WRGB 2009

joe_the_waiter · WRGB 2009

This statement has just been released ......

The Motor Sports Association, governing body of UK motor sport, has today confirmed its commitment to the UK’s round of the 2009 FIA World Rally Championship by agreeing to underwrite the cost of running the 2009 Rally of Great Britain that will be held in Wales from October 22nd to 25th.

The MSA has agreed this course of action, in spite of the Welsh Assembly Government’s (WAG) recent unilateral and unwarranted decision to terminate its sponsorship contract for the event. The MSA’s commercial subsidiary, International Motor Sports which organises the event, will continue to pursue vigorously its legal case against the Welsh Assembly.

“In recent years, the MSA has exercised prudent management of its finances to create a surplus in order to protect the sport against unforeseen circumstances,” confirms Alan Gow, Chairman of both MSA and IMS. “Consequently, we have decided to underwrite this important and prestigious international event for the good of the sport, while continuing to pursue our extremely robust case against the Welsh Assembly Government for its breach of contract.

“IMS and everyone involved in Rally GB now have a very challenging period ahead to turn the event around in just four months. However, we are confident that the experience and professionalism of our people and clubs will make sure that this year’s event is a great success.”

club sec

All being well this will mean the end of WRGB and perhaps a return to a more fan friendly format in the future.

steaallan

you mean somewhere everybody can get to Yippee

Gav Taylor

whats it going to be called then?

"The we never liked the welsh anyway Rally of GB 2009"

Bring it back up north I say from a completely unbiased and subjective standpoint.

club sec

Well they could perhaps use the fact it is rally "GB" as a clue.

For example start say in Chester or Harrogate early on Sunday morning before embarking on several "Mickey Mouse" stages around some stately homes, parks and race tracks, maybe with the first one being live on TV?

Monday drive in to Wales for a full day of stages like Sweet lamb and Dyfi followed by a few hours service before driving to the lake district for Grizedale, Greystoke and up into a halt In Dumfries.

Tuesday restart 04.30 for Ae and Dalbeattie in the dark then drop back through Harwood, Pundershaw, Shepherdshield then Hamsterley and Stang, overnight in Middlesbrough.

Wednesday Wass, Roppa, Riccal dale Halt before Cropton, Dalby (twice), Wykeham, Langdale and Olivers Mount

before the finish.

How does that sound.

joe_the_waiter

sounds great....
but it falls outside the FIA regulations for inclusion in the WRC due to its distances.
maybe after F1 have had their battle, maybe the WRC should have a go at the probably battle weakened FIA and come up with some changes

steaallan

sorry but i bet i could go round olivers mount just as quick in my van as them wrc drivers. I know every little bump and pot hole on them roads (great fun)

club sec

i forgo they could use Clumber and Clipstone too in my above mentioned "proper" rally GB.

Gav Taylor

chewing straw for sale... PM for details.

Yee Haaa

Gav Taylor

P Solberg to get a drive with Ford for WRC GB??

bob_mck

joe_the_waiter

your not the only one unsure why .....

all that clhorine clouding your judgement...

steaallan

dave on the video of the week (finland crashes 09) the sound track is that lordi or dont you know

Gav Taylor

so does anyone know if WRC GB really is coming back up north then?

Rumours are rife that it will be based in Newcastle!

sparky2i

joe_the_waiter

dont know what the soundtrack is... sorry... no info with that vid. second song on vid is Nick Kershaw.... 'The Riddle'

steaallan

i knew the riddle was one of my fav artists in the 80s

steaallan

I was wrong the soundtrack wasnt lordi as it should have been as they are from norway but it was a swedish rock band very similar called Sabaton and the song is Primo Victoria and just incase you want 2 sing along here are the lyrics

Through the gates of hell As we make our way to heaven
Through the Nazi lines Primo victoria

We've been training for years Now we're ready to strike
As the great operation begins We're the first wave on the shore
We're the first ones to fall Yet soldiers have fallen before

In the dawn they will pay With their lives as the price
History's written today In this burning inferno
Know that nothing remains As our forces advance on the beach
Aiming for heaven though serving in hell
Victory is ours their forces will fall

Through the gates of hell As we make our way to heaven
Through the Nazi lines Primo victoria

On the 6th of June On the shores of western Europe 1944
D-day upon us

We've been here before Used to this kind of war
Crossfire grind through the sand Our orders were easy
It's kill or be killed Blood on both sides will be spilled

In the dawn they will pay With their lives as the price
History's written today Now that we are at war
With the axis again This time we know what will come

6th of June 1944 Allies are turning the war
Normandy state of anarchy Overlord

Gav Taylor

joe_the_waiter

looks like Petter Solberg will be driving a C4 in Spain and GB. He will be a serious contender in one of those.

joe_the_waiter

Petter Solberg is registered with Citroen Juniors for Rally GB.
(therefore scoring points for Ciroen Juniors)

Gav Taylor

hope he does well!!

Anyway beginning to get the supplies sorted for the rally...

club sec

tell your mam to get the hoover out.

Gav Taylor

not my house mate, I would never have a green carpet!

bob_mck

steady away then

you'll be needing a wee after that

Gav Taylor

joe_the_waiter

bob_mck

Gav Taylor

what happened like mate?

bob_mck

i enjoyed it

Gav Taylor

does that mean I'll have to take the crate back from the deaf & blind Ethiopian orphan I gave it to so she could drown her sorrows...

bob_mck

nope, it sounds like she needs it

Gav Taylor

she said she's scarred for life after JTW tried to chat her up.

so you doing WRC or karting mate?

bob_mck

karting i think

Gav Taylor

fair do's mate

joe_the_waiter

Gav Taylor

there'll always be another karting round in a months time...WRC GB is once a year.

If bobs karting skills are here to stay why not pick up the gauntlet in Nov and have the best of both worlds?

skodaman

Don't be taken in by it Bob! You are the rising star of the SDMC
Karting championship and a non start at round 5 would be seen
as doing a runner after being the fastest at the 24 hr race.

Gav Taylor

he's got nothing to prove Col, pure natural ability so missing one round will be OK!

skodaman

He has everything to prove! Was it the kart??? Was it the new Slimline
Bob?? Round 5 awaits!!

bob_mck

decisions decisions

club sec

Big field to beat Bob, I've got a tenner on you at Ladbokes.

bob_mck

club sec

On the nose.

joe_the_waiter

RALLY GB RALLY GB RALLY GB RALLY GB RALLY GB RALLY GB RALLY GB RALLY GB RALLY GB RALLY GB RALLY GB RALLY GB RALLY GB RALLY GB RALLY GB RALLY GB RALLY GB RALLY GB RALLY GB RALLY GB RALLY GB RALLY GB RALLY GB RALLY GB RALLY GB RALLY GB RALLY GB RALLY GB RALLY GB RALLY GB RALLY GB RALLY GB

steaallan

go on bob get thy self down to wales and have a good weekend with the lads

then i might be able to jump you in the points table

club sec

Or go to Wales and get jumped by Gav

club sec

Another big entry for the Karting, pressures on Bob.

bob_mck

Gav Taylor

they would if they were gang raping you mate!

Gav Taylor

shame but its the top 20 that really steal the show in terms of skill anyway!

Rally GB attracts fewer than 50 cars

By David Evans Wednesday, September 30th 2009, 15:38 GMT

As entries draw to a close for this year's Rally Great Britain, less than 50 crews have committed to Britain's round of the World Rally Championship.

Forty-nine crews were listed as accepted entries last night, with the closing date for priority drivers already gone and the amateurs' entry ending this afternoon.

As expected Petter Solberg is listed as a Citroen Junior Team driver, along with Aaron Burkart, who won his Citroen C4 drive after finishing second in last year's Junior World Rally Championship while driving a C2.

Top British national driver Steve Perez joins the Stobart Ford team for the Cardiff-based event. The entry is bolstered by 14 Production Car WRC runners and the five Pirelli Star Drivers.

Welshman Tom Cave, who stunned the rallying fraternity with a class win on last year's event - despite only having passed his driving test days before - returns, although the 17-year-old has still to nominate a car.

Norwegian driver Eyvind Brynildsen swaps his usual Mitsubishi Lancer to drive a Super 2000 car for the first time, as he makes his debut in a Skoda Fabia S2000 on the October 23-25 event.

Despite its low number of entries, Rally GB has managed to attract more drivers than Rally Ireland, which kick-started the World Rally Championship year with 43 cars.

joe_the_waiter

I remember when we used to get 150 entries (or was it more?)

joe_the_waiter

WELL.... Spain over. Long time since Rally GB had such a close title fight.

winner takes all. one point difference. No team orders, no tactics, just flat out to the finish. and thats for everyone.. not just Loeb and Hirvonen.

difficult to call this one. Petter Solberg is going to be awesome.... i think he surprised everyone how fast he got to grips with the Citroen on tarmac... i even dropped him in my fantasy team for this round... new car, tarmac..... !
Ogier was like a rocket last year in GB in his first WRC car outing until he crashed... i reckon another fast showing now he knows the car (altho Olivier wont be pleased if he bends it).
JML will be off the leash and i reckon is a good contender for the win. Even young Matty will be off the leash but i dont expect him to stay with the pack.
Sordo is desperate fo a win and this is a one off chance where he isnt playing the team game... not sure he has the stuff for a GB win tho.

There are genuinlely 6 drivers who could win in three weeks......

Gentlemen... place your bets please

Gav Taylor

it'll be a truly EPIC battle...cant wait to witness it!

best drivers & cars in the World driving on the limit.

Doesnt get any better than this.

Gav Taylor

well looks like its stopping in wales for 2010, with a move north in 2011

Gav Taylor

9 days.

Gav Taylor

something to whet your whistle..

Loeb testing a few days ago.

Cant wait to hear the C4 flat out it sounds like Cruella De Vill trying to do a donald duck impression after 40 marlboro red's. Epic.

joe_the_waiter

wet my whistle??? think i've wet my pants....

just awesome... the excitement is tangable

Gav Taylor

Gav Taylor

8 days.

steaallan

well i wonder how the boys are getting

on in wales after there first night together squashed in the fronty

club sec

Cosy.

club sec

I wonder if the fans will put logs on the track for Loeb like they did for Sainz 10 years ago?

bob_mck

i dont know if its needed

hirvo has just taken 11.2 secs off loeb in one stage!! only 18.3 secs to go then hes won

skodaman

Just looked at the stage times, the fightback is on! I would like to see
Hirvonen win it fair and square!

skodaman

How unlucky was Hirvonen? Mind it was one hell of a landing that caused
his bonnet to pop open! In the end, Loeb still probably deserved it but
this year has been the making of Miko!
On another note - what the hell waste of time was Dave's sort of
coverage of our flagship WRC event?? The first 5 mins was wasted on
the year so far and Alan Shearer getting a ride in a Focus. To add to that
how much air time was wasted on a mini-autotest demo by Paul Swift
with Dom Joly! Couldn't this be fitted into a preview show???
When all came to all, the top 6 were once again the only cars given
any worthy coverage and for god's sake will Paul King shut up once in a
while and let us hear the cars! Rewind 20 years to BBC coverage with
daily slots and tails from right down the order - and a bit of british
coverage! That's how it should be!!

Rant Over!!!!!!!!!

slippy

joe_the_waiter

Havent seen the program yet, but i'm sure i also dont want to be watching Paul swift doing demo's etc. I agree that sort of stuff should be shown next week in a review show.

Rally itself was great as usual. top cars are mind blowingly fast and nothing else i see throughout the year even comes close. Steve Perez did well, but looked like he was strolling in comparison to main Ford drivers and Peter Stephenson was setting a pace on par with two wheel drive fiestas in his Focus WRC.

The speed and commitment into the corners defies belief and every year... they go faster than what you imagine they are going to go. Hard to believe they can get that much grip from a mud and gravel surface.

Unbelievable.

Last year of the WRC cars next year..... definately not to be missed.

Gav Taylor

I'm writing a report for the oily rag.

Epic event. World class it just puts it into comparison the difference in skill and commitment from clubman events. well worth the £100's spent watching it.

If you want to watch some other coverage I suggest you go on BBC's iplayer as there're broadcasting the event on BBC wales but I assume it'll be on iplayer afterwards and it wont have all the filler shite you get on dave

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00nkt1x

joe_the_waiter

good find

stu105e · TV Coverage

Hi All,
Just watched the rallying on Dave, for an hours rallying programme there wasn't much in the rally itself. WRC Car airtime must have been less than 15 mins. If i want to see hand brake turns id go to majuba and do 1 myself. The programme didnt do the event any justice, and dont think there will be many new fans after it. Still, its better than no coverage at all. F1 gets most of a sunday, football prime time evenings and all day saturday on sky sports news. 1 hour for a weekends WRC 'forest frashing' aint enough imo.

Stu, Shell, and Bump.

joe_the_waiter

who the hell is Bump ?
.... ohhhh yeah.... bump....

i agree about the coverage... i think its getting worse. too much emphisis on the special guests these days. I dont moan too much tho, as to date, Dave has had the most consistant coverage of the World Championship we have ever had. BBC only showed RGB and the odd european round a week later, Ch 4 was inconsistant and ITV4 showed it at silly times with no repeats (unlike BTCC which is repeated 20 times over two weeks till your sick of seeing it).
Dave show every round within hours of the finish and also show PWRC and JWRC. we get 51 one hr shows a year with reruns.. more than ever before in British TV history. Quality is poor at times, but as Stu says... better than none at all.
BBC shown Ireland (in Ireland) and wales (in Wales), but both were two days later and one day later respectively. Thats why they shouldnt get it in my opinion.... who wants to watch it days after... or even a week after as it used to be?

skodaman

One thing i never praised DAVE for was the coverage was on the day the
event finished, but at one point when C4 covered the championship you
used to get 30 mins every day of the event which was probably better
than we have now. I still think that BBC / Top Gear (Wooly Willy Woolard)
set the template for how our flagship event should be covered!

stu105e

Bump = Baby bump, lol

I didnt know it was on at end of each day, bob phoned me 2day, said it was on. im 2 busy 4 watching TV.

Stu

joe_the_waiter

There was only one show... Sunday after the rally, that was repeated tonight.

stu105e

ok, i must have read it wrong, sorry,

WRGB 2009

TV Coverage