National Rally championships News

[dimviii]

You can see the things the other way, when a restricted 911 can’t match an N+Evo it has nothing to do with the driving, it's just a clear sign of how hugely that car was undermine by regs.

the restricted 911 has more power from evo N+ and weight less.Uses wider tyres also.So driving at dry abrasive asphalt IS a reason.

Honestly I think this rally Gt discussion has been a bit out of focus with so many “balls” comments about the driving and straight line speed remarks.

Let’s be fair, any guy that drives a rally car flat out, from a 2wd Gr.N to a WRC, has to be brave, so it’s a bit redundant to praise Porsche drivers for their abilities. For sure, 911’s aren’t easy and demands a different driving technique from fwd, 4wd and even more balanced rwd cars, but a top driver has to adapt to any car or road.

agree.

On the tech side we could largely argue about different figures and specifications but in a plain and simple way we can just say they’re matched; 911’s are superior on fast stages but they can’t cope with R5’s on more twisted roads.

agree if you mean the unrestricted 911s.

At Canarias Rally we had Kajto, ERC champ, with a top R5 and Cruz, Canarias champ, with a top 911. If we analyze the first leg times we can see Cruz was able to get very close to Kajto, but he didn't reach the lead. 2nd leg times and Cruz overall win are deceptive, as we know Kajto had tyre problems (and Luky ease up a bit).

agree again.

So, in one of their most favorable rallyes unrestricted 911’s weren’t superior or inferior to R5’s, they were matched. As it was already seen during ’14 spanish championship won by Vallejo’s 911 in a close battle with Fuster’s Fiesta R5 (5 wins for Vallejo, 4 for Fuster).

It’s clear that the need to restrict 911’s didn’t come from their alleged superiority; it came from the understandable will to get a more diversified field on CERA’s. Because 911’s are equally fast but largely less expensive than R5’s, RFEA only option was to undermine them through the regs.

they had superiority at power,and that wasnt fair for any r5 driver who had championship hopes. As you saw,even when restricted them,but still higher than r5 bhp,most of them didnt want to continue to drive.Lost the advantage,and that was the reason they choosed these cars.

Ironically, the problem of 911’s in modern rally it’s their low price!

nevermind they can choose N+ with less money too and be very competetive with r5 cars as we saw from Garcia,so even this excuse finished.
They had choosed them from their power advantage.Lets see when Vallejos drive r5 cars if they will get 5 wins so easy.

[dimviii]

In Estonia use GAZ trucks in rallies. They are not made for rally as 911, but quite a fun to watch.

i dont have a problem to se 911s at rallies,i just dont want to see them, with advantage against better drivers who take much more risks to gain the lost seconds at straights from a 100+ bhp car.

[Ucci]

Do you really think Neubauer deserves this victory? He has been competing for years and couldn't beat almost 60-year-old Baumschlager when they were driving cars of the same class. So he bought a better car and can win now. Can you even call it SPORT?

Now you are talking rubbish - how can you compare 2009 spec Fiesta S2000 with TOP Fabia S2000 with the latest improvements??? And not even think about how well was Mundl's Fabia maintained compared to Neubauer's Fiesta??
Just the class was the same, but here the similarities ends....

[janvanvurpa]

Now you are talking rubbish - how can you compare 2009 spec Fiesta S2000 with TOP Fabia S2000 with the latest improvements??? And not even think about how well was Mundl's Fabia maintained compared to Neubauer's Fiesta??
Just the class was the same, but here the similarities ends....

Same way as those of us who read both WRC and national results when held same time saw Mats Jonsson in 1997 spec WRC Cosworth doing times equal to 4ths and 5ths and 6th current WRC drivers brand new WRC cars...

13 years old spec...which is like from last Ice-age....

The spec of the cars is highly exaggerated..especially by those who don't compete or who buy their rides.

[Mirek]

Now you are talking rubbish - how can you compare 2009 spec Fiesta S2000 with TOP Fabia S2000 with the latest improvements??? And not even think about how well was Mundl's Fabia maintained compared to Neubauer's Fiesta??
Just the class was the same, but here the similarities ends....

If he has money to run modern WRC why wasn't he able to find money to run proper S2000? It's cheaper, You know. Still the point stays - why is it good to change rules just because Neubauer and Grössing feel frustrated from not being able to beat an old man? The bright side of that is that ÖRM found finally someone to do so while Baumschlager is still alive.

By the way Neubauer was born in 1988, Baumschlager in 1959. He may be older than Neubauer's father.

PS Do You believe that introducing very expensive cars has in any way helped the true Austrian talents who sit at home? I mean guys like Andreas Aigner or Beppo Harrach...

[WUff1]

Future of Austrian rallying is not Aigner nor Harrach, but bloody young guys like brothers Simon & Julian Wagner, Christoph Zellhofer and Luca Waldherr.

If Harrach would really like to, I´m sure he could drive, his family is very wealthy. With Aigner it´s a bad situation, his crowdfunding campaign, which others use now successfully, unfortunately failed

Biggest winner is Austrian rallying now, even media interest rose again, and it´s exciting again to watch or follow the rallies.

[Ucci]

If he has money to run modern WRC why wasn't he able to find money to run proper S2000? It's cheaper, You know.

1. Neubauer is not giving mony, he drives for team, which has own sponsor. If they didn't have money for a top S2000/R5 in previous years, we can not blaim them. They were there, with old technology without any real chance against work-Fabia with a highly experiencend driver. Now they secured budget for WRC, thanks god for this brave step....
2. Some of you are quickly forgetting.....because of whom were changed fuel rules in the middle of season?? We all know this pearson or better said the team....the result was Neubauer left the championship....
3. As already other forum member mentioned-the championship is again interesting.
4. Baumschlager stressed on many occasions, that he was not driving on the limit. There was no need. Now the role is changed, the old fox is forced to step on the throttle. And if, I repeat if he loses the championship crown, no tragedy....

[Mirek]

1. Neubauer is not giving mony, he drives for team, which has own sponsor. If they didn't have money for a top S2000/R5 in previous years, we can not blaim them. They were there, with old technology without any real chance against work-Fabia with a highly experiencend driver. Now they secured budget for WRC, thanks god for this brave step....

What is brave about buying better car than Your opponent when You know that he can not buy similar one? Tell me please.

2. Some of you are quickly forgetting.....because of whom were changed fuel rules in the middle of season?? We all know this pearson or better said the team....the result was Neubauer left the championship....

The rule was simply stupid and was changed for good. And no, it wasn't because of Fabia not "eating" stock fuel. Fabia has factory mapping for several types of stock fuel, even for 98 octane.

3. As already other forum member mentioned-the championship is again interesting.

Maybe, but in my opinion making a championship interesting by making it unfair is completely wrong.

4. Baumschlager stressed on many occasions, that he was not driving on the limit. There was no need. Now the role is changed, the old fox is forced to step on the throttle. And if, I repeat if he loses the championship crown, no tragedy....

What a comment. So because others were not able to make pressure on Baumschlager under same rules we allow them to use better car because we know that Baumschlager has some contract with factory and can't switch the car as well? How stupid thinking is that?

---
You are right that it doesn't matter if Baumschlager has N titles or N+1 but what matters is if there is someone who can succeed him. Those who need WRC to beat him are not such for sure.

The change of rules towards WRC was same mistake as here in CZ and done in completely wrong time when nearly all other championships switch into all R5/S2000 rules and as a result see an incredible rise of their national competition level (Britain, Belgium, Italy, Portugal for example).

[tc10a]

The change of rules towards WRC was same mistake as here in CZ and done in completely wrong time when nearly all other championships switch into all R5/S2000 rules and as a result see an incredible rise of their national competition level (Britain, Belgium, Italy, Portugal for example).

Completely agree. All the top contenders in top-spec R5 cars would give a much better competiton and would maybe attract also some of the mentioned guys, which have now no seat.
But Neubauer and Grössing would probably have again no chance against Baumschlager over the season.

They need the WRCs. Some Austrian newspapers even already try to suggest that Baumschlager has no disadvantage because of his R5 car...

[WUff1]

The change of rules towards WRC was same mistake as here in CZ and done in completely wrong time when nearly all other championships switch into all R5/S2000 rules and as a result see an incredible rise of their national competition level (Britain, Belgium, Italy, Portugal for example).

You forget that these countries always were big rally nations, with a good structure and a big fanbase. Austria is not anymore, at least at the moment, In former years or better said decades it was different.

I´m sure WRC will be forbidden again in Austria after some time, and Neubauer´s team also thought about buying a new R5 car instead of the WRC, so this is what will happen then. And then I´m sure Neubauer will still be able to fight against Baumschlager. He even was with his very old Fiesta S2000 in 2014, a car which was described by some of you guys as not being in good shape at Barum Rally 2015.