Rally – Page 25 – OpenPaddock.net

RALLY – BREAKING NEWS – Rally America to be Televised on NBC Sports

January 25, 2014 Mike Shaw

I can’t believe I’m actually writing this! It has been announced via the below image from Sno*Drift that NBC Sports will be carrying coverage of the entire Rally America National Championship series! As our very own Doug Patterson posted in a reply to Andrew Comrie-Picard a couple of weeks ago “With as many outlets as are available now, surely someone would be willing to pick up a 30-min or hour highlight show for the Rally America events, right?” Apparently Doug was spot on, but this is one better. It…

Rally America – Exciting New Developments

January 18, 2014January 19, 2014 Mike Shaw

Yes, it is not all doom and gloom. Last week I posted an article that was admittedly a bit vague, with concern for Rally America’s national championships. Two of the 2013 champions, plus Ken Block and a few other regular national entrants stated that they are unable to continue in the 2014 national championship season. There were quite a few comments here on the site as well as on Facebook and Twitter and I must say I really appreciate hearing from all of you as passionate about the sport as…

Rally – MINI Dominates Stage 9 at the 2014 Dakar Rally

January 14, 2014January 14, 2014 Josh Tons

MINI dominates stage 9 at the 2014 Dakar Rally // Stéphane Peterhansel leads a pack of four MINI ALL4 Racing. Munich (DE). Stéphane Peterhansel (FR) in his black MINI ALL4 Racing topped the timesheets on stage 9 at the 2014 Dakar Rally. The Monster Energy X-raid Team driver dominated today’s 422km-long stage from Calama to Iquique (both CL) and finished 2:17 minutes in front of his MINI teammate Nasser Al-Attiyah (QT) in the predominantly white MINI ALL4 Racing car. Today’s route led to the most northerly point of the Dakar,…

Rally America – Serious Problems Ahead

January 11, 2014January 11, 2014 Mike Shaw

Remember last season where every major class came down to the final event to decide the championship? Two of those titles came down to the final day, and one wasn’t sealed until the final stage. It was simply epic. There were some great battles between Ken Block and David Higgins all season long. David Sterckx overcame his mechanical issues from the previous year to take the championship in Super Production and Mason Moyle had his best season yet finishing second in the class. In 2wd Brendan Reeves showed us American’s…

Rally – WRC’s Manufacturing Winner is M-Sport

January 8, 2014January 9, 2014 Mike Shaw

Wait, does that title infer what I think it does? Didn’t Volkswagen win the FIA WRC manufacturers title in a dominant fashion last season? Yes, Volkswagen did win the manufacturer’s title as far as the FIA is concerned, but please note that I said “manufacturing” not “manufacturer” title. First let me be clear, I’m not a Ford fanboy or a Malcolm Wilson fanboy or anything like that. Regardless I think I can make a good case as to why M-Sport is the current rally manufacturing winner even if they don’t…

Rally – Kubica, A Rally Legend in the Making?

January 5, 2014January 7, 2014 Mike Shaw

When Robert Kubica came on to the World Rally Championship scene in the WRC2 category last year, it caused quite a stir. Rally had another former F1 winner coming over to what many of us rally fans deem to be the pinnacle of motorsport. This would help draw considerable attention to rally which has been recovering from a period of lackluster spectator and TV viewer counts. Unlike Raikkonen though, Kubica feels he has unfinished business in Formula 1. Most recall that Kubica’s F1 career was cut short after a nasty…

Video – “Stay With Her, Johnny”

January 2, 2014 Doug Patterson

Well of course there’s an Irish song about rally racing! “Driver ‘er straight sideways, lad!” [youtube_sc url=http://youtu.be/A3zSy8B2tdA]

Episode 213 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

December 18, 2013January 1, 2014 Doug Patterson

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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadMike, Mike, and Doug make one last appearance in 2013 and talk about the few bits of motorsport news that’s around. Formula E seems to have a lot more traction that we expected, Ganassi and Briscoe are reunited, as is Paul Page and IMS radio. Fan Force United returns to Indy Lights, Sutil safe at Sauber, and Kubica confirmed at M-Sport. In each category, we also look back at the best and worst from each segment we cover. It’s been another great year, and…

Episode 212 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

December 14, 2013January 1, 2014 Doug Patterson

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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadIn our penultimate show of 2013, Mike, Doug, and Mike continue to be stunned at the enthusiasm shown for the new Formula E all-electric racing series, Panoz sues Nissan (who didn’t see that coming?), and TUSCAR has aero and tire issues with the prototypes. Whitesell leads us through the news in IndyCar and Formula 1, Patterson brings us up to speed on Indy Light’s new chassis and engine for 2015, and Shaw shakes his head at the T&S errors in the WRC and takes…

WRC Musical Chairs

December 13, 2013January 1, 2014 Mike Shaw

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…