Global Rallycross Championship

S

SuperShouden

(Banned)
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SuperShouden
This is a NASCAR sponsored series and will have 5 rounds:

1. Charlotte Motor Speedway - May 26th
2. Texas Motor Speedway - June 9th
3. X-Games in LA - June 30th
4. New Hampshire Motor Speedway - July 1st
5. Las Vegas Motor Speedway - September 29th


The field consists of a lot of good talent like Tanner Foust, Rhys Millan, Travis Pastrana, Sam Hubinette, Ken Block, Brian Deegan and others.

The first round was pretty exciting. But, I will say it was a little frustrating to see Thomos Heikkinen pretty much turn into a troll racer from Forza. You know, one of those idiots who lacks the skill to when a race fairly, so they just crash EVERYONE they can. Yeah, he took out Travis Pastrana and Dave Mirra and tried to take out the race leader at the very beginning of the race. Luckily, GRC blacked flagged him and he essentially got DQed from the final race, moving him to the back of that pack.

That said....this should be a crazy series.
 
SuperShouden
I will say it was a little frustrating to see Thomos Heikkinen pretty much turn into a troll racer from Forza. You know, one of those idiots who lacks the skill to when a race fairly, so they just crash EVERYONE they can. Yeah, he took out Travis Pastrana and Dave Mirra and tried to take out the race leader at the very beginning of the race.
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Got a video of it? I only saw the last-chance qualifying round on YouTube and Heikkinen wasn't in it.

Rockr
Ha ya it's not much of a rallycross more of a NASCAR goes rally car style
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That round was. There was a demonstration round last year that had dirt roads. And the X-Games circuit last year also had dirt.
 
SuperShouden
The field consists of a lot of good talent like Tanner Foust, Rhys Millan, Travis Pastrana, Sam Hubinette, Ken Block, Brian Deegan and others.
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I'd like to add to that list 3 time European Rallycross Champion Sverre Isachsen (who had some problems with the car, was going towards the final when he suddenly slowed down) and 2 time WRC Champion Marcus Grönholm who won the event.

SuperShouden
The first round was pretty exciting. But, I will say it was a little frustrating to see Thomos Heikkinen pretty much turn into a troll racer from Forza. You know, one of those idiots who lacks the skill to when a race fairly, so they just crash EVERYONE they can. Yeah, he took out Travis Pastrana and Dave Mirra and tried to take out the race leader at the very beginning of the race. Luckily, GRC blacked flagged him and he essentially got DQed from the final race, moving him to the back of that pack.
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I don't know what kind of brainfart went into Toomas. Even though he is young, he is experienced rallycross driver and seeing him in Finnish and European Rallycross, I was really surprised to see those shunts. The first with Marcus was "normal", Marcus did some mid corner braking which Toomas didn't expect and a little tap to the back. Pastrana incident, I couldn't see if he hit Pastrana to the back, or if Travis went wide and he went for the gap inside. The camera angle doesn't show it. But the Mirra incident was 100% Toomas fault and inexcusable. But I believe we won't see such wreckdriving from Toomas in coming events.

I was disappointed for the lack of gravel as well.

 
This seems stupid.

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Whats the point!!!!

At least Charlotte had a different layout, and get some dirt!!!
 
vompatti
I'd like to add to that list 3 time European Rallycross Champion Sverre Isachsen (who had some problems with the car, was going towards the final when he suddenly slowed down) and 2 time WRC Champion Marcus Grönholm who won the event.


I don't know what kind of brainfart went into Toomas. Even though he is young, he is experienced rallycross driver and seeing him in Finnish and European Rallycross, I was really surprised to see those shunts. The first with Marcus was "normal", Marcus did some mid corner braking which Toomas didn't expect and a little tap to the back. Pastrana incident, I couldn't see if he hit Pastrana to the back, or if Travis went wide and he went for the gap inside. The camera angle doesn't show it. But the Mirra incident was 100% Toomas fault and inexcusable. But I believe we won't see such wreckdriving from Toomas in coming events.

I was disappointed for the lack of gravel as well.

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There was one angle where it looked like Thoomas tapped Travis in the back panel, but, yeah, it's a little hard to see, but I don't know if the shove into the wall was entirely due to the water on the track. And yes, Mirra's spin was clearly on purpose. That's why you don't pull stuff like that when you have a camera on your roof. And considering that stunt took him from 3rd to 10th, I also seriously doubt he'll be doing that again. All the drivers have a lot of talent, and it was a big WTF moment seeing a talented driver pull something like that.

Justin
This seems stupid.

GRC_LVMS.png


GRC_TMS.png


Whats the point!!!!


Yeah, that is pretty stupid. I agree. I know the X-games course will be a true Rallycross course as it has been every year. I think the only reason there isn't dirt is because the NASCAR race is the next day, it's easier to move metal ramps than dirt...heck they were telling guys not to touch the grass. But, without dirt, it's just Autocross. Still...the racing isn't bad, but, they DO need to change up the routes, other wise it's gonna be confusing. I think the Las Vegas one should be bigger and badder. Maybe use the road courses and get some dirt.

At least Charlotte had a different layout, and get some dirt!!!
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Yes, and if you look at the Vegas one, you'll notice the overlay doesn't match the track layout. So Vegas will be different than what is shown. Someone just failed at making that map.
 
I was at GRC round 1, and the track itself needed more work to really put on a show. I hope they learned from first event on some issues they had.

It was a shame to see how easy Travis' car broke after contact, and it seemed Thomos has the clean inside but got into Pastrana to make sure he was clear.

I'm not sure water was the best to fill the barriers because the leaked all race long. Sand seems better and doesn't cause major issues.
 
Wilbur
I'm not sure water was the best to fill the barriers because the leaked all race long. Sand seems better and doesn't cause major issues.
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I think the water was the only saving grace of that race.:lol:
 
Justin
I think the water was the only saving grace of that race.:lol:
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Well it did add an element but the water feature was in wrong area IMHO. It caused issues with the wall being right there for few guys.
 
Las Vegas layout has been updated - but not by much:

TMS_Track_Thumb.png


I'm guessing that they're really limited by the layout of the ovals.
 
Timed practice results from http://www.rallycross.com/
1. Marcus Grönholm (FIN), Ford Fiesta Mk7 T16 4x4 26.116
2. Tanner Foust (USA), Ford Fiesta Mk7 T16 4x4 26.125
3. Liam Doran (GB), Citroën C4 T16 4x4 26.408
4. Ken Block (USA), Ford Fiesta Mk7 T16 4x4 26.416
5. Samuel Hübinette (S), SAAB 9-3 ASS T16 4x4 26.715
6. Brian Deegan (USA), Ford Fiesta Mk7 T16 4x4 26.753
7. Toomas Heikkinen (FIN), Ford Fiesta Mk7 T16 4x4 26.896
8. Travis Pastrana (USA), Dodge Dart T16 4x4 26.976
9. Andy Scott (GB), SAAB 9-3 ASS T16 4x4 27.071
10. Sverre Isachsen (N), Subaru Impreza GR WRX STI 27.167
11. Rhys Millen (NZ), Hyundai Veloster T16 4x4 27.248
12. David Binks (GB), Ford Fiesta Mk7 T16 4x4 27.361
13. Dave Mirra (USA), Subaru Impreza GR WRX STI 27.559
14. Filipe Albuquerque (P), Dodge Dart T16 4x4 27.629
15. 'Bucky' Lasek (USA), Subaru Impreza GR WRX STI 27.800
16. Jimmy Keeney (USA), Subaru Impreza GD WRX STI 28.837
17. Patrick Moro (USA), Subaru Impreza GD WRX STI 29.358
18. Stéphane Verdier (F), Hyundai Veloster T16 4x4 29.832
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I'm still surprised by the lack of pace from Sverre Isachsen. I think that either the car he used in Europe was above the competition or the car he is using in US is not as good as the competition. He was, I think I dare to say, constantly faster than Tanner, Toomas and Liam in ERC.

Slightly OT, it's been really nice to see Tanner in ERC last and this season. I've really grown to respect his driving abilities. Before his trips to European events I didn't really know him at all. He definitely is a fast and daring driver, capable of ERC event wins.

Btw. there are nice highlights from ERC events on ERX TV in http://www.rallycross.com/. Definitely worth watching if you have interest for the sport. And yes, it's tarmac+gravel :)
 
Watching this right now and the heats have been fairly close, my only complaint with the track so far is the narrowing after the hairpin, it takes away one of the best passing opportunities on the track, otherwise a pretty good competition so far.

Edit: Please tell me somebody just saw Round 2 LCQ :dunce:
 
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GT_Jwolf
Watching this right now and the heats have been fairly close, my only complaint with the track so far is the narrowing after the hairpin, it takes away one of the best passing opportunities on the track, otherwise a pretty good competition so far.

Edit: Please tell me somebody just saw Round 2 LCQ :dunce:
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You mean the one where Toomas took himself out of the race...again. By the way, I LOVED his "explanations" to his "accidents" in round one. "I was holding my line. Travis just took a bad line." "Oh, Dave was trying to pass me and I just shut the door." 1. Holding your line doesn't involve slamming another driver into the wall. 2. Dave CLEARLY wasn't trying to pass you, you idiot. It's VERY clear from the video you turned into Dave from BEHIND him. You spun his ass out. It's clear you were trying to play dirty Toomas, just fess up to it and try hard not to be in the same race with those two again 'cause you're gonna get taken out. Especially if one of them is already loosing, and sees the opportunity....they might just have the "hold their line" or "close the door" on you, too. Personally, him DQing himself AGAIN...is karma....but only part of it...the other part is coming.

All in all a CRAZY race. Three restarts? You could HEAR Tanner's Ford was NOT happy at all. None of those cars went home without a scratch. You can do a race with a 63+foot jump and not get some nasty damage to your cars.

And Travis dislocated his shoulder? Yeah, that should be a warning to anyone that wants to be a race car driver. Those steering wheels are beasts.
 
When I was talking about Round 2 about LCQ it was not only Toomas but everybody else but one person was taken out due to mechanical failure as well.
 
@prisonermonkeys, thanks for the video link.

SuperShouden
You mean the one where Toomas took himself out of the race...again. By the way, I LOVED his "explanations" to his "accidents" in round one. "I was holding my line. Travis just took a bad line." "Oh, Dave was trying to pass me and I just shut the door." 1. Holding your line doesn't involve slamming another driver into the wall. 2. Dave CLEARLY wasn't trying to pass you, you idiot. It's VERY clear from the video you turned into Dave from BEHIND him. You spun his ass out. It's clear you were trying to play dirty Toomas, just fess up to it and try hard not to be in the same race with those two again 'cause you're gonna get taken out. Especially if one of them is already loosing, and sees the opportunity....they might just have the "hold their line" or "close the door" on you, too. Personally, him DQing himself AGAIN...is karma....but only part of it...the other part is coming.
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In the interviews it seemed to me a bit like they were a little tongue in the cheek (they sure weren't after the first race). I got a bit of a feeling that they had settle up in the backround, but they thought that big rivalry would be good advertising for the series. At least I hope so, I really hope that Toomas really doesn't think that is what happened in the first event :lol:

Solid but also lucky win for Marcus with those restarts. What comes to the big jump, I've never quite understood these big jumps where the drivers have to slam the brakes not to brake their car in the landing. Wouldn't a smaller jump be enough, just make sure it is sized so that they can drive it flat out. I would rather watch that than the whole group braking for the jump.

And naturally I miss gravel, it really doesn't feel like Rallycross without gravel. Does X-Games have tarmac and gravel?
 
vompatti
@prisonermonkeys, thanks for the video link.


In the interviews it seemed to me a bit like they were a little tongue in the cheek (they sure weren't after the first race). I got a bit of a feeling that they had settle up in the backround, but they thought that big rivalry would be good advertising for the series. At least I hope so, I really hope that Toomas really doesn't think that is what happened in the first event :lol:

Solid but also lucky win for Marcus with those restarts. What comes to the big jump, I've never quite understood these big jumps where the drivers have to slam the brakes not to brake their car in the landing. Wouldn't a smaller jump be enough, just make sure it is sized so that they can drive it flat out. I would rather watch that than the whole group braking for the jump.

And naturally I miss gravel, it really doesn't feel like Rallycross without gravel. Does X-Games have tarmac and gravel?
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Yes, usually, X-Games has tarmac and gravel. Inside the stadium is all dirt and then they climb up and out of the stadium for the tarmac section. It's designed usually like a classic Crossover track, as well, which I think is pretty sweet.

This will probably be the only track with dirt, so we'll see how it goes. Then it's off to more big jumps onto pavement. It's a good thing the gap between races is so long, because these cars NEED a good fixing up in between with these jumps. I do agree, that something like the first round that had a small jump and not a huge one is just fine. There's no need to screw the cars up more than they already get.

If you want to get a since of the X-Games tracks, Dirt 2 has three of them, including an LA stage that pretty accurately simulates what a typical X-Games track is like...except the big dirt jump is usually inside the stadium...and not so big.

EDIT: Also, even if Toomas, Mira and Travis all made up behind the scenes...Mira and Pastrana still own Toomas for what he pulled. They can joke about it, but...wait until they're in a race together. I wouldn't be surprised to see Travis and/or Mira get a little payback in some way.

I'm also waiting for the Darts and the Saabs to pull victories out. Those Saabs are pretty fast, and if Sam and his teammate wouldn't launch them over the jumps like they did last week, then they might be able to pull out a win. And if Travis can stay in a race long enough, he might be able to eek out a victory as well. His poor Dart though...two races it's already had to get four front axels put on it because three of them got snapped. Obviously, the first round was just a bad quality axel, though. I mean, it didn't take a lot to break the first two. The third axel, though...well...landing a 2000+lb car on asphalt like that would break almost any axel. That was a HARD landing. Apparently, Dave Mirra also screwed up his car going over a jump which is why he wasn't much of a contender this week.
 
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Quick (stupid?) question:

How is this global and how is it rallycross when it rough said is NASCAR in rally cars and right hand corners?

Definitions of the bolded words from Wikipedia:

Global means of or referring to a globe

Rallycross is a form of sprint style automobile racing, held on a closed mixed-surface racing circuit

Take note of the underlined words and ask yourself:

Is the Global Rallycross Championship global?

Is the Global Rallycross Championship rallycross?

My answer would be no to both but if you have a different opinion, then it's good too, we're all different.
 
It's Global in that there are drivers from all over the globe competing. 2011 was set up a bit better. It only featured 3 rounds and a final round at the X-Games, but, the tracks....were actual Rallycross tracks with dirt and tarmac. The tracks used last year were Irwindale Speedway in CA, Old Mill Rally Park in Seattle and Pikes Peak Speedway in Colorado. Three much smaller circuits that are probably a bit more used to tossing dirty down for some slippin' and sliding than the larger NASCAR tracks used this year. Of course, since this series is apparently a NASCAR run event, they HAD to make it bigger and more...present at their events. But, I agree, so far, it's been more Autocross and less Rallycross. Maybe New Hampshire will throw some some dirt. A Dirt jump would be nice, especially if the big gap jump is followed by a corner. And a pile of dirt would be easier on the cars. But...X-Games and maybe NH are the only ones with room for dirt. NASCAR probably isn't going to dirty up one of their tracks just before a race, though. I also like the idea of having the X-Games as the final. That's in a more championship style structure, anyway.

However...despite that...it has made for some pretty entertaining racing so far. But...MORE DIRT!
 
All I'm saying is, if I want to see cars on a tarmac track I go watch DTM or similar, when it has something to do with the word "rally" there better be dirt
 
prisonermonkeys
I take it you've never heard of the Rally Monte Carlo, then?
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I have, look at my name and avatar, Rally Monte Carlo is a completely different thing you know. And at least it's part of a partly off-road focused championship, just saying

Besides, I've watched the WRC and all other off-road events I could since 2005
 
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Like I said, the GRC had actual Rallycross tracks last year that featured both dirt and tarmac. Why they changed it this year, I have no idea. They also had split the cars into multiple classes last year featuring separate class races for AWD and 2WD cars. Hopefully, GRC will switch back to the dirt next year and the multiple classes.

Switching the format probably had a lot to do with NASCAR wanting to make NASCAR events like more of a variety show. It's now like you go to a NASCAR race and they'll usually have some sort of exhibition to watch before hand. Whether it's Grand-Am, CTSCC, GRC or whatever. It's like the motorbikes and demo derbies at Monster Truck Rallies.

I mean, All the courses are on the front straight of the circuit, right in front of the main grandstands. They could easily have more variety in what they could do if they used some of the road courses, but, I think most of the road courses are used up...although...Don't Vegas AND Texas both have road courses? New Hampshire's course should be pretty good, and I think they could easily throw some dirt on there if they weren't holding a NASCAR race that weekend. The first round's course was also not bad. Still...it needed more dirt, and, if you use the Road courses...you can cover those with dirt at least partially. But...again...that would take the action AWAY from the main grandstands.
 

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