the future of WRC and the 2009 season...

[Fidelity101]

Turns out there is a big group of rally enthusiasts here on the boards, I'd figure I would shed some light on the up and coming season.

A lot of shit has been happening recently and the 09 season starts in Jan with round 1 Ireland.

Rumors of Marcus Gronholm may run a few rallies but not compete in a whole season since subaru/prodrive quit after 20 years because "they reached their marketing goal" and are not looking to make this a short leave of absence

Suzuki pulls out of WRC with their two car SX4 team but will continue to support the super 1600 and suzuki swift programs

Christ Atkinson and Petter Solberg have a contract with Subaru till end of 09, despite all of this... somehow

The team manager of Citroen will also be the team boss of Peugot which will come in for the 09 season

Registration ends for Rally Ireland on christmas eve

Leob wins Race of Champions

tire tweaks are a must, rules are going under change and stipulation for 2009 and 2010 seaons

Instead, the WRC kit is believed to be limited to a turbo, revised inlet and exhaust manifolds, a quicker gearshift mechanism (with steering wheel paddle shift) and an aero package consisting of a rear wing and front spoiler. The bolt-on kit will cost under 30.000 Euros and should give the cars an extra 50bhp.


info:

http://wrc.com/jsp/index.jsp?lnk=110

shits goin nuts





keep checking this thread for updates!

[88turboii]

and no 4wd in 2010, so FWD turbo only.. which would be horrible. I hope they at least change the running order for next year back the way it was (reversed top 10)

[need RX7]

and no 4wd in 2010, so FWD turbo only..
Seriously? Ghey...

[Phoenix7]

what???? no AWD?? :svengo:

[Fidelity101]

and no 4wd in 2010, so FWD turbo only.. which would be horrible. I hope they at least change the running order for next year back the way it was (reversed top 10)

what are you talking about, got a source to back that BS up? They are just trying to move away from expensive race cars to make it more competitive for smaller teams. As for cars, they are still AWD. You cant have AWD for super 2000 group for TOURING cars, rally cars are permitted to have AWD still.

"Leading manufacturers remain opposed to this and propose a compromise Super 2000-plus, which is a base S2000 car with a kit of bolt-on parts such as a turbo-charger and a rear wing. It's the cost and complexity of the kit that's causing concern for the FIA.

The FIA also confirmed that Group N cars, including the existing S2000, will be retained in the Production Car World Rally Championship"




-Autosport.com



thats TOTALLY different than only FWD cars

[88turboii]

As for cars, they are still AWD. You cant have AWD for super 2000 group for TOURING cars, rally cars are permitted to have AWD still.

ah ok i did not know this. I thought all s2000 cars were FWD. that makes me feel better, but turbos are not permitted correct? which is almost just as bad. unless they create the s2000+ class mentioned above

[Fidelity101]

the super 1600 are FWD and non turbo

turbos are permitted and they are actually getting a 50BHP boost with the new FIA vehicle package.

[Fidelity101]

Everyone seems to be dropping out but Citroen is going to have a second factory team, a 3 car group

Chris Atkinson (formerly on the subaru team) will be piloting one of them, starting in Jan for rally Ireland in a C4

Former Citroen privateer Rautenbach will now be factory backed in a C4

Sebastien Ogier was the winner for the 2008 JWRC series and for 09 will be apart of this 3 man team dubbed "M2" driving a c4

"It is an M2 team which will predominantly run drivers who are currently learning the sport, and their average age will be 22." Call it a junior driver team but not a junior WRC team (because those are FWD N/A aka super1600)

[hyperlitenerd]

We will see how C. Atkinson does with Citroen, see if Subaru was having car problems or driver problems.

[Fidelity101]

We will see how C. Atkinson does with Citroen, see if Subaru was having car problems or driver problems.

They were having economic problems, so subaru pulled out of WRC and left P. Solberg and Atkinson drivers w/o cars, well chris has one now.

[hyperlitenerd]

They were having economic problems, so subaru pulled out of WRC and left P. Solberg and Atkinson drivers w/o cars, well chris has one now.

Oh I know, but Subaru was having trouble being competitive, and P. Solberg seemed to be pretty vocal about the cars problems in the past.

[Fidelity101]

Oh I got ya now, didn't get it at first. Yeah I have a feeling Atkinson could be quite a shinning star. Sleeper hit for 09 maybe?

[one320fc]

I have been out of the loop for a while, but is there any of the WRC still on TV? I miss watching it

[staticpat]

Versus has been playing some of the Dakar Rally. I haven't seen WRC on any channel in a while.

[88turboii]

only aired on eurosport

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/rally/

[88turboii]

did anybody catch wrc ireland last weekend? they canceled the last two stages on day 1 due to "flooding".. i saw this a few times last year, canceling stages due to weather. its not like they are driving cars designed for extreme conditions or anything :uhh:

nothing but fords and citroens in the points positions, hope its not like that all year

[j_tso]

wow, I didn't know there was no Monte Carlo!

and btw, the only pro teams in WRC are Ford and Citroen, Suzuki and Subaru quit in December. Any other make rallying is a privateer.

[N.RotaryTech]

.

[88turboii]

Petter Solberg got third in Cyprus.. pretty good considering he did it with his privately entered 2006 xsara

[Proxy One]

Sucks that WRC is going into the shitter, I wish all the factory teams would nut up and come back. I miss the days of Mitsubishi, Subaru, Peugeot and Citroen going at it.

[j_tso]

Petter Solberg got third in Cyprus.. pretty good considering he did it with his privately entered 2006 xsara

Also, it had (I heard) 20-30 hp less than the big boys. Others have said he had an advantage with active diffs, but Solberg is trying to secure mechanical ones.

[j_tso]

Sucks that WRC is going into the shitter, I wish all the factory teams would nut up and come back. I miss the days of Mitsubishi, Subaru, Peugeot and Citroen going at it.

That's why the FIA is going ahead with Super 2000 regs, trying to get more manufacturers in with low entry costs. Loeb said he won't compete if they do go with the low power 1.6L rules.

[88turboii]

WRC on TV finally!! and in HD too!

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/09/22/hd-theater-to-begin-screening-wrc-in-october-4-w-video/

[Whizbang]

damn i need to get me some better internet!!!

i can wait for the idaho rally

[blwnrtr93]

I've already got the 1st one set to record on the DVR! I've been missing WRC since SpeedTV quit covering it a few years ago in favor of NASCAR.