Rally2 (ex-R5) News

[Jarek Z]

Is Ingram popular in Europe? I dont know how big an ERC title is in Europe, but Im such a fan of Chris. He is chatismatic. He "looks like" a poor guy trying to rally, u'know? I like thah haha

Too me he looks like a boy from the neighborhood who has a dream to become a rally champion. He looked that way especially in the times when he was sponsored by 11 Degress clothing company. I like this guy too!

https://www.facebook.com/11DegreesCl...2554249535750/

https://detour-roadtrips.com/home/ch...rally-champion

[Fast Eddie WRC]

For info, Ingram just split with his long-time co-driver Ross Whittock.

Not sure why but it may be finance-related as they dont do many events. Ross has also had to work in a supermarket before to make a living...

[Jarek Z]

For info, Ingram just split with his long-time co-driver Ross Whittock.

Partners no more
https://www.fiaerc.com/erc-title-win...tners-no-more/

[Andre Oliveira]

https://www.rallye-magazin.de/int/ar...2-bauen-48034/

[RS]

Latest on Skoda testing: https://www.skoda-storyboard.com/en/...-snow-and-ice/

[Sulland]

Has the Polo gotten any newer jokers or is this list complete?
https://autorally.lv/files/r198/R5-J...-VW%20Polo.pdf

I must say I am impressed that the Polo still seems to be one of the top two RC2 cars, long after VW left the sport.
The Polo still is the most stable and well balanced Rally2/R5 car, and performs well on all sufaces.

I am guessing the new Fabia will use lessons identified from the Polo to increase VAGs grip on the class.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Has the Polo gotten any newer jokers or is this list complete?
https://autorally.lv/files/r198/R5-J...-VW%20Polo.pdf

I must say I am impressed that the Polo still seems to be one of the top two RC2 cars, long after VW left the sport.
The Polo still is the most stable and well balanced Rally2/R5 car, and performs well on all sufaces.

I am guessing the new Fabia will use lessons identified from the Polo to increase VAGs grip on the class.

In the MEM video above, they say how well-engineered the Polo R5 is (much being based on the Polo WRC) and the really high quality of its components (compared to their previous i20).

[tommeke_B]

The Polo R5 was according to many engineers/mechanics a bit like a "small WRC", it's a fantastic car, there's a lot to play with, but it has to be set up properly. Not everyone can jump in and be fast with it, while the Fabia has the reputation of being a much easier car to drive. Seeing the numbers it's clear which car is most successful. The Fabia winning many national events and championships all around the world. At Skoda Motorsport, it's more about having a profitable business with many customers rather than having a works team winning championships. It would make sense to stick with their philosophy and build another "user-friendly" car where it's easier for customers to extract the potential of the car.

BTW as the rumors say, Skoda's going to spend a whole week doing development tests in the Ypres region. They're really taking it everywhere.

[Danny0405]

I don’t have the same opinion on the Polo R5. For me, it’s a disappointment: it was VW car (big domination in WRC), the group had Skoda’s experience in R5 (and Skoda stopped their development with VW coming) and it was clearly customer-oriented as a project (except the first rally, they never had a team as Skoda had with Lappi, Tidemand, Kopecky or Rovanpera). So the goal was clearly to overtake the Fabia and to be the next big thing in this category.

And ok, they succeeded in matching the level of the Fabia but they didn’t manage to overtake it whereas the Polo was newer. Polo has some points better (more high-performance oriented) than Fabia and the contrary is true also (Skoda probably more polyvalent and easy to use).
And now, the Citroen is also at this level I think.
Probably the fires (Camilli, Kajto, one guy in Portugal) didn’t help them also to promote it.

So in the end, I would not say the Polo R5 is a failure but a disappointment, yes clearly: the ultimate proof is that the group decides to stop the evolution of the Polo and to come back to the Fabia as the main car to develop.

[Jarek Z]

Probably the fires (Camilli, Kajto, one guy in Portugal) didn’t help them also to promote it.

Apart from the fires

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-erD0PA8Hz...86225920_n.jpg

there were also rear suspension problems, at least for Kajto, Veiby, Saba and some other drivers:

https://static.motor.es/fotos-notici...01849670_1.jpg

https://twitter.com/PeAChapaRacing/s...201849670.html

http://www.kwa-kwa.pl/strona/images/...5/image008.jpg

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PMLX46MYO...56041216_n.jpg

so Polo R5 had quite a bad start which may have discouraged many customers...