Driving Sports

Vortex Race Performance Exhausts the Winning Strategy for Diesel and R3 Rally

In a BMW120 diesel Fin McCaul finished first in the diesel and R3 class of the Pirelli International Rally held 19 April, 2008, which is the first round of the British Rally Championship. In terms of achievement this merits high enough to be called very exceptional. The next rally will be the Jim Clark Rally. The Vortex team is confident that their rally race exhaust technology will make the difference and that Fin has an excellent chance to carry on winning and lift the silverware.

Gitting sideways at Prodrive UK

Just before Christmas I was running a series from my trip to Rally GB in 2007. I've dusted the files off and have one more from that series to share. This was the visit to the Prodrive test track in Warwickshire.

I had a chance to drive a Type UK 2007 STI and a Group-N WRC car on the high-speed course (my first time in a right-hand drive), plus I had a little fun on the ice simulator. Prodrive has one of only two such simulators in the UK.

Thanks to Subaru of America for hookup us up. Enjoy the video, just after the jump.

It's a lot harder than it looks

Subiesport Magazine has an interview with the personal trainer for Subaru World Rally Team drivers Chris Atkinson and Petter Solberg. They make it look so easy, but really, their bodies are getting a beating out there:

The sport of rallying, especially at the competitive sharp end of the World Championship, is incredibly tough and demanding of both cars and drivers. Teams of engineers channel huge focus and resource into the development of the vehicle side of the equation, but what of the human element?

It’s well known in motorsport that, while engineers are working to find tenths of a second, a driver who tires halfway through a stage suffers reduced focus and slower reactions, leading to the potential loss of seconds, not just tenths.

[Subiesport Magazine]

Ford Unveils Fiesta - Shows off WRC Focus

Ford of Europe unveiled their new "Fiesta" this week at the Geneva Auto Show - the little hatch comes in three and five-door versions.

"Sustainable mobility imposes a huge challenge for society and the automotive industry, and there is still a long journey ahead of us," said John Fleming, Ford of Europe president and CEO. "Further out, we're working on a range of affordable new petrol engines under the Ford EcoBoost name. These use a combination of direct fuel injection and turbocharging technologies to deliver better performance, emissions and economy from smaller displacement engines."

Chris Atkinson of Subaru World Rally Team Takes a Personal Best in Mexico

Atkinson excels with highest WRC career finish as SWRT continue strong season

Chris Atkinson and Stephane Prevot completed Rally Mexico in spectacular style, recording their highest ever finish together in a World Rally Championship event with a hard-fought second place. Meanwhile Petter Solberg and Phil Mills pushed hard to clinch the final Manufacturers’ Championship point, keeping the Subaru World Rally Team in second position in the overall standings.

Atkinson’s second podium in three rallies this season jumps him to fourth overall in the Drivers’ Championship, just six points shy of the top of the standings. It’s his best start to a WRC season, and firmly establishes the Australian as a contender for WRC victories. Solberg and Mills lie just behind in fifth in the Championship standings, as the team continue their strong start to 2008 with more solid points.

Dreadnought Gets Wide

The best way to increase grip, is to increase the amount of rubber between the chassis and the ground. Said another way: bigger tires. Currently, the wagon is sitting on 225/45/17 tires. This isn't bad, but to really have any amount of decent grip, we need to go bigger. Much bigger. However, the stock, slab-sided body means one can only add so much rubber.

Travis Pastrana gets a new co-driver

Rally ace and sometimes adrenaline junkie, Travis Pastrana, has lost his long-time co-driver, Christian Edstrom to retirement. Edstrom, who said that he was taking a hiatus from rally, cited needing more time for his family and career opportunities for leaving SRT. This is not the first time, however, that Edstrom has threatened leaving Pastrana and SRT. After a nasty crash last season, it was rumored that Edstrom had had enough of the balls-out driving of Pastrana. However, Edstrom soldiered on, but it seems that the duos most recent collision with a deer may have rattled Edstrom loose.

Rally Sweden WRC In Progress

The World Rally Championship heads to the long and winding forest routes of Rally Sweden ready to tackle the challenge of all-out sideways action as crews wrestle their machines across sheet ice. The only specialist snow rally of the year, it is one of the fastest and most competitive as WRC crews battle to prove their mettle on the only wholly ice-covered speed tests they will encounter all year.

Travelling to the city of Karlstad for the event that has honed the skills of so many past greats, it is clear to see how the conditions develop the flamboyant mastery of Scandinavians behind the wheel. Aboard his Subaru Impreza WRC2007, Petter Solberg is no exception. The Norwegian grew up driving cars on the tundra of his homeland and won here in 2005, finishing on the podium twice since joining the team. He is currently sitting in fifth place after Stage 7.

Solberg's Scary Moment

Petter Solberg has a high-speed spin on the first stage at the WRC Wales Rally GB. Oh, if we could only have in-car cameras on the WRC cars! (oh, wait, thanks to YouTube, we don't need one! Click the jump and fast forward to 0:55) For our part, we can at least see the car come in for service and get a team update from the Subaru World Rally Team PR manager, Stephen Webb.

In this clip, Petter's car gets some suspension changes and Chris Atkinson's car gets a new steering rack.

Travis Pastrana Frustrated at Rally GB

This was the first WRC Rally GB for two time US rally champion Travis Pastrana. His goal is to be competing (in a Subaru) at the highest level of WRC competition within a few years. For this event, Pastrana competed in the Production Class (PWRC) in a car built and supported by Vermont Sports Car. The same crew supported his US championship run over the past couple years. His Subaru Rally Team USA teammate Ken Block took part in other PWRC events earlier this year, but Block wasn't competing this time around.

So far, on his quest for WRC greatness, Pastrana's greatest challenge has been for him and his co-driver, Christian Edstrom, to "get up to speed" on the WRC notes. Notes are the course "shorthand" used by teams to manage high speeds in weather conditions like we had in Wales this year -- almost zero visibility. We have another video that we'll post later, where Christian describes how notes work.

In the meanwhile, let's check in with a visibly frustrated Travis at his first Service (or start at the beginning), after he spent a good part of the his earlier stages fixing flat tires on course. (Yes, in rally, teams have to fix their own cars on course.) Careful, kids, Travis drops an F-Bomb as he describes his "Austin Powers"-like driving skills, but continues to hope for the best.

WRC Wales Rally GB - Shakedown

Before the event, several cars took part in a Shakedown stage just outside of Swansea in Wales. Since this Stage is optional, and not for any points, cars were driving at 7/10ths. Still, with the one sunny day to view cars on the stage, it was a very exciting afternoon. As you'll see in a later clip, by Friday night the rain was coming down -- with a vengeance.

Click to view "Shakedown" in the main player.

WRC Wales Rally GB Videos - Stage 1

Stage 1 from WRC Wales Rally GB has just been added to the main player. We're going to keep the videos in sequence (mostly) so you can watch them straight through on the playlist. That means that the Cardiff opening will remain the the first one you see, followed by Stage 1 and anything else we put up in the next few days.

This stage was a particularly long hike through muddy, slippery terrain. As you can see the fog was also quite dense making it near impossible to identify which car was which as they whizzed by at triple-digit speeds.

This isn't every single car, as I had trouble finding a good vantage point for the jump -- without offending the many intoxicated folk that were crowding the sidelines. It appeared as several large groups had camped out their positions hours, if not days, before the event. Unheard of in US Rally, but quite the regular custom in World Rally competition.

WRC Wales Rally GB Videos - Opening

Over the next week-or-so, we'll be rolling out short clips from our recent adventure to Prodrive and WRC Wales Rally GB. The first clip, "Opening in Cardiff," is now up in the main page player. Or, to see it larger, you can click here to launch our full page player.

The start took place in downtown Cardiff. Thousands upon thousands turned out on the chilly but clear Welsh evening. Even though every team crossed the start, most of the crowd was gone after the top 10 cars had passed. It went on for several hours.

Our own group waited to see the only American competing, Travis Pastrana of the Subaru Rally Team USA, cross the start. We then all headed to a nearby restaurant for wine and seafood.

Wet! Wet! Wet!

We're returning from the wettest rally stage ever. Seriously, a  sideways deluge. Couldn't see who was who. Still managed to get some  video tho.

Once we get out of this parking lot it's off to dinner.

Kickoff in Cardiff

Wales Rally GB kicked off tonight in Cardiff with a bang (literally... lots of fireworks), as every competitor rolled over the ceremonial start. All except for the privateer MG S2000 team of Stuart Jones and Craig Parry... they walked across the line as damage from the shakedown stage sidelined the car for the night. On the stage they proclaimed that their car would be ready for competition on Friday.

Petter Solberg, by far, was the crowd favorite. A massive cheer rose as he crossed the start. In his interview on the deck he said that he was looking to win this one for the fans. Insider tip: the Subaru World Rally Team is testing a new glow-in-the-dark sticker scheme. It should make for some interesting photos.

Way down at the 52 start position, Travis Pastrana rolled across the start with a surprising amount of applause (after the top 10 cars started, the crowd thinned dramatically) but little other fanfare. It would have been nice if the announcer had at least mentioned that Travis was the sole American entry. The Russian and Polish Subaru Rally Teams received a lot more attention from the announcer. (granted, they are running open class and Travis is batting down at Group N)

For live updates from the rally with scores and news, also check out Jason and Yuji's LIVE WRC report at SubieClub.com. I'll be out on stage all day tomorrow, which will limit my access to information. And, as has been seen, remote data connections are turning out to be sketchy.

Track and Country

After wrapping our tour of Prodrive our group headed to Prodrive’s test track near Warwick. Here we sampled a few different Subarus in less-than-normal conditions.

First up was the high-speed circuit in a 2006 STI Type UK, followed by attempting to drive a 2008 WRX on an ice simulation course. Then, after lunch, we wrapped with a technical course in another 2006 Type UK, with the coup-de-grace of running a Prodrive Group N car around the course for a few laps.

The biggest challenge of the day was getting used to all the cars in a right-hand-drive configuration. I could see that driving on the street wouldn’t have been much of a problem, but trying to retrain my left hand to “know” what gear it was in was turning out to be a significantly greater challenge than I had predicted. Jamming from 3rd to 2nd under pressure of a fast-approaching apex gave wake to muscles I didn’t even know were in my shoulder. This was terribly distracting to my brain, which was otherwise occupied with keeping the car on the track at speed.

Prodrive tour

We just completed the tour of Prodrive: WRC car prep from motor to 
frame to final car. See the gallery for snapshots from the tour. Here 
is Atkinson's car prepped for Rally GB.

On the Road to WRC Rally GB!

Starting Monday, November 26, Ryan Douthit will be reporting "live" on DrivingSports.com as he travels abroad. First stop: Testing a Group N rally car at Prodrive UK. Next, the Subaru World Rally Team and Subaru Rally Team USA driver Travis Pastrana prepare to tackle WRC Rally Great Britain. There will be fast cars, fine dinners and a rollicking good time in the old country!

To see images from the trip, click on the UK Moblog Gallery on the right. Ryan will also be making entries from his cell phone every step of the way! Refresh this page often for the latest updates!