an enjoyable hour eating lunch in Ambleside, where I managed to position her so I could watch all the cars passing by outside!

Hadnt heard of it until the other day , but it does have a bit of rallying on .
427 on Sky , 271 on Freeview , 250 on Freesat

[NaBUru38]

Bad news for you: Sporty Stuff TV will shut down in two weeks.

[Tel 911S]

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

Bad news for you: Sporty Stuff TV will shut down in two weeks.

Difficult to know . Here is another news item that says it will keep going.

https://greyhoundstar.co.uk/press-re...orty-stuff-tv/

[AndyS]

Originally Posted by Tel 911S

Hadnt heard of it until the other day , but it does have a bit of rallying on .
427 on Sky , 271 on Freeview , 250 on Freesat

Thanks. I'll give a whirl, if it lasts!

[BertMk2]

I caught up with the Rally Kenya coverage last night - whilst it's not the marathon event it once was it's certainly still a challenge and very different to other events on the calendar. There have been some superb photos coming out over the weekend, love seeing the shots of the cars in the landscape

Rovanpera seemed to be driving on "easy" mode and everyone else had it set to "hard" - he avoided trouble and had good pace throughout. Odd that Toyota didn't tell him to back off in the powerstage though so Evans could get more points given that Evans is their best hope for the championship this season. Good result for Katsuta - he seems to go well in Kenya, he had speed all weekend and managed to avoid any major dramas.

A good result again for Formeaux as well, it looks like he and M-Sport are picking up some good results with tactical driving. Formeaux certainly didn't look to be pushing as hard as some of the others but he stayed out of trouble.

Dreadful for Hyundai really (even though thanks to the points system Neuville came out of it ok). Lappi had no luck at all - broken transmission twice and multiple bird strikes to the windscreen that got glass in his eyes. Tanak and Neuville both with suspension damage after hitting rocks and multiple hybrid problems across the cars as well. Was it Neuville that only had 2wd at one point as well? (I can't remember which driver that was). It looks like the Hyundai is still "fast but fragile" - they really need to get on top of the reliability.

WRC2 was a Skoda lockout on the podium, a relatively comfortable win for Greensmith after Solbergs early punctures dropped him back.

[AndyS]

Anybody watch the Rally Poland coverage? Epic speeds and a great battle. Such a shame for Tanak. If I heard him correctly he hit a deer! He really looked on it.

Some debut by Sesks. Seems a bit of a character as well.

Problems with spectators caused a stage to be cancelled. Seem to recall this being an issue in Poland before. May have even be cited as a reason that they stopped going there. May have imagined that though.

[BertMk2]

I saw bits and pieces of the coverage - the stages looked really good but there did seem to be a lot of spectator problems, they really need to get on top of that. Tanak did indeed hit a deer, he really doesn't have much luck does he? Agree that Sesks performed very well - and he didn't have the hybrid component on his car.

[tbtstt]

Originally Posted by AndyS

Such a shame for Tanak. If I heard him correctly he hit a deer! He really looked on it.

Of the Hyundai drivers I massively favour Tanak over Neuville... but I am still hoping Evans can make this his year!

Originally Posted by AndyS

Some debut by Sesks. Seems a bit of a character as well.

Fantastic debut I thought especially - as said by Bert - he was running without hybrid power.

Originally Posted by AndyS

Problems with spectators caused a stage to be cancelled.

Multiple stages were cancelled...

Originally Posted by AndyS

Seem to recall this being an issue in Poland before. May have even be cited as a reason that they stopped going there. May have imagined that though.

...and yeah, it was an issue in the past. I haven't looked to confirm, but I was chatting to a mate and he reckoned that Poland had only won it back for a single year. Be surprised to see them get another round soon based on the frustration from the drivers/teams.

[Tel 911S]

Watched some of WRC Latvia on TV the other night .
I believe it is the first time it has run there .
Nearly all loose surface stages but very, very fast .
I have rallied over a lot of European countries , but those stages were some of the fastest I have seen . At those speeds there is not a lot of space for any slight errors .
Worth a watch if you can find a video of it .

[Tel 911S]

Originally Posted by Tel 911S

Watched some of WRC Latvia on TV the other night .
I believe it is the first time it has run there .
Nearly all loose surface stages but very, very fast .
I have rallied over a lot of European countries , but those stages were some of the fastest I have seen . At those speeds there is not a lot of space for any slight errors .
Worth a watch if you can find a video of it .

Found a bit of video of it .https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoLPiqWL8_g

The TV one I saw had some coverage from a Helicopter following the cars , and they were really going quick .

[E.B]

Originally Posted by Tel 911S

Watched some of WRC Latvia on TV the other night .
I believe it is the first time it has run there .
Nearly all loose surface stages but very, very fast .
I have rallied over a lot of European countries , but those stages were some of the fastest I have seen . At those speeds there is not a lot of space for any slight errors .
Worth a watch if you can find a video of it .

Funny you should mention it. I was watching some of it on TV last night.... Stage 12 . As you say all loose, plenty of dust and insanely fast. I saw on the on screen telemetry Neuville hit 196kph

The onboard stuff was nuts. As you say, well worth a watch .

[NaBUru38]

Originally Posted by Tel 911S

Nearly all loose surface stages but very, very fast

I have rallied over a lot of European countries , but those stages were some of the fastest I have seen . At those speeds there is not a lot of space for any slight errors

In fact the WRC is testing "virtual chicanes"...

https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/wrc-v...ixed-reaction/

[FIRE]

Lancia is back in rally:

Lancia Ypsilon Rally 4 HF





FWD with 1.2L turbo engine with 212 bhp.
(same car as Opel Corsa Rally4)

[ArnageWRC]

Yeah. It's basically the same car as the other Stellantis R4 cars......

[BertMk2]

Originally Posted by ArnageWRC

Yeah. It's basically the same car as the other Stellantis R4 cars......

Works for me adds a bit more variety which can only be a good thing.

Still a very disappointing Lancia in road form though

[FIRE]

Originally Posted by BertMk2

Works for me adds a bit more variety which can only be a good thing.

Still a very disappointing Lancia in road form though

I prefer 1 Opel, 1 Peugeot and 1 Lancia over 3 Opels.

[AndyS]

As others have said, not the most exciting Lancia I've ever seen.

On another note, I caught up on the Acropolis coverage this weekend. Yikes, that was a rough rally! It looks increasingly like Neuville's title to lose.

Going off on another tangent, I also watched the highlights of Rally Ceredigion (no idea if I've spelt that right) or the British Championship part of it at least. Set up the last round really nicely with all to play for.

I was a bit sceptical about an international rally in this country not in the forests, but I was pleasantly surprised. Looked like a really good event. Hope they can at least keep the European Championship round status. Would still prefer international rallying in the forests though.

[ArnageWRC]

Yeah, almost; Rali - it is a Welsh (should that be Cymraeg??) event.

Considering the event has only been running since, 2019, they've done a marvellous job - and possibly unfairly, highlights how poorly some UK events have been run. It's 2024, not 2004.

The finance required is a lot less for a ERC round, so it's fine as it is - and one hopes it grows even more, and becomes a permament fixture in the ERC.

I think Autosport did a feature on it possibly stepping up to the WRC, but really, the WRC is not worth the huge money required; 2.5 manufacturers ( soon to be less) - no thanks!!

[BertMk2]

Rally Japan certainly provided some action!

Neuville had car problems on Friday and it looked like Tanak might be able to snatch the drivers title whilst Hyundai seemed odds on to take the constructors title. On the final day however Tanak binned his car - gifting the drivers title to Neuville and allowing Toyota to snatch the constructors title with a 1-2 finish. So finally after being second 5 times Neuville wins a title - with the part seasons for both Ogier and Rovanpera it was his (and Evans') best shot at winning, now that he's finally done it can he repeat? Has Evans missed his chance? Will he get a better chance than this year?

I'd imagine there will be an investigation by the FIA as well after a stage was cancelled due to an unauthorised vehicle driving the wrong way down the stage

[justracing]

Good summary Bert. that was some finale. Great to see Evans get the win and to come down to the last stage for the manufacturers title with the top guys let loose was sensational. Tanak going off was a real game changer and to add insult Heikki Kovalainen ended up on top of Tanak's car in the ditch as well. Thierry no longer the bridesmaid with a deserved win showed good consistency over the season.

[tbtstt]

Definitely a dramatic end to the season! I don't dislike Neuville, but I just don't see him as a deserving Champion. Still, he has led the entire season, so perhaps I need to adjust my views on him (I don't think he'll ever win another title though).

Superb push from Tanak at the end, but then a bit too much of a push Sunday morning. Must have been a few heads hanging low at Hyundai on Sunday afternoon as the manufacturers title slipped away from them.

Good win for Evans but, considering the whole season, it was a shame not to see him closer to the sharp end throughout. Second certainly isn't anything to be sniffed at though.

Sami Pajari wins WRC2 and has confirmed he will no longer be driving with Enni Mälkönen next year... but he will be driving full time in a Rally1 Yaris. Four full time drivers for Toyota next year with a fifth part-time car for Ogier.

[BertMk2]

Originally Posted by justracing

Thierry no longer the bridesmaid with a deserved win showed good consistency over the season.

Originally Posted by tbtstt

Definitely a dramatic end to the season! I don't dislike Neuville, but I just don't see him as a deserving Champion. Still, he has led the entire season, so perhaps I need to adjust my views on him (I don't think he'll ever win another title though).

I think Thierry understood at the start of the season that this was his best shot at a title - he's driven consistently throughout the season and picked up points rather than risk it all for a win. I agree though - I don't think he'll win another, he's good not great.

Originally Posted by tbtstt

Superb push from Tanak at the end, but then a bit too much of a push Sunday morning. Must have been a few heads hanging low at Hyundai on Sunday afternoon as the manufacturers title slipped away from them.

In all of the interviews on Friday and Saturday Tanak was very much "focusing on the teams title". Then he binned it on Sunday and that very much lost Hyundai the title - Neuville was already dropping points to Toyota thanks to the car problems on Friday so it was very much on Tanak to bring it home, a big, very costly mistake.

Originally Posted by tbtstt

Good win for Evans but, considering the whole season, it was a shame not to see him closer to the sharp end throughout. Second certainly isn't anything to be sniffed at though.

I think this season was Evans' best chance at a title - very much in the same position as Neuville. Will he get a better chance?

Originally Posted by tbtstt

Sami Pajari wins WRC2 and has confirmed he will no longer be driving with Enni Mälkönen next year... but he will be driving full time in a Rally1 Yaris. Four full time drivers for Toyota next year with a fifth part-time car for Ogier.

I hadn't seen the lineup announced anywhere - 2025 thread coming up!

[flatlandsman]

I think the thig with Neuville is, that he has showed pace for a very long time without the consistency and the endless silly mistakes, it seems to have taken h9im about 10 years to realise that you have to take a 4th or 5th sometimes aswell. He has not got the sheer pace of Kalle or one or two mothers.

I doubt many drivers would be given as long, and he seems ingrained at Hyundai, unlike others.