Rally GB

[Tumbo]

2 stages down Solberg in Second 0.8sec away from Loeb in 1st. Atko in 4th :D

[wayno]

Rovanpera is doing a magnificent job in third. McRae is in 12th. Atko now in fifth. Let's hope Subaru can finally have a decent result.

[wayno]

Day one coming to a close. Solberg 19.9 seconds behind Loeb, but rally radio is starting to make noise about Loeb getting a 10 second penalty. Not sure what for yet. Just waiting now for Chris to finish the stage.
Rovanpera safe in third at the end of the first day. What a fantastic performance.
Watch out for Gronholm. He is FLYING after having a pretty serious brake problem that cost him a load of time earlier in the day.

[wayno]

Chris finished the day in sixth. He shredded a front tyre on the last stage and dropped a heap of time, but he's still less than a minute off third. Great effort.
Gronholm is absolutely flying! He had brake problems early that dropped him out of the top 10 but is now back to fourth.
I hope day two is as exciting.

[Nick Short]

Panic buying of fuel (>1km queues at servos!) has meant a shortage, and there was a worry that the competitors might find it difficult to get supplies! If so it'll be a very slow final few stages.....

[V8SS]

KiwiRallyFan is over at Rally GB at the moment so hopefully he'll write something when he gets back of his experiences.

[lachlan]

Well, guess what?

Out agian. What a shame he was really looking good.....

[wayno]

What a surprise! :rolleyes: Subarus patience must be starting to wear thin.
Chris will want to watch himself. There are some pretty competitive guys looking for a drive next year.

[wayno]

Final stages of the rally have been cancelled due to tragic circumstances. Marko Martin has been involved in an accident that has fatally injured his co driver Michael Park. Martin himself was unhurt. At times like this words fail me.
Park formed his partnership with Martin back in 2000 in a privateer Toyota Corolla. They spent a season at Subaru together before moving to Ford. It was here they really became players in the big league, winning five rallies together.
Park leaves behind a wife and two children. I'm sure the motorsport world will be extending them the hands of friendship and sympathy in this, the most tragic of times.
RIP Michael Park.

[KiwiRallyFan]

As V8SS has said above, I was fortunate enough to attend Rally GB this year. I joined up with the official rally spectators tour, and got to see 2 stages and the service park each day, although we did miss the last stage which was cancelled because of the death of Michael Park. Up until that time, the rally itself was excellent and much more spectator friendly than I expected. The highlight for me was the stage inside the Millennium Stadium on the Saturday night, which was absolutely awesome. The stadium was about hall full (35,000 people), and the noise and atmosphere inside was the best I've ever experienced at a motorsport event. British rally supporters take along air-hooters to support the drivers and these were going off continuously during the stage (especially when Colin McRae was out there!). The stadium stage itself was a basic figure-8 on concrete (where the football pitch would normally be), and the cars did 3 laps taking about 1 minute. It was a bit like a big drifting event as the top cars were practically sideways the whole time, and several hit the plastic barriers around the side of the track. Gigi Galli also did a very nice donut after the finish line which is shown on the WRC TV coverage. The other stages were also very good and were well organised, with lots of parking, excellent spectator viewing points, and easy access (which really surprised me as I've heard some horror stories from past years).

The official tour package I was on was also very good, and included all tickets, accommodation, bus transfers, lunch, and VIP parking at each stage (which means a lot less walking!). It was also very well priced as I worked out it was cheaper to take the package than get a rental car and arrange everything myself.

I've attached some of my photos from the rally (once Admin has approved them). For those that are interested, they were taken with my new Canon 20D..... :)

[KiwiRallyFan]

Marcus Gronholm at the Walters Arena viewing point on Stage 3 (Rheola).

The Walters Arena area is a purposely built spectator area in the middle of the stage where the cars are on view for about 1 minute. The area itself is an old open-cast coal mine which has been landscaped and features some very nice corners, jumps and straights. You could also walk up into the forest to a tight downhill hairpin.

[KiwiRallyFan]

Harri Rovanpera at the Dixies viewing point in the middle of the Halfway stage (Stage 9 on Sunday).

This is the area which used to include a short piece of slippery tarmac where Marcus Gronholm (and a couple of others) crashed about 3 years ago. The tarmac has since been replaced by a new gravel road which runs along-side the old tarmac. Another excellent viewing point.

[KiwiRallyFan]

Petter Solberg at the same point in the Halfway stage....

[KiwiRallyFan]

A panorama showing the stage inside the Millennium Stadium. The cars entered through the door at the top left, did three laps, then finished under the black arch on the right. In the middle by the stage was a display of Ford cars which included an RS200 road car, an Escort WRC car, and Roger Clarkes (?) old Mk 1 Escort rally car.

[KiwiRallyFan]

During the buildup to the stage in the Stadium, a car 'flew' around the inside of the stadium at the height of the second tier. The car was extremely realistic looking, but I think it was actually a Hydrogen or Helium balloon which was controlled by remote control. There are little propellors on the base of the car, and it just hovered and floated around the stadium doing loops etc.

[lachlan]

You lucky B@#$ed!!!
Can't wait to see the pics...

[KiwiRallyFan]

Here's one more (hopefully Admin won't mind).

Markko Martin at Halfway (which was actually on Saturday, not Sunday as I wrote above). Not sure where the branch came from...

[lachlan]

Whats happened to the pics???? :confused:
It will be worth the wait....

[KiwiRallyFan]

I don't think the pics have been approved yet, but they are worth the wait.....;)

[V8SS]

Awesome photos John. Well worth the wait.:)

[wayno]

Great stuff. Thanks for that. The 20D looks the business but my wife is still saying no at the moment!
Having seen your great shots I'm looking forward to Rally Australia more than ever!

[lachlan]

Great photo's mate. It was worth the wait for sure.
I'm looking forward to Perth aswell, I can't wait!!!!!

[KiwiRallyFan]

Thanks for the positive comments.

Here's one more, just for the Ford fans. Toni Gardemeister at a downhill hairpin in the second Rheola stage....