FIA World Rally Championship

[Josephiah]

I took my car-obsessed nearly-2-year-old to meet some proper cars at the 2014 Snowman Rally (1st rally of the Scottish Championship) the other week. There were seriously classy motors, and some proper sack-your-co-driver, audience-leaping-back moments when a few drivers got the hairpin we were at completely wrong…
Here's a small selection - full photo set at https://www.flickr.com/photos/josephiah/sets/72157642968884505/

EDIT: can't work out to even embed a basic image from flickr, so I urge you to have a look at the photo set on the link above instead. The Mk1 Escorts look the classiest in my opinion, though the 6R4s made the best noise by a long way.

EDIT 2: Aha! Managed to bodge some image linking!

 

[Galahad]

Ott Tanak runs a little wide.

Both escaped unharmed.

 

[Josephiah]

Yeah, saw that at the weekend - an impressively quick/narrow escape! Then, just as impressive, after 10 hours at the bottom of the reservoir, they rebuilt the car in less than 3 hours, ready to race again!

 

[cider_and_toast]

love the very audible "uh-oh"

Proper brown trousers stuff. Good right up about it in this weeks autosport.

 

[Galahad]

Been a little while for this thread, but now VW have withdrawn, can I recommend the WRC for your winter motorsport thrills? As in F1 the cars have been given extra power and grip, and watching an onboard clip with Ott Tanak in yesterday's highlights had the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. He averaged over 85mph on snow and ice and between the trees...!

In the UK BT Sport do a good highlights package at the end of each day's action (this weekend = Rally Sweden), and for the Millennials there is the Red Bull TV App, which is apparently full of other goodies too.

 

[F1Brits_90]

Got back into wrc this year at monaco, as since it left Dave went to BT, im amazed at sheer bravery of drivers. As that run from Tanak which i think was fastest average stage speed for 34yrs since group B Cars in 1983 as he must have been doing 100/110 mph at times on them snow & ice covered roads no wider than 1 way Street & lined with trees either side. On my driving lesson i dont want to go above 60mph on the parkway

 

[Galahad]

So yesterday Sebastien Ogier won his fifth consecutive world rally title with 3rd place on Wales Rally GB. This was different though; he wasn't in the fastest car, set fewer than 20 fastest stage times over the season and didn't win the most rallies. This was won with his head, utilising all of his talent when wins were possible and reining it in to score points when they weren't. Super impressive.

A fantastic rally for M Sport from Cumbria. As well as Ogier winning their first drivers' title, they secured the manufacturers', and their young Welsh driver Elfyn Evans got his first victory on his home event. The first home winner since the late Richard Burns in 2000.