Category: Featured

All of the latest stories from your favorite series located here!

Higgins Tests New 2015 Subaru STI Rally Car

Mike Shaw

David Higgins has been shaking down the new 2015 Subaru WRX STI sedan rally car at Team O’Neil Rally School in New Hampshire.  This is the new generation vehicle for Vermont Sportscar and Subaru Rally Team USA that 4 time consecutive Rally America Champions David Higgins and Craig Drew hope to take to an unprecedented 5th title this season.  I’ve been hearing that it might also get a new wide-body kit added to it when the official launch and new livery is introduced, but even like this it looks pretty damn…

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WRC Rally Monte Carlo – USA On Air Times

Mike Shaw

For those that have MAVTV or WRC+, the opening round of the World Rally Championship at Rallye Monte-Carlo will offer Live TV coverage of 3 of this weekend’s stages. WRC+ users will also get the traditional daily highlight programs Friday, Saturday, and Sunday while MAVTV will air those at some later date (not sure when yet). In addition to the TV coverage there is also our favorite reporters working all day on WRC Live Radio to give us instant results at the end of every stage. Schedules are below. Live Stages:…

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Episode 260 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Mike Shaw

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadFrom Wednesday, January 14th this is our first episode of the new year, so Happy New Year…2 weeks late!  This week in rally we discussed the goings on in Dakar, the ultimate off-road endurance rally (which has of course finished now that podcast is up…go figure and congrats to Nasser Al-Attiyah!) and we discuss some of the WRC’s new 2015 liveries (unfortunately VW and Hyundai didn’t release their’s until the day after our show).  Red Bull GRC released their 2015 schedule, and it looks…

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WRC – Liveries, Liveries, and More Liveries

Mike Shaw

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 Announces Expanded 2015 Schedule

Mike Shaw

The 2015 Red Bull GRC season is going to be more competitive than ever. The new schedule features 12 rounds albeit with a few “double header” events. Some repeat locations from last season (the better venues thankfully) and a few new ones as well.  And unlike IndyCar, Red Bull GRC is apparently not afraid to compete with the NFL as there are events in September, October, and the season finishes off once again at SEMA in Las Vegas in November. The other big news is dedicated GRC Lites coverage on…

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Dakar – Welcome to the Brutality!

John Olsakovsky

The Dakar rally is an interesting beast. The format is similar to a shorter, more traditional stage rally, but it’s spread out over two weeks and the distance is far longer than any conventional stage rally. This years route is 6,000 miles for cars, bikes and quads while the big trucks have a route of about 5,000 miles.  For all classes, about half the distance is non-competitive transit stages and the rest are full-on special stages. One interesting addition to this year’s Dakar is a Marathon Stage. The stage will…

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RALLY – M-Sport Unveils 2015 Livery for Ford Fiesta RS WRC

Mike Shaw

  Today was the unveiling of the newest livery for M-Sport’s Fiesta RS WRC.  M-Sport stated that the design was inspired by Hannu Mikkola’s 1979 Ford Escort RS 1800 MKII and the later 1989 Ford Sierra RS Cosworth of Colin McRae, M-Sport’s new design reflects the Blue Oval’s long and prestigious standing within the sport; a modern twist bringing the colour scheme up-to-date for this year’s young and aspiring drivers. Team Principal Malcolm Wilson said: “When designing this year’s livery we were keen to produce something fresh and exciting whilst celebrating…

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Episode 259 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Mike Shaw

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadFrom Tuesday December 30th, this is our final episode of 2014.  In rally we talk about the Rally America rumor mill, a bit of news regarding upcoming Rally Monte Carlo, preview the Dakar Rally (Daily Dakar updates on NBC Sports starting Monday Jan. 5th), and we finish up with the latest of a string of new American Rally Championships that just keep coming out of the woodwork.  This time it’s something called the Extreme American Rally Championship.  In F1 we talk about Haas purchasing…

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Episode 258 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Mike Shaw

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadOne of the most fun OpenPaddock episodes in recent history!  In our first hour and headlining the show are our special guests, NASA Rally Sport’s East and West directors Anders Green and Kristopher Marciniak.  NASA is the place for grassroots affordable rally racing, and it has a number of advantages beyond the cost savings.  Anders and Kris tell us all the details of the NASA rally series and how NASAhas the the flexibility to experiment with new technologies like Android tablets for timing/scoring and new racing platforms such as…

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Episode 257 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Mike Shaw

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadReturning after a week away, we finally review F1’s finale at Abu Dhabi and other F1 nonsense.  In rally we talk about the return of Sebastien Loeb, more WRC silly season, and a bit about N. American rally.  We finish up with IndyCar rules changes, and more teams coming to Indy Lights.

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