Hyundai team after Dani finished didn't look happy at all
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Hyundai team after Dani finished didn't look happy at all
Tänak not pushing, +2.6 secs down in split 1
I also liked this rally. However I'm surprised that none of the factory cars retired or even went to super rally (only Loubet did both)Quote:
Originally Posted by Mirek
Kalle going for all in
Steady Kalle just get the win !
i cant believe it...Tänak again with problems
Awesome performance by Kalle.
The Gods of the Rally of the Gods. What a performance from Kalle and Jonne!
Great points for Toyota here... and Finland to come next.
On first try, like Juha Kankkunen!Quote:
Originally Posted by Mirek
Great from Rovanpera, brilliant performance….
Really superb rally by Kalle, second victory this year, and Finland coming up.
Think the boring feeling stems more from the quality of the WRC field. Like someone said about M-Sport before. There's WRC, then WRC1,5 before WRC2. Far too little variety with just two proper manufacture entries.Quote:
Originally Posted by SubaruNorway
Yep stages were nice and very different character during the 3 days.
Too few competetive WRC entries and those that usually spice it up a bit either didn't run (Katsuta) or didn't spice anything (Sordo).
Most important result by Rovanpera so far. Finally getting good result on rough/slow gravel. That was the main missing part last season. Only top 1-2 on tarmac is missing now for complete package.
Complete Hyundai disaster this rally.
Easy championship for Ogier. Even if he was slower and less consistent than he is, just too many troubles for his competitors this season, usually not even for their own fault. Shame, because it could have been a more exciting championship. But he is still the best of the current drivers, even though man of the rally is clearly Kalle, perfect weekend.
My best of this particular rally with mud and dry gravel
https://youtu.be/nqx3I2ujZpk
Attachment 2166Attachment 2166
My video (Rallymedia) is online too!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxCciWlTIFA
What a lovely rally to watch when you are finally at the stage ;) Because that was sometimes quite difficult because of muddy access roads.
But the weather and surface changes made it a very nice rally.
I was thinking more about the stages, smooth as a dancing floor in many places doesn't suit this rally. I don't really have anyone to root for in WRC anywayQuote:
Originally Posted by Franky
Acropolis Rally will be in the calendar for 2023 as well.
Acropolis rally 2021 Highlights
https://youtu.be/bm85RzZ_w4U
When you are watching from TV, you want crashes, offs, punctures, drama.
When you are watching from the stages, you want none of the above, you just want to see action from as many as possible cars.
the rally was ok... it was not very spectator friendly this year, with limited options and you could not watch many stages.
the super special was a travesty... and the service park was conjested for no reason... they could leave the spectators some free roaming instead of having them on a narrow trail... the distance between the spectators and the service tents was way too big... you could fit 2 lorries between them.
as a rally it was ok with 3 full days of fighting for the win, but i think it was too easy.
also some access roads could use some road rollers as well.
next year it should be better.
interesting why Ott wasnt present.Quote:
Originally Posted by AnttiL
Q:
Tell us about starting the car before the Power Stage…
MJ:
He tried to! It looked like it was game over but then it started and that was the last time. We switched it off and then it would not start anymore, so really it was the last time. There was three seconds to the start and he was still touch some buttons, this was not so good for the rhythm and maybe that cost some time.
I watched all the cars on 7 stages, on fast, selected spots. I could watch 9 stages, but not all cars and not on fast spots.
Spectacle with 4th, 5th and 6th gear was extraordinary. Top of the top.
I did not expect to say it so early in his career, but Kalle was fastest on eye and ear. On fast sections the least lift-off. And on one 6th gear section the only one with absolutely no lift-off. To the ear he is the same as Loeb. To the eye he is sometimes exactly like Loeb, sometimes like a typical Finn. Surely a future champion.
The rally was very good, all stages are very very technical, fantastic to drive and, except Elatia, pass through beautiful places. Probably they are some of the best in the world. But it was not Acropolis the way we knew it. Tarzan, the ex-"toughest stage in Europe and probably in whole world", is now smoother than Finland. The same applies to Pavliani and Eleftherohori. Having driven Eleftherohori during ERC years, I dare say that it was multiple times tougher in ERC than the Eleftherohori I passed with my everyday car this year after two passes of the WRC rally. This is the reason there were no flat tyres, no dramas, no retirements. Someone called it boring. Maybe it was for you that watched it on laptop. Surely it was not boring for the spectator, but I don't remember it being boring for the spectator in its previous form either. Time will tell if the "road-roller" choice is good for the survival of the rally. I keep my doubts. As a driver, I would prefer this "road-roller" form, by far.
P.S. SSS is exactly as NOT said: a travesty.
Rossel disqualified!
https://twitter.com/anttil_wrc/statu...086205952?s=21
Same part that was out of spec in Sardinia already (different serial number).Quote:
Originally Posted by AnttiL
In addition he was also for fined for having brake cooling fans different than homologated.
They say that in Sardinia they weighed this part with this Serial No and found it OK. And in Greece they found it 240 grams heavier. I can't help but remembering when they weighed my car in one scrutineering and found it 20 kilos more than it actually was. I hope they are not the same stewards and not the same level of machinery...Quote:
Originally Posted by AnttiL
Quote:
Originally Posted by scn
I agree 100% excelent post.
Good questions indeed. I think this became the rally with least retirements in the whole season so far. Only one factory car from each team (Evans, Neuville, Fourmaux) had an issue which cost time but was fixed on the road section, and then Loubet's customer car broke, with likely older parts than on factory cars.Quote:
Originally Posted by scn
I'm personally undecided, whether the roads should have been rougher or not. There's good sides to both versions.
I would say the weather actually helped the roads a lot in staying smooth.
If it were raining all the time they would get muddy with deep mud or deep ruts (see SD after some runs).
If it were dry all the time and the week before they would quickly get broken up by the cars, especially for the second passes.
This way you had just enough moisture (acting as "glue") that neither of these happened.
But sure even if it was dry it wouldn't be recent Turkey-level rough.
As mentioned what I really loved is that some stages were rough (Friday first part) and some were not, that could certainly be kept for the future.
Very weird indeed. Seems like the fia might need to calibrate their scales.Quote:
Originally Posted by scn
Dirtfish says:
"if the 2022 Acropolis is more of a Portugal than a Safari, it might be worth considering reintroducing Turkey to the calendar. We still haven’t forgotten those bruising runs through Çetibeli last year."
I hope the organizers listen to this and stop sending road rollers in the stages. Although I doubt they can bring them back to their actual form, after what they did this year. Acropolis does not have a future being just another Portugal. The Acropolis of 2016-2018 for ERC, held on almost the same roads, were multiple times tougher than this year's. And, if there were no financial problems from the organizers' side, the ERC promoter begged for keeping the rally in its traditional form.
It was not a FIA scale. It is one of the scales used by Greek stewards. I don't know who provides the scales in WRC scrutineering.Quote:
Originally Posted by denkimi
Maybe next year consider only Loutraki stages for a change? Klenia, Aghios Ioannis, Kineta, Aghii Theodoroi, Pissia, Gymno etc? And go back to Lamia for 2023?
Dear organizers, please also consider am Anavyssos SSS. That would be amazing!
I dont understand why all this? the rally was well organized and the stages was awesome. These are not similar to any other rally.
As far as I know, Loubet hit something at the edge of the road. Spectators that saw the car in Elatia said that it was a driver's error.**Quote:
Originally Posted by AnttiL
Regarding Neuville, Fourmaux and Evans, Neuville had a steering oil leak from one connection, Evans a gear selector problem and Fourmaux a faulty spark plug. None of these issues can be clearly attributed to battering from rough roads. In Finland you have more frequent issues from the jumps.
**Loubet reached the finish of Elatia stage with a Belgian spectator hanging from his open door and acting as a balancing weight. Actually he should be disqualified.
Andrea Adamo distributes the points and admits defeat: "To say that we will fight until the end? Blah for social networks
https://www-rtbf-be.translate.goog/s...o=ajax,nv,elem
It was very well organized, the stages were awesome and not similar to any other rally. But they lost their toughness. If there was not a demand from FIA to have one tough rally in Europe, this would not be a problem. Now that Turkey and Cyprus are serious competitors for meeting this demand, it is a problem. Don't get me wrong, the problem is not the Acropolis. The problem is the competition from Turkey and Cyprus.Quote:
Originally Posted by spyros
its ok i understand.In the past i saw RAC, 1000 lakes, San Remo, and Monte but its the wheather and colors here in Greece that makes the difirence.Quote:
Originally Posted by scn
If anyone collects rally programmes, I have two spare ones. I can ship to EU and you will pay only the shipping costs.