WRC Modern Classics Season 2001. Finale!

I was torn between doing Sardegna/Argentina or Mexico/Cyprus; decided to skip the first and do the latter, which I'm gonna say it...........it was a fine looking run :D No problems, no punctures, no penalties, a quick half spin in the penultimate stage as the only main mistake of the run..........and the wear of some parts :lol:

Now I'm gonna do what a real Part-time racer do and take an hiatus until, probably, New Zealand; I don't like the next 3 rallies that are coming (Greece especially), so it's the perfect time to rest a little from the championship :P
 
Mexico is definitely not my favourite event but I'm grinding my way through it atm, El Chocolate is a bitch lol.
I'll finish the last 4 stages tomorrow
 
One thing Mexico highlights for me is the terrible watersplash physics. Even the shallowest stream slows the cars down way too much, the drag coefficient or whatever the used to simulate it is too severe, it's like driving through treacle
 
The tough test of Argentina has finished, the tough conditions early in the rally made car preservation important, some fell by the way side while others tiptoed through to the end. 50% of starters reaching the finish. At the top of the pile was @Spinerkopin taking their 3rd win of the season at the wheel of the Impreza. A gap of nearly 3 minutes back to 2nd place Mistrelwood in the SEAT and @Belgianwaffle a mere 3 seconds further back in P3 in the 2nd of the Imprezas.

RankDisplayNameVehicleTimeDifferenceToFirst
1SpinerkopinSUBARU Impreza 20011:30:170:00:00
2mistrelwoodSEAT Córdoba WRC1:33:080:02:52
3BelgianWaffle78SUBARU Impreza 20011:33:110:02:54
4Space_WadetPeugeot 206 Rally1:33:290:03:12
5GOTMAXPOWERFord Focus RS Rally 20011:35:530:05:36
6SolidNinjaSnakeFord Focus RS Rally 20011:38:000:07:43
7thewrathofwhatSUBARU Impreza 20011:38:150:07:58
8widdlerSUBARU Impreza 20011:38:220:08:05
9Bot_DasherSUBARU Impreza 20011:39:370:09:20
10nowthenfellaSEAT Córdoba WRC1:41:290:11:12
11Meadow142Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI1:44:140:13:57
12mmf1_PSFord Focus RS Rally 20011:52:150:21:58
13bigfatflipSUBARU Impreza 20011:54:500:24:33
14magpieracerSEAT Córdoba WRC1:55:460:25:30

This allows @Spinerkopin to extend the lead at the top of the championship to 17 points over @Belgianwaffle with @space_wadet in P3.

RankDisplayNamePointsAccumulated
1Spinerkopin174
2BelgianWaffle78157
3Space_Wadet129
4Dreadmed110
5Hasnain282106
6RDA-JETS106
7widdler87
8BergGunner87
9SolidNinjaSnake83
10GOTMAXPOWER78
11amagurichan71
12thewrathofwhat68
13Devilsoldier9666
14nowthenfella65
15Meadow14263
16mistrelwood62
17ABarber9561
18Speedster50260
19Ujhuuu8iolk55
20miljan42655
21mmf1_PS53
22c07aea92ce6efb2653
23FiveHoleCole49
24tomo87548
25magpieracer47
26Bot_Dasher45
27bigfatflip41
28FinalNitrous37
29alicudis37
30JabierFailure30
31Cabelmania28
32lebowski225
33dahKarvaRanne23
34Try_Canal1015
35nirffel15
36DaniB5814
37DummyGames1410
389d1c43eb87fa5a798
39vaskildo8
40D1sharmoneus7
41WRC Player6
42vivalabam9225
43skolll-T_T5
44RuggishThuggish4
45Scaff4
46BenAFC144
47Syuma25253
48FiRoMario0003
49Bretto733
50AhoTerunen2
51Disabled_Lefty1
52WRC Player1
53janhavlat1
54Ikk_klar0
55MartimRoquE230
56Gr0upB0
57darrenersmit820
58Hultberg4200
59AnttiRenfors0
60juniorjohan0
61S1Tofran0
62MaverickAustria0
63yuzabulow0
64Eddie_Estsidrz0
65SteveIsAwake0
66Mounta1nShark0
67micka472000
68jproque_clubs0
69fourpegs0
70DarkSmaile9770

Subaru pull even further ahead at the top with their 1-3 finish, SEAT take their best haul of the season so far and jump ahead of Peugeot.

RankManufacturerPoints
1Subaru192
2Ford101
3Mitsubishi66
4SEAT61
5Peugeot59


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The real Rally Argentina in 2001 was dramatic to say the least. Colin McRae was the star of the show, putting on a scintillating display to beat Sainz, Makinen and Burns on one of the toughest events of the year. Amazingly, these were McRaes first points of the season. McRae pulled his advantage in his usual all or nothing way, powering through fog and tough visibiity to take a 30+ second gap.

The event was marred by a serious incident on a stage and in the service park. With the cold winter in the mountains comes spectators using fires to keep warm, one of these fires got out of control in a spectator area, burning spectators cars, more than 20 in total, turning it into a serious situation. This got worse when the water tanker in the service park was dispatched to the incident, the driver hurrying out of the service park took a turn too quickly and rolled the tanker, landing on the 2 Skoda WRC cars, Bruno Thiry was in his car at the time but escaped injury, however a Skoda team member was seriously injured in the accident and Skoda promptly withdrew both cars from the event.

Adding to the flames, both Hyundais also caught fire and different times, ending their rally.
 
Welcome to the 29th Cyprus Rally, the 6th round of the 2001 World Rally Championship.
Harsh, rutted, rocky roads and mountainous terrain await, Cyprus has it's reputation as a car breaker, so drivers will need to look after the car first and foremost, with scant opportunity to open the throttle, this will be a real rally of patience.

Itinerary
Day 1
Shakedown
Morning Service
SS1: Macheras - 13.1km
SS2: Mari - 6.8km

Lunchtime Service
SS3: Agios Theodoros - 8.8km

Afternoon Service
SS4: Foini - 26.7km

Day 2
Morning Service
SS5: Platres - 12.9km
SS6: Lageia - 8km

Lunchtime Service
SS7: Prastio - 11.5km

Day 3
Morning Service
SS8: Asinou - 7.2km
SS9: Vavatsinia - 10.5km

Total KM: 105.5km
 
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What an absolute nightmare rally for me. First of all, the Subaru felt like driving a truck over small mountain passes. It took me ages to find a setup that worked sort of 🙄.

Then the rally itself: multiple spins, even with penalty for hitting people who are standing in dangerous spots!! 😁 Penalty for false start, and it took me a few seconds to realise the stage had started.... Then my cat came to surprise me, causing again a crash off course. I still don't know how she snuck in the room. 😟

An experience to forget very fast, had no fun at all
 
Having not made the end of a rally since Sweden, I was honestly pleased to make it to the end of this one without too much major drama. Seems the switch to the Focus made it a much more enjoyable experience on the whole and I generally felt far more in control than I have previously with the 206.

Didn't set the world alight in terms of pace, and had a couple of punctures along the way but my goal was to just finish. So I'm happy with that :lol:

Might have to skip Greece as I'm in Berlin for work and by the looks of it will only have a day to get the whole rally done...will wait and see though!
 
Having not made the end of a rally since Sweden, I was honestly pleased to make it to the end of this one without too much major drama. Seems the switch to the Focus made it a much more enjoyable experience on the whole and I generally felt far more in control than I have previously with the 206.

Didn't set the world alight in terms of pace, and had a couple of punctures along the way but my goal was to just finish. So I'm happy with that :lol:

Might have to skip Greece as I'm in Berlin for work and by the looks of it will only have a day to get the whole rally done...will wait and see though!
Glad you're enjoying the Focus more, makes a huge difference when you can enjoy the car.

Berlin eh? Formula E related or coincidental timing?
 
Glad you're enjoying the Focus more, makes a huge difference when you can enjoy the car.

Berlin eh? Formula E related or coincidental timing?
Definitely, was very close to picking the SEAT but the focus felt just a touch more controlled to me. Figured after the Peugeot a slower more controlled pace might be better.

And yeah, it is indeed Formula E related! I’ve been covering most the championship this year (bar a couple of rounds).
 
Retired at the end of stage 4, that's a third DNF in a row. Not exactly going well so far this season. I always knew Mexico was going to be a tough rally for me as it doesn't suit me at all or the Impreza with its longer wheelbase. Greece won't suit the car either, especially compared to the 206 or Focus but it's a rally I do quite like so I'm hoping for an upturn in form there.
 
Along with Spain and Corsica, this was not one I was looking forward to at all, my limited runtime of Mexico being Moments with Rally1 machinery (mainly flying off the road). In the end I managed to find the sweet spot with the Evo this time and it turned out to be a very enjoyable drive, the only noteworthy mistakes being a missed slowing call in the stage below and a couple banana skins navigating the junctions + stage deviations. Coupled with some overly tentative driving in places, I reckon one of the top dogs will better that run.

In the end the wear and tear was so high I couldn't replace the bodywork once (actually had to replace the gearbox twice!) so it was looking rather bruised towards the end;


20240502200528_1.jpg


20240504195909_1.jpg




 
First time ever doing that rally... Not a great performance but eventually I got to the swing of it.
The hard part for me was knowing what was road, it all looked so samey!

But I was the only 206 I could see for miles so I'll take it, it's almost a handicap at this point it seems but I'm determined :lol:

Edit: Spoke too soon :lol:
 
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Time was running out but I still managed to do my run. My gearbox had medium damages from Stage 5 but I couldn't repair it until the last service. The other ones before were too short. It doesen't felt really impactfull anyway

1849250_20240507131540_1.png
 
Time was running out but I still managed to do my run. My gearbox had medium damages from Stage 5 but I couldn't repair it until the last service. The other ones before were too short. It doesen't felt really impactfull anyway

View attachment 1353578
And the results are in, so congratulations for your 4th victory this season :dopey: While I'm gonna self-congratulate me for an unexpected podium, I thought I did well and I was right :D
 
A brutal Cypriot rally is complete, plenty of drivers nursing damage and a handful of retirements as a result. 3 different manufacturers made the podium but it was the formidable combination of @Spinerkopin and Subaru that came out on top, beating @Dreadmed and the Mitsubishi by over 50 seconds. Rounding out the podium is @Cabelmania for SEAT, a great result.

spiner.jpg

@Spinerkopin powers past the dam.
RankDisplayNameVehicleTimeDifferenceToFirst
1SpinerkopinSUBARU Impreza 20011:22:160:00:00
2DreadmedMitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI1:23:070:00:51
3CabelmaniaSEAT Córdoba WRC1:24:440:02:28
4BelgianWaffle78SUBARU Impreza 20011:25:150:02:59
5Space_WadetPeugeot 206 Rally1:25:290:03:13
6PickyReptile87Ford Focus RS Rally 20011:26:180:04:02
7GOTMAXPOWERFord Focus RS Rally 20011:26:440:04:27
8SolidNinjaSnakeFord Focus RS Rally 20011:26:470:04:31
9Speedster502Ford Focus RS Rally 20011:27:210:05:05
10BergGunnerSUBARU Impreza 20011:28:070:05:51
11mistrelwoodSEAT Córdoba WRC1:28:370:06:21
12widdlerSUBARU Impreza 20011:29:300:07:14
13HajduPetiSUBARU Impreza 19981:29:540:07:38
14thewrathofwhatSUBARU Impreza 20011:30:270:08:11
15nowthenfellaSEAT Córdoba WRC1:31:450:09:29
16Hasnain282SEAT Córdoba WRC1:33:100:10:53
17Meadow142Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI1:33:480:11:32
18mmf1_PSFord Focus RS Rally 20011:35:120:12:56
19FiRoMario000Citroën C4 WRC1:35:170:13:01
20Marco63BSEAT Córdoba WRC1:38:410:16:25
21tomo875Peugeot 206 Rally1:40:550:18:39
22miljan426SUBARU Impreza 20011:44:100:21:54
23lukemlbarryFord Focus RS Rally 20012:10:120:47:56
24ABarber95SUBARU Impreza 20012:20:130:57:57
25magpieracerSEAT Córdoba WRC2:20:130:57:57
26FinalNitrousFord Focus RS Rally 20012:21:120:58:56

@Spinerkopin extends his lead at the top to 26 points, with @Belgianwaffle holding down 2nd place after a strong 4th place finish. @space_wadet stays in P3, but drops back from the top 2.

RankDisplayNamePointsAccumulated
1Spinerkopin205
2BelgianWaffle78179
3Space_Wadet149
4Dreadmed136
5Hasnain282114
6RDA-JETS106
7BergGunner102
8SolidNinjaSnake100
9widdler99
10GOTMAXPOWER96
11thewrathofwhat78
12Speedster50276
13mistrelwood75
14nowthenfella74
15amagurichan71
16Meadow14270
17Devilsoldier9666
18ABarber9561
19mmf1_PS59
20miljan42657
21Ujhuuu8iolk55
22c07aea92ce6efb2653
23tomo87551
24Cabelmania51
25FiveHoleCole49
26magpieracer47
27Bot_Dasher45
28bigfatflip41
29FinalNitrous37
30alicudis37
31JabierFailure30
32lebowski225
33dahKarvaRanne23
34PickyReptile8719
35Try_Canal1015
36nirffel15
37DaniB5814
38HajduPeti11
39DummyGames1410
409d1c43eb87fa5a798
41vaskildo8
42FiRoMario0008
43D1sharmoneus7
44WRC Player6
45vivalabam9225
46skolll-T_T5
47RuggishThuggish4
48Scaff4
49BenAFC144
50Marco63B4
51Syuma25253
52Bretto733
53AhoTerunen2
54lukemlbarry1
55Flemish_fellah1
56WRC Player1
57janhavlat1
58Ikk_klar0
59MartimRoquE230
60Gr0upB0
61darrenersmit820
62postmanliamc0
63Hultberg4200
64AnttiRenfors0
65juniorjohan0
66S1Tofran0
67MaverickAustria0
68yuzabulow0
69Eddie_Estsidrz0
70SteveIsAwake0
71Mounta1nShark0
72micka472000
73jproque_clubs0
74fourpegs0
75DarkSmaile9770

In the constructors, no positions change, Mitsubishi close points on Ford whilst SEAT pull away from Peugeot.

RankManufacturerPoints
1Subaru229
2Ford112
3Mitsubishi86
4SEAT79
5Peugeot69

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The real rally Cyprus in 2001 saw Colin McRae go back to back after his win in Argentina, beating out fellow Brit Richard Burns in the Subaru by 16 seconds. Carlos Sainz took 3rd for Ford. Championship contenders Tommi Makinen (accident) and Marcus Gronholm (fuel pressure) both retired, along with Auriol and Solberg.
 
Round 7 of the 2001 World Rally Championship takes us to Greece, for the 48th Acropolis Rally.
After the brutal car breaking challenge of Cyprus, there's no let up for the drivers, as the ultimate car breaker rolls around, The Acropolis makes Cyprus look forgiving, with narrow roads winding up and down mountains, unforgiving rocks littering the edges of the roads and rally ending drops all to frequent.

Itinerary
Day1

Shakedown

Morning Service
SS1: Mariolata - 13.5km
SS2: Bauxites - 5.6km

Lunchtime Service
SS3: Eptalofos - 10.4km
SS4: Lilea - 10.4km

Day 2
Morning Service
SS5: Parnassós - 5.6km
SS6: Gravia - 24.6km

Lunchtime Service
SS7: Delphi - 11.1km
SS8: Karoutes - 13.5km

Afternoon Service
SS9: Amfissa - 8.7km
SS10: Drosochori - 8.7km

Total KM - 112.1km
 
I missed Mexico. At this point I don't think I'll be taking part fully. Illnesses hamper my efforts and that's when I don't forget to actually take part :lol: I may take part from time to time on rallies that I enjoy. I like the look of the shorter GTP series @MagpieRacer has just announced so I will try to concentrate on the time I have and attend the rallies for that.

Big thanks to @MagpieRacer doing such a good job in running things and to all competitors for making these GTP clubs the only ones I feel like doing.
 
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Round 7 of the 2001 World Rally Championship takes us to Greece, for the 48th Acropolis Rally.
After the brutal car breaking challenge of Cyprus, there's no let up for the drivers, as the ultimate car breaker rolls around, The Acropolis makes Cyprus look forgiving, with narrow roads winding up and down mountains, unforgiving rocks littering the edges of the roads and rally ending drops all to frequent.

Itinerary
Day1

Shakedown

Morning Service
SS1: Mariolata - 13.5km
SS2: Bauxites - 5.6km

Lunchtime Service
SS3: Eptalofos - 10.4km
SS4: Lilea - 10.4km

Day 2
Morning Service
SS5: Parnassós - 5.6km
SS6: Gravia - 24.6km

Lunchtime Service
SS7: Delphi - 11.1km
SS8: Karoutes - 13.5km

Afternoon Service
SS9: Amfissa - 8.7km
SS10: Drosochori - 8.7km

Total KM - 112.1km
Terminal damage. Devastated.
 
Greece feels like the perfect kind of roads for the Focus but that must be the worst rally I've ever driven, I think I crashed out 5 times by the end. The few km I did run were good fun though.
 
I hate this game sometimes.... I went off in last stage... But when trying to get back on the road in reverse, one wheel went next to the road.... And my car tumbled off the cliff... So so stupid 😡😡😡
 
Results for the previous round will be up soon. Busy weekend delayed things and then had a minor issue with the club to sort.

All good now though.
 
Martijn Wydaeghe has entered the chat;

20240513204451_1.jpg


This has been brutal, picked up a puncture 1/4 of the way into S1 and it's been a (suitably) rocky experience throughout. Picked up another puncture on S4 and I only knew about it when the car refused to turn and I rolled off a banking for a DNF, I was surprised to see I could carry on at S5! At the time of writing only 3 out of 17 cars successfully made it through S3+4 under their own power...

From the looks of things, anyone who can finish the rally in a clean manner has a great shot at the podium!
 
First stage down and i’m thinking I can maybe get through greece without going off a cliff. 2nd Stage yeet slowly of a cliff! Then confusing retirement options means I recovered to next day for the next two stages then retired at the next service park. One day I will get through a greek rally.
 

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