Rally Discussion and Bar Talk Thread

[lmmjvss]

Sudden Thoughts: If we exclude "WRC" from "Rally discussions in life in general", theres no "discussions" anymore.. just good racing, great videos on the internet, great fun for drivers and spectators, rad cars, ugly cars, people trying new weird stuff. MAYBE the WORLD Championship is the problem........... We keep talking about this here and it sucks and we are missing all the great stories happening in every other national championship, local championship...... u'know? We are not sharing local stories, we are not talking bout OUR rally cars... we keep talking about WHAT MILLION EURO CARS THESE RICH COMPANIES SHOULD BE RACING NEXT YEAR? hahaha dammit, WRC is losing me day by day

[Rallyper]

Sudden Thoughts: If we exclude "WRC" from "Rally discussions in life in general", theres no "discussions" anymore.. just good racing, great videos on the internet, great fun for drivers and spectators, rad cars, ugly cars, people trying new weird stuff. MAYBE the WORLD Championship is the problem........... We keep talking about this here and it sucks and we are missing all the great stories happening in every other national championship, local championship...... u'know? We are not sharing local stories, we are not talking bout OUR rally cars... we keep talking about WHAT MILLION EURO CARS THESE RICH COMPANIES SHOULD BE RACING NEXT YEAR? hahaha dammit, WRC is losing me day by day

10+

So I change subject.

Guys, what rallycars did you own and actually drove in (local) rallies? Tell me. Brand, years (wins?) etz.
I promise I will give answers too.
Please, get started!!

[becher]

EPS Motorsport is building a replica of the mid engined quattro mule, one can follow the build on YouTube:

https://youtube.com/@EPSDaveRowe?feature=shared

[fiscorpun]

I have a feeling that Toyota will not win WRC and WEC in 2024. Add losing Dakar too.
It could be a "bad" year for the Japanese brand.

[240RS]

Monte Shakedown confirmed what many suspected all along - the drivers' championship is a three-horse race.

If you add the interloopers - Ogier, Rovanpera and Lappi - you get a total of 6 who can realistically win a round outright. Overall, Abiteboul's stated target of 5/6 wins would appear low if he is keen on both championships. It does appear that Toyota and Hyundai will split all 13 rounds between them. Even allowing for a higher ratio of second car placings, the minimum target cannot be less than 7.

On a different note, there is bound to be an intense rivalry between Neuville and Tanak. Some tasty fights worth looking forward to.

[Morte66]

I suppose since I decided on Thursday morning to support Pajari in WRC2 because I like the sound of his name, I should pass some comments on him.

It turns out he's Finnish (I thought he was Hungarian) and drives for Toyota. He looks so young. He has a woman co-driver, Enni Mälkönen, which is nice to see. He won JWRC, I knew I'd heard of him somewhere.

I watched him through the stages in RMC. He... came for snow and ice, and kind of ambled around on the tarmac. I suppose I shall draw comfort from him coming top of the drivers who weren't entered for points. I am also tickled that Ciamin said at one stage end that he was in a battle with Pajari because I don't think Pajari was having a battle with Ciamin.

So, I think he'll do.

The Toyota 3-cylinder, though, sounds like half a V6. Not good.

Roll on Sweden.

[fiscorpun]

It must be very cool for the riders doing the "small" british hard enduro championship and seeing on the entrylist THE CURRENT FIM WORLD HARD ENDURO CHAMPION Mani Lettenbichler... AND multi time champion Jonny Walker.
Cuz, you know, in these championships where the "top class" is just a "regular bike", you may end up facing THE WORLD CHAMPION in a small event. Lots of people still going to the woods to watch those fellas ride, even more when WORLD CHAMPIONS are racing there, "out of nothing", simply because "Oh they are all on the same bike". These feelings push me into "Ok, WRC top class gotta be Rally2. We gotta be closer to these "national" championships. Whats the point on being the PLAYBOY series, u'know? "OH BUT FORMULA 1" shhh, to hell with F1, jeezz haha
(I keep talking way too much with myself...)

[TypeR]

Not rally discussion, but easily bar talk topic..

BREAKING news!

Fan or not, but for sure it shakes motorsport world and fans.

Hamilton joins Ferrari from 2025!

[Eli]

Not rally discussion, but easily bar talk topic..

BREAKING news!

Fan or not, but for sure it shakes motorsport world and fans.

Hamilton joins Ferrari from 2025!

Now all we need is Verstappen in Mercedes lol, but in all seriousness, not really surprised as Ferrari were silent about Carlos for some time and we also know Sainz Sr. is/was with Audi in the Dakar so it was only time before his son followed suit.

[seb_sh]

Now all we need is Verstappen in Mercedes lol, but in all seriousness, not really surprised as Ferrari were silent about Carlos for some time and we also know Sainz Sr. is/was with Audi in the Dakar so it was only time before his son followed suit.

Hamilton said several times he'd like to drive for Ferrari, seems everyone does at some point, all great champions have except for Senna who also said he wanted to do it.

Sainz wanted to stay and was negotiating with Ferrari until a couple weeks ago. In 2025 there are openings at all teams except for Ferrari and McLaren. The Sainz Sr. connection is obvious but I think there are more important things so it could mean something or it could mean nothing. He's shown enough that most teams would want him so in my opinion Red Bull or Mercedes could also be possible destinations. Maybe Audi will bring out the checkbook and offer him a long term deal, who knows. The Silly Season is going to be great this year.