Rally Bulgaria

[Daniel]

Nice work there by Neil Cole. They hadn't even stripped down Loeb's car....

[Xsara Fan]

Car #7 will have complete engine inspection.

[Barreis]

M.Wilson doesn't know what to do anymore.. Only they can do are the protests.. xd

[JFL]

@N.O.T Did you introduce yourself to Kimi, Petter and Matthew?
Great pics.. Looks like you had a great time with all your rally-idols.. ;)

[N.O.T]

they know me already...so no need to do that.

I had a great time indeed.

[bluuford]

So, three hours to sleep and drive to Rally Estonia begins, good night Bulgaria, it is perfect place for rally and people are very nice and well informed about the rally here :-) I am amazed! And the beer is good and cheap :-) Nastravia and one more Zagorka for the long trip please :-)

[rbatista82]

More photos from Bulgaria:
http://www.supermotores.net/sm/fotos.asp?id=171

[danon]

I think Petter was told not to jump over Mr. Sorrow (Sordo)... why? - the big boss says so! Plenty of reasons...
Anyhow, take a look at that vid... -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upueE9uE8U4

... it's worth your time!

[I am evil Homer]

As others have explained it didn't matter where Sordo finished in terms on Manu point for Citroen - he just beat Petter is a straight fight.

[TG]

As others have explained it didn't matter where Sordo finished in terms on Manu point for Citroen - he just beat Petter is a straight fight.

If Petter and Dani was really fighting, how you can explain Kimi's performance in SS13?
Only 0,2sec/km slower than Petter/Dani going flat out? I don't think so...

[N.O.T]

If Petter and Dani was really fighting, how you can explain Kimi's performance in SS13?
Only 0,2sec/km slower than Petter/Dani going flat out? I don't think so...

which part of the "peter would not steal any manufacturer points from citroen if he was ahead of sordo" did you not get ?? probably both decided to quit the fight since the difference was too big for tarmac standards.

[I am evil Homer]

Apparently no part as he doesn't get it.

[maxter]

I seriously, seriously doubt that there would be any team orders involved (possibly apart from "don't make any stupid mistakes"), for the reasons mentioned above.
I agree with N.O.T, I don't think they went all out on the last stage since they both really needed a decent problem free finish, for their own separate reasons.

[mm1]

Nice to see that Peter learnt his thing and finaly settled for 3rd, and didn`t go flat out, as in some previous rallys this year.

[Xsara Fan]

Sordo is the only man who can beat Loeb on tarmac rounds of WRC. Petter is not as fast as Sordo...

[ridder]

Sordo is the only man who can beat Loeb on tarmac rounds of WRC. Petter is not as fast as Sordo...

True, he's 7 seconds slower ;)

This year:

Petter is faster than Sordo on every gravel rally and a tiny bit slower on tarmac.

Ogier is also faster than Sordo on every gravel rally and a bit slower on tarmac.

Sordo is the only factory driver out of these 3. How long will that last?

[TG]

which part of the "peter would not steal any manufacturer points from citroen if he was ahead of sordo" did you not get ?? probably both decided to quit the fight since the difference was too big for tarmac standards.

That part was clear.
I was just referring ".. he just beat Petter is a straight fight."

And in my opinion there wasn't any straight fight.
Propably sensitive decision from both of them, but I cannot call it fight.

[N.O.T]

Sordo is the only factory driver out of these 3. How long will that last?

for the gravel events it ended already...ogier is the factory one.

[Xsara Fan]

True, he's 7 seconds slower ;)

This year:

Petter is faster than Sordo on every gravel rally and a tiny bit slower on tarmac.

Ogier is also faster than Sordo on every gravel rally and a bit slower on tarmac.

Sordo is the only factory driver out of these 3. How long will that last?

Sordo is a second driver in a factory team. His job is not a winning rallys - it`s Loeb`s job. Sordo must finish and get manufacturer points. That`s all.

You`ll see - this year at gravel events Ogier will not win again.

[N.O.T]

You`ll see - this year at gravel events Ogier will not win again.

i don't think that is accurate... i think he will be allowed to win since Loeb is very comfortable leader and ogier 2nd... he will not be allowed to fight for the win if he is second to Loeb in a rally to secure the manufacturers points, but i don't think they will impose a position change if he is leading. If they do it, it will be a disgrace for both Loeb and citroen and will remind of the sick female dogs at ferrari.

[dimviii]

Amazing video from www.r40.gr (http://www.r40.gr)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LX-zujIV2gk

[Ciko]

Frigyes Turan went wide a little bit in this corner (http://video.szon.hu/video/63646/wrc---turan-orult-keresztje-a-vb) :D

[Allyc85]

Frigyes Turan went wide a little bit in this corner (http://video.szon.hu/video/63646/wrc---turan-orult-keresztje-a-vb) :D

nicely done :D

[SubaruNorway]

I can't decide if i like this rally or not. Appart from one bumpy fast section on saturday i think it was, i haven't really seen any footage that's made me go "wow"

[atsiotras79]

http://www.r40.gr/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=81772

[PeteD]

A quick note to say thank you to everyone who assisted with information about this rally - we had a great weekend - everything went perfectly & we had a brilliant weekend & thoroughly enjoyed it.
Thanks
PeteD, York, UK

[ridder]

Sordo is a second driver in a factory team. His job is not a winning rallys - it`s Loeb`s job. Sordo must finish and get manufacturer points. That`s all.

Yes that is his job.

Interestingly enough both Solberg and Ogier have collected more points than he did.

[Xsara Fan]

Yes that is his job.

Interestingly enough both Solberg and Ogier have collected more points than he did.

Sh*t happens. But take a look at 2008 & 2009 standings...

[N.O.T]

Yes that is his job.

Interestingly enough both Solberg and Ogier have collected more points than he did.

still 3 tarmac rounds remain though....i think ogier will be hard to match but Solberg i think it will be easier.

[Barreis]

Bull.... of the day..
http://www.wrc.com/jsp/index.jsp?lnk=101&id=8315&desc=Andersson+impresses+Ford+boss+in+Bulgaria

[J.Lindstroem]

Bull.... of the day..
http://www.wrc.com/jsp/index.jsp?lnk=101&id=8315&desc=Andersson+impresses+Ford+boss+in+Bulgaria

Tell me more!

[Barreis]

Turan was much better..

[pettersolberg29]

still 3 tarmac rounds remain though....i think ogier will be hard to match but Solberg i think it will be easier.

Really? Petter was much faster than Ogier in Bulgaria. Even without Ogier's minute loss, he would have been about 30s behind Petter. Solberg is a much better tarmac driver than he gets credit for.

[J.Lindstroem]

Turan was much better..

I am a little bit confused now, dear Barries. Could you please help me with this, and tell me: What place did Turan finish, and what place did PG finish?

[Rallyper]

Turan was much better..

So what do you mean then? Turan should be at Ford because of his performance i Bulgaria? :confused:

PG is fast, now even proven he will be on tarmac. He has documented good experience on gravel and snow/ice. He has been in the show for many years now. PG is well worth MW: s appreciation and a place in Ford-team in the future.

Having said that even not being swedish.

[Barreis]

That's my opinion: Turan was man of the rally and not PG Andersson..

[Barreis]

Really? Petter was much faster than Ogier in Bulgaria. Even without Ogier's minute loss, he would have been about 30s behind Petter. Solberg is a much better tarmac driver than he gets credit for.

He was a champ and Ogier won one round..

[mm1]

Good performance on home ground is achieved much easier (plus Turan had experience in the 307, plus he`s used to tarmac), PG hasn`t driven on taramc for a long tiome, had no experience of Focus WRC and has no Bulgarian road experience.
MW is right, PG`s drive was realy good.

[Barreis]

What about testing around 1000 kms plus Fiesta1.6T testing plus twice JWRC.. Never heard before for Turan..

[J.Lindstroem]

Im sure Turan has been driving the Bulgarian rally loads of times. Maybe i should check the facts but i would like to see his pace on other rallies. But all respect to Turan he had an awsome run.

[Barreis]

But all respect to Turan he had an awsome run.

I agree..

[RobertS]

Im sure Turan has been driving the Bulgarian rally loads of times. Never.
Turán has experience in the Hungarian Championship only with the 307WRC in 2008-9(11x short rallyes - each with 100-130km ss. only, rent the car from Bozian, nearly 0km test) + 2010 Portugal.

Also question is the 'balance of forces' > 307WRC vs. PG's Ford

[J.Lindstroem]

Ahh sorry, i thought he was bulgarian...

Anyway this is a very stupid discussion. Im sure Turan is heaps better on tarmarc than PG... Why compare them... I think both did good runs.

[Xsara Fan]

That's my opinion: Turan was man of the rally and not PG Andersson..

Agree!

[danon]

A great video of rally Bulgaria! - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yfmZbWwhac&feature=player_embedded

[jonas_mcrae]

Turan deserves being man of the rally, just watch this video, minute 5.49 is quite nice, having that pace with that car and having time to have this fun and making the fans happy is something we dont see very often these days on wrc rounds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L71XiWUo468

[6789]

Just saw the ONEHD coverage and Dani Sordo reached 216km/h in Bulgaria. Thats fast!!

[havk]

P.G.Andersson had weaker 1st day (which is understandable considering it was new car for him), but then he was even faster than Latvala. On 2nd day he lost 30 sec to Hirvonen and was ahead about 2 sec of Latvala, on 3rd day it was respectively 22 and 6 sec. http://www.ewrc-results.com/results_main.php?event=579

For me it's really awesome performance. Turan had also very, very good rally. Info about Turan: http://www.ewrc-results.com/profile.php?profile=8635

[cosmicpanda]

I wasn't impressed by the route for this rally. The stages themselves looked okay but there wasn't enough variety, since they were all repeated. Not only were they all repeated, many sections were run in reverse and used again as parts of another stage, which was then repeated!

Route was also too short, and I don't understand why given that there was plenty of space on the schedule for more stages. Are there not enough roads in Bulgaria?

[muscrae]

Just saw the ONEHD coverage and Dani Sordo reached 216km/h in Bulgaria. Thats fast!!

http://img203.imageshack.us/img203/7720/sordorecordtelemetri.jpg

[Barreis]

No balls for Hirvonen.. xd

[JFL]

P.G.Andersson had weaker 1st day (which is understandable considering it was new car for him), but then he was even faster than Latvala. On 2nd day he lost 30 sec to Hirvonen and was ahead about 2 sec of Latvala, on 3rd day it was respectively 22 and 6 sec. http://www.ewrc-results.com/results_main.php?event=579

For me it's really awesome performance. Turan had also very, very good rally. Info about Turan: http://www.ewrc-results.com/profile.php?profile=8635

And for once the Stobart car did'nt brake down..

[danon]

Bulgaria WRC return unlikely - http://www.maxrally.com/news/entry/bulgaria_wrc_return_unlikely/

News15th July 2010
By Richard Rodgers

Rally Bulgaria’s appearance in the world championship is almost certain to be a one-off, despite the event attracting praise from WRC Commission president Morrie Chandler.

Bulgaria does not feature on the 13-round WRC calendar for 2011 and its apparent lack of commercial appeal for manufacturers is set to count against it returning in the future, even though Chandler said there was nothing ‘technically wrong’ with the all-asphalt rally, which ran from July 8-11.

“From a technical perspective I don’t think it’s fallen down,” said Chandler. “But from a promotional point of view I’m not sure it met the mark.”

Chandler was referring, in part, to a decision by the organisers not to base the rally in the capital Sofia, 70 kilometres north of host town Borovets, although they claim they were prevented from doing so by government officials who feared the potential for extra traffic in the city could result in gridlock.

“As an event it’s got all of the rally feeling with lots of people out on the stages but there’s not the population here [in Borovets],” said Chandler. “I talked to the organiser about why they’re not in Sofia because that was part of the discussion early on.”

Chandler conceded that rally bosses were not helped in their efforts to build the event’s profile due to the uncertainty surrounding its future in the WRC.

“That same question goes for most of our events,” said Chandler. “There are events in this year that don’t know where they are for next year. It’s not a good way of creating stability and creating organisers who are prepared to invest.”

Citroen Racing chief Olivier Quesnel didn’t share Chandler’s enthusiasm for the rally. He said: “The drivers enjoyed it but for the manufacturers I am not sure it’s the right country to do rallying because we need more people. As rallying is not in a good shape I think we need to be in other countries than this one. I don’t think it will be a good idea to come back in the future.”

Malcolm Wilson, Quesnel’s counterpart at Ford, added: “From the stages point of view there’s no complaints from that side or the sporting side but I really find it difficult to think this is the right place to have a world championship event.”

[Sarac330d]

And what about Jordan, what they can promote in Jordan.
It is not market where they can sell cars???

But they had WRC race for 2 times until now.

[General Prim]

And what about Jordan, what they can promote in Jordan.
It is not market where they can sell cars???

But they had WRC race for 2 times until now.

Bulgaria was a disaster... . Service 24 kms from HQ. Permanent tabards photographers had more problems than all other events in the season all together. Stages too fast, etc, etc
I agree Jordan has the same market numbers than Bulgaria, but the scenery has no comparison, do you?

[Sarac330d]

Bulgaria was a disaster... . Service 24 kms from HQ. Permanent tabards photographers had more problems than all other events in the season all together. Stages too fast, etc, etc
I agree Jordan has the same market numbers than Bulgaria, but the scenery has no comparison, do you?

I agree with you regarding some issues, such as problems for photographers and service 24kms from HQ. But Citroen and Ford bosses talked regarding manufacturers interest for this market. I think that there is more interest for manufacturers in Bulgaria(Europe) than in Jordan. Fast stages? I think that stages are very very good and not that fast. For me there is no such term like "too fast stages" in rally. That is why this drivers are WRC drivers and not some regular average driver.

And what about scenery in Jordan? I think that Jordan scenery is worse than one in Bulgaria.

[jbmarcus21]

Pics from Rally Bulgaria http://planetemarcus.free.fr/photosbulgariawrc10.htm

[havk]

It was easy to predict that Rally Bulgaria doesn't have much chances for being in next years calendars. Look at Ireland Rally or Rally of Poland - they aren't in 2011 calendar. FIA preferences to chose WRC rallies are not clear - sometimes it's probably due to financial potential of organisers (Jordan Rally), some rallies are important from marketing point of view (Rally Deutchland), and some are classic rallies (Acropolis Rally Greece). Rally of Poland received good opinion, it's on gravel, not bad from marketing point of view (central Europe deserves one round of WRC), but still no place for this rally in 2011 calendar.

[General Prim]

I agree with you regarding some issues, such as problems for photographers and service 24kms from HQ. But Citroen and Ford bosses talked regarding manufacturers interest for this market. I think that there is more interest for manufacturers in Bulgaria(Europe) than in Jordan. Fast stages? I think that stages are very very good and not that fast. For me there is no such term like "too fast stages" in rally. That is why this drivers are WRC drivers and not some regular average driver.

And what about scenery in Jordan? I think that Jordan scenery is worse than one in Bulgaria.

For your words I think you have not been there....
Do you like too fast stages?, ok next Rally Deutschland could be in the autobahn...
Too fast means less security and one of the biggest issues before Rally Bulgary got WRC status was the quality of hospital services and I do not know how they resolve it....
Stages were not good at all, even if drivers or Mr.Quesnel say to Bulgarian journalist what they wanted to hear. Do you know Pinoccio? There were a lot in Borovets last weekend, even for a TV series....

[Josti]

Story by David Evans from Autosport Plus, originally. He's critical too.

http://bbs.hellof1.com/1420453.html

[Barreis]

It seems that all this critics come from ford supporters.. xd

[Josti]

It seems that all this critics come from ford supporters.. xd

Ford's poor asphalt form has little to do with Rally Bulgaria itself.

But not that I ever expect a considerate answer from you anyway.

[txl]

Story by David Evans from Autosport Plus, originally. He's critical too.

http://bbs.hellof1.com/1420453.html


There was no passion, no fever, no nothing in Bulgaria. And the rally wasn't much more exciting, either.

Yes, sure, there is no passion in Bulgaria. Because passion (including passion for rallying) is not in Bulgaria, but usually is in heart (or mind, as you want). And if you want to feel it you must have some of it in yourself. And if the author of this article didn't feel anything during the rally, he would better try to find reason in himself.

For sure there were problems on rally Bulgaria but this article is a little strained. On the top of the mountain there were rain and fog and it was the most scary place in the world. What argument is this, is this the reason rally Bulgaria is a bad rally?

[N.O.T]

i don't know what the guy expected and used such harsh words for the rally....those reporters i doubt if they are rally fans....i think they mostly care about the organisers of the event providing them with the best hotels /food/entertainment and they don't give A ^%&$ about the rally itself since they spend most of their pathetic time in the service park...sick dogs all of them, being critical of everything just to double their readers from 10 to 20. i wonder what his opinion was of turkey and jordan where you could not even fill a schoolbus with the spectators of all 3 days.

the fact that the manufacturers don't consider the country a big market is something i can accept if you want to say something negative to bin the event, but apart from that the atmosphere especially on peshtera was fantastic and on belmeken lake as well...on batak it could be better. As for the stages i did recce ALL of them from day 1 and 2 and they were pretty demanding, and fast as they should be.

In my opinion Bulgaria should have a place in the WRC if it was judged from a stage and spectating point of view....and was far better organised than some of the previous Acropolis rallies again from a spectators point of view.

the only reason i see to drop the event is the very poor marketing value of the country.

[Francis44]

Anyway why is that magazine reporter opinion more important than the others fan's who attended the show?!

What makes his opinion more credible than any other fans who attended the rally?! Was he a driver before?!

I seriously can take those guys getting paid flights to write a bunch of crap.

There are some good journalist, but there are also so bad.

[tmx]

From the TV footages, I enjoy Rally Bulgaria roads. Some sections remind me a bit of the Barum Rally (Czech), especially the over growth parts where trees are both side, also dust on the road makes it tricky. I certainly find it more interesting than Catalunya. I think it wasn't more exciting (for TV viewer atleast) because it has one of the lowest roster of contestants of the year.

[N.O.T]

There are some good journalist, but there are also so bad.

for me there are the bad journalists and the dead ones.

[Barreis]

Ford's poor asphalt form has little to do with Rally Bulgaria itself.

But not that I ever expect a considerate answer from you anyway.

As far as I am concerned I would like that Netherlands also has WRC round..

[danon]

I like criticism, it is something constructive, but it is obvious, that this http://bbs.hellof1.com/1420453.html article is primarily aimed to discredit WRC Rally Bulgaria and the country as a whole.
Absolute nonsense!

This guy spent so much time in a Bulgarian resort making up this untrustworthy report!?

Three words only describe Bulgaria - Heaven On Earth!

Why? - Four seasons, sunny country, sea, mountains, rivers, open minded people - you name it.

And finally I think Bulgaria got the job done with dignity, despite the miserable attempts by people like this jolly fellow to be humiliated.

[AndyRAC]

I bet there were more fans watching than Rally Jordan.

[ShiftingGears]

I like criticism, it is something constructive, but it is obvious, that this http://bbs.hellof1.com/1420453.html article is primarily aimed to discredit WRC Rally Bulgaria and the country as a whole.
Absolute nonsense!

This guy spent so much time in a Bulgarian resort making up this untrustworthy report!?

Three words only describe Bulgaria - Heaven On Earth!

Why? - Four seasons, sunny country, sea, mountains, rivers, open minded people - you name it.

And finally I think Bulgaria got the job done with dignity, despite the miserable attempts by people like this jolly fellow to be humiliated.

I like how he thinks that a round in Abu Dhabi is just what the WRC needs.

Oh dear..

[danon]

Selected photos (never seen before) of Rally Bulgaria -> http://bg2009.bgrally.com/

[harriswrc]

And here some of my photos:
http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/9593/4103r.th.jpg (http://img689.imageshack.us/i/4103r.jpg/)http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/1479/0101lb.th.jpg (http://img21.imageshack.us/i/0101lb.jpg/)http://img806.imageshack.us/img806/2298/2402.th.jpg (http://img806.imageshack.us/i/2402.jpg/)http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/1518/0401x.th.jpg (http://img718.imageshack.us/i/0401x.jpg/)
http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/4503/0801b.jpg (http://img18.imageshack.us/i/0801b.jpg/)

[dimviii]

best bulgarian rally photo by faaaaaaarr!!! :eek:

[igi]

great photo indeed

[Walach]

Nice photos, man...especially Turan´s pic looks very good :)

[Dingardo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNpRo4dT4Bc

highlights video of Rally Bulgaria

[danon]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNpRo4dT4Bc

highlights video of Rally Bulgaria

Great Vid!
Well done!
Keep up the good work!