WRC Modern Classics Season 3 voting

[MagpieRacer]

Hello fellow rally enthusiasts. We have had 2 seasons of the Modern Classics rally club, and it has been an amazing success, with people thoroughly enjoying the challenge of recreating some of the most memorable and iconic seasons and events in WRC history.

Season 1 saw us take on the iconic 1995 championship, whilst season 2 is approaching the conclusion of the 2001 campaign. Season 3 will take us to new waters, as I throw it to you, the drivers, to vote on the next championship.

I have taken the liberty of narrowing it down for you, so we don't have to pick from all 50 WRC seasons, the selection to vote from has been picked based on how close we can get to the real series in the game, ideally with minimal replacement rallies (though they are inevitable), with a healthy selection of cars (ideally all) for that season. Below I will detail each season, listing the class, cars available and the rallies it will feature. You will have 1 vote, so vote wisely.

Choice 1:
2007
Whilst not often remembered as a classic, 2007 saw a titanic showdown between 2 of the greatest drivers in WRC history, Sebastien Loeb and Marcus Gronholm. Citroen debuted the C4 WRC and we had a mammoth 16 round calendar to enjoy.

Cars:
Citroen C4 WRC
Ford Focus RS 2008
Citroen Xsara WRC
Skoda Fabia WRC

Calendar:
1. Monte Carlo
2. Sweden
3. Norway
4. Mexico
5. Portugal
6. Argentina (Mexico)
7. Sardinia
8. Greece
9. Finland
10. Germany (CER)
11. New Zealand
12. Catalunya
13. Corsica
14. Japan (Pacifico)
15. Ireland (CER winter)
16. GB (Chile)

Choice 2:
1979
1979 was the first time the World Rally Championship for drivers was contested. Some of the most legendary cars competed in this season, across some familiar rallies. Legendary drivers such as Bjorn Waldegard, Stig Blomqvist, Hannu Mikkola and Markku Alen, all took victories in this year. Due to it's differing class, the Lancia Stratos won't be available for use.

Cars:
Fiat 131 Abarth
Ford Escort Mk2
Hillman Avenger
Opel Kadett
Talbot Sunbeam

Calendar:
1. Monte Carlo
2. Sweden
3. Portugal
4. Kenya
5. Greece
6. New Zealand
7. Finland
8. Quebec (Catalunya winter)
9. San Remo (Japan)
10. Corsica
11. RAC Rally (Chile)
12. Ivory Coast (Kenya)

Choice 3:
2023
A somewhat obvious event to throw in, but, as we have the ability to run this season in it's entirety with all the correct cars, it would be silly not to include it in the voting. An entertaining season, with some closely fought rallies and a championship battle that ended in unfortunate circumstances for Elfyn Evans.

Cars:
Toyota Yaris Rally1
Hyundai i20N Rally1
Ford Puma Rally1

Calendar:
1. Monte Carlo
2. Sweden
3. Mexico
4. Croatia
5. Portugal
6. Sardegna
7. Kenya
8. Estonia
9. Finland
10. Greece
11. Chile
12. CER
13. Japan

Choice 4:
1999 British Rally Championship
A left field choice that isn't a WRC season, but is a classic in it's own right. With some of the most iconic rally cars ever, the F2 kit cars, ad a bit of imagination, this could be a true test of skill in one of the most comprehensive classes in the game. Legends such as Gwyndaf Evans, Toni Gardemeister, Mark Higgins and Tapio Laukkanen took part in this season.

Cars:
Ford Escort Mk6 Maxi
Renault Megane Maxi
SEAT Ibiza Kit Car
Vauxhall Astra Kit Car
Volkswagen Golf Mk4 Kit Car

Calendar:
1. Wales (Chile)
2. Pirelli International (Pacifico)
3. Scottish (Estonia)
4. Jim Clark (CER)
5. Ulster (Monte)
6. Manx (Spain)

 

[Tool1312]

Hmm, no love for 1979 lol

 

[MagpieRacer]

Hmm, no love for 1979 lol

Even less for 2023 😅.

Definitely a 2 horse race it seems.

 

[RYAN]

I would have liked a Modern Hybrid championship. Actually split up into teams maybe. The fact all 3 cars are fairly balanced helps too. Full calendar of rallies with no adjustments also. Still, After I voted and saw I was the only one voting for it I changed vote.

I fear the need to run C4 to be competitive will be a problem for '07 (I'd go Focus '08 out of personal fandom but still)

Edit - Scrap that, Just realised this is the Modern Classics long series. I thought it was the shorter format.

 

[MagpieRacer]

I would have liked a Modern Hybrid championship. Actually split up into teams maybe. The fact all 3 cars are fairly balanced helps too. Full calendar of rallies with no adjustments also. Still, After I voted and saw I was the only one voting for it I changed vote.

I fear the need to run C4 to be competitive will be a problem for '07 (I'd go Focus '08 out of personal fandom but still)

Edit - Scrap that, Just realised this is the Modern Classics long series. I thought it was the shorter format.

I think on balance the C4 would be the quickest, my concern would be the Xsara beating everything else. Ultimately I think on a long championship and with the range of abilities we have, it will equalise to a degree.

I am however, considering taking out the hardcore damage, I feel it can be overly punishing sometimes, which is fine, but it's almost to a fault in this game, small bushes wiping out radiators without effort etc. To compensate, I may lengthen the times between services overall to compensate so the car will still need to be looked after.

Thoughts?

 

[Hasnain282]

I think on balance the C4 would be the quickest, my concern would be the Xsara beating everything else. Ultimately I think on a long championship and with the range of abilities we have, it will equalise to a degree.

I am however, considering taking out the hardcore damage, I feel it can be overly punishing sometimes, which is fine, but it's almost to a fault in this game, small bushes wiping out radiators without effort etc. To compensate, I may lengthen the times between services overall to compensate so the car will still need to be looked after.

Thoughts?

Yeah that sounds fine by me

 

[Cabelmania]

I think on balance the C4 would be the quickest, my concern would be the Xsara beating everything else. Ultimately I think on a long championship and with the range of abilities we have, it will equalise to a degree.

I am however, considering taking out the hardcore damage, I feel it can be overly punishing sometimes, which is fine, but it's almost to a fault in this game, small bushes wiping out radiators without effort etc. To compensate, I may lengthen the times between services overall to compensate so the car will still need to be looked after.

Thoughts?

Sounds good

 

[Dreadmed]

'07 is the logical choice to follow on from the previous 2 seasons, although considering the expansion/DLC plans and the scheduled length of '07 I wonder if it may be prudent to keep that particular keg dry for the moment?

New cars + locations are the highlight for the initial expansion release on October, which might give some more options. I guess it's a question of when this next season is/was planned to get under way?

Re: Hardcore damage, I don't have particularly strong feelings for or against, although in this instance I do wish there could be a sliding scale for that; standard damage seems to grant every car the survivability of a Hilux while hardcore can be a tad too punishing as well as the (seemingly) RNG factor in regards to punctures.

 

[MagpieRacer]

'07 is the logical choice to follow on from the previous 2 seasons, although considering the expansion/DLC plans and the scheduled length of '07 I wonder if it may be prudent to keep that particular keg dry for the moment?

New cars + locations are the highlight for the initial expansion release on October, which might give some more options. I guess it's a question of when this next season is/was planned to get under way?

Re: Hardcore damage, I don't have particularly strong feelings for or against, although in this instance I do wish there could be a sliding scale for that; standard damage seems to grant every car the survivability of a Hilux while hardcore can be a tad too punishing as well as the (seemingly) RNG factor in regards to punctures.

Yeah the expansion throws a spanner in the works. Poland and Latvia will give good alternatives, particularly with rally Hokkaido.

However, there is no guarantee everyone will purchase the expansion, so it's a bit of a double edged sword. We've got at least 2 months until it launches so hopefully we'll know more soon, including a price.

 

[GOTMAXPOWER]

Yeah the expansion throws a spanner in the works. Poland and Latvia will give good alternatives, particularly with rally Hokkaido.

However, there is no guarantee everyone will purchase the expansion, so it's a bit of a double edged sword. We've got at least 2 months until it launches so hopefully we'll know more soon, including a price.

It's a shame there are so few cars from the final World Rally Car era, a 2020 Covid style season with half the rounds would've fit the gap nicely.

 

[MagpieRacer]

So the expansion information has confirmed that people who don't know the DLC content and Expansion will miss rounds of clubs that use them, for now I will not include them in the Modern Classics club, fortunately with the 2007 season we are planning to do next, this won't have an impact.

 

[MagpieRacer]

Keep an eye out very soon for the main thread for the 2007 World Rally Championship season. Will be getting underway within the next 10 days. 🥳

 

[RYAN]

Edit - Doubt I'll be going with the Focus. Handling doesn't fit with me.

 

[Dreadmed]

I've been doing some preliminary testing over the past couple days on the 2 stages I'm most familiar with (Mossiere and Chivilingo) and on high speed sections at least there's no catching the C4 (big shock!), with relatively equal gearing adjustments it was still red-lining on that initial climb from the village up the hill on Mossiere... It definitely seems like it would be a more even contest (against the Focus at least) if it was also capped at 315bhp. The C4 ended up a good 3+ seconds clear of any other time I could set...

With a bit of tuning to dial out the excess sliding the Focus is about level with the C4 on the more technical stages (actually beat the clean C4 time I set), sadly the Skoda just doesn't really have the grunt to keep up and at high-speed it definitely seems rather unstable with stock settings (very nimble at slower speeds). The Xsara seems a bit too clunky in comparison, it's stable enough and felt fast on my test run but ultimately... wasn't. (It was about 8 seconds slower on Chivi)

I tried the '08 Impreza on a whim and I was somewhat surprised, it's as stable a platform as the C4 is with stock settings and only ended up a couple seconds slower on Chivi compared to the C4/Focus (5:46'ish stage time). It ended up a bit further off on Mossiere due to it's power deficit but it did get me thinking that it could* be a credible option...

*I know, they were still using the upgraded/modified GD chassis 😔

 

[RYAN]

I'd be up for a gentleman's agreement amongst the strongest drivers to not use the C4 and keep it for others in the championship.
If so, Even though I didn't enjoy the '08 Focus when I tried it I'll probably go for that. I was amazed how easier the C4 was to drive than anything else. My 1v1 comparison was on gravel though.