WRC Modern Classics Season 2001. Finale!

Clean run for me thankfully. A few spins and a nice quick roll that did no damage were all that were eventful. I still don't like the handling of the 01' Focus but I can't complain too much considering the attrition rate of this round.

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I was in contention for the win, despite driving like a grandma on a few stages, until a little rock got me a puncture at the middle of Stage 8, at the tarmac/paved route. Got me back to P3 at the end.

Tarmac is definitely not for me 😔
 
Rallye de Portugal has proven to be a stern test of concentration and ability to keep a radiator in tact. 37 drivers took the start gate, 19 reached the finish. @RYAN proved to have the taming of both his Focus and the rutted countryside of Portugal, keeping the car intact and dominating the rally to finish nearly 2 minutes ahead of 2nd place driver @Belgianwaffle in the Impreza. @Spinerkopin backed up the win in Sweden with another podium here in his Impreza as well.

@RYAN powers the Focus to victory
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RankDisplayNameVehicleTimeDifferenceToFirst
1RDA-JETSFord Focus RS Rally 20011:19:070:00:00
2BelgianWaffle78SUBARU Impreza 20011:21:020:01:55
3SpinerkopinSUBARU Impreza 20011:21:210:02:14
4Hasnain282SEAT Córdoba WRC1:21:460:02:39
5c07aea92ce6efb26SEAT Córdoba WRC1:24:380:05:30
6GOTMAXPOWERFord Focus RS Rally 20011:25:140:06:06
7widdlerSUBARU Impreza 20011:25:410:06:34
8Space_WadetPeugeot 206 Rally1:25:570:06:49
9lebowski2Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI1:26:410:07:34
10SolidNinjaSnakeFord Focus RS Rally 20011:27:190:08:11
11ABarber95SUBARU Impreza 20011:28:560:09:49
12nowthenfellaSEAT Córdoba WRC1:29:550:10:47
13alicudisSUBARU Impreza 19981:29:590:10:51
14mmf1_PSFord Focus RS Rally 20011:31:220:12:15
15FinalNitrousFord Focus RS Rally 20011:31:260:12:18
16BergGunnerSUBARU Impreza 20011:31:270:12:19
17dahKarvaRanneMitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI1:32:470:13:39
18miljan426SUBARU Impreza 20011:33:290:14:22
19tomo875Peugeot 206 Rally1:34:510:15:43

@Belgianwaffle leaps through the Fafe jump​
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This means that @Spinerkopin takes over the lead of the championship, with @Belgianwaffle and @space_wadet moving into P2 and 3 respectively. @RYAN 's dominant win lifts him 8 places into 5th.
RankDisplayNamePointsAccumulated
1Spinerkopin101
2BelgianWaffle7898
3Space_Wadet80
4Hasnain28280
5RDA-JETS77
6Dreadmed74
7amagurichan71
8BergGunner64
9widdler54
10Speedster50251
11Ujhuuu8iolk50
12FiveHoleCole49
13GOTMAXPOWER47
14Devilsoldier9641
15ABarber9538
16SolidNinjaSnake38
17thewrathofwhat37
18magpieracer37
19alicudis37
20c07aea92ce6efb2636
21Meadow14235
22nowthenfella33
23mistrelwood31
24JabierFailure30
25miljan42629
26mmf1_PS28
27FinalNitrous28
28lebowski225
29tomo87522
30dahKarvaRanne15
31DaniB5814
32bigfatflip10
33DummyGames1410
34Cabelmania9
359d1c43eb87fa5a798
36vaskildo8
37D1sharmoneus7
38Try_Canal107
39WRC Player6
40vivalabam9225
41skolll-T_T5
42RuggishThuggish4
43Scaff4
44BenAFC144
45Syuma25253
46Bretto733
47Disabled_Lefty1
48WRC Player1
49Ikk_klar0
50Gr0upB0
51darrenersmit820
52Hultberg4200
53AnttiRenfors0
54juniorjohan0
55yuzabulow0
56SteveIsAwake0
57Mounta1nShark0
58AhoTerunen0
59fourpegs0
60DarkSmaile9770

@Tool1312 manhandles the Impreza through the rocky roads
TOOLport.jpg

Subaru extend their lead in the constructors, Ford leapfrog Mitsubishi into P2 overall while Seat are off the bottom as they outscore Peugeot comfortably to go P4.
RankManufacturerPoints
1Subaru104
2Ford65
3Mitsubishi47
4Seat37
5Peugeot33

@Speedster502 coaxes the Peugeot to a handful of points.
speedsterport.jpg

@MagpieRacer attacks the water in his Seat before retirement.​
Magpier1.jpg


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The real 2001 Portuguese event was chaotic, a wet mud-bath to make even the most Welsh of Welshman quiver. After weeks of intense (and sadly, fatal) rain, calling in to question whether the rally should have taken place at all (nowadays it's likely it wouldn't have gone ahead). But it did go ahead, straight into 2 stage cancellations (including Fafe), and simply getting to the end of the rally would likely yield a strong result. The early runners (Makinen, Sainz and Rovanpera) were able to get through with reasonable times, but still only 3 drivers were within a minute of Makinen who had the best conditions. Everyone else was battling getting stuck, crawling through mud and bottoming out on ruts.
After all the delays, stage cancellations and zero cars getting stuck, 70% of starters had retired. Makinen took the win for Mitsubishi ahead of Fords Carlos Sainz and Peugeots Marcus Gronholm.
This would also mark the last Rally Portugal until 2007.
 
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After the mudbath of Portugal, we move to sunnier conditions and the 37th Rally Catalunya Costa Brava. The first all tarmac event of the year and we will begin to see who has the strongest sealed surface package ahead of the late season tarmac events.

Itinerary
Day 1

Shakedown
Morning Service
SS1: Montagut - 9.2km
SS2: Montclar - 7.3km

Lunchtime Service
SS3: Aiguamúrcia - 9.2km
SS4: Alforja - 16.3km

Evening Service
SS5: Botareli - 7.3km

Day 2
Morning Service
SS6: Santes Creus - 19km
SS7: Pontils - 9.7km

Lunchtime Service
SS8: Les Voltes - 8.9km
SS9: Les Irles - 16.3km

Evening Service
SS10: Valldossera - 19km

Total Distance: 122.2km
 
Got the final stage left to do, it's criminal how few tyre sets are available. I've got a badly worn set of mediums to choose from or a risky new set of rain tyres to do 19km. Decisions decisions cos the mediums are feeling awful right now
 
Got the final stage left to do, it's criminal how few tyre sets are available. I've got a badly worn set of mediums to choose from or a risky new set of rain tyres to do 19km. Decisions decisions cos the mediums are feeling awful right now
The rain tyres actually feel OK on dry I find.
 
Spent a lot of time trying to get myself dialled into the 206, think I've found a set-up that seems to be working...only to get a puncture half way into the first stage 🤦‍♂️

This is going to be a long rally...
 
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First two stages done, hopefully not a sign of things to come but I was struggling to get the Evo through some of those corners by the end of stage 2... it felt a lot better to attack with in MC. I'll have to see if I can find the sweet spot again before the weekend;

 
I find Spain a very difficult rally. When exiting corners you often get the feeling that you could have gone faster through there. But if you increase your pace, you are often punished for it. So, my strategy was to ride a good pace with reduced risks. I succeeded at that, I think. But the big boys will be far ahead again. Anyway, every point counts for the championship.

Ps: I also made a stupid mistake at the start of Ss5. My steering wheel was not centered yet, after making a photo in the replay 🤦🤦 So I had to eat a 5 sec penalty there for hitting the poor start-Marshall 😳
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I'm not looking forward to Catalunya. It's one of the rallies I haven't ran too much and I definitely feel Tarmac is the weakest surface for the Focus. I will be pleased with a podium finish. I also don't practice anymore due to time constraints/patience so I will have to take it easy on the sections I don't know. Luckily there's plenty of Gravel Rallies left in the Championship where I feel more comfortable so I hope to just survive this 😄
 
I find Spain a very difficult rally. When exiting corners you often get the feeling that you could have gone faster through there. But if you increase your pace, you are often punished for it.
100%, I've clocked up 130 hours now and I'm still none the wiser in regards to how much speed I can carry on "regular" asphalt tyres (i.e not rain/winter). There doesn't seem to be any gradual drop-off, you either make it around the corner so comfortably that you're internally kicking yourself or you've understeered straight into a barrier/cliff drop...
 
Going into the last stage I was confident, I had gone long on mediums earlier in the rally and had my set of softs still in decent condition for the last stage.

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And then... I got a puncture straight away :lol:. 1:30 penalty and thrown away 1st and even 2nd

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Going into the last stage I was confident, I had gone long on mediums earlier in the rally and had my set of softs still in decent condition for the last stage.

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And then... I got a puncture straight away :lol:. 1:30 penalty and thrown away 1st and even 2nd

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Looks like it was close until the very end!

You kept your set of softs for the last 3 stages? I went for mediums from stage 1 to 5 (not sure if keeping them for S5 was a good idea), then softs for stage 6 and 7, and then mediums again for the 3 last.
 
Looks like it was close until the very end!

You kept your set of softs for the last 3 stages? I went for mediums from stage 1 to 5 (not sure if keeping them for S5 was a good idea), then softs for stage 6 and 7, and then mediums again for the 3 last.
Yeah, I had kept my softs for the end. I had tested rain tires after some people had said they were OK but I didn't like the feel of them at all so I went mediums 1-4 and 5-7.

The corner I went wide at I have driven dozens of times, About 3-4 times earlier in the this rally so it was a stupid mistake. Still I'm happy with my pace. I seem to be getting used to the Focus more now.
 
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