be sure and follow along...
http://www.rally-live.com/en/

live updates, pics...

it's happening NOW people!!!

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Colin McRae and Richard Burns battled it out for the honour of fastest man down through but it was the Scot who won that confrontation. Carlos Sainz continued to prove that being from one of the sunshine states of the world doesn't make for a bad driver. His Ford Focus was third swiftest and Sainz now takes hold of the lead.

hit the link and read the full story...

COME ON BURNSY!!!

j.

HUH I can`t post here???
come on...

He's got a lot of work to do.
I hope he can make up all that time.

Go Subaru!!! That cagey veteran Sainz is always strong here though, anyone doing the FantasyRally thing?

Mike

13 full minutes worth of time. http://www.i-club.com/ubb-files/smilies/frown.gif

Hey, I'll be happy when he gets back on track and starts to show those consistent strong times again. http://www.i-club.com/ubb-files/smilies/smile.gif

I am, but I cant seem to join any group. At the moment it's just me, myself, and I.

Justin

How come the cars are all left hand drive when most of them are Japanese. I used to have a mini Cooper when I lived in England and right hand drive rules.

Justin

Most of the rallies in the WRC are in Europe where they drive on the wrong side of the road, so they build the cars LHD to make it easier for them http://www.i-club.com/ubb-files/smilies/smile.gif plus when on stage, it doesnt really matter which side of the car you are http://www.i-club.com/ubb-files/smilies/wink.gif its always sideways anyway http://www.i-club.com/ubb-files/smilies/smile.gif

13 minutes because of a snowbank?!?!?! ARRRGGGHHHHHH. I think Reid needs to practice his car pushing.

Curt

Subie Gal and the rest of the rally nuts out their.. here is my take on things so far.

The Peugeot's are finally starting to show teething problems from last years unbelievable reliability. Gronholm has to show some character here as Burns did last year when the Subaru was less than reliable. He had a large hiccup this year, and is facing a huge deficit. I hope he can scrape up those 13 minutes, but I just don't see that happening. Lets pray for broken cars for Ford. I just could not live with myself if Ford won the WRC. Sheesh, what a terrible thought!

Lets buckle down, give the trunk monkey a bear, and pray to the Subi Gods to give Burns TRACTION!

SCRAPPYDO out!
stephen

where's juha?! did he leave?

and toshihiro arai?! i know he's on the team, he just joined!!!

Juha is not really part of the team at this point.. i believe he's going to run an event or 2.. but that's it...

Toshiro is not a full time driver and will be brought in for specific events...

teams utilize different drivers for each event... you will see Burns in every challenge, but his back up drivers will change..

j.

Toshi does drive for Subaru, but he is not a permanently appointed driver for WRC events. I think he runs in the All Stars class? He has been with ProDrive for a few years now and is looking to make the move to a full fledged WRC driver soon. The Japanese manufacturer's would like nothing more then a bonified WRC Championship contender from Japan.

Oh man. I can't believe they are in 34th place. They made up about 30 seconds but, whoa! This doesn't look good.

2 days to go...

who knows...

burns was in 20-something place after day 1 of the rac... and he WON! u never know...

j. *crossing eyes, fingers and toes*

Tim, Toshi did make the move to the SWRT this year but as Subie Gal mentioned, will only run a select few events. Personally, I like the guy and hope he does well. Every picture you see of him, he is alwasy smiling http://www.i-club.com/ubb-files/smilies/smile.gif

It truly does suck that Markko and Burns got a bit of bad luck thrown their way early. Since SS6 I believe all three Impreza WRC's have been in the top 8 or 9 places for fastest stage times with Burns clicking off a few fastest times. So despite their current positions, Burns, Martin, and Solberg having been running very strong and the Imprezas are all still running( http://www.i-club.com/ubb-files/smilies/wink.gif )

Peter has been doing VERY well against all the veterans. Very impressive thus far.

Looks like I am a little behind the power curve. http://www.i-club.com/ubb-files/smilies/wink.gif

I got a chance to talk to Toshi via the internet during the Great Britian Rally the year before last. That smile of his isn't fake. He is a great guy with a wonderful sense of humour.

Damit we are losing to a hyundai. I'm leaving my subaru in the grage. I am ashamed.

Burns is still doing a stellar job, and so is Subaru. Take a look at his time, subtract 13 minutes from it and viola, Burns has a minute plus lead. Its just plain bad luck that he got stuck in a snowbank where there weren't any spectators. Its why they call it racing! http://www.i-club.com/ubb-files/smilies/biggrin.gif

I kind of wish Juha was here for this rally... Maybe when they head over to Finland?

I've been trying to wear my "good luck" Subaru WRC jacket, but it's not turned on yet... I can't find the bloody switch on it! So I guess it's my fault that Subaru isn't doing as well as I had hoped... but I'm not giving up hope! I also am watching it on http://www.rally-live.com and ttp://www.worldrallynews.com and http://www.swrt.com. Yah, I know it's the same information, but it's interesting what each has to say about the race, retirements, other drivers, etc.

Go Subaru!

Berns

Fantastic point Tim. Today's stage times so far( up to and including SS16) have Burns and Markko in the top three for every stage, with many of the stages placing first and second!

Anyone who says Subaru did poorly in this rally, obviously isn't looking at the whole picture. The fact is if it weren't for two early( but costly) mistakes, Subaru dominated this rally. Hats off to Burns and Markko for never giving up and giving it 100 percent to the end. And another hats off to Petter Solberg for not giving it 100 percent and driving to gain experience and not to try and make a name for himself in the WRC too quickly. Subaru and Prodrive have to be pleased with both the performance of their cars and their drivers during this event.

The worse thing about the rally is that if the positions stay where they are, Mitsubishi is going to take a HUGE lead in manufacturer's points. And Subaru gets another "0". Better things are sure to come.

BTW Tim, good stuff about Toshi. Hopefully he does a respectable job in the drives that he does get this year.


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[This message has been edited by Shik (edited February 11, 2001).]

That was one breath taking rally. Tommi had an easy six points sewn up, but that red mist, the drive to win overcame his better judgement and he made a costly mistake. Still, I'm glad to see Tommi making a race of it rather then "settling" for a mere six points.

Both Colin and Richard were on fire today. Burns set several fastest stages and generally put in a very good drive. Of course, its a bit easier to drive with absolutely no pressure once your rally is essientally over. Still, I can't wait to see some of the footage of those drives. Kudos to Burns for putting in a stellar performance. He never gave up, and he never said die.

I do hope Juha gets to drive in Finland. The man can still get the job done, and in Finland... well, you can never right off Juha at his home rally.

Okay Prodrive, we've had our development runs. Now let put some points on the board! http://www.i-club.com/ubb-files/smilies/biggrin.gif