Rally – WRC Jordan Will Happen
News coming out of the WRC website indicate that the six months of rain that fell last week in a 72 hour span will not hinder Rally Jordan and that the show will go on. Last week seen fierce weather devastate much of the rally surface and even chunks of ground were taken by massive flash floods. To compound the problem, some of the stages are actually below sea-level which caused impossible situations as the water ran down from higher ground. The... [Read More...]
Rally – Corona Mexico Review
So ends the first proper gravel test of the year, and what a rally it turned out to be in Mexico! The clear favorites going into this weekend had to be Mikko Hirvonen and the BP Ford team, however it was not to be as the Citroens would prove to be too much. Day 1 was exciting as Petter Solberg would set a dominant pace all day long. Sebastian Ogier would run a clean and consistent second as the two factory Citroen efforts would take the third and... [Read More...]
Rally – Quirky Mexico Shakedown
Round 2 of the WRC campaign kicked off today with the shakedown stage and a number of cars would not make it back to service without a battle wound courtesy a water bridge. Petter Solberg would claim the fastest time in the shakedown with a 2:51.7. It would appear as though the gremlins that haunted the Norwegian during Rally Sweden would allow him to enjoy at least one day of the event. Both Petter Solberg and Dani Sordo would suffer damage to... [Read More...]
Episode 28 – Open Paddock Podcast
Podcast: Play in new window | Download Join the crew from Open Paddock this week as we discuss the 100 Acre Wood Rally in detail. No shortage on discussion with points of view from the photographer, a returning fan, and a first time rally attendee. Here from Travis Pastrana on what went wrong for his event as well as a number of interviews from John Cassidy on his adventure through the stages. We also get into the IndyCar silly season as things... [Read More...]
Rally – Hirvonen Takes Sweden
Mikko Hirvonen has started off his 2010 campaign in style as he has won the Rally of Sweden. The Finn defeated Sebastian Loeb by a margin of around 42 secs. The battle raged in the morning stages as Sebastian Loeb took an early lead. However, a differential change at the mid day service park saw Mikko surge ahead of his title rival. Once ahead, the Ford number one began to pull away until Sebastian threw in the towel and Hirvonen was able to take... [Read More...]
Rally – Hirvonen Extends Lead on Day 2
Mikko Hirvonen has moved closer to securing the opening round of the 2010 WRC campaign. The Finn has increased his lead to 16 secs after the today’s stages. With only five stages remaining, even the defending series champion admits it will be tough to overhaul last year’s runner up. Hirvonen was able to take advantage when the two front runners opted for new tires at different points. Loeb put on fresh tires on the front while leaving... [Read More...]
Rally – Sweden Preview
Tonight’s spectator super special will kick off Rally Sweden and the 2010 WRC campaign. Here is a preview of what to expect from the one snow rally of the year. The rally was last run in 2008 with Jari-Matti Latvala taking the victory. This time over half the stages have changed and Latvala’s mission objectives have changed as well. Mikko Hirvonen was runner up in 2008 as he now begins his title bid in an attempt to capture his first ever... [Read More...]
Rally – WRC 2010 Preview
Coming off of what was one of the more exciting WRC seasons in 2009, the world’s premiere rally championship is ready for launch in Sweden this weekend. Below are some of the key additions and changes for the 2010 season. WRC Machines This year is the swan song for the WRC machines as the series will be switching to the S2000 modified as I like to call them. The S2000 chassis will take over with the Ford Fiesta and Citroen DS3 representing the... [Read More...]
Rally – Hirvonen Strikes Gold at Monte
The third and final day of the legendary Monte Carlo Rally has come to an end and Mikko Hirvonen has won in fine fashion. The WRC driver claimed his first victory in the IRC and made a statement for M-Sport and Ford in the process. The Ford Fiesta S2000 has tasted victory in its very first outing and did it easily after an exciting third day seen some of the best driving to date from Frenchman Sebastian Ogier. WRC Citroen Junior driver Ogier proved... [Read More...]
