I think I heard them say the red line on the new spec is 8500 RPMs.

They sound way better and are more fun to watch.

I like how the commentator gets really excited about just how fast they are going when they hit 120kph and almost looses his shit when the reach 160kph. Just goes to show how wildly inappropriate many of the roads used for rally in the US are.

Poor Ken is used to winning events with average stage speeds of 130kph but has not been nearly as successful at slower events in the US. WRC events appear to be much much slower (Sweden=~100kph ... almost Rally WV slow).

After seeing the whole weekends worth of rally, I have to admit I do like the new cars. I was worried they were going to be too much like the S2000 cars, which generally seem slow, at least on my computer screen.

I heard that the new cars aren't actually much lighter btw. 8.5k redline is what the commentator said.

Squaring the cars track and wheelbase out certainly makes them dance more, I'm definitely looking forward to the rest of the season.

1st one of the year!

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john vanlandingham

Fuck you, you fuckin fuck.

(lol @ 1:17)


I'm going keep a tally of how many times John says this in 2011. And how many times its directed at Morrison or Timmy.

Should we start a pool?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/14/2011 05:25PM by Jon Burke.

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Frank Booth, in the movie Blue Velvet
Fuck you, you fuckin fuck.

A pool would be too easy since I can probably influence the outcome simply by agreeing with John on something.

It was really interesting to see the top handful of cars so tightly spaced at the end of the second day. With more manufacturers coming in I think there will be a good future for the WRC.

On the 2wd vs. awd comparison - I'm not sure I agree that 2wd is more fun to drive... it's just different and some people like different things. A clean line in an AWD car is a thing of beauty but I can see the allure of driving through the side windows that comes with a RWD car as well. (Did enough of that in my four volvos I owned to know its fun)
But when it comes to fun per dollar - 2wd is the hands down winner by far. Unfortunately too many newbies tend to think a) they are the next superstar and b) they need an AWD car to have any fun. (oft heard is the refrain 'Why would I race a car that is slower than my street car.')

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Josh Wimpey
I like how the commentator gets really excited about just how fast they are going when they hit 120kph and almost looses his shit when the reach 160kph. Just goes to show how wildly inappropriate many of the roads used for rally in the US are.

Isn't that the truth. Canada too. Chris and I saw between 180 and 190kph more than once at Perce Neige last week with no studs on roads that were skating rink slick at times. I can only imagine how they'd be w/ WRC studs.

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-Brian

In my experience, limited to my own rally cars, 2wd cars cost more to run vs awd cars but 2wd cars cost less to build to a good spec.

I found tires matter more in 2wd and do not last as long, as tires are the biggest variable for operating cost...

For me, if I wanted to drive nice clean lines awd lines I would not have picked rally as my autosport, that is why I think 2wd is more fun.

I really do not know why everyone hates on Ken, he is doing exactly what we recommend to so many guys who think they are the next big thing. He got the hell out of the small sandbox and is out playing on the big field - good for him.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/14/2011 08:03PM by derek.

With Ken, it's just pure jealousy. I can admit it. They guy is loaded, he's relatively young and it sure seems like he has a lot more fun than I do.

Just imagine how bad people would hate on him if he was good looking too!

Ken might have money but he worked his ass off to get it, its not like anything was handed to him.

I actually feel that the comparison of drivers to cars is somewhat valid. Not directly obviously, and it's not directly the point that I got out of Johns post as such, but it got me thinking, because I see this tendency here in DK as well.

We have drivers buying cars that costs the snot out of their noses, and then they do like 3-4 events a year - 5 tops - and they do somewhat miserably. Granted, they're not at the bottom, cause the car is fast, but it's not like they dominate.
To me it seems that it's from too little seat time, and maybe also too much worrying about crashing the very expensive car.

Basically meaning getting out of shape - or never getting into shape depending on where they started :-).

So what's the point? They tie up a bunch of money in a VERY poor investment, drive too little to be really attractive to sponsors and to get the practice that could take them to the top and make them attractive anyway. It's spiralling downwards for those guys.

I'm no big talent, and my car is by no means a big budget build (far from it actually - I like to think that I choose for bang for the buck, and I don't have that much buck :-)), but when I beat a one or two year old Peugeot 308 S2000, or a Mitsu Lancer Evo something-or-other-newish (and both have happened), I can't help but get a big grin on my face.
Even when we had a Swede show up at a sprint in his 1979 Opel Ascona B, and dish out a can of whoop-ass finishing 9th overall in front of an Evo X and a 9 (the guy I was beating too), and two works Golf kitcars, it's hilarious...

We have another guy - and I've mentioned him earlier - in an old Peugeot 205 1.6 built to kit car spec. He did 6th overall at that event, and consistently finishes top 10 at the nationals and other events. Why? Because he has well built car AND he can afford to run it and show up and do events so he gets seat time.

I get why kids wanna go "Uhh... i gotta do this, or that, and build me a WRC-spec car for club level events", but for me I've always liked the underdog position.

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Brgrds
Brian

Brian, I agree with you. That was pretty much my point.

There was a comparison of a guy with very little studded tires on snow experience, in a brand new car. I wont even look at the the fact he's never been to the rally before... it IS rally after all. You shouldn't "know" the roads.

His competition? People that HAVE run studs in snow before, a lot, and who race a lot in those kind of conditions.


His lack of seat time is the factor. Sure, he bought a ride, but I'm pretty sure that if I had the money, I couldn't buy the ride he has. His lack of seat time will ALWAYS be the factor. But he IS getting better. He just bought the opportunity to learn, it wasn't given to him.

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Dazed_Driver
Brian, I agree with you. That was pretty much my point.

There was a comparison of a guy with very little studded tires on snow experience, in a brand new car. I wont even look at the the fact he's never been to the rally before... it IS rally after all. You shouldn't "know" the roads.

His competition? People that HAVE run studs in snow before, a lot, and who race a lot in those kind of conditions.


His lack of seat time is the factor. Sure, he bought a ride, but I'm pretty sure that if I had the money, I couldn't buy the ride he has. His lack of seat time will ALWAYS be the factor. But he IS getting better. He just bought the opportunity to learn, it wasn't given to him.

But what's the point to 99% of these guys? If they are not filthy rich AND have huge amounts of spare time OR huuuge talent, then buying the über ride will never learn them anything. 'Cause they can't afford to go racing and/or they're too scared to crash it.
It's a totally bad way of starting out, cause you'll never progress since you're basically limited by budget (time/scared of crashing/flat out lack of money to go to enough events).
Sure, the power and handling of a modern AWD car will disguise some of this, but they might be left wondering why the hell they didn't progress into the very top that the car should allow them to.

So get the semi-cheap car sorted, and GO RACING to LEARN. And accept that it's going to take 50 or more events to become GOOD. Learn from it. Learn in a car that doesn't diguise the mediocre to poor skills... look at guys in "cheap" cars and see how it IS possible to make good results in those, and compare yourself to them, and learn from THAT.

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Brgrds
Brian

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wildert
Sure, the power and handling of a modern AWD car will disguise some of [the mediocre driving skills], but they might be left wondering why the hell they didn't progress into the very top that the car should allow them to.

So get the semi-cheap car sorted, and GO RACING to LEARN. And accept that it's going to take 50 or more events to become GOOD. Learn from it. Learn in a car that doesn't disguise the mediocre to poor skills... look at guys in "cheap" cars and see how it IS possible to make good results in those, and compare yourself to them, and learn from THAT.

Bingo.

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hudson
With Ken, it's just pure jealousy. I can admit it. They guy is loaded, he's relatively young and it sure seems like he has a lot more fun than I do.

Just imagine how bad people would hate on him if he was good looking too!

hahahahaha, yeah, he's never made it into any of my night time fantasies

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wildert
And accept that it's going to take 50 or more events to become GOOD.

Data point: I can list 52 events that Block has competed at in the US alone.

Anders

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Grassroots rally. It's what I think about.