I have created this thread for all rally fans interested in discussing the championship, without having to get caught up in KR Fever!

The previous threads were merged, which I personally dont think worked too well, so I am creating a seperate one again for the WRC, where hopefully we can discuss all the drivers, teams, performances, incompetent ISC mangement and results....

Let the non-Kimi focused discussions begin.....

Beat me to it.

So..before Ken Block went out...I have to say...I was very impressed, he drove it very well and it may encourage someone like Tanner Foust to come and have a go too, as I actually believe Tanner is a better driver than Ken.

The Ford S2000 really looks likea great little motor car and Xavi Pons is also having a good run in Mexico...

Clearly not all is well in the Ford camp...and I suspect Malcolm may be on the phone soon to Marcus Gronholm to try and get him back into a Focus real soon.

this is turning out to be a huge mental blow for Mikko

Where the hell can I watch this in the UK, I used to follow WRC before I started properly following F1, it used to be on normal TV, then I think it went to Eurosport, now it's nowhere to be found. What's going on

I remember oddly seeing highlights for a stage last season on the BBC iPlayer, but it seems like it was a one off because that was when Loeb won yet another title so they probably did a special.

Yes and no mate. I actually place part of this toward Malcolm and the Ford team themselves....how on earth... does Henning find a better set-up than the works guys??? Henning is running a 2008 Focus and he chooses to run stiffer springs and suddenly he is closer to the pace of Loeb.... Thats really poor of the M-Sport guys, they need to get someone working much closer with Mikko and Jari to listen to what they are saying about the cars and advise how they then might tweak them.

If I was Malcolm...if they are going to continue to let that Arab gentleman sit in a works seat in return for money, then they at the very least need to have someone like Gronholm in the service park, offering his thoughts to the young guys to help them as clearly they have not had a clue this event.

Loeb does well in these conditions because the surface is a little more like his natural surface (Tarmac). If the ground is hard, Seb can set the car up a lot stiffer than normal for gravel and thus he feels more comfortable with the car and thus blows everyone away as a result...

Mikko will learn a lot from this, but it truly highlights in my personal opinion, just how very unique Sebatien is...one of the very best of all time and I still have zero doubt..that if he was given the testing time... he could easily be a top 10 runner in F1...he is simply a unique talent...

Dave shows highlights on early n Sunday evenings mate. But its only a poxy 1 hour show...BUT... according to the spin meisters Simon Long and Neil Dunconson of ISC/North One Sport...the championship is at its most popular for a long time.... Idiots...

I would like to add...... ENOUGH IS ENOUGH....

Send Matt Wilson to IRC with a Fiesta to campaign... and bring in Marcus Gronholm or Gigi Galli ....

Gigi is by far and away, a much more capable and faster driver than Matt, he is also a 'legend' in fron of the microphone... Matt is a great guy, but he simply is not cutting it at the WRC level and he has had plenty long enough by now. It's time Daddy had a heart to heart with his son and get someone more capable for Ford in that Stobart car.

Motors tv, sky 413. Day1 review starting shortly...

Ha - the news item on autosport saying Petter didn't follow orders from the Citroen big wigs was a bit funny. I was almost thinking the same thing when he didn't play the tactical race...:-). Good for him though to be up there, hopefully he manages to keep second.

Ford cannot be happy at the moment - Malcolm Wilson did not sound like a happy camper yesterday going so far as to say it wasn't all the car (probably trying to protect Ford's rep at the same time). Loeb basically made the rest of the field his b**** yesterday. Hirvonen must be gutted especially after his Swedish victory. Hope Ford can regroup and give the Citroens some competition this year.

Latvala wondered that the reason is gear box. 2008 version has 6 gears, the new one only five. And driving high from the sea level the engines doesn´t give that much power and torsion. That makes 6 gears better choice..and faster.

Citroens also have 6 gears.

Latvala was saying he thinks the problem is also that they have a 5-speed gearbox while Citroen has a 6-speed. The Fords have to downshift in the long corners as they are missing power at the high altitude. He thinks the Citroen gearing is closer spaced and better suited to the conditions.

Stage 19 is underway. Loeb should just bring it home but the battle between Ogier and Petter Solberg should be interesting.

Loeb has a 40s lead over Ogier with 3 stages left (including the special stage) but he lost 18s to his younger rival on SS19. I'm sure Citroen will 'encourage' Ogier to settle for 2nd

SS20 is cancelled. But it all looks sweet for Loeb now.

Mikko was slow, did he hit something?

Motors TV had Day 1 last night and yesterdays stages this morning at 10.00. Far better than the crap Dave production.
Thanks for this thread BTW, the merge should never have happened.

Will never happen. Thats like saying, and i'm just using him as an example, dave weston isnt quick enough, his dad should spend HIS money running Martin McCormack instead. If wilson doesnt drive the car no-one does. Yes i know he's nowhere wrc standard, but neither are villagra, rautenbach, prokop or any of those other ''pay (700k+ an event for hire and mechanics for a c4!!!!)drivers''

Yes, apparently he hit something (?) which damaged his door. Nothing major.

The WRC has been split into two parts on Dave. One part is on around 6.00 and the other about 11.00. Or its on tomorrow at 7pm in one part. Go figure.

I really love the WRC but Dave coverage is going downhill, Neil Cole is not good, his interviews are embarrasing but I suppose the good thing is they got rid of that ghastly celeb tag along bit

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Just noticed that Sordo & Wilson have crept back into the points

Is this the "official" thread - or the other one ??

They're miles back, the S-WRC and P-WRC guys just hasn't done this stage yet.

To Kosmic33: I'm not sure it's entirely fair to name Prokop as a talentless paydriver, dude's actually leading the S2000 cars you know...

Ah right, sorry, that always confuses me.

It is simple, you want seperate threads, keep the discussion seperate. When the discussion is the same in both threads surely you can understand its pointless having two threads. I will rename the other thread "Kimi Raikkonen - WRC - 2010". If the discussion here becomes Kimi centric again . . .

If there are any issues with this or any other moderation, contact the moderators or admins, do not take it to the board.

Am i hearing right Ken Block racing in the WRC? Is this the same American Ken Block? Since when? Come on he must be last then

I'm glad to see P Solberg doing well. I've never seen anyone be so thrilled and celebrate each victory so intensely, and the effort he has put into racing in 2009 and now is incredible. If there ever was a true racer, that is it.

Ogier and Solberg separated by 6 tenths going into the final stage!

Ouch! Only stating a fact.

And Latvala lost a remarkable amount of time and strangely Hirvonen has now got 4th

What a coincidence!

Team orders on the second rally, what a bloody joke!

I used to follow WRC when it was on SpeedTV. I know there is a lot of talk on Loeb and team orders. Is there not the same rule as in F1 and if not (as it seems) do you guys think it will be added to the rules? It IS part of racing but I would hate for Loeb to keep winning on orders and not merit.

BTW, team orders are on the play list for a couple of seasons now. They aren¨t banned in WRC, and that is just because of stupid FIA rules concerning starting order for a third season in a row.
Again, feel sorry for Petter, if he was in this year¨s C4 he would be closer to Seb, but if he beats Ogier today, I am not sure that Quesnel will continue to give him even last year machinery.

I would hope not for Petter's part, but I'm thinking Quesnel is silently happy. He has one more driver to put between Loeb and the Fords - without putting Ogier under too much pressure to perform. Actually, it would be Sordo that would have to be worried in my opinion. It's hard not to root for Petter this year - a genuine good guy. Also, I'm guessing Quesnel went and said thanks after day 1 . Besides, if Quesnel were to start messing with him, Petter won't keep his mouth shut since he's got his own sponsors to worry about, and it'll just start a PR nightmare for Citroen/Loeb.

You might be right, but on the other hand, Quesnel has a big sponsor in Red Bull, and a big name in Junior team, so Petter is kinda between rock and a hard place. Sordo, I don¨t know, I dont think Quesnel would put two french drivers in first squad, and I don¨t know how well connected is King Carlos in Citroen these days, after all Dani is his protegee. But young Seb is quickly becoming Citroens first choice when king Seb decides it¨s time to hang his helmet.

Whooopeee Solberg

Petter does it

Great job Petter.

First-half highlights on Dave now.

Loeb hasn't often benefited from team orders; his team-mates usually haven't been close enough. I don't have the statistics but I'd guess that he's more often had tactics used against him (as in this rally).

Excellent jobs from Petter and Sebastien Ogier. I hope they and Sordo all win this year.

Fantastic Kimi off!!

Yeah agreed. I think Citroen cares more for the Loeb vs Hirvonen championship battle than anything else, and Solberg's benefiting them in that battle so I can't see what's the issue. All it matters is that Loeb comes first, whatever order the other cars come in doesn't really matter as long as there's a few of them ahead of the Fords.

Yeah, Hirvonen seems to benefit from team orders more often than Loeb.

Neil Cole: Because of the time difference, at the moment, the rally hasn't even finished yet!

Yeah, ever heard about live broadcasting?

I have the impression that Ford has been more active in the "let's slow down on the last special stage of the day so we don't need to be the first car out tomorrow" department, i.e. they've done their legal-but-still-annoying bit in fiddling with starting orders which obviously has its effect but isn't quite the same as telling someone to pull over so that someone else can gain an extra point or two.

Prokop has spent millions to try and get fast & hardly ever beat anyone of note in the jwrc
He's in a rally car practically every day - did the jwrc and pwrc last year with at least 6 cars
1 tarmac, 1 garvel & 1 test junior & production car

As for the team orders, i guess loeb never really benefits from it because he doesnt need to

Yeah silly Neil Tsk!

I'd imagine editing a day's highlights is a tad time consuming and Dave of course don't have the live rights.

Don¨t be so harsh to Neil, after all, his and Loebs stunts are pearls of Youtube

I suppose he's not that bad, but I do find him a bit cringey and his interviews feel VERY staged!

Congrats to Loeb - he really played that rally well.

Hats off to Solberg and Ogier on a well fought second. Particularly pleased for Petter - if there is a guy who deserves it, it's him. I read there were tears involved - talk about wearing your emotions on your sleeve.

Piss poor job by Ford, and they haven't made any fans with their team orders. I still feel they should've signed Petter when they had a chance. As good as Mikko is, he seems to get derailed rather easily. Of course, it's only the second rally, and it might just be a small blip in the season, but they (Ford) have got to be worried about the number of C4's that are now up there.

I must say, and I hope it's not wishful thinking, but the WRC season may just be a bit more interesting than FlatOverCrest might think ;-).

Jordan is kinda similar in surface type to Mexico,isn¨t it?
Loeb all the way, and keeping high hopes for Petter.

I think so. But if Hirvonen isn't near or ahead of Loeb mid-season then he hasn't got a gope in hell