Official Rally New Zealand Thread

[Halvard]

Latvala 7 sec faster than Petter on the 2nd split. I`ll either go to bed or get drunk.

[ZequeArgentina]

Perez Companc did well on 7th stage, 2secs from Stohl.

Starting order is very important in a dry NZ, does anyone have it?

I guess Stohl is not well placed and nor is Perez Companc

[N.O.T]

Loeb slower than Hirvonen by 0.6 on 1st split

[jonkka]

Interesting that Latvala is now faster than both Sordo and Atko, yesterday they were quite evenly matched. This might be momentary, though.

[N.O.T]

Gronholm on a charge.....2.6 faster than Loeb on just 1st split

[Brother John]

Latvala 7 sec faster than Petter on the 2nd split. I`ll either go to bed or get drunk.

GET DRUNK, THIS RALLY IS BOOOOOORING, when you sit on your computer! :p :

[A.F.F.]

Marcus strikes back :up:

[jonkka]

And Marcus woke up!

[mdesign]

Gronholm fights back

[N.O.T]

Loeb very slow on this one.....

[Halvard]

A spin by Loeb?? Or maybe just a fast split by Latvala

[N.O.T]

No split for Araujo....

[mdesign]

No split for Araujo....
hope is just the splits :(

[dyfi1]

Latvala commentated yesterday that first stage is fast, second and third much slower. Let's see how he copes to those slower ones.

So far, so good :up:

[N.O.T]

2 mins till the big one .....

[Brother John]

Great job Marcus! go go go go beat Citroën!

[Madeira]

No split for Araujo....

but in the previously stage wasn't splits for him too.... :(

[jonkka]

Next one is long, that is more important. Loeb is on harder tyre and might have distinctive advantage there.

[A.F.F.]

Hänninen continues on raging. And he has to. Mason pushes behind.

[Halvard]

Something with the website or hasn`t Marcus finished yet

[A.F.F.]

Dammit. PWRC splits was left to see :mad:

[Brother John]

Pons on stage 8, no longer splittimes on SS7

[jonkka]

Something with the website or hasn`t Marcus finished yet

SS8 started so SS7 splits froze. Just that. Marcus is through, five secs faster than Loeb.

[A.F.F.]

Something with the website or hasn`t Marcus finished yet

-2.8 seconds faster than Sebastien.

[N.O.T]

The splits site stops showing splits when another stage starts.....

Marcus gained 5 secs on this one....this was a disaster for Loeb.....maybe tyres ??? we will see on the big one

[mdesign]

splits for ss7 stoped. someone knows gronholm time?
Edit: nevermind

[Halvard]

SS8 started so SS7 splits froze. Just that. Marcus is through, five secs faster than Loeb.

thanks mate, or cheers mate (whatever they say in NZ)

[Wim_Impreza]

Good morning / evening guys. It seems to be a good battle between the big 2.

[A.F.F.]

-2.8 seconds faster than Sebastien.

Sorry, than Hirvonen

[mdesign]

guess ss7 fits fords better

[Madeira]

Oh no!!! problems for Armindo...lost lot of time maybe a puncture!!!???

[Halvard]

I have a couple of times the last few years thought about moving to Finland (for good). Then the weekends would be a lot more fun, and the vodka is cheaper. But, then I had to learn the language..... Well, I guess some of you woul understand my norwegian

[jonkka]

I have a couple of times the last few years thought about moving to Finland (for good). Then the weekends would be a lot more fun, and the vodka is cheaper. But, then I had to learn the language..... Well, I guess some of you woul understand my norwegian

With enough of vodka, we'd be master in norwegian. :eek:

[A.F.F.]

I have a couple of times the last few years thought about moving to Finland (for good). Then the weekends would be a lot more fun, and the vodka is cheaper. But, then I had to learn the language..... Well, I guess some of you woul understand my norwegian

Give me enough vodka and I'll speak fluent norwegian :D

[A.F.F.]

Oh no!!! problems for Armindo...lost lot of time maybe a puncture!!!???

Yes, and now the game is on again :eek: Hänninen pushed very fast.

[Brother John]

Give me enough vodka and I'll speak fluent norwegian :D

It don´t help for me! ;)

[mdesign]

bad luck for Araujo... does anyone knows what really happened?

[jonkka]

Give me enough vodka and I'll speak fluent norwegian :D

See how our (finnish) brains work? :eek:

[A.F.F.]

Probably a puncture.

[Halvard]

It looks like someone has put a gun to wilsons head

[A.F.F.]

See how our (finnish) brains work? :eek:


:laugh: :up:

When it comes to booze, great minds think alike.

[jonkka]

It don´t help for me! ;)

With enough Jack BJ loses his ability to speak anything illegible altogether. Which is tantamount to speaking norwegian, incidentally. :)

[N.O.T]

finnish brains ???? are they real after all ??

hmm.....You learn something new every day.......

[Brother John]

With enough Jack BJ loses his ability to speak anything illegible altogether. Which is tantamount to speaking norwegian, incidentally. :)

jag talar svensk och flamländska, but i can´t write it! :p :

[mdesign]

I'd say Aava is doing a good time

[Koz]

Could someone link me to those Estonian split-times?
Dont have it bookmarked at work.

[Brother John]

Pons off....

[Halvard]

All this talk about vodka... and we all forget mumidalen (whats its name in Finland?)

Btw, don`t think the finnish minds are so different from the norwegian... or swedish. :)

[jonkka]

jag talar svensk och flamländska, but i can´t write it! :p :

In a proper singing way that rikssvenskarna talar det? Det är härligt att lyssna på. :eek:

[Halvard]

http://www.nuclear.pri.ee/rally/index.php

[jonkka]

Pons off....

Once again. He had very good rally last year here but now he's been off twice in eight stages. :eek:

[Timole]

just saw ponsis off live. good footage.

[Halvard]

Is Henning of too?

[Luckin]

S**t, I go away from my PC for just 20 seconds and miss Pons parking it in grass. Anyway, the stage looks really beautiful and quite difficult.

[N.O.T]

Heenings splits stopped as well...

[jonkka]

Henning +4min

[Addicted]

Henning`s got big problems

[bt52b]

Pons could probably Super Rally, car didn't look too bad

[Halvard]

any news about henning?

[A.F.F.]

Pons could probably Super Rally, car didn't look too bad

Again

[A.F.F.]

Latvala pushing very good :up:

Let's see how will Loeb's tyre roulette work ?

[jonkka]

Now it's Loeb's turn to be fast...

[Addicted]

PWRC top5 will be shaken on this long stage. Less than 50sec between them.

[N.O.T]

Loeb now on a charge....0.3 from Gronmholm on 1st split.....

[mdesign]

gronholm already losing 2 seconds

[jonkka]

And 2.2s on second split

[N.O.T]

2.2 on the second...

[A.F.F.]

Too bad Aroujo's splits can't be seen.

[Madeira]

any news about henning?
Perhaps He had also a puncture and decided to change the tyre....

[Addicted]

Looks that Henning had puncture since now he is loosing less

[noel157]

Henning is overheating, the car that is, after a small off.

[A.F.F.]

Henning is overheating, the car that is, after a small off.

Henning is probably overheating too ;)

[Halvard]

maybe somethin they can repare at the service then... Hope so

[N.O.T]

4.6 on the 3rd.....

[Koz]

Nice charge by Loeb.

[A.F.F.]

Dammit... Hänninen had an awful first plit :(

[Brother John]

Henning is overheating, the car that is, after a small off.

That was Urmo Avaa, i think! :confused:

[Brother John]

A Nissan went off

[N.O.T]

6.7 on the 4th...Gronholms tyres seem to deteriorate....

[jonkka]

Was that Nissan 240RS?

[jonkka]

There are no Nissans on the entry list? :eek:

[A.F.F.]

Loeb is steadily taking off all of Marcus' lead.

[jonkka]

Is there some sort of NZ Slowly Sideways going on too?

[mdesign]

will we hae a new lider after this stage?

[N.O.T]

10.4 seconds lost by Marcus....Loeb tyre choice pays off

[jonkka]

Loeb could just take lead...

[Brother John]

Was that Nissan 240RS? Color white, blue and red with Nissan on the hood.

[Fiorio]

Armindo is out?

[Madeira]

Henning hit a bank and stopped two times to remove some material from radiator....

[Addicted]

Maybe it is Pozzo`s time to catch Hänninen on stage.

[N.O.T]

11.3 the final difference......the fight is on.....

[noel157]

That was Urmo Avaa, i think! :confused:

No, pretty sure it was Henning. may have problems getting to SSS and service 105klms away.

[A.F.F.]

There's going to be a new order in PWRC after this stage. But McShea has driven very smart rally so far. :up:

[jonkka]

Chopper is down

[mdesign]

gronholm was saying that it was more than tyres that made him lose time

[mdesign]

araujo's accent its funny lol

[noel157]

Armindo is out?


Still going but rear diff broken. Not looking good.

Hanninen stopped on stage.

[A.F.F.]

Aroujo has a broken rear diffs.

[Addicted]

Araujo lost much time

[Fiorio]

Thanks

[A.F.F.]

Oh **** :mad: Hänninen stopped on stage.

[Madeira]

Game over for Armindo Araújo and for me!!
Good night!

[N.O.T]

Sébastien Loeb
Citroen Some damage to the rear left of the car - "It was a good tyre choice. I think Marcus (Gronholm) is too soft (tyre choice). I try to keep a good rythmn, not to slide too much for the tyre."

Daniel Sordo
Citroen "A little oversteer the car all the time. I try all the time. The tyres are nice, I think they are good for this stage. A good tyre for 3 stages"

Marcus Gronholm
Ford Not happy at the end of the stage - "I don't know, the car was like a snake all the time."

Mikko Hirvonen
Ford "I try to keep 100%"

Manfred Stohl
Citroen "The first 3, 5 cars on the road, it's incredible, there is a lot of loose gravel on the road."

Petter Solberg
Subaru "It was worse on this stage again also. I have no chance. Its bad, its impossible"

Chris Atkinson
Subaru "I'm pretty happy with that, I'm certainly trying. Its not easy"

Jari-Matti Latvala
Ford "It was a hard stage, I was cutting quite a lot. We had a huge moment in that stage, luckily we kept the car on the road. Today stages are really a joy to drive, it is better for me and my driving style."

Henning Solberg
Ford "I hit a bank at very high speed. In the fronf there was material which was going into the radiator so I had to stop 2 times to take it out."

Luis Perez Companc
Ford "Very very slippery, we made a spin, but we finish it."

Federico Villagra
Ford "Today is a very difficult stages, this one is very slippery, very hard to keep the car on the car, to stay there."

Xavier Pons
Subaru Rolled on the stage

Urmo Aava
Mitsubishi "We spun and I think we destroyed radiator."

Matthew Wilson
Ford "Being nearly first on the road, its really difficult. We've had 2 spins. Its just so, so slippery. Its definately going to clean and get quicker for the later guys."

[Koz]

More than tyres? Any ideas on what it could be?
If Marcus does not win in NZ his title chances are nearly over :(

[fatboymotorsport]

saw pons crashing but who hit the pole that the were showing on eye in the sky

[A.F.F.]

:laugh:

HÄNNINEN after he rolled: I obviously had too much for that corner.

[bt52b]

:laugh:

HÄNNINEN after he rolled: I obviously had too much for that corner.

Also said it has still has four wheels and the temp is ok :D

[A.F.F.]

Also said it has still has four wheels and the temp is ok :D

And rest of the car was a total mess :D Not a single straight panel.



Ok, workday for me tomorrow. Gotta meet the sandman now. Nite-nite :wave:

[bt52b]

And rest of the car was a total mess :D Not a single straight panel.


Colin said the rear wing was fine :p

[kleisj]

How Eye in the Sky works? U need to pay to watch?

[fatboymotorsport]

you dont need to pay the link is here a few pages back it isnt working too well the dial up connection THE are using just cant cut it

[kleisj]

Thank you!

[fatboymotorsport]

is the super special going to be shown live like last night ???

[duff]

So Solberg is having problems again. I'm not sure if they are real or imagined anymore...
I'm sure he wouldn't want to admit he was getting beaten by his team mate fair and square either way.

[kleisj]

So Solberg is having problems again. I'm not sure if they are real or imagined anymore...
I'm sure he wouldn't want to admit he was getting beaten by his team mate fair and square either way.

I don't think is the case. Even if he is a bit slower the last rallies from Atko, he is there to win the championship. Not just a special stage. He proved he could against Seb and Marcus. And I am sure he could do it again if he had the opportunity. Just now seems he has a lot of bad luck affecting also his phsychology and his motivation since he knows from the start of the rally that he will fight for positions 4-8 instead of 1-3.
Right now Atko is just happy about having a drive and win a few SS , Solberg on the other hand wants to flush his head down the toilete with what he drives being handicaped to achieve a good performance.

[WRXedUSA]

Block trading times with Murray and Pozzo!

Great!

[N.O.T]

Gronholm 0.4 faster than Loeb.....overall gap now 4 seconds and 2 looong stages await......

[WRXedUSA]

Petter, please move on. Your lack of performance and constant complaining is doing nobody any good.

It's not the car.

It's not the tires.

[sollitt]

Was that Nissan 240RS?

Today only, there is a club level event following the main event. there is a 240RS in that, which apparently backed up a bank early on.

[ZequeArgentina]

PWRC is getting a tyre question.

alister (ou of the PWRC) is showing excellente speed and no problems.
McShea was firstly fast and now saving tyres (I guess), Nutahara has not driven fast but kept out of of trouible, then come the fasts one who have hit problems:
Mason, Pozzo, Armindo, Arai, Haninen, and a surprising to me Vertunov.

Pozzo is having a good day but lost a lot yesterday on the long stage (as well as Arai, Mason and Haninen on the same one).

Anything can happen till the end!!
Still 2 long stages for today!

And Loeb vs Gronholm is very, very close.
Interesting rally

[Rally Hokkaido]

PWRC is getting a tyre question.
I agree Zeque. The level of competition in this year's PWRC is very high so most
of them are driving every stage maximum attack.
Unf, still mostly production parts in the suspension and no mousse in the tyres means that they all suffer some problem in the rally. It's becoming like JWRC, in that regard.
Even ultra reliable drivers like Toshi is this year regularly having punctures and/or small offs causing mechanical trouble.
I think McShea has looked at previous results and is driving accordingly.
He deserves to score a podium.

[N.O.T]

30 mins till next stage.......

[Buzz Lightyear]

Matthew Wilson
Ford "Being nearly first on the road, its really difficult. We've had 2 spins. Its just so, so slippery. Its definately going to clean and get quicker for the later guys."

Does Wilson deserve to be anything other than a road sweeper..?

[N.O.T]

stage started.....

[jonkka]

Today only, there is a club level event following the main event. there is a 240RS in that, which apparently backed up a bank early on.

Thanks, that cleared it up. For a moment I thought I had been transferred back in time by 21 years... :)

[ZequeArgentina]

first watch at the eye in the sky this year for me, and I should say it is great.

Perez Companc is clearly moving all arround (sweeping the road???).

Cheers to NZ organizers and the Eye in the Sky!!!!!!!!!!!

[jonkka]

These two stages will be decisive so thumbs up for your favourites.

[jonkka]

Gronholm is faster, at least initially.

[ZequeArgentina]

Latvala is fastest, but most imortant, he is this fast while Marcus and Seb are giving everything they have for the lead (Fighting the race and the cahmpionship)!!

Amazing (he has gone fast this year, but not beating the super duo while they were giving it all)

[jonkka]

Agreed, Zeq!

[jonkka]

Though we don't know what tyre he got, might be a tad softer which is faster initially but drops down a lot at the end of the second stage. Impressive now but lets judge only after both stages are done.

[White Sauron]

Anyone has the photo of #42? Evgeny Vertunov. Please!

[Maui J.]

I think you poeople think too much!
The average Kiwi rally fan wouldn't remember the Rainbow Warrior bombing, wouldn't have heard of Guy Frequelin & the only 'rugby history' we have with France is snotting them on a regular basis.

If there's more people at the Subaru & Ford tents than Citroen it's simply because Subaru has a huge following in this country (no small thanks to Possum Bourne), Petter is a showman, Chris is the nearest thing we have to a local in the WRC, and Marcus is the exciting act at the moment.
Contrast that with Citroen's almost non existent market share, it's image as a boring and ugly car for old fuddy duddies, and it's slightly reclusive world champion.

Thanks Sollitt. I couldn't have said it better.
Subaru has a strong following in NZ because of Possum. Ford has strong following because of a strong loyality to an iconic brand that has been involved in NZ motorsport for decades. From the 1960's onwards our roads here were full of GB and Australian Fords, but it was the Ozzie Fords that got most of the attention because those were the ones we saw on the race tracks. Part of it was the whole Ford vs Holden thing that the Australians can relate to. Similar to the Ford Vs Chevy thing in the US.
As far as Citroen goes. Well it's market share in NZ is tiny.

Now as far what that forumer said yesterday about Loeb being a dickhead... well I was horrified
and embrassed. I have never thought that about him and infact have experienced the opposite. At last year's event when Loeb was here just for the recce, he signed my mates T-shirt for him, shook his hand. Saw him later in the day chatting with fans in the public places.
Then yesterday between SS3 & SS4 we came across him on the side of the road doing a tyre change. He was chatting away with a car load of people who had stopped to watch. They were French speakers which obviously made it easier for him, but he seemed very approachable and relaxed with it all.

No stages for me today. See what tomorrow brings.

[jonkka]

Ouch, Marcus lost his advantage towards the end...

[Maui J.]

Anyone has the photo of #42? Evgeny Vertunov. Please!

Here's one from the service park on Thursday. Sorry don't think I have any action shots.

[White Sauron]

Here's one from the service park on Thursday. Sorry don't think I have any action shots.

Anyway!!! Thanks a LOT, mate!!!!

[jonkka]

Stohl missing a split... If that is a problem, this year appears to be mighty difficult for him... :eek:

[jonkka]

Nay, it was just GPS glitch - luckily

[sollitt]

Great time for Mason. Now 2nd PWRC. And good to see Hanninen still going strong.

[ST205GT4]

Anyway!!! Thanks a LOT, mate!!!!

Don't have one of him, but I have another Russian for you from Rally Oz last year.

http://wrc.smugmug.com/photos/105913130-L.jpg

Sergey Uspenskiy.

[jonkka]

Seb is really flying, he's almost in the lead now (2nd split)

[ZequeArgentina]

Gronholm -3.2 at second split. He is about to loose the lead, Loeb is going at really full attack

[White Sauron]

Don't have one of him, but I have another Russian for you from Rally Oz last year.


Sergey Uspenskiy.


Thanks! He's the director of the team)

[malscar]

I was thinking the same, in fact I think he is just in front.

[ST205GT4]

Great fight between Loeb and Gronholm. Been a good rally really.

Shame that Subarus are still off the pace though. Looks like 4-6th is about the best they can do currently on the loose stuff.

[jonkka]

Seb and Bosse are on equal time after split five, final split will decide who'll lead into tomorrow... :eek:

[Rally Hokkaido]

Marcus just through the flying finish and.....

[jonkka]

Seb leads by 1.7secs

[Rally Hokkaido]

lost the lead by .2 secs!

[Rally Hokkaido]

errr 2.2 secs?

[duff]

Great Battle!
And the one with J-M and Akto is interesting aswell

[ST205GT4]

I think Latvala has Chris's number at the moment barring a mistake.

[jonkka]

Very tight but the gap between Seb and Marcus has gone down from SS3 so why would that trend change tomorrow? It might be Sebastien's game in the end... which is not good championshipwise...

[ZequeArgentina]

something wrong with Mason, now Pozzo climbed to second, but Arai is comming really fast!! (just 1,4 seconds down to Pozzo).

McShea leads with some confort (58 secs)

[jparker]

So, finally interesting last day of rallying. That's nice.

[Bristecom]

Well, I thought for sure Gronholm would pull away today but it seems Loeb has fought incredibly hard and taken the lead. If Loeb manages to win this, Gronholm may be in serious trouble since 3 of the next 5 events are on tarmac. This is going to be an intense battle for sure...

And it's nice to see a Mitsubishi in the top 8. :D

[Koz]

Looks like the end for Gronholm :(

Edit: But I hope not. I remember Marcus' roll in '04 and still nearly won. Who knows.. Maybe...

[White Sauron]

Looks like the end for Gronholm :(

Edit: But I hope not. I remember Marcus' roll in '04 and still nearly won. Who knows.. Maybe...

and for his championship chances... as Hirvonen isn't going to help him out...

[Koz]

and for his championship chances... as Hirvonen isn't going to help him out...

At this point I dont think Hirvonen could even help him if he wanted to.
I dont think Marcus will be coming back next year if he cant catch Leob tomorrow.

How long is Loeb contracted with Citroen for?
I dont see him being the only winning pony in the race for too much longer.. Maybe till his 5th championship. But it really wont mean much when there is no one who is even slightly a threat.

[Bristecom]

Looks like the end for Gronholm :(

Edit: But I hope not. I remember Marcus' roll in '04 and still nearly won. Who knows.. Maybe...
I wouldn't say it's the end yet. Marcus still has the upper hand right now. He is currently leading the championship by 8 points and both he and the Ford tend to do well on dirt. So he may still win this rally along with Japan and GB. Also, the Focus has had some updates which will give it a better chance on tarmac. But I know Loeb isn't about to give up and there is a good chance he'll make a huge comeback and win this championship.

[duff]

And at least for this rally; Marcus is a last day charger so he may be able to bring it back.

[Daniel]

I think you poeople think too much!
The average Kiwi rally fan wouldn't remember the Rainbow Warrior bombing, wouldn't have heard of Guy Frequelin & the only 'rugby history' we have with France is snotting them on a regular basis.

If there's more people at the Subaru & Ford tents than Citroen it's simply because Subaru has a huge following in this country (no small thanks to Possum Bourne), Petter is a showman, Chris is the nearest thing we have to a local in the WRC, and Marcus is the exciting act at the moment.
Contrast that with Citroen's almost non existent market share, it's image as a boring and ugly car for old fuddy duddies, and it's slightly reclusive world champion.
I wholeheartedly agree. I doubt anyone but the most nutty greenpeace supporters still hold a grudge against anything French for what the French did.

The C4 doesn't really have an image as an old person's car :) If you ever see one without stickers, big wheels, turbo and 2wd they're actually a very clean and contemporary little car and I get the impression here in the UK it's cool to own a C4 :)

[Maui J.]

Something is fishy here. If he actually said that, and I have no reason to doubt that you heard correctly, then something is badly amiss
US events in the old SCCA Championship and the current two private corpoations having "Championships" and most local events have been done using the Swedish "Jemba" note system for at least the last 7 years, and some events have introduced 1 or even 2 pass recce in the last couple of years--(which makes me shake my head as I can't see why 98.5% need Jemba notes when they drive so painfully slow)
So Block has been using "Notes" since the first event he entered.
So maybe you heard wrong.


You know. Your right. It was a long day and I was tried when I wrote this. He did mentioned the computer generated notes.
What he did say was he needed more practice actually writing his own notes. Something that doesn't happen in the US.
Sorry for the confusion. Rest assured, the bit about Travis I did hear correctly.

Anyway back to the rally.
Wow! It's going to be a ding-dong fight tomorrow. Can't wait.

Also just watched the TV news. Great footage of Pons roll as well as both rolls by Hanninen. Perfect spots by the camera teams.

[Koz]

The C4 doesn't really have an image as an old person's car :) If you ever see one without stickers, big wheels, turbo and 2wd they're actually a very clean and contemporary little car and I get the impression here in the UK it's cool to own a C4 :)

People in NZ dont care about clean cars, I tell you that.
One of my neighbours owns an Subaru WRX, and the other neighbour owns a V10 dodge ram. His car probobly costs more than his house. :(
I see 50+ WRX, Mitsubishi Evo, Ford/Holden V8s, and Nissan Skylines on the way to work (500+ on the way to uni :p ).
You are apparently "gay" if you own a car that isnt turbo or V6 or V8 or a 20+ year old civic. I dont know anyone who owns a Peugeot or Citroen or a small ford.
And there is no reasonable public transport system, so I spend atleast 2 hours every morning driving to uni, which is 29km away :(
And some people call NZ a green paradise :P

[Daniel]

Well if Citroen brought cars to NZ I'm sure they'd sell some. Not everyone (myself included) want to own something so "obvious" as a WRX or a V8 Ford Falcon. Believe me that people like cars like the C4 and will buy them. Perhaps not in the numbers they would here go Europe. But Australia and it's love of French cars is proof that people down south do appreciate good cars.

[Corny]

what a surprise, Loeb's leading :)
could someone please give me a site where I can check interviews from Marcus/Seb?

[A.F.F.]

I see 50+ WRX, Mitsubishi Evo, Ford/Holden V8s, and Nissan Skylines on the way to work (500+ on the way to uni :p ).


How about big hairy feet? You see them ? :p :

Anyways... glad to notice Latvala has stayed on road and what Zegue pointed out, Latvala's pace has been good even Marcus and Loeb are giving everything they got :up:

PWRC is still a lottery. Nothing is clear till the fat lady finally sings. Hänninen get my "sisupuukon" for this rally :)

[Koz]

How about big hairy feet? You see them ? :p :

Only mine when I take my socks off :p

[Daniel]

How about big hairy feet? You see them ? :p :

Someone's slightly obsessed :p

[ProRally]

I hope McShea can keep the lead, but Toshi is really pushing and if you see how much he made up on Leg 2, I think he will go fast again on Leg 3 and keep his championship alive. A good result here and then to his 'home' event Japan.
But as mentioned on this thread before for Niall to get a podium will be fantastic, specially getting the phone call tuesday morning at 09:30 to say , please go to NZ

[White Sauron]

A very good gallery from Day 2:

http://gallery.wrcfm.com/main.php?cmd=album&var1=RallyNZ+2007%2FDay+2/

[A.F.F.]

Someone's slightly obsessed :p

I don't why folks here keep on calling it by some imaginery name like New Zealand :confused: Everybody knows it's Middle Earth :p :

[Daniel]

I don't why folks here keep on calling it by some imaginery name like New Zealand :confused: Everybody knows it's Middle Earth :p :
Would be cool if they tackled the MORDOR super special :cheese:

[Daniel]

I hope McShea can keep the lead, but Toshi is really pushing and if you see how much he made up on Leg 2, I think he will go fast again on Leg 3 and keep his championship alive. A good result here and then to his 'home' event Japan.
But as mentioned on this thread before for Niall to get a podium will be fantastic, specially getting the phone call tuesday morning at 09:30 to say , please go to NZ
I hope Niall can keep it up too :)

[A.F.F.]

Would be cool if they tackled the MORDOR super special :cheese:

Yes :up:

40,18 kilometer stage on the lands of Moooordoooor :up:

[Daniel]

Just watch out for the Uruk-hai which roam the stages ;)

[Dingardo]

Incase some people want some close up shots of Pons' car on SS8..

http://gallery.wrcfm.com/main.php?cmd=album&var1=RallyNZ+2007%2FDay+2%2FSS8/

[mdesign]

I guess this turn out to be an interesting rally. gronholm could well get his victory tomorrow, he got his 15secs lead when loeb had "not so good" tyres and lost that advantage when he had "not so good" tyres comparing to loeb. Just hope the have a close fight tomorrow. the final day it's longer than usual :)
It's a big shame that Araujo hit trouble. He was going well :(

[ste898]

Can someone anser me a question?

Why did Subaru take on another waste of space, they aleady have atkinson and now Pons who is even more useless!!!

[Daniel]

What coverage have you been watching? Atkinson was fast and Pons was doing well on day 1 until his off.

[Daniel]

Plus Pons is paying....

[Fang]

Can someone anser me a question?

Why did Subaru take on another waste of space, they aleady have atkinson and now Pons who is even more useless!!!

Are you trying to sh!t stir or have you really got it in for Atkinson?

[A.F.F.]

Hmmmmm..... Just watched the coverage from MAX ( yes, two weeks of cable open, thank you Welho :) ) and Marcus was a bit flegmatic. I know he has cold and he doesn't feel 100% but still, I didn't see the attack in his eyes :mark: Almost felt like he has thrown the towel to the ring...

[janneppi]

It's the same whining Marcus we've come to love over the years. :D

[jacko]

Plus Pons is paying....

who says? Don't see any sponsor extra on the car and Subaru also never mentioned about this, they did run 3 cars on 5 occassions last year also..

[GigiGalliNo1]

Are you trying to sh!t stir or have you really got it in for Atkinson?

I dont think he is stirring anything up (here) it is true, under performing team even with 3 cars! :( not happy :(

btw what is Mcrae driving in this rally? a PWRC car? Grp. N?

[SubaruNorway]

who says? Don't see any sponsor extra on the car and Subaru also never mentioned about this, they did run 3 cars on 5 occassions last year also..

There is one in the lower grill

[A.F.F.]

btw what is Mcrae driving in this rally? a PWRC car? Grp. N?

It's Alister McRae, Colin's younger brother driving group-N car but participating PWRC.

[A.F.F.]

who says? Don't see any sponsor extra on the car and Subaru also never mentioned about this, they did run 3 cars on 5 occassions last year also..

Pons himself is saying.

[René]

Juho Hanninen roll and roll !

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2vqcd_juhohanninen2007pwrcnewzealand_auto

[GigiGalliNo1]

It's Alister McRae, Colin's younger brother driving group-N car but participating PWRC.

I know which McRae it is haha but didnt know what car car he was driving! :D

[SubaruNorway]

I know which McRae it is haha but didnt know what car car he was driving! :D

The Toyota i gues?

[GigiGalliNo1]

The Toyota i gues?

don't think it is FIA homoligated?!

[SubaruNorway]

don't think it is FIA homoligated?!

Didn't they use it on Rally GB last year, know the australian isen't.

Alister is driving a EVOIX stnr 61 http://www.chrissport.co.nz/results/2007/rallynz/startlist1.htm

[A.F.F.]

Juho Hanninen roll and roll !

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2vqcd_juhohanninen2007pwrcnewzealand_auto

"kääntäkää nyt ympäri tää saatanan auto" :D


And, after they have turned the car on wheels, Hänninen says: " Ask if we got all the wheel". :D

Classic.

[A.F.F.]

I know which McRae it is haha but didnt know what car car he was driving! :D


It can be clearly seen for instance from the resultpage Matt. Ever though of that? :)

[klm-607]

An epic battle on the horizon
New Zealand - Leg 2 - Review *(GO MARCUS!!!!)
[01/09/07 - 09:11]

Loeb's lead is fragile...

The second leg of Rally New Zealand was dominated by the continuing battle between Marcus Grönholm and Sébastien Loeb. Both men exchanged best times over the stages, relegating the other competitors' performances into the shadows.

Pushing forward relentlessly since the morning, Loeb caught up to Grönholm and took fragile control of the rally on the day's very last stage. The Citroën driver might have the top spot, but with a margin of only 1.7 seconds it is hard to say what the final results will be in view of the Ford driver's expected attacks tomorrow.

Quite aware that he would not be in a position to fight for overall victory, Mikko Hirvonen preferred to focus on keeping a constant pace in order to build up a solid third overall place, which is something he has done very well.

Loeb's remarkable sprints:
Once again tyres made the difference. Yesterday morning, Loeb made the wrong choice and was unable to follow Grönholm's rhythm. This morning he opted for a compound harder than the type chosen by his adversaries... The results would prove him right.

Four stages went to Loeb, two went to Grönholm, but the tide turned during the Franklin test (SS 8) when the Frenchman recuperated 11 seconds on the Finn who was suddenly struggling with his tyres. Loeb would later be five seconds faster on equal terms during the day's last stage.

But with less than two seconds as a buffer, Loeb knows he will have to deliver an enormous fight tomorrow. It is impossible to know who will have the last word, but the tyre lottery winner will surely stand a better chance.

At the wheel of the other works Citroën C4, Dani Sordo kept the same pace he had yesterday and held on to sixth place. He should be continuing with the same plan on Sunday.

Grönholm played it too softly:
Marcus Grönholm would lose precious time over this morning's stages. Despite all his efforts, the tyres he chose were simply too soft and transformed his Ford Focus into an unstable machine that he compared to a slithering snake.

Grönholm still has something to say...

With a 13-second lead at the end of the first leg, Grönholm knew he would have to maintain the pace to avoid seeing Loeb getting too close. He could not avoid that today, but he will surely be fighting back aggressively tomorrow in order to reclaim the rally lead.

For his part, Mikko Hirvonen has built a comfortable third-place cushion around himself which should lead to a reserved podium spot. Over a minute behind Loeb, the young Finn is 49.8 seconds ahead of his nearest competitor.

A duel between Latvala and Atkinson
Fourth place seems to be a highly disputed position. Stobart's Jari Matti Latvala and Subaru's Chris Atkinson fought each other all day long with the time gaps between them sometimes measured in tenths of a second. Latvala now has a 10.5-second lead on Atkinson, who complained of oversteer.

Petter Solberg's spirits were obviously down today. The Norwegian confirmed that things were simply getting worse, that it was impossible to drive with an Impreza lacking traction in front and pushing too hard in back. He stands in seventh place, 3'25"9 from the leader.

His brother Henning Solberg encountered problems of a different nature after going off during SS 8 and damaging his car's radiator. He lost over five minutes in the misadventure as he had to stop and remove mud from the front of his Ford Focus. He holds on to tenth place, right behind team mate Matthew Wilson.

Xevi Pons, the third Subaru team driver, has retired again after another roll. Urmo Aava took advantage of Henning Solberg's problems and climbed to eighth place, despite himself being involved in a spin that damaged his radiator and cost him two minutes.

Rally New Zealand will conclude after Sunday's seven stages.

Daniel BASTIEN
© CAPSIS International

[Addicted]

Can someone anser me a question?

Why did Subaru take on another waste of space, they aleady have atkinson and now Pons who is even more useless!!!


There weren`t many slow and paying drivers left so Subaru took driver with speed and money.

And take a look in Ford`s service area and count how many useless drivers are there. Munchi`s, MacHale , Wilson and my personal favourite mr Abu Dhabi.

[Mauri A]

Are the Finnish names really too difficult? On B.F. Goodrich´s cap that J-M was wearing there stood Jarri-Matti Latvala!

[janneppi]

Jurri-Matti would have been better. ;)

[pentti]

Jurri-Matti would have been better. ;) Sorry about this but what does jurri mean.Have I been too long from Finland?

[mdesign]

There weren`t many slow and paying drivers left so Subaru took driver with speed and money.

And take a look in Ford`s service area and count how many useless drivers are there. Munchi`s, MacHale , Wilson and my personal favourite mr Abu Dhabi.

I guess your favorite might just be the man that keeps ford on the wrc for a couple years more. :P

[Timole]

"kääntäkää nyt ympäri tää saatanan auto" :D


And, after they have turned the car on wheels, Hänninen says: " Ask if we got all the wheel". :D

Classic.

It´s a good recoveri from Juho and of course those comments, absolute classic!

[DonJippo]

Sorry about this but what does jurri mean.Have I been too long from Finland?

No pentti you just have been too long jurrissa so it may have caused lost of memory :D

[pentti]

No pentti you just have been too long jurrissa so it may have caused lost of memory :D Correct. I know understand but J-M does not drink.

[Englandsfahrer]

Jurri-Matti would have been better. ;)

Sorry about this but what does jurri mean.Have I been too long from Finland?

No pentti you just have been too long jurrissa so it may have caused lost of memory :D

Correct. I know understand but J-M does not drink.

Jurri,
Jurrissa,
Jurassic Park?

Someone translate, please? :p

[pentti]

Jurri,
Jurrissa,
Jurassic Park?

Someone translate, please? :p Over to you donjippo.You started it.

[Doon]

Correct. I know understand but J-M does not drink.

Looks like Hanninen has been doing some drink driving from that video! He's obviously not in WRDADD, or whatever it was that Daniel Carlsson was promoting. ;)

[cut the b.s.]

Can someone anser me a question?

Why did Subaru take on another waste of space, they aleady have atkinson and now Pons who is even more useless!!!


There weren`t many slow and paying drivers left so Subaru took driver with speed and money.

And take a look in Ford`s service area and count how many useless drivers are there. Munchi`s, MacHale , Wilson and my personal favourite mr Abu Dhabi.


Possibly the best reply I have ever read on this forum :-)

Mr Ste898, Pons is a decent driver, at least as good as the guy in the orange Focus, and as for Atkinson(capital for names please), I'm not a fan of his and there were people I would have rather had got his seat but be fair to the guy, I think he has to be the driver of the season so far, he has made mistakes but he has been very fast in a car which a former WRC champ is rapidly growing old trying to drive

[SubaruNorway]

Doesen't look like the eye in the sky feed is any better still, it shoulden't be this hard to fix it, should it?

:mad:

[Addicted]

I guess your favorite might just be the man that keeps ford on the wrc for a couple years more. :P

Yep, that is possible and I thank him for doing that. He might not be the fastest man in WRC but he`s driving is quite spectacular, atleast was in Finland where I saw him many times going sideways and enjoying.

[ste898]

Possibly the best reply I have ever read on this forum :-)

Mr Ste898, Pons is a decent driver, at least as good as the guy in the orange Focus, and as for Atkinson(capital for names please), I'm not a fan of his and there were people I would have rather had got his seat but be fair to the guy, I think he has to be the driver of the season so far, he has made mistakes but he has been very fast in a car which a former WRC champ is rapidly growing old trying to drive


You should lay of the drink mate its making you see things......

Pons a good driver......dont make me laugh!!!!

[KKS]

Started Leg3 :)

[Josti]

Please Grönholm, overtake Loeb, for the sake of the championship, and my pickems!

[Koz]

Looks abit wet like it will be tyre choices that will decide everything today.

[Timole]

so the last day begins. i hope it will be interesting and good batteling.

[kleisj]

Good evening all, SS12 on the way. Combat positions!
link for the eye in the sky pls?

[Addicted]

Good start for Perez Companc and bad for Aava.

[Koz]

Marcus' driving looks abit off?

[Josti]

Marcus' driving looks abit off?

Good time though...

[Koz]

Seb near off... Pressure?

Marcus back in the lead :D

[mdesign]

and gronholm takes the lead eheh

[kleisj]

Gron ahead 1.8s in 5kms of stage!

[jonkka]

By smallest possible margin...

[dimviii]

+0,1 for gro :s mokin:

[Luckin]

After 263 km of competitive distance, all that separates them is 0.1s. In Petter's words "Incredible" :)

[jonkka]

That's how competitive today's WRC is.

[A.F.F.]

Clash of the titans has started :hot:

[Josti]

That's how competitive today's WRC is.

With respectivly two cars...

[A.F.F.]

Does WRR work ? Can't hear anything.

[Josti]

Me neither.

[N.O.T]

does eye in the sky work properly ??

[noel157]

Sometime we'll have pictures AND radio. Hard to get both working at the same time.

[bt52b]

does eye in the sky work properly ??

Did it ever :(

Think everything tonite is borked. Was trying to listen to the ALMS race on Globecast (http://www.0157.org) and there was golf commentary on at the same time :(

[Luckin]

Eye in the Sky more or less works, nothing for Radio sadly... Is it Perez Companc on Eye now?

EDIT: Radio works again.

[Madeira]

does eye in the sky work properly ??
Link please. Thank you!

[noel157]

Did it ever :(

It's only stalling every 25 secs tonight.........not bad compared to last night.

[jacko]

SS12 had amazing average of speed: 119.40 km/hour, set by Marcus :)

[Luckin]

Link please. Thank you!

http://mfile.akamai.com/20546/live/reflector:44165.asx?bkup=34144

[noel157]

Sorry, every 10 secs, back to normal..........

[mdesign]

looking forward to see if gronholm gets more time out of loeb, or instead, loeb bits back :D

[Jaanus]

Sometime we'll have pictures AND radio. Hard to get both working at the same time.

http://www.zone.ee/wrcmasters/netradio.html

[mdesign]

SS12 had amazing average of speed: 119.40 km/hour, set by Marcus :)

in the rain?! wow

[cut the b.s.]

You should lay of the drink mate its making you see things......

Pons a good driver......dont make me laugh!!!!


Read what I said, and what addicted posted also, if Pons was as slow as you say Malcolm would have snapped him up to go with the rest of his wannabes


Ps, were you not banned a few weeks back? ;-)

[kleisj]

With respectivly two cars...

and 2 drivers...

[A.F.F.]

Nice to see Latvala managed to keep Atkinson behind :up:

Did Hänninen start today ?

[KKS]

slide-show :D

[jonkka]

If these are the last sights of Mitsu WRC on stage, it's really a huge shame. So much development and rally tradition to waste.

[harriswrc]

Did Hänninen start today ?
He started and he is the BEST again!!!!!

[Josti]

If these are the last sights of Mitsu WRC on stage, it's really a huge shame. So much development and rally tradition to waste.

True, this car had potential. Real shame.