WRC 2010

hi_sir

So this year is starting to look good in the WRC All the team line ups announced

Citroen Red Bull
Seb Loeb, Dani Sordo

Ford BP Abu Dabi
Mikko Hirovnen, J-M Latvala

Citroen Junior Team
Kimmi Raikkonen, Seb Ogier

Ford Stobart
Henning Solberg, Matt Wilson

Monster Ford
Ken Block, (poss. C Atkinson)

Munchi's Ford
Federico Villagra

Petter Solberg World Rally Team
Petter Solberg, Giggi Gali and or P-G Andersson

Conrad Rautenbach in a P-H Sport ran C4

Along with several Ford and Skoda S2K cars for the S2k cup

the Wrc isnt shaping up to badly for this year

Also Valentino Rossi may join the Citroen Junior team alongside Kimmi Raikkonen in the second Round of the championship Rally Mexico

frostie500

hi_sir wrote: »

the Wrc isnt shaping up to badly for this year

Also Valentino Rossi may join the Citroen Junior team alongside Kimmi Raikkonen in the second Round of the championship Rally Mexico

Yeah the championship is looking a lot healthier then this time last year isnt it.

Rossi wont be rallying this season, he has said that he wants to concentrate on MotoGP and not get distracted with racing elsewhere. It's the same reason he decided against doing le mans.

frostie500

LIGHTNING wrote: »

Its just a shame that the TV is complete muck unless you know where to look. Its generally shoehorned in a midnight or some other time that you miss it.

I think that this year Motor TV have it. Dave did a decent job last year-a good time slot-but Motors have said that they will have alot more coverage and themselves and the WRC are looking to bring live stages back to the TV. Thats what is needed for the sport, IRC has been very sucessful because of the coverage given by the Eurosport group of which Motors TV is a part

h3000

hi_sir wrote: »

S
Ford BP Abu Dabi
Mikko Hirovnen, J-M Latvala

Monster Ford
Ken Block, (poss. C Atkinson)

Petter Solberg World Rally Team
Petter Solberg, Giggi Gali and or P-G Andersson

Along with several Ford and Skoda S2K cars for the S2k cup

Really would love to see Mikko or Petter take the title this year, Mikko really deserves it though.

Would love to see Giggi back in the WRC too, he is such a great character. Would be good to see Atko back too.

I belive Craig Breen is planning on doing a couple of rounds in the Fiesta S2000, he should put in some quick times.

Tea 1000

Good line-up alright, although Petter still hasn't the funds to challenge the top two teams. Is it next year that it'll be S2000 spec across the board?

enzo7

Really hopeing its hirovnen year.

dcr22B

frostie500 wrote: »

coverage given by the Eurosport group of which Motors TV is a part

Not true, they are both French but two separate entities.

Coverage on Motors TV will be at 10.20pm for an hour after each event day

De Hipster

Should be a interesting year, I think if Ford knuckle down, set team orders (or at least steadfast conditions; whoever is leading between the two come round 3 or 4...) from the offset they should have Loeb nailed this year.

I stand to be corrected but I predict a severe learning curve & series of wreckless incidents for Ken Block this year! But then I REALLY don't like the guy.

Great to see Gali back, hope the showcasing and flamboyant driving style haven't rusted with time out.

Kimi will have to work like a trojan to impress at the top!

dcr22B

De Hipster wrote: »

I stand to be corrected but I predict a severe learning curve & series of wreckless incidents for Ken Block this year! But then I REALLY don't like the guy.

What's your problem with Block?

Is it because of his gymkhana stunts which I fell probably makes the Yanks think rallying is some kind of circus act

De Hipster

LIGHTNING wrote: »

In any case he will be having some big ones over the course of the season.

Those I'm actually looking forward to...spectacular rather than harmful of course!

De Hipster

dcr22B wrote: »

What's your problem with Block?

Is it because of his gymkhana stunts which I fell probably makes the Yanks think rallying is some kind of circus act

Ego more than any actual talent; my opinion anyway.

dcr22B

De Hipster wrote: »

Ego more than any actual talent; my opinion anyway.

If anything though, this could be just the shot in the arm that the WRC needs if it's to get more exposure in the US.

At least he's not claiming to be a World Champion in the making like all the hoohah about Matthew Wilson (nothing personal against the lad, he's never been the same driver since his big smash in Wales in 2005).

projectmayhem

dcr22B wrote: »

If anything though, this could be just the shot in the arm that the WRC needs if it's to get more exposure in the US.

I think this is why most WRC fans are willing to give him a chance. He's got some talent behind the wheel but ripping around tracks performing tricks is different to winning the WRC.

I think the main reason people don't like him, incidentally, is because he comes across like a complete and utter moron.

irishjim111

frostie500 wrote: »

I think that this year Motor TV have it. Dave did a decent job last year-a good time slot-but Motors have said that they will have alot more coverage and themselves and the WRC are looking to bring live stages back to the TV. Thats what is needed for the sport, IRC has been very sucessful because of the coverage given by the Eurosport group of which Motors TV is a part

live stages is what iv been crying out for in ages. be great if sky or someone like that started it up be great for the sport im watching the irc aswell thats cause of live stages on euro sports. and kris meeke hope he can do it again this season and kieth cronin great driver from cork going to be a good driver be great to see an irish driver driving in the wrc season it was good when mchale was doing it a bit of interest

hi_sir

craig breen hopes to get out on a few wrc rounds along with the irc in the festia along with meeke its great to see them out at the top level.what was cronin thinking of doing ITC a step backwards he has nothing to prove there he would better doing a round or two of the wrc or irc it would be more of a progression,craig breen in a nut shell is making better use of his carer.cronin has no wrc experience and didnt cover himself in glory in his irc debut.


Anyway back to the point of the thread the WRC you can slag off Block all you want but i think this year the WRC will get huge coverage stateside along with the global draw kimmi R will b.
Big question once again is can ford topple Citroen and can Mikko topple Seb

Chopper888

Ken Block is going to be competing in selected rounds of the WRC in a Ford Focus WRC.

http://www.monsterworldrallyteam.com/

irishjim111

Chopper888 wrote: »

Ken Block is going to be competing in selected rounds of the WRC in a Ford Focus WRC.

http://www.monsterworldrallyteam.com/

GUYS IS BLOCK? sorry caps but who is block never heard of him in wrc . and also any ps3 or xbox fans here. if so good news new wrc rally game due out in june or september can,t wait love good reral life rally game great adrinalan rush and the cheapist way top rally lol:rolleyes:

h3000

Solberg confirms 2009 spec C4 2010 WRC.

pettersolberg.com wrote:

Petter Solberg will drive a Citroën C4 WRC, 2009 spec, in 2010. Two rally-cars are bought from Citroën Racing, and Petter will use both cars in the 2010 championship.

- After several, and tough, discussions with Citroën Racing, we have now come to an agreement, which enables me to really fight in top, says Petter Solberg. – We hope to have the full budget in place at the end of next week, and hope to present the 2010 Petter Solberg World Rally Team and sponsors just after.

The 2010 WRC starts 11. February in Sweden.

Linky

hi_sir

irishjim111 wrote: »

GUYS IS BLOCK? sorry caps but who is block never heard of him in wrc . and also any ps3 or xbox fans here. if so good news new wrc rally game due out in june or september can,t wait love good reral life rally game great adrinalan rush and the cheapist way top rally lol:rolleyes:

jasus ya never herd of ken block every here of his gymkayna vids he has been on topgear and if you'd have any intrest in rallying other that what happens in the wrc and the ps rally games ken is a regular on the american rally championship scene along with the x-games

hi_sir

heres kimis first taste of the C4

http://www.rallybuzz.com/raikkonen-citroen-c4-wrc-test/

irishjim111

unforunatly io dont follow usa rallying cause its never on tv and the cars are like spaceship compare to european rally cars so im a fan of all european rallying spec the iruish english cause of (kieth cronin) IRC and WRC CAN,T WAIT 4 THE NEW SEASON IT BEEN BORING SINCE:)

hi_sir

Rossi will not now be doing Mexico as it clashes with his bike's but he is doing a deal for Rally GB instead.

De Hipster

hi_sir wrote: »

Rossi will not now be doing Mexico as it clashes with his bike's but he is doing a deal for Rally GB instead.

That should make amusing viewing!

De Hipster

Henning changes to an English speaking lady nav: here

hi_sir

And i belive it was Cato Menkerud that wanted the split he had got long sorted with the Eyvind Brynildsen seat before Henning announced this news

tommytoofar

irishjim111 wrote: »

live stages is what iv been crying out for in ages. be great if sky or someone like that started it up be great for the sport im watching the irc aswell thats cause of live stages on euro sports. and kris meeke hope he can do it again this season and kieth cronin great driver from cork going to be a good driver be great to see an irish driver driving in the wrc season it was good when mchale was doing it a bit of interest

Just cause theresone of our own doing it, doesnt mean that only then should it get coverage, sooner ahve Meeke or Cronin than Daddys boyup there, didnt need him for it to be interesting

corcaigh07

where is Motor TV on sky? is it free to air by any chance?

Grim.

corcaigh07 wrote: »

where is Motor TV on sky? is it free to air by any chance?

channel 413

corcaigh07

well, Motor Tv aint free to air. shame but not that surprising....will RTE ever get their coverage of it back, imagine if they got the rights for WRC rally review, 1 hour, on a sunday at a reasonable enough time, say 10 or 11 o clock. that is a dead enough night for telly and I think rallying doesnt get a decent enough shot on RTE, RPM used to be very popular on RTE once upon a time.

corcaigh07

irishjim111 wrote: »

id rather watch meeke or cronin on the wrc than mchale any day aswell but unfortunatly as u call him daddys boy i agree he,s a spielt brat and not a great driver at all the same can be said about wilson. but anyway im looking forward to the irc wrc irish tarmac championship even though id love if we had drivers like we hgad in 2007 i think it was the likes of that norweigen guy and others 2006 an 07 was great when the was at least 20 wrc cars on display but u kjbnow what if irish rallying done what other countrys are doing with the likes of the irc cars competing it would be good cause then it would be iopen championship and it would be cheaper on fella,s tryn to compete

yea, might be time to ditch WRC cars in the Irish Tarmac. then maybe talent like Cronin, Meeke and any upcoming talent would look at the championship and try to win it rather than spending massive money abroad in the BRC/IRC.

I know Keith and i live near Ballylickey, the community has put a massive amount of money, support and goodwill towards Keith and it seems his whole family are working towards Keith reaching his goals. Even his uncle Denis doesnt rally half as much anymore probably because of his supporting of Keith and he's a hell of a driver too. All this has only been to support his BRC win last year, there are more expensive things to win yet :cool:

irishjim111

tommytoofar wrote: »

Just cause theresone of our own doing it, doesnt mean that only then should it get coverage, sooner ahve Meeke or Cronin than Daddys boyup there, didnt need him for it to be interesting

sorry dude but from an irish point of view its good when there irish contengent competing in rallys in the world stage and also / what have u against dady boy if you were a son of a rich dad you would nt say no i would love to have a dad that could help out even with a mark 2 doing just the west cork each year i soppose jealous comes to mind lol :rolleyes:

irishjim111

irishjim111 wrote: »

live stages is what iv been crying out for in ages. be great if sky or someone like that started it up be great for the sport im watching the irc aswell thats cause of live stages on euro sports. and kris meeke hope he can do it again this season and kieth cronin great driver from cork going to be a good driver be great to see an irish driver driving in the wrc season it was good when mchale was doing it a bit of interest

iv got my wish this week with monte carlo most stages are been shown live from wednsday to friday which i think is excellent also its on tarmaC which will make it extra special just hoping the roads are drivable and not very slippy clean roads make for a fast rally so thank somebody up there somewhere for getting my wish. also id love to see more championship events become live cause the half hour we see is not great at all really so pls god there will be live stages on the wrc website aswell it would be great cause i can,t asfford to travel

irishjim111

corcaigh07 wrote: »

yea, might be time to ditch WRC cars in the Irish Tarmac. then maybe talent like Cronin, Meeke and any upcoming talent would look at the championship and try to win it rather than spending massive money abroad in the BRC/IRC.

I know Keith and i live near Ballylickey, the community has put a massive amount of money, support and goodwill towards Keith and it seems his whole family are working towards Keith reaching his goals. Even his uncle Denis doesnt rally half as much anymore probably because of his supporting of Keith and he's a hell of a driver too. All this has only been to support his BRC win last year, there are more expensive things to win yet :cool:

]
im from dounamore meself and great friend with lenord downey who drives in a mark 2 and he said to me last year he was,nt competing in the cork 20 simply cause it was to expensive and to be honest i went to 2 stages and was not pleased with the rally at all i had been to the lakes a few month earlier and it was a great rally only fr the weather and the mountains lol . but what your saying about kieth its brill what he has done in brition billy colman was the last guy to win over there if i think right and i was only 5 or 6 when i saw him rally in the old curcuit of ireland when it used go around the country and the worst thing was he retired soon after that so i never got to see his greatness cause i was too young now with cronin it would be great to have the chance to see him on the irish tarmAC cause he will go onto bigger things im sure about it i saw him in a double 00 car in the lake and he was flying . so hopeflly even though ill missed the great wrc cars we have to get irish rallying to the standerds of the european rallys cause otherwise we have some brilliant drivers around and there not getting noticed at all by abroad simply because its to expensive to compete here in wrc cars so for the sake of talented irish drivers and alot of um are alot quicker than machale i hope motersoprt ireland start 2011 the way the wrc are doing with new cars new rulles and so on it will take a bit of time to get used to but at the start of irc i was thinking a bit boring but when the live stages came on i really started injoying it and so i really hope we get our rally championship at the same standerds as in brition and we will see a future wrc or irc champion in the making sooner rather than later i rest my case and tell cronin james is my name good luck in 2010 and beyond he really is a special talent and i saw nation wide the people in the part of the woods fair play to um there help is getting its awards now cause only for them cronin would nt be able to afford to get to do what he has dreamed of doing im off the road 4 2 years but if i win the lotto and get my licence back god id love to take them on its every guys dream isint it specially if your a fanatic like meself :pac:

tommytoofar

irishjim111 wrote: »

sorry dude but from an irish point of view its good when there irish contengent competing in rallys in the world stage and also / what have u against dady boy if you were a son of a rich dad you would nt say no i would love to have a dad that could help out even with a mark 2 doing just the west cork each year i soppose jealous comes to mind lol :rolleyes:

Thats not really my point, sorry if I strayed from it. It just strikes me that there are a contingent in the country that believe a sport is only worth following if we have one of our own involved. Granted, it makes it a bit more interesting, but local involvement should not be main justification for the publicity of the sport, after all Wimbledon hasnt had an Irish player for...................? Everyone knows the "F1 fans" that went missing around the time of the demise of Jordan F1 and Eddie Irvines retirement.
The rich thing doesnt really get to me, there are always have and have nots, and money is a useful lubricant in the cogs of our sport, but personally I believe talent should outshine wallets.

corcaigh07

irishjim111 wrote: »

]
im from dounamore meself and great friend with lenord downey who drives in a mark 2 and he said to me last year he was,nt competing in the cork 20 simply cause it was to expensive and to be honest i went to 2 stages and was not pleased with the rally at all i had been to the lakes a few month earlier and it was a great rally only fr the weather and the mountains lol . but what your saying about kieth its brill what he has done in brition billy colman was the last guy to win over there if i think right and i was only 5 or 6 when i saw him rally in the old curcuit of ireland when it used go around the country and the worst thing was he retired soon after that so i never got to see his greatness cause i was too young now with cronin it would be great to have the chance to see him on the irish tarmAC cause he will go onto bigger things im sure about it i saw him in a double 00 car in the lake and he was flying . so hopeflly even though ill missed the great wrc cars we have to get irish rallying to the standerds of the european rallys cause otherwise we have some brilliant drivers around and there not getting noticed at all by abroad simply because its to expensive to compete here in wrc cars so for the sake of talented irish drivers and alot of um are alot quicker than machale i hope motersoprt ireland start 2011 the way the wrc are doing with new cars new rulles and so on it will take a bit of time to get used to but at the start of irc i was thinking a bit boring but when the live stages came on i really started injoying it and so i really hope we get our rally championship at the same standerds as in brition and we will see a future wrc or irc champion in the making sooner rather than later i rest my case and tell cronin james is my name good luck in 2010 and beyond he really is a special talent and i saw nation wide the people in the part of the woods fair play to um there help is getting its awards now cause only for them cronin would nt be able to afford to get to do what he has dreamed of doing im off the road 4 2 years but if i win the lotto and get my licence back god id love to take them on its every guys dream isint it specially if your a fanatic like meself :pac:

yea its great, now im not one of Keith's best friends or anything but I would talk to him the odd time alright. Great thing is, he is still the same lad hes always been, no ego whatsoever, still likes hanging with his mates and still goes out as normal, still works away as normal in the family owed petrol station/store.

I know I wouldnt be so down to earth if I beat Mark Higgins in his home patches in the championship he's basically owned for ages, with less resources, more travel etc!

If you're down by Ballylickey at some stage, you should top up the empty tank at cronin's and theres every chance Keith, Denis or any other members of the family will be around, maybe pick up a jacket or something too


Back on topic, anyone surprised by the lack of teams this year? i know it was extremely poor last year but with the new rules, i hoped that maybe suzuki, subaru , skoda, reno, someone really new/returning would be competing. shame

tommytoofar

corcaigh07 wrote: »

yea its great, now im not one of Keith's best friends or anything but I would talk to him the odd time alright. Great thing is, he is still the same lad hes always been, no ego whatsoever, still likes hanging with his mates and still goes out as normal, still works away as normal in the family owed petrol station/store.

I know I wouldnt be so down to earth if I beat Mark Higgins in his home patches in the championship he's basically owned for ages, with less resources, more travel etc!

If you're down by Ballylickey at some stage, you should top up the empty tank at cronin's and theres every chance Keith, Denis or any other members of the family will be around, maybe pick up a jacket or something too


Back on topic, anyone surprised by the lack of teams this year? i know it was extremely poor last year but with the new rules, i hoped that maybe suzuki, subaru , skoda, reno, someone really new/returning would be competing. shame

Tis great to see someone from Munster back at the top again alright. Mark Higgins is the yardstick and to match and beat him is a fantasttic achievment. I hope he has a great ear this year again, but am a bit scared of the curse of Pirelli drive, mind you Keith is a much stronger driver than the previous winners

irishjim111

tommytoofar wrote: »

Thats not really my point, sorry if I strayed from it. It just strikes me that there are a contingent in the country that believe a sport is only worth following if we have one of our own involved. Granted, it makes it a bit more interesting, but local involvement should not be main justification for the publicity of the sport, after all Wimbledon hasnt had an Irish player for...................? Everyone knows the "F1 fans" that went missing around the time of the demise of Jordan F1 and Eddie Irvines retirement.
The rich thing doesnt really get to me, there are always have and have nots, and money is a useful lubricant in the cogs of our sport, but personally I believe talent should outshine wallets.

when jorden was in the f1 i watch it the same with the irish driver irvine i love rallying so id watch it even if there was no irish involved but anything else like golf n stuff i watch it when harry plays or corral in the world gp thing

irishjim111

corcaigh07 wrote: »

yea its great, now im not one of Keith's best friends or anything but I would talk to him the odd time alright. Great thing is, he is still the same lad hes always been, no ego whatsoever, still likes hanging with his mates and still goes out as normal, still works away as normal in the family owed petrol station/store.

I know I wouldnt be so down to earth if I beat Mark Higgins in his home patches in the championship he's basically owned for ages, with less resources, more travel etc!

If you're down by Ballylickey at some stage, you should top up the empty tank at cronin's and theres every chance Keith, Denis or any other members of the family will be around, maybe pick up a jacket or something too


Back on topic, anyone surprised by the lack of teams this year? i know it was extremely poor last year but with the new rules, i hoped that maybe suzuki, subaru , skoda, reno, someone really new/returning would be competing. shame

yeah its a shame ari about the 2 team wrc thats why i find irc a bit more interesting these day even though i would alway be recording dave on sundays 4 wrc. as for cronin he looks like a very nice bloke and really down to earth. and yea his uncle always had great cars but they seem to be out of date compare to the likes of boland and donnelly etc that why im thinking if the irish championship changes guys as good as them lot would be able to compete alot better and from a nutral view id injoy a differant winner every now n then as for ballylicky if im around sometime ill do what u were saying id love to get a jacket or something to show my sopport for him so i hope i can get downthere some day when te weathers a bit better

gears

Just to go back to the Ken Block debate for a sec, if he can get a WRC drive why not Travis Pastrana he runs away with almost every rally in the US (Rally America Standings)

Is it because he owns DC shoes and just pays his way in?

tommytoofar

Pastrana has MTV commitments that make it unworkable for him apparently.

gears

tommytoofar wrote: »

Pastrana has MTV commitments that make it unworkable for him apparently.

Probably that "Nitro Circus" thing he's doing, pity though as it would be interesting to see how good he really is.

barney 20v

Block has bought his way into a focus.... simple as.. he can't handle a grp n car in the American series so i'm waiting on him to wreck plenty of cars this yr...
Also, why does rallying need to be exposed to America? it is financially a good thing but the Americans think rally = X games!
As a life long follower of the WRC it pains me to see this guy buying his way into the championship.. In my opinion he is not good enough to regularly finish inside the top 10 in any WRC event.