I know Sveeeden hasn't even started yet, but, Norvay is zee very next weekend.

So, GO <insert Scandinavian Driver's name here>! :banana:

Ohmigod. That's what you were so excited about?

Ohmigod. That's what you were so excited about?

Leave him be. It's the simple things amuse him.

I'll admit, I :lol:ed

I know Sveeeden hasn't even started yet, but, Norvay is zee very next weekend.

So, GO <insert Scandinavian Driver's name here>! :banana:

So by that logic you can't root for Marcus. He's a Fin, and they're not technically part of Scandinavia. :p

So by that logic you can't root for Marcus. He's a Fin, and they're not technically part of Scandinavia. :p
Depends on who you ask.

Ohmigod. That's what you were so excited about?

Leave him be. It's the simple things amuse him.

*giggle*

http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/7/7b/350px-Pining.PNG

"He's pining for the Fjords!"

wow, it IS true, he LIVEs to create the corniest thread titles ever. :lol:

I rule :D

Something something Petter something something

I can't wait to talk about Mexico!

SRT-USA! Hells yeah!


*foams at mouth*

I'm really wondering if SWRT can pull it off this year. I don't think they have a chance against Loeb AND the new C4.

I'm really wondering if SWRT can pull it off this year. I don't think they have a chance against Loeb AND the new C4.
I'm not ready to start the doom and gloom talk yet. It's still early in the season. Who knows, maybe the C4 completely sucks on gravel (probably not, but here's to hopin').

At any rate, there were many times last season where Solberg was competitive, but his car broke or something else went wrong. Maybe the new car will help with reliability. I kinda doubt it will be any faster, but if it doesn't break as often he could be right in the thick of it.

wrong thread...

^^^ we already have a thread for that.

^^^ we already have a thread for that.



Whoops!

I'm really wondering if SWRT can pull it off this year. I don't think they have a chance against Loeb AND the new C4.

At this point a solid finish to the season would be great. A few winning rallies would be the best I am hoping for, Loeb and Granholm are just in a league of their own. Maybe the new car in Mexico will help, but with a bunch of tarmac rallies after that, I'm not expecting much.

Norway is like the swedish rally in conditions, but a much more tight and technical rally.

I don't see SWRT doing any better. I see Henning, Loeb and Gronholm at it again.

Norway is like the swedish rally in conditions, but a much more tight and technical rally.

I don't see SWRT doing any better. I see Henning, Loeb and Gronholm at it again.


Well, hopefully Sweden gave them some better incite on tire choices which may or may not help in Norway. I'll settle for a 3rd or 4th place finish for Petter. <ArmchairQB>If he didn't push so hard he might of had 3rd or even 4th which would have still been good.</ArmchairQB> Henning seems to always be in the top 8 so it's nice to see him #1 once in a while.

**Sorry meant stud length...

There is only one tire choice for snow rallies.

The rest is how long you want to set the studs.

There is only one tire choice for snow rallies.

The rest is how long you want to set the studs.
Yeah, but the length of the stud can make a HUGE difference, so it's pretty much the same as having different sets of tires.

Yeah, but the length of the stud can make a HUGE difference, so it's pretty much the same as having different sets of tires.

Since they are all running on the same tire, and the same tire techs from BFG will consult with the teams, I'm sure all the WR teams will be running the same tire set up from the same decision making triggers.

That was the biggest bone that SWRT had coming to BFG, was not having exclusive attention from one group of techs like they had with Pirelli.

Since they are all running on the same tire, and the same tire techs from BFG will consult with the teams, I'm sure all the WR teams will be running the same tire set up from the same decision making triggers.

That was the biggest bone that SWRT had coming to BFG, was not having exclusive attention from one group of techs like they had with Pirelli.
True, there's only one tire manufacturer, but that doesn't make the choice easy. In the end it's up to the teams/drivers to make the final decision with all the information they've been given from the tire techs, reports from the stage scouts, weather report, etc. Position on the road makes a big difference too. It's really not a simple equation that you put all the factors in one end, and out pops a tire choice.

As for the switch to BFG, sure it's a change but I think it's for the better. Subaru did get all the attention with Pirrelli, but Pirrelli also lacked the input from other teams. One of the reasons I think BFG's have been so much better is because they can listen to a wide variety of teams/drivers to improve the tire. The same thing happend with Bridgestone and Michelin in F1 for the last couple of seasons.... well until Michelin got dropped for other reasons. :) Pirrelli just doesn't have as much backing in Rally as BFG, so Subaru made the right choice to switch.

There is only one tire choice for snow rallies.

The rest is how long you want to set the studs.

I'd venture to say you could still consider it tire choice, since the teams aren't in direct control over the length of the studs (BFG's factory affixes them, not the teams).

Go everybody!











Except Loeb! Ihopehendsupinaditchftw

I'd venture to say you could still consider it tire choice, since the teams aren't in direct control over the length of the studs (BFG's factory affixes them, not the teams).

Actually, a private outfit in Sweden does.

uff da heres to a Solberg finishing 1st

^what he said. I really hope Petter can keep it together this weekend. It's so damn frustrating watching the Subaru's drop like flies :(

+11tybillion for an additional snow rally!

-Brian

Well, hopefully Sweden gave them some better incite on tire choices which may or may not help in Norway. I'll settle for a 3rd or 4th place finish for Petter. <ArmchairQB>If he didn't push so hard he might of had 3rd or even 4th which would have still been good.</ArmchairQB> Henning seems to always be in the top 8 so it's nice to see him #1 once in a while.

**Sorry meant stud length...

It was so weird to see Loeb and the Citroen team make a bad tire/stud decision is Sweden. They alway seem to have the perfect tire, while SWRT seems to always have the wrong tire on.

Now if only my other dream would come true... Seb to have a spectacular off!

+1 for petter ^what he said. I really hope Petter can keep it together this weekend. It's so damn frustrating watching the Subaru's drop like flies :(

+11tybillion for an additional snow rally!

-Brian

I downloaded rally norway 2006 if anyone is interested. in seeing what the event will be like.

its all in norwegian though.

Fjord Fjocus

:lol: Thats a good one!

why was this destickied?

why was this destickied?

See the sticky.

why was this destickied?
Scooby South is a big poo poo head.

Bump!

Rally Norway shakedown times
1 Loeb – Elena Citroën C4 WRC 2'00"7
2 Latvala – Antilla Ford Focus WRC 2'01"6
3 Grönholm – Rautiainen Ford Focus WRC 2'02"3
- Gardemeister – Honkanen Mitsubishi Lancer WRC 2'02"3
5 Galli – Bernacchini Citroën Xsara WRC 2'02"6
6 Hirvonen – Lethinen Ford Focus WRC 2'02"8
7 P.Solberg – Mills Subaru Impreza WRC 2'02"9
- Atkinson – MacNeall Subaru Impreza WRC 2'02"9
9 Stohl – Minor Citroën Xsara WRC 2'03"6
- Carlsson – Giraudet Citroën Xsara WRC 2'03"6
- H.Solberg – Menkerud Ford Focus WRC 2'03"6
12 Sordo – Marti Citroën C4 WRC 2'03"7
13 Hanninen – Markkula Mitsubishi Lancer WRC 2'04"2
14 Wilks – Pugh Ford Focus WRC 2'05"0
15 Mikkelsen – Fløene Ford Focus WRC 2'06"0
16 Dalsjø – Løvhøiden Subaru Impreza WRC 2'06"7
17 Schie – Bergsten Ford Focus WRC 2'06"8
18 Pons – Amigo Mitsubishi Lancer WRC 2'06"9
19 Wilson – Orr Ford Focus WRC 2'07"7
20 Linnerud – Engen Peugeot 206 WRC 2'10"1
21 Kopecky – Schovanek Skoda Fabia WRC 2'10"3
22 Østberg – Unnerud Subaru Impreza WRC 2'11"0

Looks like it will be another "Loeb and Gronholm Show".

I wish some of the other guys would put up a fight against these two to make it a tad more interesting. I know they are both in a league of their own but damn!

Thinking back, Loeb had ONE off all 06 season. He is due for another!

*prays for a Solberg 1-2 sweep*

Actually, a private outfit in Sweden does.

I stand corrected. Still, my original point stands - the teams don't control the studs. :banana:

I stand corrected. Still, my original point stands - the teams don't control the studs. :banana:
NO team can control me! :D

I stand corrected. Still, my original point stands - the teams don't control the studs. :banana:

They control the lengths.

Looks like it will be another "Loeb and Gronholm Show".

I wish some of the other guys would put up a fight against these two to make it a tad more interesting. I know they are both in a league of their own but damn!

Thinking back, Loeb had ONE off all 06 season. He is due for another!

*prays for a Solberg 1-2 sweep*

I'll second that. Solberg has it in him but really has to go all out with no mistakes to keep up with the front runners nowadays. Hopefully his luck will actually work with him unlike almost EVERY rally of last season. If only WRC Subarus were as reliable as the road cars today :lol: .

Remember how either last year or the year prior the Pirelli teams had an edge over the Michelins because of the stud design? The french tires kept shedding studs but the Pirellis stayed together, which led to better grip later in the stages.

I think it may have been the only time Pirelli had any kind of advantage.

Day 1 as of SS4 overall:

1.Hirvonen - Ford - 48'10"1
2.Gronholm - Ford - 48'21"1
3.Loeb - Cit C4 - 48'36"8
4.Galli - Cit Xsara - 48'51"4
5.H.Solberg - Ford - 48'52"1
6.Gardemeister - Mitsu - 48'56"4
7.P.Solberg - Subaru - 48'57"7 :D
8.Stohl - Cit Xsara - 49'35"1
9.Atkinson - Subaru - 49'36"8 :)
10.Carlsson - Cit Xsara - 49'11"1
11.Sordo - Cit C4 - 49'46"7

Hirvonen's times here may be an indication of just how perfect Loeb's and Bosse's notes are on the other events, since they've been refined over the years. Maybe they should disallow notes from prior years and make them re-recce from scratch every year.

Has Petter gone missing on SS5?:mad:

Hirvonen's times here may be an indication of just how perfect Loeb's and Bosse's notes are on the other events, since they've been refined over the years. Maybe they should disallow notes from prior years and make them re-recce from scratch every year.


That would be nice. Make events a bit more than a case of selecting the correct tires.

:lol:

Tony Gardemeister after SS6....."Ah, I was pushing like hell, but time is ****!" Rally Radio FTW.

:lol:

Tony Gardemeister after SS6....."Ah, I was pushing like hell, but time is ****!" Rally Radio FTW.

What radio are you listeing too? The crash.net radio?

Link please!

http://www.wrc.com/page/RallyRadio/0,,10111,00.html

I turned it on to catch the end of a report.

Who got dq'd from Sweden (I think)? They mentioned something about having stuff on the car they shouldn't and losing ten points.

http://www.wrc.com/page/RallyRadio/0,,10111,00.html

I turned it on to catch the end of a report.

Who got dq'd from Sweden (I think)? They mentioned something about having stuff on the car they shouldn't and losing ten points.

Hanninen and his EVO IX. He had 3 fuel pumps on his car instead of 2.

Compac also was DQ'D for not wearing one glove in the SSS.

I can't stand Colin, the stage reporter. I can't undertand his scottish accent. They could at least get somebody that speaks intelligible english.

http://a2.vox.com/6a00b8ea06ece0dece00c2251c31a2549d-200pi

I think P. Solberg was up by 7 seconds over the stage winner on the first split, but later broke his steering on the stage (SS6). Typical Petter.....pushing way too hard and breaking the car.

Everyone said the road was narrow and that rocks were getting pulled up by the lead cars for the followers to hit.

Day 1 overall as of SS6:

1.Hirvonen - Ford - 1h06'01"8
2.Gronholm - Ford - 1h06'15"1
3.Loeb - Cit C4 - 1h06'25"1
4.P.Solberg - Subaru - 1h06'59"0 :D
5.Galli - Cit Xsara - 1h07'04"8
6.Gardemeister - Mitsu - 1h07'18"9
7.H.Solberg - Ford - 1h07'18"9
8.Stohl - Cit Xsara - 1h07'45"2
9.Atkinson - Subaru - 1h07'49"2 :)
10.Carlsson - Cit Xsara - 1h08'01"4
11.Sordo - Cit C4 - 1h08'16"2
12.Latvala - Ford - 1h08'20"8

C'mon Petter, keep it on the road!

End of Day 1 overall:

1.Hirvonen - Ford - 1h24'39"0
2.Gronholm - Ford - 1h24'54"5
3.Loeb - Cit C4 - 1h24'56"3
4.P.Solberg - Subaru - 1h25'40"5 :D
5.Gardemeister - Mitsu - 1h25'59"2
6.Galli - Cit Xsara - 1h26'05"2
7.H.Solberg - Ford - 1h26'06"2
8.Stohl - Cit Xsara - 1h26'35"9
9.Atkinson - Subaru - 1h26'49"6 :)
10.Latvala - Ford - 1h27'03"6
11.Carlsson - Cit Xsara - 1h27'11"5

Well, Petter's 4th. That's good. Although I would have liked to see his brother higher up in the standings.


Day 1 (http://www.racing-underground.com/dwld.ru/1561/WRC.2007.Round03.Norway.Day1.XviD.Eurosport.Englis h.avi.torrent)
Day 2 (http://www.racing-underground.com/dwld.ru/1564/WRC.2007.Round3.Norway.Day2.Eurosport.XviD.English .torrent)
SS17 (http://www.racing-underground.com/dwld.ru/1571/WRC.2007.Round3.Norway.Sunday.SS17.Hamar2.Eurospor t2.XviD.English.torrent)
Day 3 (http://www.racing-underground.com/dwld.ru/1574/WRC.2007.Round03.Norway.Day3.XviD.Eurosport.Englis h.avi.torrent)

no seeds FTL

Where the hell are the Eurosport feeds? Are they not covering it?!

Atkinson stuffed it in a ditch. Hirvonen is unstoppable.

-19 minutes.

ha ha, Loeb stuffed it! maybe he's human afterall? looks like he lost 8 min on ss12.
Mikko seems unstoppable, we'll see on that last woppin stage tomorrow.
Now Petter is third and only 3:30 min back--c'mon you can catch them Fords:lol:

rally-live.com
News after SS12:


After going off, Loeb will have to battle to get back into a points paying position

The Lillehammer stage, famous for the ski jump, was expected to be a relatively easy 6km drive for the rally drivers following the demands of the Mountain stage.

While the BP Ford duo of Mikko Hirvonen and Marcus Gronholm set the second and the fastest times respectively, Sebastien Loeb found himself in all sorts of trouble. Loeb started the stage 19.2 second behind the second placed Gronholm but went off into a snow bank his Citroen losing nearly eight minutes in the process.

The Monte Carlo rally winner is now in 11th position 86 seconds behind the P-WRC entry driven by Juho Hanninen. Back to the front and Hirvonen has a 21.3 seconds lead over Gronholm who is no longer under pressure from behind.

Meanwhile, the battle over what had been fourth position – now third - is proving a closely fought contest. Petter Solberg started the stage 10.7 seconds ahead of Henning Solberg and actually managed to extend that advantage for Subaru by an additional 2.2 seconds with the third fastest stage time. Clearly the grip problems encountered on the Mountain stage were not so severe this time for Petter.

Henning Solberg was fourth fastest on the stage for Stobart Ford ahead of team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala who has been going so well following his time penalties yesterday. Gigi Galli started the stage in sixth position overall in his Citroen Xsara WRC but lost over 90 seconds on the stage dropping behind Latvala and also OMV driver Manfred Stohl.

With Loeb hitting trouble and dropping down the order, Latvala takes over fifth position ahead of Stohl with Galli now in seventh position overall with Daniel Carlsson promoted to eighth.

Special stage 13 gets underway at 14.00 CET, but it is now looking pretty good for the BP Ford World Rally Team.






Day 2 - Overall as of SS13

1.Hirvonen - Ford - 2h32'29"7
2.Gronholm - Ford - 2h32'50"7
3.P.Solberg - Subaru - 2h36'18"1 :D
4.H.Solberg - Ford - 2h36'27"4 :)
5.Latvala - Ford - 2h37'41"0
6.Stohl - Cit Xsara - 2h38'38"0
7.Galli - Cit Xsara - 2h38'49"8
8.Pons - Mitsu - 2h40'29"8
9.Carlsson - Cit Xsara - 2h40'49"1
10.Kopecky - Skoda - 2h42'10"8

End of Day 2

Overall as of SS14:


1.Hirvonen - Ford - 2h33'45"2
2.Gronholm - Ford - 2h34'04"5
3.P.Solberg - Subaru - 2h37'33"5 :D
4.H.Solberg - Ford - 2h37'43"4 :)
5.Latvala - Ford - 2h39'02"1
6.Stohl - Cit Xsara - 2h39'56"3
7.Galli - Cit Xsara - 2h40'06"9
8.Pons - Mitsu - 2h41'47"0
9.Carlsson - Cit Xsara - 2h42'08"5
10.Kopecky - Skoda - 2h43'28"3

Despite Loeb's troubles, he's no slouch at pretty much any rally for the rest for the season, except for maybe Finland. He'll be right there with Marcus the rest of the way.

I'm undecided on which of the two leading Fords I would want to see win. It would be a great to see Mikko pick up a win but Marcus is the only one with a chance to unseat Loeb and he needs all the points he can get.

Go Petter!

no seeds FTL

Last time I checked there were 8 seeds. :confused:

Watched Day 2 already. Loeb was having trouble with his pace notes from day 1. He was off on SS12 and again on SS13! Mikko's doing great.

End of Day 3 summary:

Mikko Hirvonen took victory for Ford in the inaugural Rally Norway WRC event, with team mate Marcus Grönholm in a close second place, quashing earlier speculation that the team might ask Mikko to allow Marcus to win for his position in the championship.

Henning Solberg came out on top from the brotherly battle for third, beating little brother Petter by 16.5 seconds after a storming third leg on Sunday for the Team Expert driver Solberg had to make do with fourth after struggling on the final day with shorter studs on his tyres but he fought tooth and nail to the end to try and out-do his brother.

Jari-Matti Latvala from Finland claimed more points for Ford in 5th place, and Swede Daniel Carlsson took seventh. Eight of the top ten drivers were from the Nordic countries, with Italian Gigi Galli in sixth and Jan Kopecky from the Czech Republic the only non-Scandinavians to claw their way into the top set.

Local heroes Rune Dalsjø and Andreas Mikkelsen came 9th and 10th respectively, proving themselves more than capable in front of the home crowd. Mikkelsen's achievement is particularly noteworthy as the seventeen year old is a relative newcomer and doesn't yet have a driving license in Norway.

Champion Sébastian Loeb had been showing strong results in the first Leg and fist half of Leg 2 but he planted his Citroen in a snow bank on SS12 and lost eight minutes getting clear.


Day 3 Overall:

1.Hirvonen - Ford - 3h28'17"0
2.Gronholm - Ford - 3h28'26"5
3.H.Solberg - Ford - 3h32'01"6
4.P.Solberg - Subaru 3h32'18"1 :)
5.Latvala - Ford - 3h33'47"7
6.Galli - Cit Xsara - 3h35'22"2
7.Carlsson - Cit Xsara - 3h37'40"7
8.Kopecky - Skoda - 3h40'06"9
9.Dalsjo - Subaru - 3h41'48"8
10.Mikkelsen - Ford - 3h42'45"7

Congrats to Mikko.

He's one hell of a Focus driver.

ha ha, Loeb stuffed it! maybe he's human afterall?

I think the servo upgrade, i.e. 'breaking his arm' wasn't quite up to the task of two weeks in such cold weather. The shoulder probably got just stiff enough to throw him off. ;)

Tom

If Subaru ditched Atkinson for Henning... or is Atkinson really that promising?

ps

Congrats to Petter for a solid finish. Also, can't wait for the new Impreza debut next month.

No, it's just goes to show you how much better the Focus is than the Impreza.

-chet

wow guys i was really rutting for peter this year... with the new tires i was hopeing he'd do better... i can't wait to see norway this weekend i'm currently downloading the 1st and 2nd day of racing... i also heard they will release the new 07 sti in Mexico which is great news for me since i'm going to go watch the race!! ;D

Wow! I can't believe Petter didn't crash!

He achieved an actual points paying position! It truly is a miracle.........

But on the Eurosport coverage they mentioned that Petter was hampered by tires with studs that were too short BECAUSE THE TEAM RAN OUT OF LONGER STUD TIRES???!!!

WTF is up with that? A professional rally team doesn't bring enough tires to a snow event? GEEZ, I hope they remember to bring something other than tarmac tires to Mexico!!

Anyway, congrats to Petter for finishing at all, lets hope this is going to become commonplace in the future.

Has anyone got any photos of the new rally car??

Henning had a HUGE lead on Petter in S15. Petter was around 16 seconds down with short studs through the rest of the stages. Can't really blame Petter for that error. Solid 4th place finish was good. Hopefully he'll be able to keep it up. Can't wait for Mexico and the new car.

Beautiful drive by Mikko. And it was nice to see Loeb stuff it...maybe it is a sign that his pace notes are just too good for the other events.

Nice to see Petter finish a rally in the points, too. :)

WTF is up with that? A professional rally team doesn't bring enough tires to a snow event? GEEZ, I hope they remember to bring something other than tarmac tires to Mexico!!

IIRC, they don't "bring" tires. They order what they think they will need ahead of time and the respective tire manufacturers deliver them at the event.

IIRC, they don't "bring" tires. They order what they think they will need ahead of time and the respective tire manufacturers deliver them at the event.

Yes, they are only allowed a limited number of tires and must select those tires 2 weeks before the event.

And it was nice to see Loeb stuff it...maybe it is a sign that his pace notes are just too good for the other events.

Yup, if you look back at all the stages from last year, Loeb and gronholm were closer to the rest of the pack on new stages.

I like'd Markus's comments about the 2 Ford's leading.

Yes, Yes,
They are the same car,
They are painted the same,
They seem to go the same speed....

^^ Gronholm always gives great interviews! :lol:

The impreza is just too big and bulky to compete with the Focus and C4.

After watching the Norway rips, that only confirms it. The car simply wont work without active diffs. Notice how sideways Solberg was, scrubbing speed and out of the tramlines compared to the Focuses.

This year is going to be another disaster.

I was happy to see that smile on Hirvonens face, he earned that one.

The impreza is just too big and bulky to compete with the Focus and C4.

After watching the Norway rips, that only confirms it. The car simply wont work without active diffs. Notice how sideways Solberg was, scrubbing speed and out of the tramlines compared to the Focuses.

This year is going to be another disaster.

I was happy to see that smile on Hirvonens face, he earned that one.

All the more reason to build the new smaller hatchback STI Impreza for 08.

Wow, what a cliffhanger. I just finished Day 3 and I thought Autoweek spoiled it for me! I was reading through their most resent issue and seen a giant two-page picture of a Focus plowing through the snow. For some reason I read the caption which mentioned Gronholm winning, and quickly went 'AH ****!' and turned the page. I watched all of Days 2 and 3 waiting to see how Hirvonen blew it. What a great surprise! There's no doubt that he'll end up a future WRC world champion.

The picture must have been from Rally Sweden. :lol:

Are there any pics out yet of the new WRC car that is to be introduced at Mexico??

The S14 will look almost identical to the S12. The hatchback-based STi WRC won't debut until 2008.

I like'd Markus's comments about the 2 Ford's leading.

Yes, Yes,
They are the same car,
They are painted the same,
They seem to go the same speed....

Also great-

Q: Why can't you catch your teammate?

A: Because I can't.

Q: Why not?

A: :confused: Because I can't. It's simple. :huh:

:lol:

The S14 will look almost identical to the S12. The hatchback-based STi WRC won't debut until 2008.

That's disappointing. Of course I won't care if the car has pace, they really need a dose of speed, it is clear the Fords and the Citroen are teh fast4r.

^^^^^ and perhaps a better driver than Slowberg

^^^^^ and perhaps a better driver than Slowberg

Yes because being a min behind after 3 days of world class rallying is considered slow.:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

I like'd Markus's comments about the 2 Ford's leading.

Yes, Yes,
They are the same car,
They are painted the same,
They seem to go the same speed....
After listening to that interview it almost sounded like Marcus was upset that team orders didn't come down and give him the victory.

After listening to that interview it almost sounded like Marcus was upset that team orders didn't come down and give him the victory.

I think he was more upset that the reporters kept pestering him about why he's behind his teammate. Although I'm sure he wouldn't have minded if the order came down for Mikko to let him pass.

I think he was more upset that the reporters kept pestering him about why he's behind his teammate. Although I'm sure he wouldn't have minded if the order came down for Mikko to let him pass.

Wouldn't happen. Not with rumors of Gronholm calling it quits after this season. Mikko would be in the #1 car, he needs the experience of winning rallies.

Besides if Granholm wanted the win so bad, why didn't he catch Mikko? :D

Yes because being a min behind after 3 days of world class rallying is considered slow.:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

4 minutes, not 1

Wouldn't happen. Not with rumors of Gronholm calling it quits after this season. Mikko would be in the #1 car, he needs the experience of winning rallies.

Besides if Granholm wanted the win so bad, why didn't he catch Mikko? :D

Good point. I do hope the rumors surrounding Gronholm's retirement are just that, though. I'd like to see him stick it out one more year.
Personally I'm glad team orders didn't get played. Nothing wrong with a little healthy competition between teammates. :)