Cyprus Rally 2009 - official thread

[RS]

But the Juniors and Production drivers are allready handicapped by their cars, aren't they????

So to all the people who whinge about S2000, just put those cars on proper tyres and they will be faster than WRCs anyway.

[Sarac330d]

You must not forget that Sandell is not very good on tarmac, i think today he is trying to survive. Rally Cyprus for Sandell starts tomorrow when they switch on gravel. I think he will be fastest in PWRC tomorrow and he will chase Araujo and overtake him!

[Sturla]

Maybe Loeb should drive on slicks tomorrow, only way other drivers could beat him...

[VFTS]

You must not forget that Sandell is not very good on tarmac, i think today he is trying to survive. Rally Cyprus for Sandell starts tomorrow when they switch on gravel. I think he will be fastest in PWRC tomorrow and he will chase Araujo and overtake him!

Totally agree.....but Araujo is also fast on gravel.

[Salist]

What happend Henning?

[Sarac330d]

On stage three the Juniors are seeming to be strugling as well, because they are loosing a lot of time on this one.

Stage 3 is probably full of dirty tarmac, with to many gravel sand and stones!

[wwbroe]

What happend Henning?

He had accident on liaison to first stage. He had collision with Toyota Pickup. :(

[wwbroe]

Stage 3 is probably full of dirty tarmac, with to many gravel sand and stones!

Yes, that is what i was thinking also. ;)

[wwbroe]

Prokop is slower as Sandell on this stage for the first time, so probably a lot of dirt on the road indeed.

[Sarac330d]

Totally agree.....but Araujo is also fast on gravel.


I think Rally Cyprus will be interesting at least in PWRC starting from tomorrow! :-)

[Tom206wrc]

I think they have a good idea here. They should make it permanent solution. So on tarmac WRC cars on gravel tyres and PWRC / JWRC on tarmac tyres. Then on Gravel, WRC cars on tarmac tyres and PWRC / JWRC on gravel tyres...



Pwrc on tarmac tyres too :confused:

Looks too weird an S2000 is so off pace to S1600s on that terrain :mark:

Or perhaps lacks of experience for Sandell who drive (too) cautiously :confused:

[wwbroe]

Prokop now falling back to twelfth place overall, so a little bit more normal place compared to WRC's. Now we have two and half hour brake, so time for dinner. ;)

[wwbroe]

Pwrc on tarmac tyres too :confused:

Looks too weird an S2000 is so off pace to S1600s on that terrain :mark:

Or perhaps lacks of experience for Sandell who drive (too) cautiously :confused:

PWRC is not on asfalt tires Tom, only JWRC is on them, and that are only three cars. :p

[wwbroe]

Cosziuscko is loosing about two minutes compared to Prokop, so Prokop allready a lot in front of his two contenders.

[Tom206wrc]

You must not forget that Sandell is not very good on tarmac, i think today he is trying to survive. Rally Cyprus for Sandell starts tomorrow when they switch on gravel. I think he will be fastest in PWRC tomorrow and he will chase Araujo and overtake him!


Or he will break the Skoda :p :

[WRC1]

Cosziuscko is loosing about two minutes compared to Prokop, so Prokop allready a lot in front of his two contenders.

huge gap already between jwrc driver..prokop 2,25 in front of kosciuszko and 5,11 in front of burkhart...

and that after 3 stages

all intersesting left is battle for pwrc win and hirvonen-latvala for place 3

have a nice meal

[Salist]

He had accident on liaison to first stage. He had collision with Toyota Pickup. :(

Thanks wwbroe. :(

[Salist]

He had accident on liaison to first stage. He had collision with Toyota Pickup. :(

He can starting tomorrow?

[Mirek]

Prokop now falling back to twelfth place overall, so a little bit more normal place compared to WRC's. Now we have two and half hour brake, so time for dinner. ;)

He went in a ditch, he would be faster...

Anyway, those first two stages are crazy commedy, not rally world rally championship to me...

[WRC1]

Or he will break the Skoda :p :

this is not easy!! belive me, i drive skoda since 8 years!

[jonas_mcrae]

woke up this morning "oh yeah cyprus is on today its gonna be exciting with all those tarmac-gravel stages!" NOT
They should cancel the whole champonship and just do Finland and New Zealand... (perhaps Australia)
Even Brazil IRC with so few entries was way more exciting!

Though I guess I could still hand in my homework on time!

[VFTS]

woke up this morning "oh yeah cyprus is on today its gonna be exciting with all those tarmac-gravel stages!" NOT
They should cancel the whole champonship and just do Finland and New Zealand... (perhaps Australia)
Even Brazil IRC with so few entries was way more exciting!

Though I guess I could still hand in my homework on time!


Rally Norway was a nice event with close fights in three days.

[jonas_mcrae]

Rally Norway was a nice event with close fights in three days.

Your totally right Sir. Championship should be Norway-Portugal(just because of Marcus)-Finland-Australia-GB

although we would be missing tarmac... oh well everyone should've done IRC Montercarlo as a bonus!

[I am evil Homer]

He had accident on liaison to first stage. He had collision with Toyota Pickup. :(

Was Conrad driving that too?!?!?

[teufel]

Was Conrad driving that too?!?!?

:D :D :D

[Rally Hokkaido]

Any information on the Steward's decisions against the two local drivers?
One driver received a 56 minute penalty - I've never heard of such an extreme case! I assume it is related to recce rules infringements.

[bennizw]

Booooring rally..

[ProRally]

Any information on the Steward's decisions against the two local drivers?
One driver received a 56 minute penalty - I've never heard of such an extreme case! I assume it is related to recce rules infringements.

Hi RH,
You mean 5 min penalty.
There are 2 stewards decisions on the board and both 5min

[Micke_VOC]

He can starting tomorrow?

Pic of Hennings car from http://patriksandell.blogspot.com/

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sl_xgWOeR6M/Sbo9Mjj8Q3I/AAAAAAAABEA/a7YpWXR6xns/s1600/image-upload-29-729983.jpg

[Doon]

woke up this morning "oh yeah cyprus is on today its gonna be exciting with all those tarmac-gravel stages!" NOT
They should cancel the whole champonship and just do Finland and New Zealand... (perhaps Australia)
Even Brazil IRC with so few entries was way more exciting!

Though I guess I could still hand in my homework on time!

I've followed the WRC for a good 12 years or so, and nothing gets me more excited than rallying.....but in the last few years it really has gone gash!!

I hate to say it, but I totally agree, the championship should never started. Its dull, teams are wasting money and the privateers even more so. The entry lists are terrible, the quality of drivers at the top is poor and 2 cars (Focus & C4) doesn't really make for a battle does it?!

I just hope you're right and Finland has a good entry, with a great battle, and possibly a few suprises! A sign of how perdictable the WRC has become is the fact that I am 7th in the Pickems standings.... ;)

[wwbroe]

Second run trough the stages of this morning, will start in approx 5 minutes. ;)

[Iskald]

I've followed the WRC for a good 12 years or so, and nothing gets me more excited than rallying.....but in the last few years it really has gone gash!!

I hate to say it, but I totally agree, the championship should never started. Its dull, teams are wasting money and the privateers even more so. The entry lists are terrible, the quality of drivers at the top is poor and 2 cars (Focus & C4) doesn't really make for a battle does it?!


Norway was good, and that shows that some of the rallies can still be interesting to follow this year. But today, in Cyprus, it`s as exciting as watching paint dry and grass grow...

But, do you really mean that the "quality of drivers at the top is poor"? So Loeb, Hirvonen, Latvala, Sordo, P. Solberg, H. Solberg, Novikov and Ogier are bad drivers? You can`t seriously mean that? Or do you mean that the depth of quality in the entrylist is low, with so few WRC-drivers taking part?

[wwbroe]

Hirvonen faster as Loeb on first split :rolleyes:

[noel157]

Second run trough the stages of this morning, will start in approx 5 minutes. ;)

Can someone ring rally radio and tell them?

[wwbroe]

Can someone ring rally radio and tell them?

They are still taking dinner. :D Hirvonen is also faster on second split. ;)

[noel157]

They are still taking dinner. :D Hirvonen is also faster on second split. ;)

Stage has to be dirty?
Edit - 3rd spilt, back to normal.

[bluuford]

you can see that loeb had great advantage on first pass. He is already 12 sek slower on third split than he was in the morning. Road is dirty now

[WRC1]

They are still taking dinner. :D Hirvonen is also faster on second split. ;)

and lost 2,5 on 3rd split...

[wwbroe]

Ogier is loosing ten se'conds on first split, must have made a mistake i guess. :(

[muscrae]

Petter is fast...

[wwbroe]

you can see that loeb had great advantage on first pass. He is already 12 sek slower on third split than he was in the morning. Road is dirty now

You are right, but it seems he is keeping up with times from first run, because he is now only 6 sec behind his pace of this morning. ;)

[muscrae]

Seb chose used tyres again in the front.. That's a gamble I think, as they are more inclined to punctures..

[wwbroe]

Loeb is saying at the end of the stage that he was sleeping a little bit at the beginning of the stage, but he woke up in time and opened the gap again. :rolleyes:

[Buzz Lightyear]

Question : Is Matthew Wilson the worst ever driver in WRC?

Warmbold was bad, be at least he had the sense to quit. This performance woooooooooooooooful.

[jonas_mcrae]

arent Loeb's "slick" tires kind of missing the whole point of running these stages on tarmac? I mean suing these tyres and with the setup they have (low and hard) he is basically driving a tarmac car.
I know its not cheating or anything, (citroen guys are just smarter) but still it sucks for all the others

[muscrae]

Question : Is Matthew Wilson the worst ever driver in WRC?

Answer: No, it's absolutely Rautencrash :)

[muscrae]

Ogier: stop on the start line and a spin within the stage...

[wwbroe]

Rain is falling in stage 6. :D

[jonkka]

:eek:

[MikeD]

Question : Is Matthew Wilson the worst ever driver in WRC?

Without a doubt! It's so embarresing that they don't give the Stobart seat to a driver with talent (Wilks or even Meeke)

[MikeD]

Great time from Petter. Really impressive :up: Would be great if he can end up beating all the Junior Citroën drivers in their C4's...

[muscrae]

Novikov has damage on the front of the car - of f road... No problem, though..

[big_sw2000]

Question : Is Matthew Wilson the worst ever driver in WRC?

Warmbold was bad, be at least he had the sense to quit. This performance woooooooooooooooful.
Yes Daddys little boy, give the drive to Meeke

[wwbroe]

Does anybody know what happened with Rautencrash, because i never saw him in stagetimes :confused:

Edit: sorry my mistake, i see him now.

[WRC1]

Answer: No, it's absolutely Rautencrash :)

no! it IS definitly wilson! ok he had good performance in norway, but if you consider that he is doing his 4th full season in full spec works car....than the answer can only be matthew wilson.

[muscrae]

no! it IS definitly wilson! ok he had good performance in norway, but if you consider that he is doing his 4th full season in full spec works car....than the answer can only be matthew wilson.

Yeah, you got point there, with such a long long involvement in the sport... But I'm still obssessed with Rautencrash, sometimes heading the news as Rautenflash :p

[rsmith16]

Yes Daddys little boy, give the drive to Meeke

And who will give Meeke the money to get the drive?

[wwbroe]

Really bad time for Miko again on stage 5. :( Lead of Loeb almost a full minute now.

[Mirek]

WRC a PWRC cars on gravel tyres are cutting very much and juniors have problem on the gravel and rocks...

Kosciuszko's tyres after SS3

http://www.ewrc.cz/images/2009/kypr/denicek/denicek4-kocicak_gumy.jpg

[WRC1]

according to sandell and araujo it starts to rain on stage 5!

will be interseting if this effects also the results on stage6

[wwbroe]

Hirvonen beating Loeb by 2.5 sec on split 3 of last stage. ;)

[jonkka]

Loeb's got enough lead to take it easy... and maybe he is 'cause Mikko is so close (or faster) at splits

[chryby]

weather on ss6:
http://www.rally-mania.cz/index.php?vypisVse=detail&startpos=0&id=6834

[MikeD]

And who will give Meeke the money to get the drive?

It's Stobart money that decides, and they should really use their great sponsohip to get a greater value for money. Wilslow is only making people shake their heads in disbelief.

[JRodrigues]

Loeb's got enough lead to take it easy... and maybe he is 'cause Mikko is so close (or faster) at splits

Or maybe it started raining between split 2 & 5.

[Finni]

Great time from Petter. Really impressive :up: Would be great if he can end up beating all the Junior Citroën drivers in their C4's...

soo fantastic?? You had low expectations.

I would be fantastic if Petter would beat Hirvonen, Sordo and Latvala.

However two last stages he was quite on the pace of Hirvonen etc.

[WRC1]

loeb is again playing cat and mouse with mikko....

i think the challenge is to get exactly 1 minute advantage...

edit: mission failed by 2 tenth of a second...

[MJW]

If this was a boxing match the referee would step in to stop the pounding that Loeb is giving the Ford boys. I hope Seb wins all 12 events - I can not see anyone stopping him.

[MikeD]

Impressive times from Novikov on SS6.

[J.Lindstroem]

Without a doubt! It's so embarresing that they don't give the Stobart seat to a driver with talent (Wilks or even Meeke)

Yes i also think that it is a little embarresing that it's so obvious that he got the seat because of his father... my good. Anybody else could have that seat.

But then again, maybe without him, there whould not be a Stobart team!

[COD]

WRC is in a disgraceful state. 1-3 over 1min after day one and gets worse after that.
Hirvonen should by now shut his mouth about challengin Loeb and be realistic. He is at best a good no.2 driver for a team.

[MikeD]

But then again, maybe without him, there whould not be a Stobart team!

I doubt that. After all, Stobart must be interested in getting the best value from their sponsorship - they are after all a business company. What i fear is that their 5-year commitment don't allow them to replace Wilslow - and maybe Daddy W convinced them that he would develop as a driver. But that for sure didn't happen...

If we get WRC full of S2000 cars, then Wilslow will score 1-2 points in the entire season - maks!

[WRC1]

jwrc drivers loosing a lot time on stage 6 compared to stage 3, it seems it is already gravel surface for most of the stage

[Mirek]

SS3 was dry and SS6 is wet ;)

[WRC1]

]SS3 was dry and SS6 is wet ;)

yes, sure, but this was the same for pwrc also? No?

ss3 araujo 22:46,6
sandell 23:04,0
prokop 23:05,1

ss6 araujo 22:59,4
sandell 23:05,1
prokop 24:13,5

[dimviii]

wrc1 that he want to tell you is that in wet tarmac 2wd will loose more than a 4wd.

[Mirek]

PWRC have 4WD ;)

EDIT: Dimviii was faster :)

[J.Lindstroem]

WRC is in a disgraceful state. 1-3 over 1min after day one and gets worse after that.
Hirvonen should by now shut his mouth about challengin Loeb and be realistic. He is at best a good no.2 driver for a team.

Sadly i agree with you. Hirvonens job is to meat Loeb, and he cant do it. He can't even beat Sordo...

Who do you think should be the no1 driver?

[Finni]

I doubt that. After all, Stobart must be interested in getting the best value from their sponsorship - they are after all a business company. What i fear is that their 5-year commitment don't allow them to replace Wilslow - and maybe Daddy W convinced them that he would develop as a driver.

I will boycot Stobart due to this plain stupidness.

[A.F.F.]

Wow... having worked all day, it's nice to notice I haven't missed a thing. Seem to be a very exiting rally....*yawn*

[WRC1]

wrc1 that he want to tell you is that in wet tarmac 2wd will loose more than a 4wd.


but in my opinion the main reason was that there was no more tarmac left, the jwrc drivers complained about theire tarmac tires in the afternoon, so i think they lost so much time because of tarmac tires on wet gravel...

[tolis]

Wow... having worked all day, it's nice to notice I haven't missed a thing. Seem to be a very exiting rally....*yawn*

+1000 ;) ;)

[AndyRAC]

Wow... having worked all day, it's nice to notice I haven't missed a thing. Seem to be a very exiting rally....*yawn*

And how sad is that?
This could/should be a great Championship - how has it been allowed to turn like this? It's just a non-event - which is a shame for a lot of people who I'm sure work really hard.

[I am evil Homer]

I imagine Loeb feels the same....might be nice to at least be challenged just to test yourself. He's toying with people right now...if he's behind on a split he has that edge to make it up again. That's the sign of greatness rather than meerely being quite good!

[bluuford]

I think you all are going to eat your words when Latvala wins all the stages tomorrow and leads by 30 seconds :-)

[shaitan]

I think you all are going to eat your words when Latvala wins all the stages tomorrow and leads by 30 seconds :-)
yeah,he can do it tomorrow ,and then off the road.

[bluuford]

yeah,he can do it tomorrow ,and then off the road.

I didnt say anything about Sunday :-)

[shaitan]

WRC is in a disgraceful state. 1-3 over 1min after day one and gets worse after that.
Hirvonen should by now shut his mouth about challengin Loeb and be realistic. He is at best a good no.2 driver for a team.
things like petter have done before."I'll win 10 rally this year"

[shaitan]

I didnt say anything about Sunday :-)
we will see and your favor boy can not beat loeb for now.maybe loeb retired.

[pavlos_a]

I think you all are going to eat your words when Latvala wins all the stages tomorrow and leads by 30 seconds :-)

Latvala might be faster if the roads are dry ( so may be Hirvonen) but to gain one and a half minute is impossible. I hope for tommorow the fords to be competitive. Best scenario is to close the gap to 20 seconds and use road position to gain more time for a sunday fight.......

[Salist]

Photos from the 1st day?

[playmo]

Hello everyone!
An exciting event!, right?
Seriously, it can't get worst than this....
Except for the juniors, altough i don't follow that much nowdays.
Cheers, and hold on, some day all of this mess will be turn over (don't ask me when, i've been hearing this for quite a while now that i'm begining to believe it...).

[A.F.F.]

And how sad is that?
This could/should be a great Championship - how has it been allowed to turn like this?


The rules preventing more drivers. Too few seats. That's the main reason.

[big_sw2000]

I think you all are going to eat your words when Latvala wins all the stages tomorrow and leads by 30 seconds :-)
You maybe right

[savvas]

I think you all are going to eat your words when Latvala wins all the stages tomorrow and leads by 30 seconds :-)

Unfortunately that is not possible.

it's raining cats and dogs in the region right now so trw the stages will not be as dry as ford would have hoped.

Loeb is in a different league

[Salist]

A video from 1st day:
http://www.rallyvidea.com/?ref=1&id=8&video=2009/Cyprus_Rally_2009_day1_HQ_eWRC_MravenecZ.wmv

[AndyRAC]

The rules preventing more drivers. Too few seats. That's the main reason.

Well that was at the end of 2003, Mitsubishi, Peugeot, Skoda all pulled out in 2005. The alarm bells were ringing then. That was when something should have been done - it's now 2009, and still the rules and regs are still in the air - especially the silly 'Winter season' idea.

[Donney]

If it rains so much, I'm afraid will see some stages cancelled tomorrow. Adding more boredom to the whole event.

[Woodeye]

The rules preventing more drivers. Too few seats. That's the main reason.

That was the reason maybe 3 years back.

At the moment no manufacturer, exept Citroen apparenty, could afford more than 2 drivers. And anyway, I just can't understand why even Ford and Citroen put their money to WRC as it is now.

I mean, if we as fans find this boring, imagine joe average watching WRC. Exactly, he would watch desperate housewives instead.

[savvas]

If it rains so much, I'm afraid will see some stages cancelled tomorrow. Adding more boredom to the whole event.

The stages are fine. In Cyprus it can rain hard from time to time but not for long.


Actually tomorrow we will have a very sunny day, all day!

[janvanvurpa]

That was the reason maybe 3 years back.

At the moment no manufacturer, exept Citroen apparenty, could afford more than 2 drivers. And anyway, I just can't understand why even Ford and Citroen put their money to WRC as it is now.

I mean, if we as fans find this boring, imagine joe average watching WRC. Exactly, he would watch desperate housewives instead.

But this looks like the cars are driven by Desperate Housewives.

Where's some F-cup cars!?

[J4MIE]

For joe public watching on tv they won't notice any difference and think rallying is an exciting sport anyway.

I thnk it is just us enthusiasts that suffer.

[COD]

Sadly i agree with you. Hirvonens job is to meat Loeb, and he cant do it. He can't even beat Sordo...

Who do you think should be the no1 driver?

I wish I knew...

Hopefully Grönholm makes a full comeback. Maybe Malcom should put his hand deep into his pocket...

[ste898]

WRC is in a disgraceful state. 1-3 over 1min after day one and gets worse after that.
Hirvonen should by now shut his mouth about challengin Loeb and be realistic. He is at best a good no.2 driver for a team.


Exactly what I have said before.......and I always got slagged off for it!!!

My god why would anyone want tto watch this drivel, I certainly won't be

[big_sw2000]

Exactly what I have said before.......and I always got slagged off for it!!!

My god why would anyone want tto watch this drivel, I certainly won't be
Never mind, got to wait to midnite to watch it on Eurosport. Half hour with 2 adverts. Probley some Cypriot music star being interviewd for 10 mins and 5 mins action

[PLuto]

Some photos from Rally Cyprus: http://fotogalerie.autosport.cz/index.php?cat=69

http://fotogalerie.autosport.cz/albums/userpics/10002/thumb_Latvala_1.jpghttp://fotogalerie.autosport.cz/albums/wpw-20090313/thumb_Loeb_7%7E0.jpghttp://fotogalerie.autosport.cz/albums/wpw-20090313/thumb_Novikov_4.jpghttp://fotogalerie.autosport.cz/albums/wpw-20090313/thumb_Ogier_1%7E0.jpg

[A.F.F.]

I mean, if we as fans find this boring, imagine joe average watching WRC. Exactly, he would watch desperate housewives instead.

Hey, Desperate Housewives is an excellent show :up:

[jbmarcus21]

Shakedown : 6minutes
http://www.mtv3nettitv.fi/?progId=10152

DAY 1 : 26minutes
http://www.mtv3nettitv.fi/?progId=10142

[bluuford]

Looking the video footage.. I must say that Ogier was really lucky with his mistake! Luckily there was enough space between fence and that car on the road:-)
Looking tomorrows start list.. I was wrong.. Henning is going to win some stages as well. First stage might belong to Loeb but then it should be too dry for him already!

[Rally Hokkaido]

Hi RH,
You mean 5 min penalty.
There are 2 stewards decisions on the board and both 5min

Thanks, ProRally, eWRC Results service has now corrected the 56min penalty to 5min.

[ST205GT4]

Well done to Loeb.

I remember win Tommi won his 4th I thought no one would ever beat that, but Loeb just seems to go on and on.

[bassist]

I doubt that. After all, Stobart must be interested in getting the best value from their sponsorship - they are after all a business company. What i fear is that their 5-year commitment don't allow them to replace Wilslow - and maybe Daddy W convinced them that he would develop as a driver. But that for sure didn't happen...

If we get WRC full of S2000 cars, then Wilslow will score 1-2 points in the entire season - maks!
I agree , it doesn`t look as if Matthew is going to deliver, but I suppose he has been fairly consistent, and clean just hasn`t got the outright speed! Same applies to Alkassimi and the Abu Dabi link. It`s all about cash, nothing else, I only hope the new regs, whenever they are agreed will reward talented drivers over paying celebrities. The sooner we realise that this sport is very unlikely to overtake Football/Golf/F1 the better.If the governing body are not careful they will price it off the planet! And for those of us who have followed for many years that will be a crying shame! Sarnau.

[tmx]

Either Dani Sordo has acquired the soul power of Carlos Sainz or the C4 has become way better than Focus. Dani Sordo faster than Mikko in a gravel rally? That doesn't even makes sense. I'll check the news on WRC again on the next rally.

[pom]

OGIER MISTAKE :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdoHyE28V-A

[cosmicpanda]

Either Dani Sordo has acquired the soul power of Carlos Sainz or the C4 has become way better than Focus. Dani Sordo faster than Mikko in a gravel rally? That doesn't even makes sense. I'll check the news on WRC again on the next rally.

In a gravel rally, on tarmac. :)

[Psycho!]

Good morning forumists!!!I hope we have an interesting day today!!! ;)

[wwbroe]

First stage of second day will go live in one minute, anyone else awake? ;)

[wwbroe]

Does anybody know the weatherconditions on the stages for this second day?

[pantealex]

Game on...

[Psycho!]

Does anybody know the weatherconditions on the stages for this second day?
Extremely muddy with lots of standing water...At least for first stage...

[Brother John]

Does anybody know the weatherconditions on the stages for this second day?

I´m here on the forum today, what will it be in Cyprus today.

On the radio they say a lot of water and mud on the sages, you can see it on the split times. ;)

[wwbroe]

Miko is doing very well, he is allready six seconds faster as Loeb on second split! ;)

[jonkka]

First stage of second day will go live in one minute, anyone else awake? ;)

Aye WWBroe, here I am... :)

[wwbroe]

Aye WWBroe, here I am... :)

Good morning Jonkka, good to see you are also here. :)

[wwbroe]

But Loeb is striking back, he narrowed the gap at split 3. ;)

[jonkka]

Good morning Jonkka, good to see you are also here. :)

I am always here during the rallies, except that Fridays are difficult now due to my boss...

[wwbroe]

Latvalla is setting great times tough, maybe he can overtake Hirvonen, he is not so far behind. Sordo is loosing some time.

[wwbroe]

I am always here during the rallies, except that Fridays are difficult now due to my boss...

I understand, me i am at work, i don't know if my boss is tolerating this, we will see. :D

[Brother John]

Great start from Latvala. http://www.mysmiley.net/imgs/smile/cool/cool0010.gif (http://www.mysmiley.net/freesmiley.php?smiley=cool/cool0010.gif)

[jonkka]

Work is good for money but bad for hobbies... :(

[wwbroe]

What did Matthew have for breakfast, he is rather fast. :eek: :eek: :eek:

[wwbroe]

And now he is back to where he was, Wilslow again. :p

[WRC1]

i hope jari matti is allowed to overtake the nr1 ford driver...?

[jonkka]

Maybe Matt has had enough of his critics?

[jonkka]

Damn that halloumi is good... One reason to have a rally in Cyprus...

[wwbroe]

If you are looking at splits, there is something strange between split 2 and 3. Everybody is loosing a lot of time in this portion compared to JML and Loeb. :confused:

[atsiotras79]

Damn that halloumi is good... One reason to have a rally in Cyprus...

Especially on the grill! :)

[Psycho!]

Delay for SS8?

[wwbroe]

Delay for SS8?

I don't see any splits, so i am wondering if it is delay in start time?

[Psycho!]

I hope no cancellation.....

[wwbroe]

Al Attiyah and Arai are making very good split times, wonder if they can catch up with Araujo and Sandell? ;)

[Brother John]

i hope jari matti is allowed to overtake the nr1 ford driver...?

Why not? Ford has just a little chance to become champion this year, according to me. It makes no difference which is faster, the no. 1 or Nr.2 driver. Ford must take what they can for a good result. :s mokin:

[WRC1]

Why not? Ford has just a little chance to become champion this year, according to me. It makes no difference which is faster, the no. 1 or Nr.2 driver. Ford must take what they can for a good result. :s mokin:


tactic decissions at ford are not always logic...thats why

[Brother John]

tactic decissions at ford are not always logic...thats why

The complete WRC rallys are no longer logic. http://www.mysmiley.net/imgs/smile/confused/confused0062.gif (http://www.mysmiley.net/freesmiley.php?smiley=confused/confused0062.gif)

[bluuford]

Tactic is to allow Latvala in front of Mikko today to give him better road position for tomorrow.

and every delayed minute is advantage for the cars coming behind..

[WRC1]

the statement from sandell is very optimistic: "I think we can catch Araujo" as he lost 2 tenth on stage 7 and is now 33,4 behind Araujo...

[darkstar]

shouldnt stage 8 be running already? no splits for me...

[Psycho!]

Loeb,Sordo into stage 8.

[bluuford]

Stage 8 was 23 minutes delayed

[darkstar]

yes, now the splits are coming up...

hirvonen slower again...

[jonkka]

Let's see what we can see... hmmm...

[jonkka]

Mikko still slower

[Psycho!]

Mikko still slower
JM off road :( :(

[COVENANT]

JM off road :( :(

what a surprise!!!!!!!

[darkstar]

once again...what a shame :rolleyes:

[jonkka]

Aww...

[Psycho!]

He is on the move again...

[MikeD]

...and has stopped again.

[WRC1]

what a surprise!!!!!!!

OMG

[MikeD]

Problems for Ogier? ... really slow.

[Psycho!]

Things are going from bad to worse for Ford....JM out,Mikko unable to match Loeb.............

[Brother John]

...and has stopped again.

http://www.mysmiley.net/imgs/smile/sad/sad0125.gif (http://www.mysmiley.net/freesmiley.php?smiley=sad/sad0125.gif) The hole championship is over! http://www.mysmiley.net/imgs/smile/sad/sad0133.gif (http://www.mysmiley.net/freesmiley.php?smiley=sad/sad0133.gif)

[WRC1]

ford should really fast think about change theire drivers or quit....they just making fools of themselves

[Psycho!]

Sordo takes 3 secs off Seb on split 5...(!)

[jonkka]

The hole championship is over!

Hole championship, what's that? Golf or sex? :eek:

[Psycho!]

Mikko faster!!!(?)

[jonkka]

Sordo takes 3 secs off Seb on split 5...(!)

And Mikko 10 secs...

[darkstar]

ford should really fast think about change theire drivers or quit....

they should change latvala, defenetly and take duval again!

[COD]

JM off road :( :(

Time to replace him. Petter, Galli, Duval, Hänninen.... There are available drivers who can stay on the road and deliver good results

[WRC1]

they should change latvala, defenetly and take duval again!

and take petter solberg instead of mr. hirvonen

[AlfaWRC]

Time to replace him. Petter, Galli, Duval, Hänninen.... There are available drivers who can stay on the road and deliver good results

Last year he was praised to the sky from everyone, and now???

But duval is for sure not the pilot who can stay on the road....

[Psycho!]

Petter faster than Sordo!!

[MikeD]

I agree. JML haven't delivered for a long time now - to many mistakes, too slow or too many "mental" problems. Time to give somebody else a chance. If I was Ford, I would clearly go for PSolberg. He has really delivered on this rally so far. (And in Norway as well)

[muscrae]

and take petter solberg instead of mr. hirvonen

Agree.

[darkstar]

but hirvonen shouldnt be changed. he´s become a great driver, ok he cant match loeb but who else can? p.solberg isnt that fast anymore.

latvala makes too many mistakes, i dont understand him. he hasnt got the pace at the moment to match loeb and hirvonen and sordo as well, so why he doenst drive safely through and collects ponts with 3rd and 4th places? or even 5th, i mean, who cares, everything is better then nothing...hes a great talent, but that way, he will disappear the same way duval did...

[ste898]

I can feel the excitement building for day 2 of Rally Cyprus.........

[Psycho!]

I can feel the excitement building for day 2 of Rally Cyprus.........
The fact is that this excitement is always negative for Ford and positive for Citroen.So, no excitement,just the usual things.... :dozey:

[AlfaWRC]

but hirvonen shouldnt be changed. he´s become a great driver, ok he cant match loeb but wh else can? p.solberg isnt that fast anymore.

that's how it is and how it always was!!! the "problem" is loeb and not the other guys. you can exchange mikko or jari matti against petter. what will the results be? loeb will still win! then you can think of giving atkinson the seat as he was faster than petter last year. but what will the results be? loeb will still win....

[WRC1]

latvalas car seems to be ok!!

he was 10 sec faster than loeb between split 4 and 5....but of course he lost almost 22 minutes

[Psycho!]

latvalas car seems to be ok!!

he was 10 sec faster than loeb between split 4 and 5....but of course he lost almost 22 minutes
Focus is faster when it is destroyed.... :D

[darkstar]

an as always, ford is pretty unlucky. latvala just got stuck, no roll or something and no spectators around...when you have a look at ogier, he has rolled and just lost one or two minutes :mad:

[AlfaWRC]

That's no revelation from Sandell so far...

[Psycho!]

an as always, ford is pretty unlucky. latvala just got stuck, no roll or something and no spectators around...when you have a look at ogier, he has rolled and just lost one or two minutes :mad:
We have been experiencing that since 2004....Every team who challenged Citroen was cursed....Peugeot,Subaru and now Ford...Just remember 2006 and Sardinia:Marcus was in front of Loeb with a big lead,they both passed over the same rock.The result?Marcus retired Loeb took the victory!!And many,many,many more examples.... :mad:

[ste898]

All we can hope is that when the new rules come in it will get better............it cant get any wrose or more boring than it is now!!!

[Brother John]

All we can hope is that when the new rules come in it will get better............it cant get any wrose or more boring than it is now!!!

It can be more terrible. :p : You never know with the F.I.A. :rolleyes:

[jens]

All we can hope is that when the new rules come in it will get better............it cant get any wrose or more boring than it is now!!!

The positive side is that despite all the minuses fans still exist and continue posting in this thread. :)

[Finni]

that's how it is and how it always was!!! the "problem" is loeb and not the other guys. you can exchange mikko or jari matti against petter. what will the results be? loeb will still win! then you can think of giving atkinson the seat as he was faster than petter last year. but what will the results be? loeb will still win....

The problem is the drivers. If I remember Grönholm was quite on par with Loeb on gravel in his last season. And after that Mikko is still Mikko - far from the sharpest top.

If I was Malcolm Wilson I would try Petter.

[bluuford]

well.. everything is going according to the plan. Firstly I was thinking that Loeb wins the first stage and then other stages belong to Ford boys. But Loeb messed up on both stages a little and now Mikko is in mission to reduce the gap to 30 sek today. If he succeeds then he is the favorite to win tomorrow :-)

Next stage is 23 minutes delayed again?

[A.F.F.]

DO you think there's enough milege for Petter to catch Sordo?

[Finni]

DO you think there's enough milege for Petter to catch Sordo?

Difficult task.

By the way Petter's speed looks a lot better now than in Norway. Interesting to see how he can develope it.

[bluuford]

Next stages shows a lot. If it is getting dryer and dryer then I expect Solberg to be nearly 1 sek/km faster on the next stage.

[pettersolberg29]

Petter may catch Sordo if he has a spin or something, but it will be hard.

[John V]

well.. everything is going according to the plan. Firstly I was thinking that Loeb wins the first stage and then other stages belong to Ford boys. But Loeb messed up on both stages a little and now Mikko is in mission to reduce the gap to 30 sek today. If he succeeds then he is the favorite to win tomorrow :-)

Next stage is 23 minutes delayed again?

Should be, because there is no regroup between SS8 and SS9.

[Psycho!]

The problem is the drivers. If I remember Grönholm was quite on par with Loeb on gravel in his last season. And after that Mikko is still Mikko - far from the sharpest top.

If I was Malcolm Wilson I would try Petter.
Take into account that Mikko has improved tremendously on the last couple of years.At the moment his is the second best FOR SURE.In comparison with Loeb he is 2 or 3 steps away.And not forget the cars.We don't exactly know their speed....And if Focus is slower,then we could say they are close to equality(I express general thoughts).

[COD]

Take into account that Mikko has improved tremendously on the last couple of years..

Has he really? I have failed to notice any dramatic improvement...

[pettersolberg29]

Has he really? I have failed to notice any dramatic improvement...

2 years ago he was nowhere near Seb, but now he is challenging for wins even if he's not getting them. Some of the times he put in in Norway were amazing.

2/3 years ago he was not even close - he was about 5th best.

[A.F.F.]

COD never treated Mikko objective.

[MikeD]

Take into account that Mikko has improved tremendously on the last couple of years.At the moment his is the second best FOR SURE.In comparison with Loeb he is 2 or 3 steps away.And not forget the cars.We don't exactly know their speed....And if Focus is slower,then we could say they are close to equality(I express general thoughts).

The big difference this year is the point difference between Loeb and Hirvonen. Last year Loeb left Sweden and Jordan with zero points and that gave Hirvonen the oppotunity to play the "continuity" game of scoring points on every rally - hoping it would give him the title.

But this year could end up with Hirvonen being 8 points behind after 3 rounds, and that will force him to a strategy where he has to beat Loeb in the next rallies. That is why I think we will see what he's made of mentally after this round (if Loeb wins) and that will define if he has a future in a top WRC team in the years to come.

[Woodeye]

I think Mikko has improved just as much as Sordo. :rolleyes:

People here doesn't seem to realize that at the moment Mr. Loeb is superior to everyone else at all levels. There's simply no match to him, and he is the one improving!

When it comes to J-M, he had a mistake in his notes, that why the ditch. This time.

And forget about Petter, it's amazing that people see him now again as a rising start, while still last season everyone was telling him to retire.

[Psycho!]

Stage has started!

[MikeD]

WRR Colin: "This is only JML's second year in a world rally car"

Is he drunk?

[Psycho!]

But Mikko again very slow......

[jonkka]

WRR Colin: "This is only JML's second year in a world rally car"

Is he drunk?

He probably thought in a top-line WRC team...

[ste898]

I cannot understand where people can see a improvement with Mikko.........he is going backwards and is full of hot air......

Has he given his famous line yet in this rally? I will have to beat Loeb here/I will try everything I can!!

As for JML well same again off the road!!!

I think Malcolm Wilson needs to go to specsavers!!!

[Psycho!]

+8,5 for Mikko......Game over.....

[MikeD]

He probably thought in a top-line WRC team...

Probably right. But his argument that JML is new in a WRC rally-car is actually very wrong IMO. This rally is JML's 47th start in a WRC car...

[WRC1]

2 years ago he was nowhere near Seb, but now he is challenging for wins even if he's not getting them. Some of the times he put in in Norway were amazing.

2/3 years ago he was not even close - he was about 5th best.


he WAS improving! IMHO he improved while grönholm was teaching him, in the first half of 2008 he takes profit of not yet perfect c4 wrc, but since finland 2008 his performance is clearly dropping!

in norway it was only the godwill of loeb that it looks like he is getting close, as soon as the gap was too small loeb showed who is the boss!
and now he has to fight with sordo on gravel!!!


reg

wrc1

[jonkka]

Interesting splits from Mikko...

[COD]

COD never treated Mikko objective.


Or maybe not with "Finnish" classes on....

I just have never considered him as fast driver. He is good, but so are many others. Good is not enough for no.1 driver in any WRC-team. For 2nd driver it might be...

[Finni]

It seems muddy stage; it's otherwise impossible to lost so much.

Loeb has become better? I rather see that Hirvonen has not improved much since Grönholm went out. I never expected that Hirvonen could seriously challenge Loeb except few rallies in a year and it seems to be true. Especially in rallies like Cyprus or Greece Marcus was always lightyears faster than Mikko.

[jonkka]

I just have never considered him as fast driver. He is good, but so are many others. Good is not enough for no.1 driver in any WRC-team. For 2nd driver it might be...

Maybe you can suggest a better alternative?

[jonkka]

Dani is missing a split...

[pettersolberg29]

Great 3rd split by Petter

[Finni]

Interesting Petter is going faster than Fords...

[Wim_Impreza]

Good morning forumists!!!I hope we have an interesting day today!!! ;)

Interesting in WRC? Watch World Superbikes when you will see interesting races. ;)

[MikeD]

Loeb had a spin and Sordo a stall...

[pettersolberg29]

Petter storming through!

[Buzz Lightyear]

Topic : Can fast Group N drivers step upto WRC?
Villargra?
Noivkov?
Atkinson?

[jonkka]

Topic : Can fast Group N drivers step upto WRC?
Villargra?
Noivkov?
Atkinson?

Yes - Alex Fiorio and Tommi Makinen did, besides those you named.

[Wim_Impreza]

Or maybe not with "Finnish" classes on....

I just have never considered him as fast driver. He is good, but so are many others. Good is not enough for no.1 driver in any WRC-team. For 2nd driver it might be...

Agree, Gardemeister was faster as Ford's Number 1 driver in 2005 compared to Hirvonen now. The Ford was not that good in 2005 and had almost no upgrades.

[MikeD]

Once more, a really impressive time from PSolberg. :up:

Whereas the Citroen Jr. boys aren't. Can't believe they are all getting beaten by Wilslow.

[ste898]

Maybe you can suggest a better alternative?

Petter Solberg or Malcolm put your hand in your pocket and try and get Marcus back.........because otherwise you will win nothing in 2009!!

[A.F.F.]

Or maybe not with "Finnish" classes on....

I just have never considered him as fast driver. He is good, but so are many others. Good is not enough for no.1 driver in any WRC-team. For 2nd driver it might be...

C'mon, can you honestly say you haven't been extra rough on Mikko?

And, given the alternatives...

[jonkka]

Petter Solberg or Malcolm put your hand in your pocket and try and get Marcus back.........because otherwise you will win nothing in 2009!!

At the moment, Petter is 1,5 minutes behind Mikko and you want him as replacement? Wow...

[Finni]

At the moment, Petter is 1,5 minutes behind Mikko and you want him as replacement? Wow...

It's Petter's first asphalt and gravel rally in the Xsara. It's more indicative what's the speed-level he will find in this rally.

[COD]

At the moment, Petter is 1,5 minutes behind Mikko and you want him as replacement? Wow...

Well being 7sec's faster on this stage in a six years old car does prove a point in my opinion...

[Psycho!]

Young

[Finni]

Once more, a really impressive time from PSolberg. :up:

Whereas the Citroen Jr. boys aren't. Can't believe they are all getting beaten by Wilslow.

Wilson has found some pace. He is driving much faster than in previous years. Give Ogier and Novikov same time in the car and they are top-drivers.

[COD]

C'mon, can you honestly say you haven't been extra rough on Mikko?
...

No just realistic....

[A.F.F.]

Well, doesn't really matter who thinks what this year :) The whole WRC is in such a s h i t t y condition that I don't care who deserves and what.

[Wim_Impreza]

Well being 7sec's faster on this stage in a six years old car does prove a point in my opinion...

Petter is in a 2006 Xsara.

[ste898]

At the moment, Petter is 1,5 minutes behind Mikko and you want him as replacement? Wow...

Yes but imagine what he could do in a 2008 Focus WRC!!!

[jonkka]

Well being 7sec's faster on this stage in a six years old car does prove a point in my opinion...

Single stage time does not prove anything.

[COD]

Petter is in a 2006 Xsara.

Whatever, it's still a PRIVATE old spec car....

[Mirek]

Agree, Gardemeister was faster as Ford's Number 1 driver in 2005 compared to Hirvonen now. The Ford was not that good in 2005 and had almost no upgrades.

In the second half of 2005, when he got a bit out of starting troubles, Kresta had actualy same points as Gardemesiter and that was 6th overal in points. I think You're over-estimating Garde's performance in 2005 ;) It was good year for him definitely, but in my opinion Mikko is now definitely faster.

[Mirek]

Veeeery bad stage for PWRC. Seems that Thomas, Semerád, Sauvan and Valdez are out on this stage!

[Gard]

Petter is in a 2006 Xsara.

that's right, but his Xsara was built in 2001. and is actually older than the Subaru he won the championship with in 2003 :D

[Buzz Lightyear]

I can hear Jari getting a spanking from Malcolm from here! Its not as if he can threaten him with no-wages, as JML is still paying anyway. Ford's arguwment is that there is no-one else to change to... well thats the monster they have created.

[N.O.T]

Hirvonen is useless as a first driver....he quits far too easy or he just doesn;t have the skills. Latvala is good for rally sprints with 1-2 stages....Sordo seems that he will never improve on gravel, Solberg drives a very old car and the rest are just amateurs...so Loeb will win and win and win until the C4 brakes...or he makes a mistake.

WRC is a sick dog waiting to be put down at the moment. The only solution is rallying to go away from the FIA and start a new organising body.

[A.F.F.]

Hirvonen is useless as a first driver....he quits far too easy or he just doesn;t have the skills. Latvala is good for rally sprints with 1-2 stages....Sordo seems that he will never improve on gravel, Solberg drives a very old car and the rest are just amateurs...so Loeb will win and win and win until the C4 brakes...or he makes a mistake.

WRC is a sick dog waiting to be put down at the moment. The only solution is rallying to go away from the FIA and start a new organising body.

I can't believe what I'm reading. :eek:

For once I agree completely.

[N.O.T]

I can't believe what I'm reading. :eek:

For once I agree completely.

you should say that to your phychologist....this symptom its the first step to insanity...

[JRodrigues]

Petter is in a 2006 Xsara.

...with active differentials

[JFL]

...with active differentials
....and in a very private team, with limited testings......

[KKS]

SS10 20 min delay?

[pettersolberg29]

Delay again?

[pettersolberg29]

What are the odds - no post for 15 mins then two at once...

[Psycho!]

SS10 is underway!!!

[KKS]

Good 1st split for Petter

[jonkka]

Petter -1.1 on 1st split... :eek:

[Psycho!]

Look at Petter!!!! :-D