| WagonMonster | 09-12-2005 07:42 PM |
The Return of McCrash! [Official Rally GB Thread]
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[b]McRae all set for GB comeback[/b]
Returning world champion Colin McRae has said he's as ready as he can possibly be for his World Rally Championship comeback on this weekend's Wales Rally GB. The Scot, who is competing on his home event with Skoda after an 18-month sabbatical, has notched up over 800 kilometres of test mileage during the last week.
McRae started the week with a marathon three-day test on forest stages in the south-west of Scotland, during which he completed 700kms of running with few problems. He then spent Friday and Saturday recceing and driving the course car on the Park Systems Rally national event to get back up to speed with preparing pace notes and working with former co-driver Nicky Grist. The pair haven't worked together since they parted ways after the 2002 Propecia Rally New Zealand.
"I'm very happy with the Fabia," McRae said. "It feels really nice to drive and I was able to be up to full speed very quickly. It responds well to input and everything we've tried has changed the car in the way we expected so I'm confident that we will have a good setup for the rally. The latest Reiger suspension has made it very stable in all conditions and the new Michelin BTO tyre was faster and more consistent than the older constructions every time we tried it.
"I still can't say what kind of result we can expect. We had no comparison times to work with at the test so I think everyone will be keeping a close eye on the times at the end of the first stage this Friday! I'm not so worried about our initial results but I'd like to think that we can progress as the event goes on and be setting some really good times by Sunday."
Returning world champion Colin McRae has said he's as ready as he can possibly be for his World Rally Championship comeback on this weekend's Wales Rally GB. The Scot, who is competing on his home event with Skoda after an 18-month sabbatical, has notched up over 800 kilometres of test mileage during the last week.
McRae started the week with a marathon three-day test on forest stages in the south-west of Scotland, during which he completed 700kms of running with few problems. He then spent Friday and Saturday recceing and driving the course car on the Park Systems Rally national event to get back up to speed with preparing pace notes and working with former co-driver Nicky Grist. The pair haven't worked together since they parted ways after the 2002 Propecia Rally New Zealand.
"I'm very happy with the Fabia," McRae said. "It feels really nice to drive and I was able to be up to full speed very quickly. It responds well to input and everything we've tried has changed the car in the way we expected so I'm confident that we will have a good setup for the rally. The latest Reiger suspension has made it very stable in all conditions and the new Michelin BTO tyre was faster and more consistent than the older constructions every time we tried it.
"I still can't say what kind of result we can expect. We had no comparison times to work with at the test so I think everyone will be keeping a close eye on the times at the end of the first stage this Friday! I'm not so worried about our initial results but I'd like to think that we can progress as the event goes on and be setting some really good times by Sunday."
| SolbergWRCfan | 09-12-2005 07:47 PM |
I hope he does well, I always liked McCrash, watching him guaranteed action somewhere down the line. He is still quite possibly my favorite Subaru driver ever even though I am a Petter fanbois.
Jon
EDIT: Eye kan spel
Jon
EDIT: Eye kan spel
| MarkA | 09-12-2005 10:33 PM |
So, best guess as to what stage he goes out on?
| greg donovan | 09-12-2005 11:05 PM |
i am excited to see colin and nicky work together again when they were on thier game they were hard to beat.
| Homemade WRX | 09-13-2005 12:09 AM |
[QUOTE=greg donovan]i am excited to see colin and nicky work together again when they were on thier game they were hard to beat.[/QUOTE]
agreed...I hope he does well, as to perhaps inspire him to stay in the seat
agreed...I hope he does well, as to perhaps inspire him to stay in the seat
| bemani | 09-13-2005 12:19 AM |
[QUOTE=MarkA]So, best guess as to what stage he goes out on?[/QUOTE]
I give him at least 10 stages.
I give him at least 10 stages.
| greg donovan | 09-13-2005 02:26 PM |
[QUOTE=MarkA]So, best guess as to what stage he goes out on?[/QUOTE]
i bet he gets a top 5.
i bet he gets a top 5.
| Rallycarperson | 09-13-2005 05:14 PM |
I never (maybe once...) saw the Fabia get a top 5. Either they get a mechanical problem or driver error.
Lets hope McRae gets a good place...so maybe that'll give him a seat in the WRC again.
This will be one rally not to miss...
~Mark
Lets hope McRae gets a good place...so maybe that'll give him a seat in the WRC again.
This will be one rally not to miss...
~Mark
| greg donovan | 09-13-2005 11:51 PM |
[QUOTE=Rallycarperson]I never (maybe once...) saw the Fabia get a top 5. Either they get a mechanical problem or driver error.
Lets hope McRae gets a good place...so maybe that'll give him a seat in the WRC again.
This will be one rally not to miss...
~Mark[/QUOTE]
i think the car is cpable. it just hasnt had the talent behind the wheel yet.
Lets hope McRae gets a good place...so maybe that'll give him a seat in the WRC again.
This will be one rally not to miss...
~Mark[/QUOTE]
i think the car is cpable. it just hasnt had the talent behind the wheel yet.
| 8Complex | 09-14-2005 11:29 AM |
Why don't you people post dates in these threads? :rolleyes:
| WagonMonster | 09-14-2005 11:42 AM |
[QUOTE=8Complex]Why don't you people post dates in these threads? :rolleyes:[/QUOTE]
:confused:
The Rally starts Friday 9/16, your internet broken boy?
:confused:
The Rally starts Friday 9/16, your internet broken boy?
| asquaredrex | 09-14-2005 03:16 PM |
My prediction: McCrash will drive the wheels off it and have a mechanical faliure by the end of the first day. (though I hope I'm pleasantly suprized...)
[Cynic]This is a great move on Skoda's part. Consider that for manufacturers, racing is basically a marketing exercise. With the new '06 regulations, budget constraints, and no hope of winning anything this year, it probably costs less and garners more exposure for Skoda to field McCrash than it does to actually improve the car. [/Cynic]
[Cynic]This is a great move on Skoda's part. Consider that for manufacturers, racing is basically a marketing exercise. With the new '06 regulations, budget constraints, and no hope of winning anything this year, it probably costs less and garners more exposure for Skoda to field McCrash than it does to actually improve the car. [/Cynic]
| WRXedUSA | 09-14-2005 03:49 PM |
[url]http://www.wrc.com/page/BreakingNewsDetail/0,,10111~712937,00.html[/url]
So, basically, Skoda wont be in the WRC in 2006.
So, basically, Skoda wont be in the WRC in 2006.
| MyScoobie28 | 09-14-2005 06:45 PM |
who will be his co-driver? Grist?
| WagonMonster | 09-14-2005 06:50 PM |
[QUOTE=MyScoobie28]who will be his co-driver? Grist?[/QUOTE]
Yessir
Yessir
| WRXedUSA | 09-16-2005 09:52 AM |
McRae is keeping on the pace, in the top 10.
Loeb is up 24sec on Solberg in the dry conditions through stage.
David (Mitstubishi) & Mark Higgins (Focus) are both entered.
Subaru is leading the PCWRC entered cars with Marco Ligato and Al-Wahibi.
Loeb is up 24sec on Solberg in the dry conditions through stage.
David (Mitstubishi) & Mark Higgins (Focus) are both entered.
Subaru is leading the PCWRC entered cars with Marco Ligato and Al-Wahibi.
| Anibalz | 09-16-2005 11:51 AM |
I don't think Colin will crash, he will either finish or the car will breakdown. Harri seems to be doing well so far, hope Petter ups the pace and wins.
| 2002pete | 09-16-2005 01:21 PM |
[B]After SS 3[/B]
The first three stages of Rally GB are now over and Sebastien Loeb is leading the race by a small margin over Petter Solberg. All the crews have returned to the service area before facing the second loop of stages in the afternoon.
The first three stages of Rally GB are now over and Sebastien Loeb is leading the race by a small margin over Petter Solberg. All the crews have returned to the service area before facing the second loop of stages in the afternoon.
| Howl | 09-16-2005 01:41 PM |
"And Nick's Pick for today is . . . . ME."
| Predwolf | 09-17-2005 03:11 AM |
I'm still rooting for Petter to pull off some wins, but I'm more intrested in watching Mcrae pull off his blistering sideways speed :).
I've missed the past couple of rallies simply because I already knew how it would turn out. Putting an old-timer back in it makes me giddy with delight. Get Tommi, Burns, and Sainz back, and I'd be all over it again.
I've missed the past couple of rallies simply because I already knew how it would turn out. Putting an old-timer back in it makes me giddy with delight. Get Tommi, Burns, and Sainz back, and I'd be all over it again.
| WRXRATED7 | 09-17-2005 03:34 AM |
Petter is sandbaggin. That is fo sho.
-WRXedUSA
-WRXedUSA
| 2002pete | 09-17-2005 06:57 AM |
[B]SS 6.The final stage of Leg 1[/B].
Marcus Gronholm winning yet another stage victory with a 20-second advantage over Petter Solberg in second place.
Marcus Gronholm winning yet another stage victory with a 20-second advantage over Petter Solberg in second place.
| Anibalz | 09-18-2005 07:34 AM |
Something happened to Markko Martin on SS15, apparently he went off and hit a tree on the codrivers side. The stage has been cancelled.... hope he and Michael Park are fine.
| Martin Ritchie | 09-18-2005 10:34 AM |
Subaru's Solberg was declared the winner after leader Sebastien Loeb intentionally took a penalty to avoid winning after the tragic accident in which Peugeot co-driver Michael Park was killed. Gronholm withdrew as a mark of respect for his Peugeot colleague.
| quentinberg007 | 09-18-2005 11:22 AM |
[url]http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/050918/3/dpru.html[/url]
[quote]
[b]British driver killed in world championship rally[/b]
Sun 18 Sep, 4:09 PM
CARDIFF (AFP) - British rally co-driver Michael Park was killed when the car he was in crashed into a tree during a special stage of the Rally of Great Britain, race organisers said.
Park, 39, had been the co-pilot in a Peugeot 307 driven by top Estonian Markko Martin when the car veered off the road on Sundauy at top speed.
They were competing in the 15th special stage of the rally, the 12th leg of the world championships and were in sixth place at the time of the crash. No spectators were involved in the accident.
"It is with deep regret that the organisers of Wales Rally GB confirm that Michael Park (39) of Newent, Gloucestershire, UK, co-driver in car number eight has been fatally injured following an accident in special stage 15," organisers said in a statement.
"The driver of car number eight, Markko Martin, is uninjured."
Race organisers quickly announced that the remaining two special stages of the race were cancelled and that the rest of the competitors were being called back to the finish at Cardiff.
"Markko (Martin) spun off at top speed shortly after the start of the stage and the right side of the car slammed into a tree," said Peugeot Sport director Jean-Pierre Nicolas.
"I think that Michael was killed outright. It's hard to take. The championship is nothing when you compare it to the life of a man. None of us want to continue."
Nicknamed "Beef", Park had been Martin's co-driver since 2000 and they had won five world rallies together.
But he had been competing in the world championships since 1994 when he was co-driver for David Higgins.
The decision to cancel the two remaining special stages and declare that the race leader at the time of the accident, Sebastien Loeb in a Citroen Xsara, was the winner, would have meant the Frenchman ensured he had won the world title for the second straight year.
At the start of the race he had needed eight more points than Peugeot driver Marcus Gronholm to clinch the top honour.
The Finn had been in third place at the time of the accident but withdrew from the race immediately after discovering that his team-mate had died meaning that he would not make it back to Cardiff and thus go pointless.
Loeb though declined to win the world title in that manner and deliberately incurred a two minute penalty before heading back to Cardiff for the offical finish.
That left him in third place with Norwegian Petter Solberg in a Subaru Impreza winning and Belgian Francois Duval in a Citroen Xsara runner-up.
"There's no way I wanted to win the world title like that, in circumstances like that" Loeb said.
"They should have called off the rally completely. Marcus (Gronholm) didn't have any doubts over what to do. Who wins the race is not what counts today."
Tributes poured in for the veteran Englishman notably from former world champion Colin McRae who called Park one of rallying's "real characters and a really genuine person."[/quote]
That is not the way you want to win a rally. :(
~~Quentin
[quote]
[b]British driver killed in world championship rally[/b]
Sun 18 Sep, 4:09 PM
CARDIFF (AFP) - British rally co-driver Michael Park was killed when the car he was in crashed into a tree during a special stage of the Rally of Great Britain, race organisers said.
Park, 39, had been the co-pilot in a Peugeot 307 driven by top Estonian Markko Martin when the car veered off the road on Sundauy at top speed.
They were competing in the 15th special stage of the rally, the 12th leg of the world championships and were in sixth place at the time of the crash. No spectators were involved in the accident.
"It is with deep regret that the organisers of Wales Rally GB confirm that Michael Park (39) of Newent, Gloucestershire, UK, co-driver in car number eight has been fatally injured following an accident in special stage 15," organisers said in a statement.
"The driver of car number eight, Markko Martin, is uninjured."
Race organisers quickly announced that the remaining two special stages of the race were cancelled and that the rest of the competitors were being called back to the finish at Cardiff.
"Markko (Martin) spun off at top speed shortly after the start of the stage and the right side of the car slammed into a tree," said Peugeot Sport director Jean-Pierre Nicolas.
"I think that Michael was killed outright. It's hard to take. The championship is nothing when you compare it to the life of a man. None of us want to continue."
Nicknamed "Beef", Park had been Martin's co-driver since 2000 and they had won five world rallies together.
But he had been competing in the world championships since 1994 when he was co-driver for David Higgins.
The decision to cancel the two remaining special stages and declare that the race leader at the time of the accident, Sebastien Loeb in a Citroen Xsara, was the winner, would have meant the Frenchman ensured he had won the world title for the second straight year.
At the start of the race he had needed eight more points than Peugeot driver Marcus Gronholm to clinch the top honour.
The Finn had been in third place at the time of the accident but withdrew from the race immediately after discovering that his team-mate had died meaning that he would not make it back to Cardiff and thus go pointless.
Loeb though declined to win the world title in that manner and deliberately incurred a two minute penalty before heading back to Cardiff for the offical finish.
That left him in third place with Norwegian Petter Solberg in a Subaru Impreza winning and Belgian Francois Duval in a Citroen Xsara runner-up.
"There's no way I wanted to win the world title like that, in circumstances like that" Loeb said.
"They should have called off the rally completely. Marcus (Gronholm) didn't have any doubts over what to do. Who wins the race is not what counts today."
Tributes poured in for the veteran Englishman notably from former world champion Colin McRae who called Park one of rallying's "real characters and a really genuine person."[/quote]
That is not the way you want to win a rally. :(
~~Quentin
| Rallycarperson | 09-18-2005 11:59 AM |
Wow, this is not a rally to remember. :(
I wish the Park's family and friends the best...
~Mark
I wish the Park's family and friends the best...
~Mark
| 8Complex | 09-18-2005 03:18 PM |
[QUOTE=WagonMonster]:confused:
The Rally starts Friday 9/16, your internet broken boy?[/QUOTE]
Nope, I'm lazy. Still doesn't excuse the "informational" post without information. :rolleyes:
The Rally starts Friday 9/16, your internet broken boy?[/QUOTE]
Nope, I'm lazy. Still doesn't excuse the "informational" post without information. :rolleyes:
| kotaro | 09-18-2005 04:02 PM |
Last night I was listening to the wrc radio live...they played music for about an hour while in wrc.com there was news that the stage was canceled because of an accident...I didnt think it would be that bad :(
damn :(
damn :(
| FaastLegacy | 09-18-2005 04:18 PM |
Loeb is a classy guy, I admire what he did.
| Golfa | 09-19-2005 12:14 PM |
i agree, loeb made a classy move. any have any info on the specifics of the crash?
| sha_zapple | 09-19-2005 01:13 PM |
Great to see Colin back, very sad that Park is no longer with us :(
Hopefully McRae shapes up Skoda. 9th isnt too bad for his first time back in years in a different car. With some tweaking and practice im sure hell get the skoda up close to the podium. I dont think hell ever win a rally though.
Loeb did a classy thing, too bad Petter gets stuck with these 'black points'. I dont think anyone would complain if the rally was declared null. Of course, the show must go on, I know thats the way I'd want it. I cant see Martin coming back anytime soon, perhaps not even peugeot.
Hopefully McRae shapes up Skoda. 9th isnt too bad for his first time back in years in a different car. With some tweaking and practice im sure hell get the skoda up close to the podium. I dont think hell ever win a rally though.
Loeb did a classy thing, too bad Petter gets stuck with these 'black points'. I dont think anyone would complain if the rally was declared null. Of course, the show must go on, I know thats the way I'd want it. I cant see Martin coming back anytime soon, perhaps not even peugeot.
| skuttledude | 09-19-2005 10:25 PM |
:( :(
| ANZAC_1915 | 09-20-2005 04:49 AM |
:( I wasn't at Rally GB but heard this on the BBC as I was driving - I'm still in a state of shock. Very, very, sad.
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