There seems to be a problem on SS 6 - where have all the drivers gone?Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom206wrc
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There seems to be a problem on SS 6 - where have all the drivers gone?Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom206wrc
SS6 looks OK for me :confused: only leader Martin Koci(Fabia S2000)is missing for now...
Yeah, times appeared lately on Adler´s link.
Some fotos from Thayaland Rallye 2013:
http://www.ir7.at/content/fotos_arc_...allye_2013.php
http://www.ir7.at/th131.jpghttp://www.ir7.at/th132.jpghttp://www.ir7.at/th133.jpg
Good race of Mörtl and Simon Wagner!
If I'm not mistaken he got stuck in a ditch.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom206wrc
I dont find the ITALIAN RALLY NEWS Thread ... still exist? First round of CIR coming soon.
The second round of the Austrian Rallye Championship will take place March 22nd-23rd 2013 around Leutschach.
72 crews from 10 different countries sent their entries:
http://www2.rebenland-rallye.at/2013/nennliste.html
13 tarmac stages, total 150 km will be driven:
http://www2.rebenland-rallye.at/2013/zeitplan.html
Rally-Magazine:
http://www2.rebenland-rallye.at/2013/programmheft.html
http://www2.rebenland-rallye.at/2013/intro/13.jpg
A quick recap of the Danish competitors getting ready for Wikinger Rallye this next weekend:
NB: I refer to the list of drivers entered, which should be final now as the entry date has been passed..
Division A: S2000, R4, R5, N4 4wd, GpA 4wd (non-WRC), R-GT, GT-2 and GT-3
Largely unchanged, still the Peugeot Dealer Team with Christian Jensen and Esben Hegelund in S2000s, but there is mounting chatter about R5s coming at some point..
Tim Svanholt (Evo IX), Ib Kragh (207 S2000) and Steen Andersen (Evo VII) return in the same cars as last year, no changes there.
Biggest change:
No Max Christensen, and no news as to why. No Brian Madsen, he will be team manager for younger brother Kim instead. Money the issue here, and this was announced a long time ago.
Expectations:
Christian Jensen the clear favorite, has been the 'quickest driver in the fastest car' (vs. Kragh and Hegelund), should take another championship home. Definite disappointment if not. My guess: Champion.
Hegelund has grown a fair bit of outright pace over the last year and a half, I expect him to maybe challenge for his first win when he has that day nothing goes wrong. Had a big off at the final round of the championship for the second year running, but that shouldn't be any hindrance based on what he happened last year. My guess: Top 3, challenger.
Svanholt: To my mind the fastest GpN-driver in the field, needs to finish rallies and build confidence, then he could challenge the Dealer Team on good days. Great advantage on the really fast stages, as witnessed on some events last year, where GpN cars dominated certain stages. My guess: Top 3, challenger.
Kragh, Andersen: Lacks outright pace on Jensen, and in the same car, he should struggle and count on the misfortune of others. Kragh fell off the pace last year compared to '11 where he had winning pace on certain events. Andersen - spectacular, but needs to be more consistent for a title challenge, as the car is not quick enough in itself. Similar major advantage to Svanholt on fast events.
My guess: Top 5 both, outsiders.
The others: Several returning drivers, but none expected to challenge for the title. Names like Steen Johansen, Jens Christian Pilgaard, Dan Pedersen, Dennis Pleidrup. All in N4 cars.
Might be a dark horse in Torben Sørensen (Impreza), he was fast in his old Clio, but has yet to show major pace in the Subaru. Podiums from him would be a surprise at this point.
Complete unknown: Tom Pedersen (owner of Padborg Park racetrack, former DTC driver) was signed up for Wikinger in the long awaited Opel Corsa, but has now been changed to a Seat Cupra in class 4. Codriven by Hans Marx, ultra-experienced guy who has codriven for Karl-Åge Jensen among others.
Division B: In-homologation 2wd cars, R2s, R3s, S1600s etc.The championship is going to be a bit of a lottery, as very few have got everything completely sorted, so a prediction is so much of a lottery that I won't make any.. Firstly I will just name a few that won't be at Wikinger, but will be intriguing to follow later this season.
Jacob Jensen confirmed in his new 208 R2, it is in Denmark, but missing parts means no Wikinger for him. Looking forward to seeing him in a faster car after a long time in the N2 Saxo, which he seemed to have grown out of as a driver.
The Peugeot Dealer Team has another 208, but it will not be present at Wikinger, and so far there has been no news as to the plans for it. Will be interesting to see how this turns out. A specific driver has been rumoured extensively to the car, but as nothing has been announced I will not name him. :)
Simon Larsen still has his C2, but is not entered at Wikinger, where he would have been clear favorite for R2 honours - he drove the Haspengouw (and is entered for the full Junior championship), but said that the first round was a test to see whether they would do the entire series. Not entering Wikinger tells me that he will be in Belgium for the entire season.
Rasmus Christiansen announced a fair while ago that he had acquired a C2, which was phase 1 of the project. Phase 2 was the budget to drive it, that has apparently not been put together, he is not entered..
Marco Gersager (Corsa S1600): DISCLAIMER - I am involved in the team, just so you know..
Had an engine meltdown last year, which cost him the season. Everything was lined up for the car to be ready for Wikinger stronger than ever, but tardy delivery of a few (very few) vital engine parts has meant that it will not be ready for Wikinger. Parts were ordered last fall, which just makes it even more annoying.
The plans are not for a full season in the championship, but I expect him to challenge for the win in the group when we do show up for an event.
At Wikinger: The car that should win the group at Wikinger is a Clio R3, namely Klaus Hammer. He is in a Maxi, and up against a 'regular' Clio in the hands of Carsten Jensen, who does have the advantage of intimate knowledge of his car, whereas Hammer hasn't driven his in anger yet.
Other challengers are in C2s, Frank Nielsen, Claus Lisberg and Verner Boiskov. They should not have the pace to keep up with the R3s.Norwegian Joar Andre Obrestad will be a bit of an unknown in his Fiesta R2.
Division C: The class for old Maxis, Kit Cars and nationally homologated 2wd cars.
Last years champion Kenneth Madsen (Suzuki Swift Maxi 2000) is not on the current entry list, which is a bit of a mystery, as he was one of the few that was at the official test day last weekend and did 7 runs. Nothing has been written on why he wouldn't be there, I semi-expect him to in fact.
Returnee Kim Madsen (306 Maxi) will be the favorite if the Suzuki is indeed a no-show. He has a new codriver, but also has the addition of brother Brian as team manager to push him forward. He seemed to struggle to gain the necessary confidence in the car during last season, so I look for him to keep on the upwards curve pace-wise. If there are two Maxis at Wikinger, I predict a fight between them.
Former overall champion Morten Karl has pulled the M3 E36 out of the garage again - if he can get back to his former form, then he could definitely annoy the two Madsens. At the very least it will be a car that will pull the on-stage quality up, both through sound and a bit of sideways action!
Benny Pedersen is absent on the entry list as well, very quiet around him at the moment, so probably won't mount a championship challenge.
Young Sebastian Aagaard (Clio II RS) is a talent, and never afraid to give a bit of go-fast pedal, but his experience at the top level is limited, he will be very interesting to follow. The car is a beauty to look at, very very nice paint job.
Kenneth Kolbe (205 Maxi) makes his return to the championship, the car is still blue, the driver is still a bit mental, overall he will be more of a spectator-pleaser than a threat in the time sheets. Beaten thoroughly by Aagaard at the test day, if that is anything to go by.
Kjeld Seidler (Peugeot RCZ) still runs with the Peugeot Dealer Team where he is a driving force behind the scenes, but the car is not the same. He calls it the 'Evo 2' himself, what I have heard is that the car is 'the other car' in the team that he has now rebuilt from race to rally-spec. Wouldn't expect much different from him, he adds a little bit of pace every time he sits in the car, but I doubt it is fast enough to challenge the Maxis.
Division D: The old Standard National, Groups E and expired-N up to 2L.
One word pretty much sums it all up: Boooooooooooooooooooring!
Reigning double champion Morten Grove Nielsen will not be returning, he definitely grew out of the car, and seemingly has been unable to put together a programme in a higher division. Huge loss to this division, as he was the class of the field.
At Wikinger, 4 cars are entered: Two Clio II's and two new homebuilt cars.
In the Clios, Henrik Larsen should be the fastest, he was the stable number 2 behind Grove last year, which meant that he was in with a shot at the title at the final round. The car might be a 'Ragnotti', he isn't..
New cars are unknowns, the drivers in them are known capacities.
Nicolai Jensen (Peugeot 207) spent all of last year building the car, it ran at the test day, but may suffer from teething problems. Was within a second of Larsen at the test day on the best time done.
Rene Harms (Suzuki Swift Sport) also waited most of last year for the car to be finished, but drove it for the last two rounds. Is a man who enjoys his rallying immensely, but is probably the epitomy of the gentleman driver. Again, may suffer from teething problems.
Phew, that was a massive post - didn't plan it that way, but hey? What do you do? :D