WRC - Rally Turkey

[Nobes]

So who do we think or want to win this weekends rally?

With Loeb out, and Marcus no doubt going for a win, with McCrae in the mix, and Solberg probably out to have a good run, all the elements are there for a great rally.

Hope Atko can bring home a top 6 finish at least.

[Tumbo]

i doubt solberg or atkinson will finish any higher than fourth, marcus no doubt for the win. mcrae hopefully on the podium. Possible that sordo will be in the mix. the omv peugeots to take the minor placings.

[lexoto]

Gronholm a good thing............
He might even lap the other drivers he's so much better.........

[k1w1taxi]

Gronholm, Hirvonen, McRaeStohl, Atko, Rovenpera

At least it better be if I am going top do any good in the pick 6 comp I'm in :-)

Cheers
Lee

[Nobes]

Well of to a slow start with both SS 1 & 2 cancelled because the medical helicopter could not take off and support the stages. SS3 is on now, and Gronholm is off like a startled gazelle !!!

Atko is back inthe pack, but long way to go yet.

Weather is apparently very poor.

[Buffalo]

Weather is apparently very poor.

Apparently the service park nearly got drowned and blown away last night !... From the shakedown results Mcrae looked to be quick in the top five but I guess you would get that driving a 2006 Xsara ;)

[Tumbo]

bad weather on the slowest rally of the yr :( just what we needed; bring on NZ and Rossi :D

[Nobes]

Well SS4 has been cancelled, and SS5 shortened by almost half distance.

Cause again is safety due to weather, and mud and slipperyness of the roads.

Hope the event doesnt end up a boring washout of most stages.

[Tumbo]

Portugal 2001 anyone? :rolleyes:

[Nobes]

Seems the weather stayed reasonable and the last 4 stages all ran.

No surprises as to who are the top 3, and nice to see Atko still running and in the game for a top 5 finish, hopefully!!

Longest stages coming up in Day 2, starting around 3pm eastern oz and 1pm west oz.

Rally can be followed via the results, then stages link from the www.wrc.com (http://www.wrc.com) page.

Go Atko!!

[Buffalo]

Despite the weather and crap conditions it looks like Solberg/Subaru has found some form and he's pressuring Gronholm ... Hope he keeps it up ! ..

I was reading on another forum that apparently - Subaru have found their problem - supposedly they would get a set up on the car and it would go off after 10-15 minutes in stage .... they reckon ( and I know this sounds a bit like Ted Bullpit carpetting the ashtray of the kingswood ) - that if they water cool the steering column the problem goes away - I think they have tried a water spray on the steering column ... problem is that it is illegal and they are now trying to find a way to fix it legally during rally's prior to getting parts homologated to totally cure the problem. I have certainly heard of power steering fluid boiling when overworked but not a steering column overheating problem ... I am going to be very interested to hear the follow up on this one.

[Nobes]

Thats an interesting problem to have!

Maybe the cars are doing well this rally because the air temperature is low and plenty of rain about?

[brchi17]

.....Maybe the cars are doing well this rally because the air temperature is low and plenty of rain about?

That's was what I was also wondering, perhaps the weather has brought the field back to the Subaru's ???

It's always been said that rain is the great equaliser......

[Tumbo]

Long time since seeing McRae in the no. 1 car; 10 years in fact :D

http://img156.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=64237_0 6TUR_Mcrae010_123_471lo.jpg

[malscar]

I must say I am perplexed why Subaru have not changed their cars after nearly the whole season of everyone including the drivers telling them they have cars that bulldoze their way through the stage. Petter complained that even in this rough event where you would expect a high ride height, the car overheated due to the amount of mud etc the car had scooped into the radiator.

Looking a photos of everyone else, they all got covered heavily in mud but no one else had the amount that covered the Subarus. Even the older model was not as bad.

[malscar]

Day 2 now underway.

[brchi17]

Long time since seeing McRae in the no. 1 car; 10 years in fact :D

http://img156.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=64237_0 6TUR_Mcrae010_123_471lo.jpg

So why is Colin using #1 :confused: ???

[malscar]

The number not only belongs to the driver, but the team. Same as why did Jim Richards use #22 at Bathurst this year?

[Tumbo]

There was a question as to whether it would be like Damon Hill in 1994 running #0 but it seems that there is no problem, I think its because McRae is filling in for Loeb who was entered and this is a last minute replacement. Different situation to a WC leaving I guess

[Nobes]

Well that was an interesting Leg Two!!!

Solberg must have walked under a ladder at the second service...........AGAIN!!!

Atko sitting fourth is good to see, but has a couple of drivers up his clacker after his spot. Three stages to go, on which two of he has done
top five times on in the first pass, then finish with the great Olympos stage.

Hope Chris can hang onto fourth at least, and if he can, get that 19 odd second gap tp Henning Solberg and pinch 3rd!!.

Gronholm in 2m odd in front and just needs to cruise to 1st place.

[wayno]

Atko drops more places and Subaru are talking up what a great rally it was for them. How does that work? :rolleyes:
Hope for a better result for them in Australia. They are long overdue.

[rex555]

Pity to see McCrash go out on the last stage, anyone know the details. I can't log on to wrc.com at work.

Atco 6th & Solberg 13th, woeful. Hopefully Atco can lift his game and Subaru the abilities of their cars by then.

[brchi17]

Pity to see McCrash go out on the last stage, anyone know the details. I can't log on to wrc.com at work.

All I could find was this on the SWRT site...

SS18
....Colin McRae also complained of technical difficulties - his Xsara had a high water temperature and was down on power....

SS19
...The first change to the top-ten came when Citroen’s Colin McRae retired mid-stage with an electrical problem.....

cheers,

[malscar]

The last information was battery or alternator. He was not really competitive over the whole rally and would have finished about 9th.

[Nobes]

Yes Atko was doing well there, looking at trying for 3rd place against Henning, but apparently span on the penultimate stage and took about 30 odd seconds to get going.

Hopefully he and Solberg will do better at Rally Australia.

A couple of interviews they did with Loeb tended to indicate he wouldn't be back for Rally Australia in his words "didn't want to return too soon" and aggravate his injury. Lets face it, he doesn't really need to.

[Tumbo]

still dirty about the lead Loeb retains in the championship with the latest details of his form of recceeing........like ppl are regarding Schumacher I think there will be ppl who feel Loeb is a cheat when he retires, he may have the most wins now but in my mind after the latest he is not deserving of that title

[Buffalo]

still dirty about the lead Loeb retains in the championship with the latest details of his form of recceeing........like ppl are regarding Schumacher I think there will be ppl who feel Loeb is a cheat when he retires, he may have the most wins now but in my mind after the latest he is not deserving of that title

Bit harsh don't you think Tumbo ...

[Tumbo]

I personally don't think so. I agree he has talent and deserves to be WC but considering the sanctions against drivers for less serious breaches- Makinen DQ (Safari 99 for getting help moving the car and removing a piece of carbon fibre) being the most obvious driver in recent yrs, the Delecour/Panizzi recceeing penalties and the way in which they were publically shamed. IMHO this is another case of citroen pushing the rules to further their own agenda; haven't forgiven them for appealing the 02 Monte win to take the win and advertise then dropping it a week after because they didn't want to fall out with the other teams......i would like to think that Loeb is following team orders; but still the fact remains this is outside assistence and against if not the rules then the spirit of the rules.

Personally I would love for Loeb to say out until the final round where he remains 5 points in front of Gronholm and see whether he has the balls to stay out of trouble or fights for the win

[lexoto]

Loeb is just too good..........

[malscar]

Loeb is just too good..........

If that was so, why then does he need to stoop to this sort of action. Basically his pace notes are being refined further than what they normally would be and further than his fellow competitors. That means he is getting a unfair advantage. Not in the spirit of rallying.

[wayno]

If that was so, why then does he need to stoop to this sort of action. Basically his pace notes are being refined further than what they normally would be and further than his fellow competitors. That means he is getting a unfair advantage. Not in the spirit of rallying.

Rallying is now a multi-million dollar business. There is no room for 'spirit' anymore. :(
More's the pity.

[KiwiRallyFan]

...still dirty about the lead Loeb retains in the championship with the latest details of his form of recceeing...
I think I have missed something here. What is Sebastian Loeb suppose to have done?

[Tumbo]

It was discussed in the thread about Loeb breaking his arm that he has been engaging others to drive over the stages, after he and Daniel have completed their set no. of practice runs, to further refine his notes. He did this in Finland and a number of other teams including Subaru are quite upset at the tactic since it is a means of circumventing the FIA's regulations

[KiwiRallyFan]

Oh, thanks. That sounds a bit naughty.

[rex555]

Oh, thanks. That sounds a bit naughty.

What can you expect from the French? He (and Citroen) aren't alone in this. Both Panizzi and Delacourt were busted in the past for infractions as well.

[lexoto]

If loeb wasn't found guilty by the officials than he should be considered innocent don't you think.....................

[Tumbo]

Loeb has apparently admitted the infringement and the FIA are looking at whether this is a loophole or should impose sanctions

[rex555]

1. Where are the FIA based? (France)

2. What is the likelyhood of 1 of only 3 remaining 'manufacturer' teams being harshly penalised given the ramification for the sport and the sport as a business?

IMHO if they bother to consider it, it will be a whitewash.

Citroen admitted that it wasn't the first time they had done it (have they done it for every round Loeb has contested?). Given that Tommi was excluded from a round for a un-homologated turbo that didn't give any performance benefit and that Loeb has been getting benefit from additional passes both from the notes and sweeping the stages, then there should be some fitting penalty if he and Citroen are found guilty.

[Tumbo]

Considering the lack of action taken over the farsical effort put in by Citroen in 2002 at Monte which stripped Makinen of the ability to celebrate his milestone 24th (and in fact his final) win in a way in which he did I will have no sympathy if Citroen and Loeb were (which would never happen) to feel the full bront of the FIA; something similar to toyota in 95 with their turbo irregularity would be fitting in my eyes; Delecour and Panizzi were both merely admonished; fines but no sanctions for the French but for everyone else :rolleyes: hate to be a cynic but its hard in this case

[lexoto]

I think loeb is too good a driver to need refining of his notes if that's what he did.
I'm sure some other drivers might do the same anyway.
With satnav thesedays , they probably get more info on the stages from that for their notes.