New to WRC--How should I watch and what should I watch for

[MrJan]

In the old days the rules were a bit less strict and cars could crawl on 3 wheels to the next service or service points were not as strictly enforced. On the Monte Carlo some teams even did mid-stage tyre changes!

Not even 'the old days', seem to remember Loeb doing it fairly recently. Although in '96/'97 (around then, can't recall which exact year) Makinen lost a rear wheel in Rally GB but was stopped by the police from carrying on. IIRC Gronholm had a similar problem a few years later. Of course the cars still have to comply with traffic laws of the country, people have been stopped for speeding in the past at several events.

Things didn't used to be quite so strict there's a great video of Ari Vatanen on a rally in the UK where they borrow the driveshaft from a spectator's road car (think it was a Capri)

Edit: Was actually the diff - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LmzOKiJfiQ