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Quote:
Originally Posted by cali
Daimler have a hook up with Nissan/Renault for some stuff, the X Class is a Nissan underneath.
Toyota also have collaboration with PSA, for the Aygo/1008 and BMW for the Z4/Supra..
The lines a blurred everywhere you look these days.
Is's Aygo/107/C1 but this collaboration is going to an end. Since 2021 Toyota takes over the factory in Kolín, CZ, and the joint venture will be over. Toyota will produce Yaris there.Quote:
Originally Posted by doubled1978
Anyway these are only joint ventures like many others (Mitsubishi/Kia/Hyundai engine cooperation for example). Those are not about the brand ownership sharing.
Renault Nissan own Mitsubishi
VW group has a similar percentage in Suzuki as Toyota has Subaru unless they have relinquished it.
Toyota pro ace/ Peugeot expert / Citroën jumpy is same car.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mirek
1.6 benzin engine used by psa is still a ep engine which came from BMW.
C zero car is a Mitsubishi just like the 4007/4008 where.
Puma engine in boxer was ford
107/c1/Aygo
V6 diesel was also Ford/jaguars
Plenty of examples
,...
So I get that they don't want to battle each other in same class, but like Citroën official in rally 1 class and Opel in rally 2 should be possible.
As I said joint ventures are something different than being part of the same group. For this discussion they are meaningless.
If Makinen can put together a team I hope the Solbergs can, too. I thought the family has some history as a team operator but all I could discover is that Henning is Pontus Tidemand's step father.
Subaru would be nice, and it would be nice if they were planning some decent new cars, too. The Impreza/Crosstrek and WRX are way too big these days. I'm kind of hoping for that because it's the most likely maker to offer a halfway close road car in the US.
WRC highlights on ITV4 in the UK this year: https://motorsportbroadcasting.com/2...lti-year-deal/
Totally separate topic, but I wonder if Toyota/Hyundai might consider fielding extra cars on Pirelli’s at times throughout the season? Not relevant until Pirelli have the 2021 tyres ready, but it could/would provide valuable data.
I'd rather see Pirelli field their own team... But of course that's but a pipe dreamQuote:
Originally Posted by doubled1978
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Regarding the size of Subaru models, or any manufacturer, are the proposed new rules for space frame chassis and silhouette vehicles not including the ability to downscale the size of the mass produced model it's based on, I thought this was once mentioned but haven't read what has been proposed.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gregor-y
Yes, that they can do.
And now I'm depressed.
The only way in todays world, if we want to give many manuf. a chance. Subaru for example.
Argentinian media have reported that an FIA postal vote was to have taken place this week on date of Rally Argentina. Will it stay in first weekend of May as originally scheduled or be moved forward a week to last weekend of April.
Spare a thought for the events organisers and all those wanting to lock in travel and accommodation plans. Currently just 103 days until rally should start, if date is moved forward make it 96 days
A visit at ''BOS''
If the company "Bos" doesn't mention anything to you, it's worth remembering that this company has been supplying the shock absorbers for the Toyota Yaris WRC for three seasons now.
Just 20 years after its creation in 1999, BOS Suspension has just taken a new step in its development in 2019. Being one of the few major players "100% made in France" at the highest level of the world rally, and as we are a little chauvinistic to the editorial staff at Rallye-Sport (!), we took advantage of this off-season to learn more about this company, by going to visit its creator, Olivier Bossard, and the one who embodies this renewal, in charge of the business development, Cédric Mazenq (which we no longer present to rallye-sport.fr readers).
After a description of the different sectors of the company, we will end this visit with an interview with Olivier Bossard, mentioning in particular his first contacts with Tommi Mäkinen, director of the Toyota Gazoo Racing team.
An appointment is therefore made in Toulouse in the workshops of BOS Suspension at the beginning of this month of January. First surprise when arriving on site, the technicality and cleanliness of the premises: it feels like disembarking at NASA! Clean room, huge workshop, rooms with restricted access for official Toyota WRC programs, we wonder if we manufacture shock absorbers, luxury watches or nuclear weapons! Nothing lingers, nothing exceeds ...
"The thoroughness and care given to our products is the hallmark of BOS. »Explains Cédric. "Olivier has always instilled this in all employees, and it is really the DNA of the company. When you know the importance of quality in the assembly processes of the most technical shock absorbers, you quickly realize that this care is not a luxury, but a necessity. Working for and with the best requires being irreproachable. "
While wandering in the heart of the assembly workshop, from where Cédric explains the activity to us by mixing gestures with words, we realize the diversity of activities: on the one hand, two technicians are working '' assemble the shock absorbers of the Toyota Yaris for pre-Monte Carlo tests. On the other, a technician assembles five ATV descent forks. At another station, a technician packs forks and shock absorbers for the motorcycle, and loads everything into a test truck to go to the field. Finally, on the other hand, a production line assembles the front shock absorbers chain for a small production, that of the shock absorbers of the future Renault Clio V Rallye.
I then ask Cédric about the specificity of the WRC program. It is widely recognized by specialists that the Yaris has dominated the last two WRC seasons, and that its suspension is considered by the community as a benchmark, on land as in asphalt. We wanted to know more.
“This official commitment to Toyota requires very specific and unique management. It's about being very responsive to each of their requests. A WRC season is 13 rallies and around fifty days of testing. So it's a full time activity. There is a lot of shadow work also in design and development on the bench. We have an engineer who is 100% dedicated to this project, two technicians who also take turns on the tests. At the workshop, this is a permanent common thread: there is always assembly or revision of products for the WRC. We prepare 4 to 5 sets of shock absorbers per test session, with different technical solutions or settings, and on rallies, it's 7 sets for 3 cars, as stipulated in the sporting regulations. It therefore requires total involvement. "
By asking what was the specificity of BOS shock absorbers compared to the competition, Cédric kicks in touch:
" Work ! Olivier’s experience acquired over the years in the WRC, first via Mitsubishi, then Subaru thereafter, helped step by step to make our products more reliable and efficient. We use a lot of innovative and patented technology, and the added value also lies in the ability to constantly develop. Many improvements have also come from our other activities, such as MTB and motorcycles, a real laboratory for BOS. "
We will not know more (!), But the technological war that the different manufacturers are waging to keep their trade secrets explains and justifies this silence. We simply understand that 3 parameters are major in deciphering the information delivered drop by drop: reliability (because to win a rally, you must first finish it) which involves quality monitoring and a very demanding validation process; then the technological qualities of the shock absorbers, that is to say the technical choices for performing the different functions (end stop, control, traction, support, etc.); and development, or more precisely the hydraulic curves developed on each of the different terrains.
The rest of the visit takes us from department to department: the design office first, freshly reinforced by new elements.
"Here is the brain of the box: the ideas, the sketches, the patents that Olivier has filed in the past, everything necessarily starts within the walls of the BE. Explains Cédric. “We recently did a lot of work to rationalize our studies, by resolutely turning to an objective which is our target now: service and customer satisfaction. This process begins at the design stage, thinking from the first stroke of the pen about the future quality of the After-Sales Service. "
It is by leafing through a customer manual for a shock absorber intended for a Subaru R4 that Cédric adds: "This type of document is now created in parallel with the product. We are starting to feel the benefits of this new organization in everyday life, and customer feedback is increasingly positive. "
Then comes the trade part, in direct contact with the studies part.
"This is one of the great organizational innovations for society. Explains Cédric again. “We have created a“ Business Pool ”, made up of 3 experienced engineers whom I supervise: Thibault, Romain and Lionel, who are respectively in charge of the“ AUTO WRC ”,“ AUTO 4 wheels ”and“ MOTO / MTB 2 wheels ”activities. "
“Olivier wanted to improve contact with the client, with dedicated people. I wanted the 3 to be engineers by training, with a very "field" profile: we don't sell shock absorbers like we sell yogurts! Each case is specific and requires very specific expertise in the field. They therefore don 3 additional hats: that of project management, that of commerce, and that of ingenious "exploit", to be able to be as close as possible to the client during the test sessions or the competitions. "
Once on the ground floor, Cédric naturally directs us to the room dedicated to development.
"And this is the 2nd brain of BOS Suspension! "
We discover a room dedicated to an impressive shock absorber passage bench, with its external control console.
"He's Steven's baby! He spends more time here than with his wife! ", Steven Bossard, son of Olivier, comes to join us.
“Steven has accumulated enormous experience over the years. Being strolled in the footsteps of his father in the 4 corners of the world from a very young age gave him an expertise of the clapery and the depreciation that it would take to the common mortal for years before mastering half of it!
He is an excellent developer, with a particular sensitivity to vehicle dynamics. His background as a good crossman and rallyman also gives him a sensitivity to the not always very scientific discourse of pilots. Finding the right setting and damping level on a vehicle you are discovering is also the great strength of BOS Suspension. Our database and the permanent search for perfo alongside the biggest teams forced us to question ourselves daily. "
“Working with the official teams has made us tremendous progress. Adds Steven. “We dialogue with engineers, we analyze data, we instrument the whole car with sensors to corroborate what the drivers say and our feelings. It is all the more interesting when we manage to transcribe these advances in the dampers of everyone. "
After passing in front of the commercial pool, where three people are busy to answer customers and supply the parts, Cédric takes us to a central screen visible to all.
“The BOS of tomorrow will be a connected business 4.0. He begins. "Here is a first illustration of this line of work: guys don't have to go and get the news, it's the news that comes to them. "
"This will allow us to shorten the customer response time, whatever the process (new products, after-sales service, services ...) or the sector of activity (Auto, motorcycle, ATV ...). 2019 has enabled us to define the foundations of this new pact with the client, 2020 will have to be the real realization of this new philosophy. ”
Along the same lines, Cédric shows us and explains to us the desire to digitize documents, the "zero paper" objective in 2020.
"Olivier is a geek! But we have a little the same disease! Jokes Cédric. “We are going to deploy tablets on the workstations. The goal is to substantially increase productivity and efficiency, so that the customer is the winner. "
The tour ends with the machine shop. State-of-the-art machining machines are busy chipping. The technicality of the parts is stunning. We stop for a few minutes in front of a machining center cutting a strut intended for Sébastien Ogier's Toyota.
"Machining is Olivier's hobby horse. The ambition is to reduce subcontracting as much as possible. We gain extraordinary responsiveness. On programs like the WRC, we are able to design, produce and test a new part in less than 48 hours. This is why the manufacturers trust us. "
It’s finally over a coffee that Cédric tells me: “2020 is going to be an important year. We have staffed the company to be able to respond more effectively to demand. On the auto side, we now have a complete range, the CR range, with highly competitive and high-performance products for each of the disciplines. We are working more and more with amateurs, for F2000s, Group N, etc ... The label of expensive shock absorbers and intended only for factory teams has been obsolete for a long time! We offer alternatives for all programs and budgets. And our experience allows us to have added value in most of the products we develop. More than elsewhere, in shock absorbers, magic does not exist! Work pays off, nothing else!
2848/5000
Before leaving Toulouse and its cold January day, we take advantage of our visit to interview Olivier Bossard, general manager of the company.
At first, Olivier returned to the first contacts between BOS and Toyota, until the signing of a partnership in WRC.
“I have been in contact with Tommi Mäkinen since 2008-2009 I think. At the time, his team manufactured Subaru Impreza N4 and R4. We had some interesting projects together with test sessions in particular. He really appreciates our product, especially its traction quality, an important element in rallying.
After this first collaboration, it was obvious that we were going to work together for the WRC and I did not hesitate for a second to accept his proposal.
For the record, during Mäkinen's first tests with our products, he arrived in clogs and without a helmet! I had the impression that he was there to laugh. But after two runs, he asked for his things and we drove for two and a half days.
Now I have her on the phone regularly, every 15 days / 3 weeks. "
For BOS, the arrival of Toyota obviously had a huge impact on the organization and operation of this company of around 30 employees.
"Toyota is what drives the business. I think half of the business spends half of its time on Toyota. We have four separate parts: production, testing, test tracking and research. And in this area, the work is monstrous with a priority recipient: Toyota. Just last year, we had 27 development versions with changes that could affect the pistons, seals, geometry, new systems and even the oil.
It’s a leading program that takes us a long way. Research work represents 80 to 90% of our budget. "
Associated with Toyota for three years now, Olivier and his company BOS are obviously honored to work with the Japanese manufacturer.
"We are extremely proud to be part of the adventure and to have their trust. It puts a little pressure but also ambition, with the goal of having the best car in the world. We have no right to relax, it's really a lot of investment. "
Very often focused on official programs, BOS now wants to broaden its target.
"We want to focus more on customer service and amateurs. We want to make this technology more accessible to everyone. "Ends Olivier.
After this visit full of lessons, we obviously thank all the staff at BOS for this welcome, and more particularly Cédric Mazenq who you will find very soon for his first review of the 2020 season.
https://www.rallye-sport.fr/visite-chez-les-bos/
Honestly it's not so bad in that regard, give or take six days it's still nearly three months to prepare. What's not so good is that the original date takes place on an extended weekend (Friday would be a national holiday). Moving it a week back would definitely reduce the amount of spectators, the economic boost to the region, and would kick a good portion of spectators' plans out the window.Quote:
Originally Posted by KiwiWRCfan
Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk
Arngentine website says FIA will announce on Monday January 20th that Rally Argentina dates are changed to be April 23 - 26.
The wait for official news continues
https://www.cadena3motor.com/noticia...ncio&id=250828
if you look RG2 of MonteCarlo you will find out that Pirelli only offers tyres for WRC2/3 not available for real WRC cars ...Quote:
Originally Posted by doubled1978
Michelin is only choice for WRC cars.
Both Colin Clark and Dirtfish are hyping for some announcement today in Instagram. I think there's some collaboration between the two about to be announced. https://youtu.be/Y2RE8lQ9EQ0?t=647 Here Colin already films with Ott some Dirtfish welcome message/interview. Wonder if he's leaving the WRC team?
Edit: yup https://www.dirtfish.com/pressroom/w...llys-new-home/
Ah that’s why he was at Tanaks test then.
Dirtfish seems to be very serious about this thing. Their site www.dirtfish.com has changed completely for today.
Looks like it. Lots of content promised in https://www.dirtfish.com/rally/colin...e-to-dirtfish/, could become a healthy competition to Red Bull (not the TV most likely). Anyway, more content is always welcome and good for Colin for "selling" his Kitchen Table.
Updated calendar confirmed. Argentina moved one week earlier (23-26 April) and Chile cancellation confirmed.
https://www.wrc.com/en/wrc/news/janu...8--12-12-.html
Is that it? They kinda hyped it up last week when announcing themselves as one of Tänak’s sponsors that there was something coming on the 20th that “you won’t want to miss” and making a few references to previous US rounds of the WRC.... This is just an anticlimaxQuote:
Originally Posted by tr4m
I'm not familiar with DirtFish. Did they have WRC reporting before at all?Quote:
Originally Posted by HKSjbg
What did you expect? DirtFist WRT? The amount and type of WRC coverage promised by them is quite significant and imo fitting to the level of "hype".Quote:
Originally Posted by HKSjbg
I understand that they will also have another 'big name' from the media joining them soon.
They are very serious about this.
Would that be David Evans?Quote:
Originally Posted by Got Mail
There's certainly a mass-exodus at Motorsport Network to start the year, a lot of their best F1 journalists are now moved to the start-up 'The Race' which is coming soon.
David Evans was also observing Tänak's test:Quote:
Originally Posted by tomhlord
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2RE...youtu.be&t=647
with Autosport seemingly going away, I wouldn't be surprised. That and the fact that David Evans did a piece at Autosport show on the cars BGM Sport had at their stand, which happened to include the Dirtfish collection they run, and DE was their at the same time as Colin and also Mr Rimmer who runs Dirtfish...Quote:
Originally Posted by tomhlord
Even Max McRea has Dirtfish on his car.
Dirtfish is a bad name... it wont mean anything to most people and nothing which suggests rallying.
Formula and rally are a bit different things.. one is on certain track and other lays on hundreds of km of the country.. + a lot more money is in formula business also..Quote:
Originally Posted by Sal the 2nd
I think Colin Clark's profile and relevance will go down being associated with just a single outlet, rather than with the official platforms.
I'm not sure I'll miss him too much. He brought some excitement at times, but he also spouted some absolute rubbish most other times.
and he clearly spent too long at stage ends, because he definitely had no ideas what was going on in the rest of the sport in terms of rumours and news...
Matt Beer who freelanced for Autosport wrote this for Dirtfish about M-Sport 2020:
https://www.dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/w...ounted-in-2020
Like Red Bull.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fast Eddie WRC
In the US they're a training center and car builder. I never thought of them as a media group but it looks like that's a new thrust.Quote:
Originally Posted by AnttiL
training center for what?
rallying and driving.Quote:
Originally Posted by dimviii