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 with Subaru (the year teammate Richard Burns won the championship). Solberg started all fourteen rallies that year, and managed to score points for Subaru in every rally he finished (roughly nine, if I recall correctly). Highlights of the year included a second place at the Acropolis Rally and fifth place at Corsica (he was holding fourth going into the final stage, but he sportingly took a time penalty to allow Burns to overtake him, thus scoring more championship points). Last year, with Tommi Makinen as a teammate, Solberg won his first rally (Great Britain) and stood on the podium on several more. Solberg credits Makinen for his win in Britain, as Tommi was quick to share advice with the young Solberg. And with the master at his side again this year, Solberg has won three rallies so far this season, all in a very mature and composed fashion.
Martin was Solberg’s teammate in 2001, though he didn’t have a full works drive, and shared the third Impreza with Toshi Arai. Martin showed glimpses of brilliance, including a points score in Finland, but he was still a future championship. Last year he secured a full works drive at Ford besides past champions Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz, and Martin learned much, but his only notable performance was a second place in Great Britain. Ford took a huge gamble with Martin, letting Sainz and McRae sign with Citroen. Martin has been quick this season, but erratic, thanks to a combination of his inexperience and the development of the latest Focus WRC.
Loeb is in first year as a full works driver with Citroen. He spent 2001 with Citroen, but it was the manufacturer’s first year in the championship, so they only ran the tarmac events, but Solberg showed flashes of brilliance then, scoring a second place finish in San Remo. In 2002, Citroen again ran a limited schedule, but Loeb made an even bigger splash with a second place in Monte Carlo (he finished the rally in first, but was assessed a time penalty, giving the win to Makinen) and a win at the debut of Rally Deutschland. And he’s been even stronger this year with Sainz and McRae at his side, winning three rallies and scoring two other podium spots.
So, apples and oranges? Somewhat. Solberg has showed that he is the most experienced of the trio, winning rallies by being consistent and mature. He’s been helped inmeasurably by his partnership with Tommi Makinen, and Makinen has been more than happy to help Solberg (in fact, when Solberg nearly destroyed his car in his shunt during shakedown this week, Makinen immediately stepped forward to offer his car to Solberg if the mechanics couldn’t get things fixed in time). Martin has showed he can be very quick, but he hasn’t been able to finish enough rallies to make a difference in the championship. Loeb has been much more solid than Martin, and has showed maturity in the cockpit beyond his years. And Loeb is still the hunt for the title, despite his mishap in Corsica. Oh, and forget all that talk about Loeb being a tarmac specialist — he’s taken podium spots on gravel rallies as well, so he will be a threat to score big points in the season finale in Britain.
Posted on 19 October 2003
Well, we’re back, albeit at a slightly different address. Currently, the site is running at http://ankle-biter.net. My current hosting provider seems to be having major, major DNS issues (our _real_ domain name, anklebiter.net, has been unreachable for nearly four days now), so I got this other domain name and set up the site elsewhere (thanks to Matt). I’m in the processes of transferring anklebiter.net to my name, so hopefully within the next few days, that address will up and running again. So, anywho, use ankle-biter.net for checking out the site and sending us email….
On to the rally.
Quite a weekend in Corsica. After day one, it looked to be a battle between Markko Martin and Seb Loeb, as they distanced themselves from most of the pack (Marcus Gronholm, Francois Duval, and Carlos Sainz kept it close though). It was typically day of tarmac rallying — dry conditions and fast stage times. Petter Solberg, who nearly didn’t start the rally thanks to quite a shunt during shakedown (the Subaru techs worked all night on Thursday to get the car ready for the start), was barely in the top ten. Richard Burns had a slightly better time than in Italy, but he was still just in the points in seventh place.
Then, on day two, everything changed. Overnight rain made parts of the roads wet, and it didn’t take long for things to change. First victim — Sebastien Loeb. He spun and got stuck on the side of the road, and had to wait for spectators to pull him out. After losing over three minutes, Loeb was out of the running. Next victim — Markko Martin. The rains began to fall, and Martin had smashed a wheel. He was able to replace it and continue, but not without losing loads of time. The big winner in the all incidents was Francois Duval. He held the lead halfway through day two. Then it started to rain harder.
It’s well known in rally circles that the Pirelli-shod Subaru Impreza is most at home in wet, rough conditions. So Petter Solberg saw his chance and took it. After the second service, Solberg put his foot down and climbed up the leader’s table, and by the end of the day, he had a thirty-plus second lead on Duval. The big question was whether or not Solberg could hang on if conditions dried up on day three….
But, that question was never asked. The rains came again on day three, and thanks to his lead, Solberg didn’t have to push the pace. Martin had quite a shunt, and he didn’t see the finish line. Carlos Sainz did his championship hopes a favor by overtaking Duval for second place. The rest of point scoring positions went like this:
4th: Marcus Gronholm (his best result of the year on a rally he’s not won)
5th: Colin McRae (a very solid rally from McRae — he held his position most of the way).
6th: Gilles Panizzi (he has yet to find his form on the sealed surfaces)
7th: Tommi Makinen (a good effort from Tommi — he took advantage of the poor conditions on Saturday and jumped into the points after a poor start)
8th: Richard Burns (the single point keeps him tied with Solberg for second place in the championship table)
There’s no rest for the weary as the WRC heads directly to Spain for next weekend’s rally. The championship is still wide open, with Sainz leading Solberg and Burns by three points, and Loeb trailing that pair by three points. Loeb is still very much in the hunt, and he’ll be the favorite to win in Spain despite his problems in Corsica. Solberg and Makinen will be hoping for rain again. Subaru is hoping to just put Petter in the points next weekend if it’s a dry rally to allow him to take the championship with a win in Britain. You’ve got to like Sainz’s chances at the championship, though. He’s had a solid performance at both Italy and Corsica, and if he can haul in four or six points next weekend, he’ll be in good shape to take the championship.
Posted on 19 October 2003
Supreme Court to examine constitutionality of Pledge
It seems America today will never tire of the arguments about the separation of church and state. What I really don’t understand is why Christians get so riled up over these issues. I challenge them to look around and tell me what they see — the City of God? Or Babylon? More and more, the only Christians involved in the political arena that I still respect are those fighting to change the Constitution to claim that Jesus is the head of everything. I don’t necessarily agree with their cause (generally because I think that Christians should stay out of politics, but that’s a discussion for another day), but I respect the fact that they’re going at their goal the proper way. They aren’t trying to erode bits and pieces of the government and culture, they’re attacking it head on. You know exactly where they stand, and they start with a very basic premise, which makes it easy to extrapolate their ideas on other subjects.
But I digress….
I ask that question again….where are we? The City of God or Babylon? From where I’m standing, it’s Babylon. Our country is not Christian. How about some proof, you ask. Okay, here we go….
1. We are currently involved in combat operations in several countries. While many Christians have argued a theory of just wars, it’s quite difficult to justify a war within the context of the New Testament. Again, a deeper discussion is for another day.
2. Millions of people live below the poverty level, and the government wants to scale back assistance for them (uh oh, has he gone liberal on us?).
3. The average political campaign is filled with lies and vicious attacks on other candidates.
4. I challenge anyone to call the social culture of America “Christian.”
The list could continue. Please note, this isn’t a critique of America — a *tsk, tsk* finger pointing at everything that’s wrong. It’s just an observation. Thanks to the Constitution, we are given certain liberties to do as we please, and that’s fine with me. The same Constitution that protects Hollywood’s ability to produce films with violence and sex protects my rights to worship God.
So, back to the Pledge. Why are Christians in such an uproar over a single line “one nation under God?” Why, as Christians, would we want non-Christians to be forced to say this? Christ himself said he not interested in people who went through the motions of belief and faith:
“You are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of My mouth.”
Wouldn’t the government, by forcing someone who doesn’t believe in God to claim that their nation is under God, be putting God’s wrath on that person? Of course, that assumes that the people actually reciting the Pledge are paying attention to what is being said. Quick question: when was the last time you recited the Pledge? Grade school? And how many times did you earnestly recite the Pledge? When did you last _really_ mean it? Or perhaps an easier question: did you ever really mean it? It’s like the whole “In God We Trust” motto on our currency. Do you think that tears down the wall between church and state? If you do, I say take it off the currency. I say take it off the currency even you don’t. Why? Well, here’s what Jesus had to say about that (from Luke 20:21-26):
And they asked him, saying, Master, we know that thou sayest and teachest rightly, neither acceptest thou the person of any, but teachest the way of God truly:
22 Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Caesar, or no?
23 But he perceived their craftiness, and said unto them, Why tempt ye me?
24 Shew me a penny. Whose image and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Caesar’s.
25 And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s.
26 And they could not take hold of his words before the people: and they marvelled at his answer, and held their peace.
So why are so intent on putting God’s name on the currency? To declare that it really belongs to God, since it’s under His power? Well, that’s redundant. God knows what’s His. Does it glorify God to have “In God We Trust” printed on our currency? Well, maybe, but does it glorify God to use that currency to buy crack? Sure, as Christians we should try and serve God in all aspects of life, but within politics many Christians are only serving their interests. They’re pushing a socially conservative agenda that aligns with Christian morality, but they’re missing something — the law isn’t going to change anyone’s heart. Wasn’t that Christ’s beef with the Jewish religious leaders? They were so focused on the law that they missed the whole point — faith in God. And so here we are again. Instead of spreading the word about Christ, they’re using the bully pulpit of legislation to make America a “Christian” nation. It’s almost as if many Christian politicians would be happy if abortion was illegal, the blue laws were re-inacted, there was a sculpture of the Ten Commandments in every public place, and kids recited the Pledge every morning, but didn’t mind that culture of America didn’t change, and not one person accepted Christ. Image is everything…..
But I’m still not convinced that Christians should bother themselves with politics. Why? Read Romans chapter 13. Now, this passage means a lot of things to a lot of different people, but when combined with the “render unto Caesar” passage, I read it as saying “don’t be too concerned with what happens in politics, unless your leaders ask you to sin.” And if you’re a faithful Christian, your government will let you be, because how they can punish someone for loving God and their neighbor? And note verses one and two:
Let every person be subordinate to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been established by God.
Therefore, whoever resists authority opposes what God has appointed, and those who oppose it will bring judgment upon themselves.
Note, there’s no qualifiers in there. No “as long as your leader is a conservative.” No “liberals are the anti-Christ.” Authority is established by God, and therefore you should be subordinate to it. Now, in verse four there’s some talk of the “servant of God” to inflict wrath on the “evildoer.” Many theologians see this as an opening for an “avenger” — someone appointed by God to take down the evil leader. But I see it differently — God says if your leader is truly evil, He will take care of it…don’t you worry about it. And that’s how I see America today. We as Christians have the freedom to worship and live how we please. If we’re so concerned about the degradation of American culture, why aren’t we out there in the trenches doing something about it, rather than sitting on the steps of a courthouse protesting the removal of a chunk of stone or the removal of two words from an often-said but rarely thought about pledge (by the way, isn’t there something in the Bible about oaths and pledges?)?
Yeesh. That was quite a post. This isn’t a simple topic, even though a lot of people would have you believe it is. But in another sense, it is. The removal of the words “under God” in the Pledge won’t break back of Christianity. The lack of an image of the Ten Commandments in a courthouse won’t either. But we’re in trouble if Christians forget about helping those who need it (and serving Christ in the process) for political gains.
Posted on 15 October 2003
In the past couple of days, I’ve discovered that my personal standard for Weather Conditions I Won’t Ride My Bike In has been considered lowered over the past year. I rode home from work yesterday in pouring rain, and didn’t mind all that much. Sure, every bit of clothing I had on was soaked through (but my trusty messenger bag kept my stuff nice and dry), but it really wasn’t all that bad. And it makes the slog up Stanton Avenue a bit more manageable. And then this morning, despite Jen’s offer of a ride to work, I took off again on my trusty fixie to ride through the cold and wind (which nearly blew me over several times). Perhaps it was all those cyclocross training rides last winter, leaving the house in sub-freezing temperatures to ride and run around Schenley Park in ankle-deep mud….
Posted on 15 October 2003
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 drivers make a mistake. Tommi Makinen had a terrible shunt here in 2001, coming within inches of a huge drop.
The championship race is still wide open, with Richard Burns carry a narrow two point lead of Sebastien Loeb. Loeb is another two points ahead of Carlos Sainz, with Petter Solberg still in the hunt, nine points behind Burns. Loeb is an obvious favorite to win in France, and Burns has to work very hard to avoid the disaster that befell him in Italy two weekends ago. Burns has shown flashes of brilliance on tarmac in the past, but he’s struggling with obviously substandard car in the 206 — the Citroen Xsara and Ford Focus are by far the quickest cars at the moment, and that puts Burns at a distinct disadvantage.
Now, a team-by-team analysis:
Subaru
Solberg and Tommi Makinen are hoping to put Italy behind them as well. Solberg struggled, then retired, and Makinen never found a good rhythm, and just barely squeaked into the manufacturer’s points for Subaru. The Impreza’s new suspension and differentials were touted before Italy, and both Solberg and Makinen looked quick during shakedown, but they couldn’t find that pace during the rally. Solberg can still fight for a podium spot in Corsica, though he honestly can’t expect to fight for the win. He can keep the championship leaders in his sights with a good performace, and hope the fight goes down to the last round in Great Britain, which he won last year.
Peugeot
There’s been much grumbling from Burns, Marcus Gronholm, and Gilles Panizzi about the state of the 206. The team has decided to scrap the car at the end of the season, and testing has begun on its replacement, the 307. This means there has been little to no development work done on the 206, and that shows it in its pace. Panizzi said during Italy that he had the pace he had this year during last year’s rally (which he won easily), he could have won by over five minutes. As it was, though, Panizzi struggled to keep up with the Focus and the Xsara, and snuck into second place after a tyre gamble before the final stage. Burns will have to work hard to keep the championship lead, and he will probably leave Corsica in second place. But he can walk away with four or six points, he’ll be in good shape going into the final two round.
Ford
The Focus is quick. If it wasn’t for some mechanical issues, Markko Martin would have given Loeb a good run on Sunday in Italy. And Francois Duval also looked quick in Italy, and he’s hoping to build on his fifth place finish there. Martin does have a legimate shot at winning Corsica, though his lack of experience could tip the scales in Loeb’s favor. Martin is still a longshot for the championship however. Even with a win, he’d have to hope that Loeb and Burns retire to give himself a chance at the title.
Citroen
Loeb is a legimate title contender, and he is the marked man in Corsica. If Burns falters, Loeb could pull away in the points table. This is a home event for Loeb, who cut his teeth on the French junior championships (which, by the way, are all tarmac rallies). But Loeb isn’t the only championship contender on the Citroen squad. Carlos Sainz had a solid performance in Italy, and he’s currently in third place in the points table, and much of the media seems to have forgotten this. If Sainz can put in another solid performance this week, he can keep his title hopes alive. And Colin McRae had a solid rally in Italy as well, and though he won’t be contender for the title this year, he will be the key to Citroen extending their lead in the manufacturer’s championship.
Skoda
The team made some changes to the new Fabia after Italy, and hopefully Corsica will be another step forward for the development of the car. If Didier Auriol can score a few top ten stage times, this will be a successful rally for the Czech outfit.
Hyundai
Sadly, Hyundai has pulled out of the championship, and won’t return until 2006. Budget problems and contract disputes with the team’s sporting unit prevented the team from doing any real testing this year, and the team has finally decided to pull the plug on the program until things can be ironed out, and the team can truly compete again.
My Top Five
1. Sebastien Loeb
2. Markko Martin
3. Gilles Panizzi
4. Petter Solberg
5. Carlos Sainz
Posted on 14 October 2003
Should the Dems Attempt to Recall Arnold?
Generally, I like what Joe Conason has to say. I may not always agree with him, but I still enjoy reading his journal. But I think he’s missing something here — this is a chance for Democrats to take the high road. The “fight fire with fire” approach is eventually going to lead to a political landscape where only radicals at the far ends of the political spectrums will vote. The average citizen won’t care anymore because the average citizen is a centrist.
Personally, I only care about what happened in California because of the effect it could have on the political system nationwide. I understand that the California constitution allows for a recall, but the voters in the state have to realize they have to live with their decisions. Of course, the recall was driven by republicans, but did you notice how many democrats lined up to become the next governor too? Sure, was Davis driving the state into the ground? Well, yeah, but you voted him governor, remember? Did he lie about everything during his campaign? Was he a really great actor, that you couldn’t tell that he wouldn’t work out?
I wish I could find it, but somewhere on the web (gee, that narrows it down) there was an opinion piece about how someone, either Republican or Democrat, has to break the cycle of political warfare. Someone needs to step above the fray of namecalling and mudslinging and tell the truth, and, more importantly live the truth. If the Democrats attempted another recall, that would give Arnold exactly four months to turn around the world’s fifth largest economy. Four months. There’s a reason why most elected officials have four year terms — to allow them the time to get things done. I don’t know if Arnold will turn California around, and really, I don’t care, but at least give him a fighting chance. Remember, you elected him.
Posted on 9 October 2003
Jen and I took a step tonight that we feel pushes us into the mystical realm of adulthood — even more than having Seb. We purchased a station wagon (a 2000 Subaru Outback) this evening, and traded in the Impreza. It took us months to finally decide that a coupe was not the ideal vehicle if you have a child, and after numerous stops and starts, we got a car. A station wagon. Only one step higher on the food chain than a minivan. Several steps lower than the Impreza.
We’ve fought hard over the years to not be adults…we’ve done the psuedo-climbing bum thing, living out of our car at crags in the South and Colorado. We’ve lived in sparse apartments that were roughly as clean as college dorm rooms. When I finally got a *real* job we moved up in the world, and bought the Impreza, a little pocket rocket that could zip around town, and to the crags. Who cared that it barely fit bouldering pads and camping gear — we were young and free! Whee! Now, before you think this is some rant about how I (we) miss the “good ol’ days,” let me assure you, it isn’t. Change is a good thing. This is a really good change. Actually, that might be an understatement. If given the chance to take it all back and be a carefree youth again, I’d pass. Things are too good now. And I don’t mean because we’re better off financially (heh).
But I digress….
Now, we own a dapper navy blue and khaki wagon (Yikes! It even matches my clothes. How embarrassing.). It’s a nice car, and perhaps I feel like I have to look nice to be able to drive it. I feel like the car came with a contract that says “you will try and act more like an adult now.” But then I realize, we’ll still be listening to lo-fi music in it, and within a few weeks, the back will be cluttered with climbing gear and covered with chalk, and it will be ok. We’ll still be ourselves, and we’ll still be clinging to every last bit of our youth. We will not be “adults” because we’ve got a station wagon and kid, and we’re looking for a house. We’ll still rather go climbing on the weekends, and we’ll still have piles of laundry (both clean and dirty) in our bedroom. And our furniture won’t match.
So there…I’m a kid again! Wheeeeee!
Posted on 6 October 2003
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 interesting. As the cars were leaving the day’s only service stop, the skies opened and the so far unseen rain come down in buckets. Nearly every works car was fitted with dry tarmac slicks, and without time to change them, the drivers were forced to deal with the now treacherous conditions. Only three works cars left service with wet weathe tyres: Gilles Panizzi (who simply bet that the weather would turn sour), Tommi Makinen (who was simply testing tyres since he was out of the points hunt), and Marcus Gronholm (who wasn’t actually using wet weather tyres — he simply had cuts make in his slicks). The results for the final two stages reflected tyre choice, and Panizzi nearly stole the rally from Sebastien Loeb.
On SS13, Panizzi stole 20 seconds back from the leaders as the roads were beginning to get soaked. Loeb mananged to keep things close, taking the third fastest time, but Panizzi managed to leapfrog Carlos Sainz into fourth place overall. On SS14, the day’s final stage, things got even more interesting. The roads were quite damp, and even Gronholm on his cut slicks couldn’t keep it together, as he crashed and destroyed a wheel, ending his rally. Panizzi took advantage of his tyres, and absolutely blazed through the stage, cutting nearly a minute and half of Loeb’s lead, and jumping ahead of Markko Martin into second place. Loeb ran just fast enough to take the rally by 23 seconds. How bad were the roads? Panizzi was the only works car in the top six for the stage. Look at the results table and you probably won’t recognize a name until seventh place — Rchard Burns. He, Loeb and Makinen were the best of the rest on the final stage.
So, the top five looked like this:
1. Seb Loeb
2. Gilles Panizzi
3. Markko Martin
4. Carlos Sainz
5. Francois Duval
Richard Burns narrowly maintained his lead in the championship by squeaking into seventh place and scoring 2 points. The top of the points table is still fairly cluttered, with Burns leading Loeb by those two points, with Carlos Sainz and Petter Solberg still within striking distance. Burns has got to be worried at this point, with two more tarmac rallies left, and the Citroen Xsara looking to be the fastest car at the moment. Every one of the Peugeot drivers felt that the 206 just couldn’t keep up with the Xsara or the Ford Focus. Petter Solberg also has to be a bit diconcerted with his title hopes, but if he can keep it close over the next two rallies, he’s one of the favorites to win the season-ending Rally GB, so he’s still got a chance.
The teams get one weekend off before Corsica, and given the quickness of Loeb and Martin, this could be Panizzi’s best shot at a win. The tight, twisty roads will favor the tiny 206, so perhaps Peugeot’s fortunes can change. Loeb has become my pick for the title though. Even if he doesn’t win Corsica or Spain, he’ll still end up on the podium, and the chances of Sainz, Solberg or Burns winning one of the tarmc events is slim. Carlos Sainz probably has the best shot at giving Loeb a run for the money, as the Xsara keeps him competitive on the sealed surfaces, and his skill and experience will give him a shot at winning Rally GB. If Sainz can walk away from Spain with 16 or 18 points (over the course of the three tarmac rallies), he’s got a shot in Britain.
Posted on 6 October 2003
Despite a clean sweep of stage wins today, Markko Martin couldn’t overtake Sebastien Loeb for the lead in San Remo. Loeb held tough all day, and kept Martin in his sights, taking four straight second place times. Martin could have chipped away more time on Loeb, but he took a twenty second penalty after spending too much in service. In a testament to how far the Citroen Xsara and Ford Focus have come, Marcus Gronholm (currently third) and Gilles Panizzi (currently fifth) have said they feel they are going flat out, and simply can’t match the pace of the leaders. This must be extremely disheartening news to Richard Burns, who has to watch his championship lead disappear knowing there are two more tarmac rallies left.
Carlos Sainz will keep his championship bid on track if he can hold fourth place tomorrow. That would leave him three points behind Burns and Loeb (assuming Loeb hangs on for the win). Petter Solberg can feel fortunate that Burns has also run into problems, as he won’t lose any ground to the championship leader.
Unless Loeb or Martin run into trouble tomorrow, we shouldn’t see much change in the leader’s table for the rally, with only roughly 90 kilometers of competitive driving left. Loeb has proven both he and the Xsara are fast enough to drive comfortably and maintain the lead over Martin.
The other car news….
We’ve got a new car! Well, not yet, we pick it up on Monday, but it’s a 2000 Subaru Outback Wagon. We went to a local dealer just to see what they had, and we loved the car, and after much haggling, we got a decent price for a trade-in on the Impreza. I’ll post photos as soon as we get it…
Posted on 4 October 2003