IndyCar 2018 – JohnTheRaceFan

John Olsakovsky

In December, Racer magazine began a series of pieces about what people in and around the series think the direction of the Verizon IndyCar Series should take for 2018. Mario Andretti, Will Power, Bobby Unser and others have lent their opinion as well as others, with more pieces forthcoming.  Each has a unique idea of how they would like to see the series improve over the next few years. I’m hardly an industry insider.  I’m pretty much a hack blogger with an opinion. And opinions are neither right nor wrong,…

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WRC – Sebastien Loeb Returns to Rallye Monte Carlo in Dominant Fashion

Mike Shaw

Nine times World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb didn’t quite start the week’s event the way everyone expected.  Word on social media was that he actually slid off the road and wrecked his recce car.  No matter though, because by late afternoon he showed who was boss of the Monte by laying down the fastest shakedown time of the bunch on his very first run.  Granted this is far from determining who will win the entire rally, especially with tire choices being the primary element deciding the victor.  Be that as it may,…

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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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