[WRC] News & rumours (part IV) 2016

[Arnold Triyudho Wardono]

Pooor rallycross.Once a sport of men, now its children and Gentlemen who can barely be called Gentlemen Drivers..

If you're talking about GRC, I'm agree..

[KiwiWRCfan]

This blog by Hans Erik Naess contains some interesting discussion on Rally Swden driver concerns as well as thougts on WRC TV coverage https://thrillsandskills.wordpress.c...edish-thunder/

[SubaruNorway]

This blog by Hans Erik Naess contains some interesting discussion on Rally Swden driver concerns as well as thougts on WRC TV coverage https://thrillsandskills.wordpress.c...edish-thunder/

Cool! He's right about how i try to capture "the dance" of the cars, feels awesome when i get shots like 4:55

[Gregor-y]

What would be good for Merikuh is to have sever good Grupp H --if they still call it that ---and a few good F cup guys to have a little vaction in the US and do a few events and essentially slaughter everybod---and the guy who then have to say on camera and in print form "ti hi ti hi, well that was easy, better sell your Subarus or spend another $30k on them and on top learn to drive" to make an impression on the scene.

Just one to be brave enough to be called an ass-whole for speaking the truth: "don't buy turbo 4wd Subarus---nearly 62% of the start fields here----until you can at least beat a ancient old Toyota or 240...you are embarrassing yourselves"

The few non US drivers that have come over in the last ten years aside from Higgins haven't managed to clean up anything yet, and Higgins is sponsored by the only manufacturer solidly involved (Subaru). Used Subarus are plentiful, dirt cheap and have a mountain of non-homologated (cheap) parts that are interchangeable on cars made between 1993 to 2007, so it's no surprise they're a common choice. Decent competition parts for something like a 240 either have to be custom made or charge the extra price homologation and manufacturing/shipping from Europe entail. And that's assuming you find a 240 in good enough (and bad enough) condition to prepare. They've been out of production for over twenty years, now. Even the die-hards with ancient (Mk II, III) VWs have ragged them out and there's nothing left to replace them. Fiestas are still too new and expensive.

[Munkvy]

The few non US drivers that have come over in the last ten years aside from Higgins haven't managed to clean up anything yet, and Higgins is sponsored by the only manufacturer solidly involved (Subaru). Used Subarus are plentiful, dirt cheap and have a mountain of non-homologated (cheap) parts that are interchangeable on cars made between 1993 to 2007, so it's no surprise they're a common choice. Decent competition parts for something like a 240 either have to be custom made or charge the extra price homologation and manufacturing/shipping from Europe entail. And that's assuming you find a 240 in good enough (and bad enough) condition to prepare. They've been out of production for over twenty years, now. Even the die-hards with ancient (Mk II, III) VWs have ragged them out and there's nothing left to replace them. Fiestas are still too new and expensive.

I wouldn't say 6th overall in a Fiesta R2 is anything to be sneezed at, especially when that's ahead of a number of 4WD cars:

http://www.rally-america.com/events/2015/NEFR/results

[janvanvurpa]

The few non US drivers that have come over in the last ten years aside from Higgins haven't managed to clean up anything yet, and Higgins is sponsored by the only manufacturer solidly involved (Subaru). Used Subarus are plentiful, dirt cheap and have a mountain of non-homologated (cheap) parts that are interchangeable on cars made between 1993 to 2007, so it's no surprise they're a common choice. Decent competition parts for something like a 240 either have to be custom made or charge the extra price homologation and manufacturing/shipping from Europe entail. And that's assuming you find a 240 in good enough (and bad enough) condition to prepare. They've been out of production for over twenty years, now. Even the die-hards with ancient (Mk II, III) VWs have ragged them out and there's nothing left to replace them. Fiestas are still too new and expensive.

Tarvarich Grigorij,
Brendon reeves ---cleaned up everybody except theguys with budgets 20 times everybody else.
1.6 n.a. car with maybe a whopping 165hp;
http://www.ewrc-results.com/final.ph...nce-Rally-2013

4th overall

http://www.ewrc-results.com/final.ph...sts-Rally-2013

3rd overall

http://www.ewrc-results.com/final.ph...est-Rally-2013

5th overall

http://www.ewrc-results.com/final.ph...est-Rally-2013

4th overall

http://www.ewrc-results.com/final.ph...ail-Rally-2013

5th overall

Better details found here:
http://www.daronhume.com/rally/combi...r=&stage_skip=

Generally speaking he consistently beat all but hired gun Higgins, self funded 100 millionaire Block, Belgian millionaire Sterckx

As for the 50-60% of the field being Subaru-Lego clone cars, nothing wrong with that except they're expensive to run because they are such junk engines and transmissions and the fail frequently---and really aren't that good...and modest performance..
And people doing them think they are doing great..
Decent competition parts for Volvo are as easy as for Escort, just have to pay some postage...somehow they do over there manage to pay for pistons and rods and flywheels to that I sent BACK...
And yes the production ended 20 years ago..But they made 2,7 million and maybe 70% came to USA..

And somehow in the rest of the world guys keep Escorts and Corollas and Starlets and other cars going which ended the production30 years ago..
We have the cheapest gas in the industrialised world ---under USD2.00/gallon or .53 cents/liter and great highways....5500 km coast to coast--110km/hr just 50 relaxed hours coast to coast...certainly people can find nice rust free bodyshells.
They don't want to.They watch You-tube and want to pretend they're Burns and McRae...
As long as it looks like a rally car--stickers adds 10 hp per sticker--and they can watch themselves, they seem content to what looks like just cruise around..



In reference to Brendon Reeves (and before him Will orders) results, bear in mind USA events are done on the biggest roads imaginable--usually big enough for one semi-truck and trailer rig, and often big enough for 2. Average speeds on many US stages for local big budget guys over 130 km/hr

[Gregor-y]

Subarus are just in the right age group at the moment. All the mk 2 and 3 GTIs have been worn away and Fiestas are still too new to prep as cheaply as an Impreza. And forget importing an old European Escort and all the parts to prepare it unless you have money like Ken Block (who has done so, much to the glee of the newest generation of fanboys).

"Modest performance" comparing a WRX to a 240 - or even an Escort - was good for a chuckle.

Good call on Brendon Reeves, though; think he could have won with a Subaru?

[janvanvurpa]

Subarus are just in the right age group at the moment. All the mk 2 and 3 GTIs have been worn away and Fiestas are still too new to prep as cheaply as an Impreza. And forget importing an old European Escort and all the parts to prepare it unless you have money like Ken Block (who has done so, much to the glee of the newest generation of fanboys).

"Modest performance" comparing a WRX to a 240 - or even an Escort - was good for a chuckle.

Good call on Brendon Reeves, though; think he could have won with a Subaru?

Modest performabce comes for modest build of engines--and you better keep it that way--I have built several EJ20s for customers and they are the polar opposite of the Ford and Volvo and Saab and Volvo and Mitsubishi engines I have built----and for most the limited availability of final drives shorter than 4.1 (yeah I know there are 4.44 :1 final drives out there but when one sees a stack of 12-14 broken, chipped, dead ring gears and they are all 4.44 and my friend who has pulled them all says "Seems like 4.44 break far too often and look at the stack again..I'm inclined to believe him) See the 4.1 barely compensates for the taller gravel tires so performance is not really "increased".
In a theoretical Volvo or Escort or rwd Corolla for less than a couple of hundred bucks new, we can get a 4.88 or a 5,1 or even a 5.35 final drive which is just a smidge shorter than the road cars 3.64 real axle (or the Corolla's 4.1) Affordable short final drive is a instant huge plus in the performance of even a modest built engine...Power---gearing-weight... In none does the typical club Subie have a distinct advantage.

As for Reeves winning overall..Yeah maybe..But then nobody would rave because nobody care now who wins.

You know the old saying in 'Merikun that goes "That's like bringing a gun to a knife fight" ?

What we have and a glance at the multiple minute gap per stage of the rich guys to the not-so-rich shows this is closer to "That's like bringing a


to a knife fight..

Nobody is impressed at the "marksmanship". And the futile attempts by some software types to play catch up aren't very impressive either....
Obviously.....if a n.a 1.6 good spec but no works car and a good driver could beat nearly every one except the few Rich guy builds..

[Zeakiwi]

Did they wire tie in the bolts in the Subaru differentials ?
http://www.possumbourne.co.nz/trans-and-diff-parts.html (special diff bolts)

[dimviii]

Panta will be the official fuel provider for wrc.