i'd love to be able to. let me know as soon as you have some more info on it.

on a more WRC related note, here are some goodies from WRC.com:

Hyundai should have it's new car, codenamed RC ready for the midpoint of the 2006 season. it'll run it's first full season in 2007. perhaps more interesting, is this quote from the news story on wrc.com

"The manufacturer says it will start recruiting new staff later on this year, who will be based at its new headquarters in Russelheim in Germany. It also plans to scout for what it calls 'the finest drivers to assist in the development and testing with the goal of putting them on the podium'."

hmmm. anyone think Colin McRae might wind up being a development driver for Hyundai? he'd certainly get the mechanics ready for the WRC season in 2007, given his penchant for destroying cars.

the other nice little tidbit was a piece on Ford's Francios Duval. apparently, he is hoping for a podium finish in Corsica. should be interesting to see, given his 5th in San Remo, and his growing confidence on tarmac.

predictions for the Tour de Corse anyone?

 

Man, I wish there was some more of us in the Northwest to be able to do this kinda stuff.

 

alright, i'll give you my list:

1) G. Panizzi (Peugeot) after what happened in San Remo, i can't believe he'd have such bad luck two in a row.
2) M. Martin (Ford) he was quick last race on the black stuff. And the cars running great.
3) S. Loeb (Citroen) most likely will be world champ this year. But i don't think he'll beat Gilles back to back.
4) P. Solberg (Subaru) After his bad luck in italy, he's got to get pionts. Hoping for higher but kind of dought it. Unless 1-3 go out.
5) M. Gronholm (Peugeot) he just gets better every race on tarmac.
6) F. Duval (Ford) I gave him a shot last race and he came through. Now with his confidence i'll back him up again. Just hope he doesn't get too cocky.
7) R. Burns (Peugeot) It'll take everything he's got to get some points, but i think he'll snag just a few.
8) T. Makinen (Subaru) nuff said

Carlos will probably be in there somewhere. But i'm going to say he'll have car problems instead. Hoping Skoda picks up a few. The team could use them.

 

here are my picks for Corsica:

1) Gilles Panizzi -- i agree, there is no way he's going to go down on tarmac twice in a row against Loeb. the 206 may not be the juggernaut that it once was, but Panizzi is fast. if the weather goes south, i'd expect him to destroy the field.

2) Sebastian Loeb -- he'll want to challenge Panizzi, but i think he won't have a comfortable pace thats fast enough. i think he'll play the championship game, finish second, and take the points lead.

3) Marko Martin -- he had problems of a mechanical nature in San Remo, otherwise he would have been faster. i still don't think he is as fast as Loeb on tarmac though.

4) Francios Duval -- i'm going out on a limb here, but i think he's confident and has the speed to run in the top five.

5) Petter Solberg -- again, just not as fast on tarmac as some of the other guys. however, he is going to be my pick to win Rally GB.

6) Carlos Sainz -- he's gotta get points, but he has to finish. he isn't as good on tarmac as his rivals, and will be glad to get out with some points.

7) Marcus Gronholm -- yeah, he is getting better on tarmac, but still isn't that strong on it. i'm betting he'll be driving this one to finish the rally.

8) Tommi Makinnen -- he's still a hell of a driver, but i don't think he has the fire to finish higher anymore.

i'd bet on Burns finishing, but not in the points. he just isn't quick enough on tarmac in the 206.

McRae on the other hand, finished the last rally, so i'm tipping him to crash out of this one. has he ever finished or won in Corsica?

Skoda? not this time. i'm betting they finish well down the order.

 

Ya, i too believe that Petter will win GB hands down. If Burns was also driving a Subaru i might vote on him. Since he isn't my moneys on Solberg.

My Comcast Cables been acting up lately and i lose reception on SPEED. It better not happen while the race is on. Last time the cable was out all day up until 35 minutes before it started. I almost had a heart attack.

 

Dropkick_muppet, I can't believe we've got this thread to go 15 pages so far. We've had alittle help, but for the most part it's just us two. Funny thing is i don't even know your name.

rich

 

yeah, i was thinking about that the other night. there have ben two or three other people posting on this thread, but for the most part it has just been the two of us. i guess that there aren't as many rally fans on here as i'd expected.

don

 

By the way Dropkick, You should check out the new thread called "I Can't Drive 35!!!". It covers the next drive / rally me and the guys will be doing. It won't be quite as challenging as the roads up in Humboldt, but should still be fun. If i knew how to post that thread here i would, but i'm not very computer savvy.

Tomorow Rally XS. I can't wait to see what they have lined up.

rich

 

Petter wrecked in the shakedown that can't be a good omen for the rally. At least he'll be ready for the rally start(hopefully).

 

Wreck...on shakedown day...is that possible. I feel so sorry for him I hope he's ready too!

 

I'm so pissed off at SPEED right now. First they change the normal time to show Rally XS to 7:30 pm because they're too busy showing crappy Nascar qualifing ALL day. Then when the show does come on it begins 10 minutes late because of more Nascar crap. I couln't even be home last night to record it while editing comercials i had to set the timer. So now i have 10 mins of Nascar and a cut off Rally XS. I tried re-recording it agian last night at 12:30am but haven't checked to see how it came out yet.

Enough of that.....

Petter, i hope he does better than that on Sunday.

 

speed. those f%@kers screwed rally fans over last night, just because of some goddamn NASCAR happy hour. happy hour is when i go to the pub, and cconsume enough pints of Guiness that i CAN"T DRIVE! it's not a qualifying session! i had my Tivo set to record Rally XS, and i get twenty minutes of nASScar and ten minutes of highlights from San Remo.

speed, and double NASCAR!

 

The pain the pain of it all. My gut still hurts just thinking about how they screwed us.

Race on tonight. They better not Fawk it up.

 

damn straight. i'll be one cranky guy if they screw up tonight's rally. my Tivo is programmed, and my fingers are crossed...

 

Well, it looks like out of no where Petter Solberg pulled it together and won the rally! How awesome. I love to see him win because he is always so enthusiastic about it--jumping up and down and everything....It was a good rally, with the exception of Martin's 'drop off' crash! I really wanted him to win.