CMR2 Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo

JTLarsen
Two Basses Ford Team Europe

Day 1:
All stages but one was bone dry, so I had a fairly consistent drive despite hitting the guardrail a couple of times and hitting the wall head on on stage 3, loosing 10 seconds finding a place wide enough to spin the car back round.

Day 2:
Snow and ice all around, and my effort to stay out of the snowbanks seems to have payed off at the end of the day, even though I tipped the car on its side on stage 5 of all stages (same stage as shakedown), thanks to a few helpfull spectators I was back on track a few seconds later!

And now, straight to Sweden to do some recceing.

JTL and Homer:

ou guys use manual gearboxes?

I could see an advantage to them here...

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Originally Posted by JTLarsen

Snow and ice all around, and my effort to stay out of the snowbanks seems to have payed off at the end of the day, even though I tipped the car on its side on stage 5 of all stages (same stage as shakedown), thanks to a few helpfull spectators I was back on track a few seconds later.

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Where did you do that? Near the end of the stage?

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Originally Posted by tannat

JTL and Homer:

ou guys use manual gearboxes?

I could see an advantage to them here...

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Yep...def helps with traction in and out of corners you can control the car more on the snowy stages. On the tarmac it's a limited advantage.

Anyway finished my rally....very happy with both days - it was a massive challenge to cope with the changeable conditions on this event. Ice, snow falls, tarmac it had it all.

The C4 is a great car though so I hope to show good pace here. Full report later.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tannat

JTL and Homer:

ou guys use manual gearboxes?

I could see an advantage to them here...

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Nope, always automatic! I don't think that I would be able to handle any more buttons (using 5 already).

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Originally Posted by Juha

Where did you do that? Near the end of the stage?

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There is a dip in the road lined with stonewalls, between the last checkpoint and the finishline.

well, as soon as I've finnished my biology homework, me and my new co-driver are heading out onto the stages.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JTLarsen

There is a dip in the road lined with stonewalls, between the last checkpoint and the finishline.

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I already thought it was there. It's pretty hard to roll the car anywhere else. :D

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Originally Posted by I am evil Homer

Yep...def helps with traction in and out of corners you can control the car more on the snowy stages. On the tarmac it's a limited advantage.

Anyway finished my rally....very happy with both days - it was a massive challenge to cope with the changeable conditions on this event. Ice, snow falls, tarmac it had it all.

The C4 is a great car though so I hope to show good pace here. Full report later.

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I'm thinking engine braking may be of help as well....

Perhaps JTLs "left foot braking" accomplishes the same effect in a different manner

Sorry Jso i don't have Excel so i PM'd you my times.
Day 1 report
went reasonably well for our Debut however the skoda was encountering gearbox problems all day and also we made a big mistake on stage 10 unfortunatly we went the wrong way through the cross roads due to a miscalled pacenote and lost about 10 seconds maybe.
DAY 2
went way better slighty icey roads but the Skoda was strong enough to get round faultlessly with some quick times which will hopefully place us in the top eight once everyone completes the stages

Day 1 complete for our first WRC event.

Ss1 we build up our confidence, and pushed harder with success on stages 2 and 3. Stage 4 was terrible, ice caught us out on several occasions, but we survived to the end if the stage. We took slicks for ss5 and 6, resulting in a struggle through the former, but a good drive in the latter.

On stage 7 we slid heavily intona bank, losing the best part of 10-15 seconds, along with several parts of the Toyota. Ss8 had a bit of black ice, slowing us down all over the place.

On stage 9, we bounced off a few trees, but other than that, we really enjoyed the smooth cruise through the ice-less forests :)

On the final stage of the say we had a few moments, losing quite a bit of time, then backed off a bit.

Day two is coming up tomorrow :)

We finished day one of rally monte carlo. Except for some rain on a couple of stages there were no big issues. Some stages went really well others were just fine. We will try to drive as conservatively as possible on day two to make as little mistakes as possible.

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Originally Posted by Frozzy

we made a big mistake on stage 10 unfortunatly we went the wrong way through the cross roads due to a miscalled pacenote and lost about 10 seconds maybe.

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Welcome to the club. :p

It happened to me too when recceing the stage. I took the tight hairpin without a problem, then I barely succeeded in taking the next 90 right after braking too late. Then there's a small street between two walls, where I almost took the small uphill road. And at the next T, I just took right, straight into the barriers.

That's why recce is important, certainly on mirrored stages. ;)

Jso, new idea: everyone's limited to doing two runs over every stage with the Evo 6 street version, not with the rallycars. :D

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Originally Posted by Juha

Jso, new idea: everyone's limited to doing two runs over every stage with the Evo 6 street version, not with the rallycars. :D

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Love the idea!!

Introduce it for the BRC then. ;)

Isn't every British forest rally is supposed to be "blind"? The only notes you can have, are those you can buy from a specialised company, or make yourself after watching the DVD you can buy from them (or buy both).

And introduce testing bans; you can't drive on a stage that's in the next rally, unless you drive it in mirror mode (or non mirror mode if the rally is in mirror mode). And make the shakedown mandatory, so we know what we're up against.

I'll probably get shot for these ideas, so I'm off to hide behind a Swedish snow bank. :D

Well, Curtans rallybase Motorsport is having severe problem. The technincians are workingh on it though, but they tell us that they will probably not be able to fix it within the time limit. As I told you before we are in need of a new windscreen, since there is a crack in the old one (HINT HINT...). They are tring to fix it by DHL, but they are somewhat slow this weekend, travelling at only 14 kb/s, ehm, I mean kph. We even tried to borow a windscreen from a neighbouring team 8which are running in another series) but they could not find it. Argh...
A soon as this problem is fixed, I will supply our times, and then you do with them what you will.
Regards: Curtans Raldybase Motorsport...in distress.

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Originally Posted by Juha

Introduce it for the BRC then. ;)

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Nope, the BRC are meant to be easy to do, hence the short races etc.

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Originally Posted by Juha

Isn't every British forest rally is supposed to be "blind"? The only notes you can have, are those you can buy from a specialised company, or make yourself........

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Did you actually sleep last night Juha? :D

It makes the BRC easier, no testing at all, just 3 runs over the rally and that's it. ;)

And yes, I did sleep, and it's true what I said. :p

We finished the second day of the monte carlo. This day was great fun, sliding around all these corners. By taking a rather conservative approach we were able to reduce the amount of errors and set some very comepetitive stage times. We hope we can start this season with a win, but any position on the podium will b ejust great.

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Originally Posted by Juha

It makes the BRC easier, no testing at all, just 3 runs over the rally and that's it. ;)
And yes, I did sleep, and it's true what I said. :p

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1 run is all you'll need these days.

I thought that "Blind" rallies were a thing of the past.

Pirelli International Rally competitor info:
http://www.pirelliinternationalrally.co.uk/comp.asp

It isn't. :D But I thought they still did it in the BRC too, apparently not.

Man I'd hate going through Kielder on "borrowed" notes :s hock:

Ok, I finally got the windscreen fixed, and also discovered that I have til Wednesday to post my times :)
Took some runs on the sd, just to warm things up. I had two cuba libres, and one guinness before though, with my mechanics permission ;) so it wasn´t that nice, but i doubt I will do much better when i go for it tomorrow. My mechanics keeps telling me that the car is built for analogue steering, brake and gas aswell, but me thinks it is simple to have it digital... we will see abt that :)
Two baffling rounds to night:
3,36 Flawless run!
3,35 Even more flawless
Hope it sends chills down your spine guys :D

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Originally Posted by Juha

I'll probably get shot for these ideas, so I'm off to hide behind a Swedish snow bank. :D

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no smilies with a gun, so I'll bop you with a hammer

:arrows:

You'll have to catch me first. :p

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Originally Posted by Juha

Jso, new idea: everyone's limited to doing two runs over every stage with the Evo 6 street version, not with the rallycars.

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That's how the rules used to be several years ago. I think it gives a rather large advantage to the people who've played the game the most because they know most tricky points by heart anyway, and people with less experience who are limited to only two recce runs have no chance at all to get a similar amount of stage knowledge. Closer to reality, but the question is if that's what you want for a championship that should be as accessible as possible to everyone who wants to participate.

By the way, after a monster session of gameplay (for me anyway) last Saturday I managed to unlock the expert level for Italy (never did a full expert championship before - only reinstalled the game a few weeks ago). So I'm planning to do day 1 of the rally tonight.

As Magnus already posted Curtans RallyBase Motorsport had some windscreen availability issues in Monte Carlo. One arrived in time for him to take part in the shakedown. Mine should arrive in time for the start of the event, but no shakedown for me :( I've already discovered during testing that my car doesn't like narrow twisty mountain roads, and I haven't got experience of icy roads on tarmac tyres, so all I am going to aim for is finishing the rally without major damage, which should be a challenge anyway.

Peugeot Sport Finland has completed MC. I had quite a nice rally, no PB's, but not major mistakes either. Tuomo was doing few good stage times, but in some stages he lost his concentration and went off. Quite normal for a 5 yrs old kid (or Rautenbach :D ) I think... Compared to last years results, I would have been in pos 5 and Tuomo in pos 12. Let's see how it goes...

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Originally Posted by kabouter

That's how the rules used to be several years ago. I think it gives a rather large advantage to the people who've played the game the most because they know most tricky points by heart anyway, and people with less experience who are limited to only two recce runs have no chance at all to get a similar amount of stage knowledge. Closer to reality, but the question is if that's what you want for a championship that should be as accessible as possible to everyone who wants to participate.

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Don't worry, I'm just joking. ;) I know the only way to be fast, is to learn the stages by heart so you can drive them without pacenotes. That's what I've done now, and it really helps. You won't find more speed, but you can try to find faster lines in the corners, and know where you have to watch out.

After fine-tuning everything I have now managed to get 3,33 on the SD. thinks it´s time to tackle the rally itself!
Beware out there in the woods, and please do not stand closer to the road than 200 meters!

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Originally Posted by Pawprint

Day 1 complete for our first WRC event.

Ss1 we build up our confidence, and pushed harder with success on stages 2 and 3. Stage 4 was terrible, ice caught us out on several occasions, but we survived to the end if the stage. We took slicks for ss5 and 6, resulting in a struggle through the former, but a good drive in the latter.

On stage 7 we slid heavily intona bank, losing the best part of 10-15 seconds, along with several parts of the Toyota. Ss8 had a bit of black ice, slowing us down all over the place.

On stage 9, we bounced off a few trees, but other than that, we really enjoyed the smooth cruise through the ice-less forests :)

On the final stage of the say we had a few moments, losing quite a bit of time, then backed off a bit.

Day two is coming up tomorrow :)

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"Day 2 of the Monte's been dreadful" Johnson told reporters at the end of the rally. "We kept having little offs on the ice, and backed off, often too much, and had to push a little again, and when we did, we pushed too much, it destroyed my confidence today. I'm just glad we made it back with the car still in one piece, even if it was last overall. Today has been dreadful, and my confindence is shattered."

"He was completely demoralised" commented new co-driver Alex Lister, after the day's stages. "There was no confidence there, and we just couldn't drive at all."

When reminded that Sweden is the next event on the callender, Johnson told reporters to [text deleted].

Can I have another day please :( Got coursework in for Friday and didn't have chance to do it over the weekend. I know if it's a bit too much to ask since there's a lot of people who entered..

Where's Ramore?

Reporter: "Looking a bit bashed up there, Tannat. Suzuki not to your liking?"

Tannat: "No, no, no-the team have done a fine job with the car. We slept not so well last night, and our opening stage times show this. At one point on stage two we were on two wheels for an extended time, but we did not roll. Overall it was an okay day- some good stages some not so good."

Reporter: "Some other drivers found wet stages. Did you encounter any rain today?"

Tannat: "None whatsoever, so no worries over tire choice for us."

Reporter: "And what are your feelings for the second leg. There has been significant snow accumulation today with more on the way overnight. Push hard or drive for points?"

Tannat: "We know we are not so fast on this surface. We will try to keep up a good pace, but it is senseless for us to push when we know we are uncompetitive. Hopefully our speed on day one will offset our lack thereof on day 2."

Reporter: "A final question: what is the atmosphere within the team? What aspirations have Suzuki Motorsport for the first rally of 2008?"


Tannat: "Having both cars in the points wold be very good, and a tremendous start to our season. I think Juha will be fast here, and I am hoping to fit within the top 8."


Reporter: "Thank you Tannat. Best of luck for the second leg."

You are a real media-personality tannat :D

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Originally Posted by Magnus

You are a real media-personality tannat :D

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Cheers-it makes it fun.

I had considered randomly interviewing drivers at each rally by PM, and posting the review on the thread-might be fun.....

Not a bad idea...just hope you catch me after a good run!

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Originally Posted by tannat

Cheers-it makes it fun.

I had considered randomly interviewing drivers at each rally by PM, and posting the review on the thread-might be fun.....

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I don't know how many know of it, but for our first season of WRC3 I made a season review movie of about 25 minutes, on youtube. Not quite professional, but was good fun.

Due to the larger number of those involved in this very competition, I have had an idea.
Hows about some of us who are organised make a podcast??

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Originally Posted by Pawprint

I don't know how many know of it, but for our first season of WRC3 I made a season review movie of about 25 minutes, on youtube. Not quite professional, but was good fun.

Due to the larger number of those involved in this very competition, I have had an idea.
Hows about some of us who are organised make a podcast??

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I'm pod-less....... :(

I have three I-pods, and have also bought a Numark I-pod-mixer recently. the problem is that I am clue-less...when it comes to podcasts...

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Originally Posted by tannat

I'm pod-less....... :(

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as in, no ipod? You do;t need one for a podcast ;)

We can make one, and poeple can listen online, or download to a computer, or to an mp3 ;)