Czech rally news

[itix]

Maybe he is still adjusting to life alongside a fast driver.

I know that Østberg bashing is popular, but if we think about it, ~1 sec slower per km than the fastest world rally cars won't be felt inside the car. Also, the R5 is slower than the world rally car so... doubt it.

[RS]

I know that Østberg bashing is popular, but if we think about it, ~1 sec slower per km than the fastest world rally cars won't be felt inside the car. Also, the R5 is slower than the world rally car so... doubt it.

Yes, I was being a bit naughty with that statement, especially keeping in mind he is now in an R5 car, but I do think Tidemand is a faster driver than Mads.

[Rally Power]

I don't think he is that happy. One thing is what he says on public but I personally don't believe that he is happy to have no chance against Kopecký and Škoda.

After seeing what happened in Spain and the problems for European crews running them under FIA RGT rules the question really is: why FIA and ASN’s allow GT cars but undermine them so severely? There’s no room for hypocrisy. It’s true they can be dominant if they run without restrictor, but with current small restrictors they simply can’t be competitive.

So, are they’re useful for rally or not? If the answer is positive (and in full tarmac series there’s no doubt they can contribute for a greater show) then what FIA and ASN’s should do is to get a proper BoP with R5’s, fitting a correctly dimensioned restrictor on Gt’s or making them use a wisely calculated ballast. The current way they’re just fooling teams, drivers and fans.

[Mirek]

Pech's car has no restrictor. The reason why GTs can't be dominant in here is in our specific stages not in the power limitation.

And a question to You. Why does FIA limit R5 cars so much and allows them to run only with that small restrictor?

[Rally Power]

Pech's car has no restrictor. The reason why GTs can't be dominant in here is in our specific stages not in the power limitation.
And a question to You. Why does FIA limit R5 cars so much and allows them to run only with that small restrictor?

As I’ve mentioned, I do believe Gt’s should be penalized in same way but not undermined in order to become useless. That was what happened with FIA and RFEA current rules.

Your question about R5’s restrictions doesn’t make sense. They’re the second rally category after WRC so it’d be stupid to let them have a larger restrictor than WRC’s. Besides, they’ve become the benchmark for national series and in most countries Gt’s or RRC’s were clearly penalized to allow R5's to shine.

Honestly I didn’t know Pech’s 911 was unrestricted and it’s a strange choice for a competitive guy like him to get a car unfit for the Czech stages, as You say. Probably that was the reason why local ASN didn’t bother to adopt FIA GT rules.

[Mirek]

As I’ve mentioned, I do believe Gt’s should be penalized in same way but not undermined in order to become useless. That was what happened with FIA and RFEA current rules.

The whole restriction thing came in place for safety reasons. If we consider 350 Hp 4x4 unsafe why shall we consider 450 Hp RWD with engine behind rear axle to be safer?

Your question about R5’s restrictions doesn’t make sense. They’re the second rally category after WRC so it’d be stupid to let them have a larger restrictor than WRC’s. Besides, they’ve become the benchmark for national series and in most countries Gt’s or RRC’s were clearly penalized to allow R5 to shine.

It does make perfect sense. OK, we can ask the same question for WRC. Why does FIA limit them so much? Because there are some safety concers. And if approx. 300 Hp 4x4 is seen as maximum possible for safety reasons on regional/national level then there is no way how to justify to allow unrestricted GTs. Sorry for that but either we throw all this safety measures away and go totally unrestricted way for all cars or we have to follow the same logic. The physics is same for both classes after all.

Honestly I didn’t know Pech’s 911 was unrestricted and it’s a strange choice for a competitive guy like him to get a car unfit for the Czech stages, as You say. Probably that was the reason why local ASN didn’t bother to adopt FIA GT rules.

It's not totally unrestricted. There is a very strange formula set by our ASN that the car must not overcome 400 Hp but it doesn't have a restrictor per se. I have no idea how it can be controlled that the car doesn't have over 400 Hp without any form of restrictor. It's not technically possible. Anyway no physical restrictor helps also the torque curve, not only peak power.

What is important is that our ASN originally adopted R-GT rules but the team of Pech through lobbying managed to get this change in the rules.

And why did he choose this car? I don't think it was him personally who chose it. Anyway they bought the car to run FIA GT cup not Czech championship. The plans changed because there is nobody competing in FIA competition with GTs anymore.

[Rally Power]

The plans changed because there is nobody competing in FIA competition with GTs anymore.

...due to stupid FIA Gt rules.

The safety argument doesn’t stand here as max power isn’t the only factor to determine safety risks. R5’s are quicker than Gt’s in twisted sections; the opposite occurs on the fast ones; accidents can happen in both.

Overall it’s pretty clear: some people argue that R5’s shouldn’t get opposition from other cars in national series; others find it’s possible to establish a fair BoP and match different cars like Gt’s, RRC’s, N+’s or even MR’s with R5’s in order to get more diversity and competitive national series.

It’s hard to get a consensus on this one.

[Mirek]

The safety argument doesn’t stand here as max power isn’t the only factor to determine safety risks. R5’s are quicker than Gt’s in twisted sections; the opposite occurs on the fast ones; accidents can happen in both.

It's very clear. The whole safety standards in rallying for already three decades are based on power limitation. As I said if one class shall get some kind of exception than it means that the whole system shall be thrown out of the window. In that case there is no reason to limit either WRC or R5 cars.

There shall be no exceptions from existing rules. If some cars can't be competitive without getting an exception (not only on power but also on tyre size) than sorry but that's how it is.

[Rally Power]

You're focusing on the safety issue as an excuse to not consider there's a way to get a fair BoP matching different cars with R5's. N+'s cars are providing equal performances to R5's in some countries, but no one is considering them as a safety risk.

[WUff1]

...due to stupid FIA Gt rules.

The safety argument doesn’t stand here as max power isn’t the only factor to determine safety risks. R5’s are quicker than Gt’s in twisted sections; the opposite occurs on the fast ones; accidents can happen in both.

Overall it’s pretty clear: some people argue that R5’s shouldn’t get opposition from other cars in national series; others find it’s possible to establish a fair BoP and match different cars like Gt’s, RRC’s, N+’s or even MR’s with R5’s in order to get more diversity and competitive national series.

It’s hard to get a consensus on this one.

The possible rivalry from Gt-cars against cars from "traditional" manufacturers is the key question in my opinion.