WRC – Liveries, Liveries, and More Liveries

You get a new livery, and you get a new livery, and you get a new livery….it’s that Oprah Winfrey Show time of year where all the major teams release their “New Look” for the 2015 season.  Since every car in the modern WRC has the exact same profile, the teams have to do something to stand out.  I have to tip my hat to both M-Sport and VW for the most dramatic of designs, however one must wonder whether the two teams somehow collaborated before coming up with their…

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Red Bull GRC – Daytona is Best Track Yet

As we mentioned on the podcast earlier this week, Red Bull GRC’s stop in Daytona has the biggest and most dynamic track to date.  The 0.924 mile circuit features the joker in turn one to split the field and preventing the infamous pile ups that caused red flags in past events.  Additionally this course has long enough straights that the cars are reaching 120MPH!   Qualifying, Heat 1, and Heat 2 are already complete.  What I could best discern from their tweeted commentary, this course is allowing for very close…

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PR – Red Bull GRC in NYC Recap

Red Bull Global Rallycross Race Recap: Volkswagen Rallycross NY IN BRIEF: Tanner Foust’s miserable luck from the onset of the 2014 Red Bull Global Rallycross season appears to be firmly behind him, as his constant speed finally delivered him a victory in Volkswagen Rallycross NY on Sunday. After a penalty to Scott Speed erased a Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross 1-2 finish, Nelson Piquet Jr. stepped up into second place and the points lead, and Ken Block earned his first podium of the year. HEAT RECAPS: Five drivers earned heat victories in six total heats on Saturday,…

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Red Bull GRC Needs a Win in DC as Much as the Drivers

Today the newly re-branded Red Bull Global Rallycross Championship kicks off it’s first “normal” USA event in Washington D.C., and it is going to be LIVE on NBC.  Not NBC Sports mind you, but the main NBC network (tune in at 2PM Eastern/ 11AM Pacific).  They have promised   So why does Red Bull GRC need a win?  After a successful event in Barbados the series next stop was X-Games Austin that was quite honestly utter crap.  A combination of poor track design, multiple delays from hot headed drivers causing…

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Rally – Red Bull GRC Barbados, What Did We Learn?

By now most everyone already knows the results from last weekend’s GRC season opener in Barbados, and I won’t be getting into the results too much.  What I really wanted to focus on are the changes with the newly re-branded Red Bull Global Rallycross Championship as well as some of the more significant moments.  Here’s a run-down of what I observed (at least virtually since I wasn’t physically there and they didn’t have any live video streaming).   1.  Improved Track Design As many of you know, I’ve been very…

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Rally – Red Bull GRC Kicks off in Barbados

Although not televised until next weekend on NBC, you can follow all the happenings of the Red Bull Global Rallycross Championship season opener at the Top Gear Festival in Barbados via social networking and their live timing web site.  Sure it isn’t quite the same as the live programming coming later this season, but unless you want to ignore your Twitter and Facebook for a week you might as well delve in.   Red Bull GRC’s Christopher Leone who was nice enough to take the time to be on our…

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Rally – Red Bull Global Rallycross Media Day

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWow, what an incredible day.  I got the amazing opportunity to represent OpenPaddock.net at the launch of the newly re-branded Red Bull Global Rallycross Championship at their Media Day in Los Angeles, California.  The location for this media event was at the Port of LA, where after passing by mile after mile of shipping containers my route diverted me to a more scenic drive lined with palm trees and even passing by the historic USS Iowa battleship.  Finally at the end of the road…

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WRC Musical Chairs

We all remember the game as kids.  When the music stops everyone grabs a seat except for one odd man out.  Similarly there seems to never be enough manufacturer seats with the current depth of talent available in the WRC.   So here’s a quick look at the drivers that snagged a seat and who was left standing.   As we all know, the Volkswagen World Rally Team has their drivers firmly bolted to their carbon fiber seats for at least one more year.  There is no real need for…

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Exclusive: Colin Clark Talks Rally!

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWe were fortunate enough today to speak with Colin Clark and pick his brain on all things rally related! Colin was generous enough to allow us an hour of his time to talk about Promoting the WRC, VW and Sebastien Ogier’s 2013 domination, as well as Hyundai and much much more! We would like to thank Colin for his time and applaud his continued efforts to spread the passion of rally to our North American fans and fans around the world!

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Rally – VW Ready for Mexico Altitude

The World Rally Championship visits Mexico this weekend with many teams taking part in recce today. Mexico proves a tricky challenge not only for the drivers, but the engineers as well. For those who are new to the WRC, Rally Mexico pushes the teams to altitudes they do not experience anywhere else on the schedule. This has a major impact on the engine and how it performs. The official WRC page put up a great story here that detail how Volkswagen prepared for the tricky altitude conditions. “On the one…

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