WRC Thread

[niniendowarrior]

Very sad news. I also don't see how Ford, Citroen and other sponsors will stick around without TV coverage. WRC has some of the most exciting racing around and yet we get little to no coverage here in the states.

Motors TV handled Rally Sweden and that was totally a last minute thing. We'll have to wait for other rally organizers to announce their own TV deals.

[niniendowarrior]

FIA and WRC claim an international TV deal will be made 'this week'.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/97514

[niniendowarrior]

Rally Portugal has been all kinds of zany and crazy. Day 1, Loeb out of the rally. Day 2, Latvala and Petter crash out due to horrible weather which prompted the organizers to cancel stages. They rejoin in Day 3. Hirvonen wins the rally... or did he? Mikko gets excluded for parts that do not fall in the regulation. Mads Ostberg wins Rally Portugal, with Petter in third due to the exclusion. Latvala gets 2 points in the Power Stage as Sordo wins that one.

[Mtn Man]

Rally Portugal has been all kinds of zany and crazy. Day 1, Loeb out of the rally. Day 2, Latvala and Petter crash out due to horrible weather which prompted the organizers to cancel stages. They rejoin in Day 3. Hirvonen wins the rally... or did he? Mikko gets excluded for parts that do not fall in the regulation. Mads Ostberg wins Rally Portugal, with Petter in third due to the exclusion. Latvala gets 2 points in the Power Stage as Sordo wins that one.

Wow, what a crazy race. I saw a few highlights on SpeedTV but didn't hear about Mikko's being caught for illegal parts until Monday. Glad to see Solberg closing in on Loeb for points.

[niniendowarrior]

Wow, what a crazy race. I saw a few highlights on SpeedTV but didn't hear about Mikko's being caught for illegal parts until Monday. Glad to see Solberg closing in on Loeb for points.

I'm really hoping Petter is able to take the fight to Loeb if not beat Loeb for the title. The man has had it really tough these last few years running as a privateer. It's time he gets a little bit of reward for those hard times. Jari-Matti is way too unreliable still to be #1 driver even though he is Malcolm's annointed one. Makes sense for him to favour the Finn though because of what Petter did to Malcolm years back.

Update:
Citroen are not going to push through with the appeal making Mads Ostberg's victory official.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/98587

Jari-Matti is ready to give up his #1 driver status following another crash. Petter trails Loeb by just 4 points while Latvala is 38 down. Malcolm though says.... "No, you're #1."
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/98580

[Mtn Man]

I'm really hoping Petter is able to take the fight to Loeb if not beat Loeb for the title. The man has had it really tough these last few years running as a privateer. It's time he gets a little bit of reward for those hard times. Jari-Matti is way too unreliable still to be #1 driver even though he is Malcolm's annointed one. Makes sense for him to favour the Finn though because of what Petter did to Malcolm years back.

Update:
Citroen are not going to push through with the appeal making Mads Ostberg's victory official.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/98587

Jari-Matti is ready to give up his #1 driver status following another crash. Petter trails Loeb by just 4 points while Latvala is 38 down. Malcolm though says.... "No, you're #1."
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/98580

Sounds like all the wrecks are getting into Latvala's head. That's not good and I really wish he had gone to Citroen instead of Mikko. Hopefully, Petter can still overtake Loeb.

[niniendowarrior]

Sounds like all the wrecks are getting into Latvala's head. That's not good and I really wish he had gone to Citroen instead of Mikko. Hopefully, Petter can still overtake Loeb.

One thing I do give credit is that Latvala is a team player. He has no problems supporting his teammate even when he's really quick. I always thought he was quicker than Mikko, but man does he crash a lot. I don't remember if this was in the Acropolis Rally, but he was doing much, much better before that rally and on the penultimate stage, he addressed the press over why he's been successful now. "It's the consistency. I've finally found it." Then, he crashes in the next stage.

Petter does crash too and if given #1 driver status, I think we might see more of that. He seems to be driving sensibly like a #2 driver does, but he's still pretty darn quick while holding back. I hope Petter's form continues and he beats Loeb this year. The thing is... with Seb Loeb around, do you expect anyone else to win?

[Mtn Man]

It looks like Latvala crashes out on skis just like he does in rally cars :-)

http://www.wrc.com/news/sordo-to-rep...ina/?fid=16518

[niniendowarrior]

Yup. Sordo replaces him in Ford. Latvala did say he could have still raced but decided against it because of the risks.

[niniendowarrior]

And you are a mofo spammer. Monte Carlo Rally was in January you f*cker. GET THE F*CK OUT OF HERE.