germany rally news

[EstWRC]

damn, Volver binned it on penultimate stage, was going way too fast, not the best decision from him IMO

[Jarek Z]

I think that Griebel isn´t that much better than Riedemann or Wiegand. All of them are pretty mediocre...

Really? Seeing Griebel's results in ERC last year I thought he was faster than the other German drivers. But who knows, maybe you are right.

[Mirek]

Both Wiegand and Griebel are rather good drivers. Their issue is same - they had a chance to show themselves on the international scene but they didn't manage to stay there and afterwards they struggle to get a ride here and there, most of the time without proper testing etc. Talent alone doesn't guarantee anything and except few countries it's not enough even for winning on a national level.

Let's not forget that Wiegand nearly managed to take the ERC title from Lappi and that Griebel managed to win ERC U28. Those aren't easy achievements but they are pretty impossible to achieve without properly supported and funded campaign.

[Rally Power]

Well, many time penalties were given, so the results are a little bit falsified.

Were those penalties for hitting SSS barriers?

[Essaj]

Were those penalties for hitting SSS barriers?

If I remember correctly Riedemann had 20secs from missing the TC by 2mins but others were from chicanes

[Mirek]

How is that a falsification?

[Rally Power]

How is that a falsification?

Come on Mirek. This SSS’s penalties are truly a falsification of the rally spirit. SSS’s are only a show for the public; their sport value is zero and they shouldn’t be deciding a rally result. What’s the point of going flat out on real stages and then being subject to a penalty for throwing down (sometimes by a simple touch) a fragile barrier? Will the public and the organizers be happy if drivers start to do the SSS’s in slow mode to avoid problems?

It's time to get a proper solution for this. Nowadays it's rare to have a rally (at any level) without SSS's polemic penalties. It's really ruining the sport.

[Mirek]

There could not be any SSS penalties because there was not even any SSS in the rally (except one street stage I believe but the penalties were not from that one).

Neither Dinkel nor Griebel got the penalty on SSS. Both got them on normal proper stage (onboard of that stage from 2012: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3E7BSI9KPxk ).

I don't know how it is in Germany but we have very clear rules regarding chicanes and everybody knows them. The chicanes have standard shape and also are not made of paper. To get 30 seconds penalty here in CZ You need to brake straight through (here). For moving one component of the chicane from it's base (painted on the road) You get 5 seconds. Last but not least the chicanes are not there for fun but to slow down the cars in places where there is high risk of dangerous accident or of a damage caused to the third party (typically entrances to the villages and passes through them).

[JUF]

Both Wiegand and Griebel are rather good drivers. (...) Let's not forget that Wiegand nearly managed to take the ERC title from Lappi and that Griebel managed to win ERC U28. Those aren't easy achievements but they are pretty impossible to achieve without properly supported and funded campaign.

Well, your definitively right. Maybe Wiegand would be competing in WRC today if he would have got the support he deserved.

How is that a falsification?

Not hitting chicanes and being late at TC is surely part of the game - and it should stay like that. BUT: If we´re talking about pure speed we should remove the penalties to see how fast somebody really was.

[CWJ]

Riedemans car didnt start bevore the start of the rally out of service area for at least 2mins

All leading drivers got their penalties from chicanes in proper countryside stages, not SSS. Theay were needed to take out some speed before a village and near a lake i.e.