Editor’s Note: Mike Shaw (@oregonwings) continue to provide us with excellent insight to the Global Rallycross Championship. My apologies for the delay in the release of this and a post that will be released tomorrow. Those of you know me know what’s been occupying every scrap of my spare time lately. –Doug Patterson The X-Games round of the Global RallyCross Championship was supposed to be an epic battle. We have had 2 time World Rally Champion Marcus Gronholm dominating the season in his Ford Fiesta, and then coming into the…
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GRC – Event 2 Review: Texas
Another excellent contribution from rally fan and fan of OpenPaddock.net, Mike Shaw (@oregonwings). Do you love motorsports as much as us? Why not contribute your thoughts and opinions? We’d love to post and share them! Round 2 of the GRC takes place at Texas motor speedway in conjunction with the IndyCar event. A little bit longer course is laid out this time vs. the one in Charlotte. It is still 100% tarmac, but the one thing everyone is talking about is the return of the large jump. This time it…
Read MoreEpisode 80 – OpenPaddock.net podcast
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadThe racing gods feel as though you have waited long enough! So for your consumption, here is the 80th Episode of the Openpaddock.net Podcast! The boys talk a bit of rally, sportscars at Sebring, and get into all things IndyCar/MRTI! A long episode to say the least, but sit back with your favorite beverage and enjoy the latest show! The time grows near… Editors Note: Appreciate everyone giving us some time between shows after the server migration. The issues are 100% solved and the…
Read MoreRally – Marcus Grönholm to compete in Global RallyCross Championship
West Hollywood, CA (March 14, 2011 | GLOBAL RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP) – Two-time World Rally Champion Marcus Grönholm will travel to the United States to compete in the first round of the Global RallyCross Championship: The Revolution, taking place March 25-26 at Irwindale Speedway on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Grönholm, who will pilot a 600-hp all-wheel drive Best Buy Ford Fiesta in the contest, joins a list of top-ranked international motorsport and action sport stars racing in the Global RallyCross Championship. Also planning to compete are three-time X Games Rally…
Read MoreRally – Ford’s Farewell to the WRC Focus
This is precisely why I bought my Ford Focus ZX3 SES. I live on a gravel road, and there’s nothing more therapeutic at the end of a long day than channeling my inner Colin McRae! It’s also why the county maintenance people hate me. ]:)
Read MoreRally – Sordo Looking at Ford or MINI
While we have known for sometime that Dani Sordo probably would not return to Citroen, the real question we had to ask ourselves is where IS he going? The Spanish driver appears to be on the verge of a deal with either Ford or Prodrive MINI. Autosport ran a story this morning that had Prodrive technical director David Lapworth talking about a potential future for Sordo at the team. It does look at this moment anyways that Marcus Gronholm will not be making a return to competition full time this year.…
Read MoreRally – MINI Looking for More?
The big buzz heading into 2011 has been MINI and Prodrive collaborating for a WRC program. Two fantastic names in the lore of the WRC coming together to mount a challenge against the giants Ford and Citroen. Originally scheduled to miss the first four rounds of the next years championship, some words dropped by Technical Director David Lapworth on autosport.com may see the new team up its original 2011 commitment. “We’ve got a good idea of where we’re going,” said Lapworth. “It’s going to be a minimum of six rallies,…
Read MoreRally – MINI Showing Positive Progress
The Prodrive/MINI project seems to be coming along just fine. The MINI Clubman WRC has undergone its first serious gravel test and is looking to step up to a more intensive program. After last weeks test that saw the likes of Kris Meeke, Marcus Gronholm and Markko Martin driving the car on gravel, the team has indicated their intention to test the car once a month up until Christmas. The team was clear that the level of technical changes and situations would be limited but they would run the car…
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Rally – Could Gronholm Compete Again in 2010?
The opening round of the WRC saw one of its past champions come back to contest one of his favorite rallies. Things did not go Marcus Gronholm’s way however. The two time champion had electrical problems as well as a puncture that resulted in his 21st place finish. However, team owner Mattias Therman says he would be happy to have Marcus in the car again this year. Marcus has since retired from the WRC with two world championships and participated in a number of rallycross events. Last year the Finn…
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