Wrc

[rally]

Petter is great, he shows his passion and he is very genuine. I'd love to see him win.

Colin McRae has no ride for next year so he is claiming to retire. The Ford Focus WRC car is actually one of the more impressive cars this year. Many drivers have commented favorably about it. But yes, Ford does have a rather dismal record in rally in the years past.

Dodge is sort of behind a few cars in the SCCA ProRally. Hyundai dropped out of SCCA ProRally last year. Subaru, Mitsubishi and Mazda are the main manufacturers involved with Dodge getting more and more involved. The Air Force Reserve sponsors an SVT Ford Focus AWD turbo car.

I have competed in a few events as a co-driver and I run the forums at SpecialStage.com (a site dedicated to North American Rally).

This has been a rough year for the US rally series. We lost two spectators in an incident earlier this year. And just a little while ago, we lost the top Subaru driver/co-driver team (Mark Lovell and Roger Freeman) in an accident while competing. Very sad year.

[rally]

Petter won, rock on!

[MartyMcFly]

The picture's were amazing yesterday!

Petter celebrates like no one else

Congratulations Petter & the Subaru-Team. Good Work.

Maybe next year Subaru will also win the first place in the manufacturers ranking.

http://www.pettersolberg.com


mfg hrc

[mbtoloczko]

Man, its just amazing watching those guys pitch into the corners.

[rally]

Big changes in SCCA ProRally tonight, Mitsubishi officially dropped out.

http://www.specialstage.com/view.asp?StoryID=304

Subaru will probably follow suit, but I'll hold out some hope.

[Royal Tiger]

I hope SCCA isn't going down the tubes. It's all we have until the WRC comes here (please please please!!) I think Subaru will have a GREAT year in 04 with Petter and Richard Burns. We'll have to wait and see. As for the foreign car thing, I defend Japanese cars all the time, but I won't even let them carry my corpse in anything french.

[Mr. Pockets]

Originally posted by PA_SVX
I hope SCCA isn't going down the tubes. It's all we have until the WRC comes here (please please please!!) I think Subaru will have a GREAT year in 04 with Petter and Richard Burns. We'll have to wait and see. As for the foreign car thing, I defend Japanese cars all the time, but I won't even let them carry my corpse in anything french.

Richard will not be competing next year. His illness, which prevented him from competing in the Wales Rally GB, is serious enough that he will have to sit out the entire 2004 season.

I wonder if Subaru will now be going after Colin - or will it be the other way around?

[GreenMarine]

I'd like to see colin back behind the wheel of a subaru... That's where he was all through the time that I was really abcessed with WRC... So can anyone fill me in on exactly how well Subaru is doing??? Don't get to watch much SPEED Channel here in the Marines...... Thanks!!!

[Mr. Pockets]

Subaru finished 3rd in the manufacturer's championship this year. It seems that the WRC is cyclic for the most part. A few years ago Subaru was pouring money into their WRC effort and won a few manufacturer's championships. The last few years it was Peugeut. Now Peugeot seems to want to ride on that success and they're going to try to run a sexy convertible-based car. Right now Citroen has the title. The fact that it was only their first full season backs my claim that the manufacturer who most wants to win the title does it with lots of money, then they ride the marketing that success brings them for awhile.

Subaru is a pretty constant force in the WRC. Their brand image relies on it, so they'll always be at least moderately successful unless they decide to change their image. Third in the championship serves this agenda well.

[montypython]

Originally posted by Mr. Pockets


Richard will not be competing next year. His illness, which prevented him from competing in the Wales Rally GB, is serious enough that he will have to sit out the entire 2004 season.

I wonder if Subaru will now be going after Colin - or will it be the other way around?

I read today that Richard has a brain tumor and will indeed miss the 2004 season. Major bummer and you have to think that it's not only 2004 he'll miss.
I was in Wales for the Rally. I arrived the day the Rally started only to pick up a newspaper with headlines "BURNS OUT". It's a lucky thing that Marko Martin was with him when he blacked out.
But the rally was great. The TV coverage just did not do it justice. You have to be there with the fans and see the cars racing through the forest first hand. It sends shivers down my spine to think about it.
I managed to see six of the eighteen stages and got to the service area a couple of times.
I think Subaru came on strong in the latter half of the season thanks to Petter, and he and Burns would have been great for them next year.
I think, and hope that Colin (Crash) McRae will be the natural replacement.
I'm secretly (from Irene) planning next years trip already