There’s been a lot of talk around the WRC about the rise of the “young guns” — drivers like Sebastien Loeb, Markko Martin, and Petter Solberg. But I think it’s unfair to lump those three together, as they’ve got very different levels of experience in the WRC. Solberg’s first full works drive was in 2001 […]
Posted on October 19th, 2003 by admin
Filed under: World Rally Championship | Comments Off on More Rally Thoughts
After one week’s rest, the World Rally Championship heads to Corsica for another tarmac round. Corsica is considered to be the classic sealed surface rally, with rough old tarmac roads, and loads of tight corners. It’s a visually stunning rally as well, with the roads cut into high mountainsides, with deep ravines waiting if the […]
Posted on October 14th, 2003 by admin
Filed under: World Rally Championship | Comments Off on Rallye De France Preview
So much for a ho-hum third day of rallying in Italy. The first half of the day was standard fare for day three — drivers simply looking to maintain their positions in the points table, driving just fast enough to keep it interesting, but not fast enough to make a mistake. Then, things got really […]
Posted on October 6th, 2003 by admin
Filed under: World Rally Championship | Comments Off on Rally San Remo Day 3 and Rally Wrapup
Not much has changed at the top of the results table at the end of the day, but there’s been quite a bit movement in the middle, and some big news for Subaru. First, Petter Solberg was forced to retire (from the rally) after SS6 (the final stage of the day) when his Impreza lost […]
Posted on October 3rd, 2003 by admin
Filed under: World Rally Championship | Comments Off on Rally San Remo Day 1 Wrapup
The Rally San Remo is four stages old, and the teams are in service until this afternoon, but so far, this rally promises to shakeup the championship standings. Seb Loeb is currently in the lead, with a 21 second cushion over Markko Martin (who won stages 3 and 4), and 28 second cushion over Marcus […]
Posted on October 3rd, 2003 by admin
Filed under: World Rally Championship | Comments Off on Rally San Remo Day 1 Updates
This weekend begins a hectic month for the World Rally Championship, with three tarmac rallies in the course of three weeks. With a tight race for the championship, this should make things really interesting, as the factory teams won’t have time to make little (and big) tweaks to their cars’ setups based on the previous […]
Posted on October 1st, 2003 by admin
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The latest news from the WRC is that the Hyundai WRC team will take a “break” at the conclusion of the 2003 season. The team has been cash-strapped since last year, limiting testing and development for the Accent. The team is currently in last place in the manufacturer’s championship standings, 10 points behind Skoda (and […]
Posted on September 18th, 2003 by admin
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Next year’s team line-ups became a bit clearer today as Citroen signed Carlos Sainz to their second Xsara for next season, effectively leaving Colin McRae without a drive for next season. There are no longer any major works teams seats open for next season (with the FIA drivers rules in effect), so Colin will be […]
Posted on September 12th, 2003 by admin
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The FIA, the governing body of the World Rally Championship, passed a handful of changes to the general format and structure of WRC rallies. These changes will go into effect next season. Here’s a short list: 1. Expanding the calendar to 16 rallies, instead of 14. Added are Rally Mexico and Rally Japan, both gravel […]
Posted on September 9th, 2003 by admin
Filed under: World Rally Championship | Comments Off on Big Rally News
Petter Solberg won his third career rally (and second this season) today, beating Sebastien Loeb by nearly thirty seconds. Loeb held the lead overnight going into the last day of rallying, and Solberg and Loeb split the first two stages, exchanging the lead, but then the rains began to fall. Solberg retook the lead, but […]
Posted on September 7th, 2003 by admin
Filed under: World Rally Championship | Comments Off on Rally Australia — Solberg Wins