LNERandBR

I think the Safety Car has its place just like the Virtual version does. You could argue about the number of different yellow flags being a little outdated now we have the VSC. I mean, isn't there still Static, Waved and Double Waved?

What you don't need in a sport which is already complicated is more and more complicated rules. Bunching the pack and unlapping cars so everyone is 'line astern' is simple and easy for fans to understand.

What is needed, is the rules to actually say 'The Procedure to remove the safety car and restart the race is...' followed by a clear, bullet pointed, step by step process of doing so.

@ejstubbs they've been around as long as I've been watching F1 then.

Safety cars removing the time advantage has always been a thing.

Therefore, I have no issue with the time advantage Lewis had being lost here.

I also cannot see how they can give the various drivers the gaps back. The pack needs to be brought together to allow the incident to be cleared. Otherwhise you wouldn't need a physical safety car, a virtual one would be enough.

I don't remember there being a rule stating that races cannot finish under the Safety Car. However, there are so many that I've probably missed it if there is.

What is the car parking like near the Town Hall?

Have to admit, I stopped going to the show at Burton after the Town Hall car park there was pretty much lost. Couldn't make it to Swadlincote for another reason so I'm really hoping to make it to this years show as I've missed going.

10 hours ago, robmcg said:

I have bought, for any who are interested, a full-frame Canon RP 26MP mirrorless camera and a couple of basic lenses, but even these weren't particularly cheap.  I do love cameras though, so messing around with them and RTR models will bring much pleasure, and quite probably a degree of bemusement and frustration. Untangling the intricacies of modern camera menu systems and endless options for settings is something of a skill, separating what matters from what doesn't, don't get me started! .

 

I feel that getting my Canon M50 Mirrorless Camera improved my photography due to the extra information it can provide on screen. Instant feedback if you like as you adjust settings. Hope you enjoy it

Yeah, I'm in the 'not a fan' camp.

That said, if he's enjoying what he's doing and others like watching what he's doing then good on him and his viewers. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

And finally, something other than WRC! 

Although it's still Rallying

A vlog about the Monte on Oliver Solberg's channel.

Have to admit this is mad.

https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/ludicrous-spectator-actions-almost-ruined-the-monte/

1 hour ago, Andrew P said:

FIA planning new F1 race-management structure after Abu Dhabi controversy.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/60160969

Good, it's nice to hear they are at least looking at making changes.

IMO Masi (or replacement) needs to be the 'head' of a team who manage the race. I'm sure it's possible to still have the quick reactions needed to deploy safety measures (eg, Safety Car) with a Team in charge. However it would reduce the pressure on the Race Directors sholders.

One thing I've fogotten, road sweeping will be a thing in Sweden. Therefore, Craig not taking powerstage points works in his favour. He'll be second on the road behind Kalle.

Roll on the next WRC round and the start of other championships outside of F1

If only F1 was like the World Rally Championship and have started already

More chat over on the General Motorsport thread

Think this needs leaving here

Well that's it for this years Monte and I completely agree that it's an excellent result for the older Seb. Similarly, I never liked him when he dominated the sport with Citroen but you have to give him credit for coming back and winning. Especially after he's just done Dakar too, it's quite an achievement. 

Credit must also be given to Isabelle Galmiche for sitting beside him. Like most motorsport it's not often you see women competing at the top level and we need to see that change. She's done an excellent job and it was good to see her on the roof next to Seb. 

I am also really glad to see M-Sport on top, their drivers are all saying the Puma is a good car so the last two years of not developing the Fiesta have paid off. I'm really hoping that the tamac pace can be translated to the Snow in Sweden next time out and gravel.

Actually, may as well talk about Craig and Gus here as they both looked to be in 'bring it home' mode. Little surprised Craig didn't have more of a push on the Power Stage but then if he's in a comfortable rhythm then pushing that little bit more could have been dangerous. He mentioned last year that lack of seat time stopped him pushing that last little 5% that makes the difference so I do hope he gets on better when we get to events he's done more of recently. In fact, I forget if he's done Sweden (or Arctic Rally last year) or not these last few years.

As for Gus, I'm not at all surprised that he didn't push it in the Power Stage, he's still at the beginning of his career and hopefully now he's able to start proving the critics wrong. He's got the stage win he wanted, time for a podium!

Onto Toyota, for Seb Ogier, well it just seemed to come apart a little. First the tyre and then the jump start not sure what more to say really. I suspect he'll want to be back for next year's Monte now that him and Loeb are tied on Monte wins. I think it's clear we'll be seeing Lappi in Sweden to give Seb his long awaited break.

Kalle really was the comeback kid wasn't he. Not only bagging 4th place but also winning the Power Stage after Ogier's penalty was applied. He's now the de facto leader of the championship with those bonus points. 

Which brings me onto Elfyn, that costly and, in his words, silly mistake yesterday really has put him on the back foot. I have to admit I was sorry to see Kalle outdo him in the Power Stage. I suppose Elfyn's puncture earlier on the first run of the stage hampered his preparation for it. So yes, time to reset for Elfyn and try and remember his pace from Sweden 2020 and pull that though to 2022.

Finally, Hyundai do very much seem to be the team on the back foot, not sure if their Rally1 car is completely at blame though. Ott's retirement was due to a driver error which caused damage to the car not the car failing on him. That said, it does seem like it could have inherited the suspension issues their previous car started having in 2021 given Neuville's issues.

Oliver's problem however I feel was serious but I don't think lack of testing would be the cause. It seemed each Team had a single chassis for that which was shared between the Drivers. However, it's clear that something was wrong with his car and despite their efforts in service they couldn't fix it. It'll probably be something they've got to do a full strip down to fix.

There's some horrible comments come out from Neuville though as it seems he's upset that Oliver retired. I will admit, Neuville is my least favourite driver and coming out with comments like he has don't really indeer me to him. That said, it was clear he was completely drained after the power stage. Not quite sure if he tried to drive off or if his foot slipped off the clutch during his stage end interview.

Overall, the Rally1 era is fully upon us now and it's been an excellent start. All the cars look and sound amazing and I do think the Hybrid systems have added to the show here and not taken away from it. If anything they make more noise now then before which is the opposite to F1.

Really looking forward to Sweden and seeing how the new cars handle on Snow

Well, a day of ups and downs on the Monte!

Have to say, I'm gutted for Elfyn really glad he was able to get going but he's down in 26th so I don't think he'll be able to climb back up to the top ten in the distance remaining. It's a real shame as he's gone from looking to have an excellent start to the championship to basically getting nothing but Power Stage points. 

Another driver in trouble I felt gutted for was Oliver, still with this smoke problem in the car which they really need to get sorted. For him though I was really glad the spectators managed to get him back on the road. He needs the steat time and experience especially on the snowy stage.

And what a snowy stage it was. So much drama with the different tyre choices and spotting which drivers had turned off the Hybrid and which had kept it on. I have to admit, I think the Studs that Elfyn had contributed to his off but it was clear having no studs was the cause of Ott's crash which put him out for the day. Had to feel for Taka tho, he really beats himself up when he has an off but it was one that was so easy to do in tricky conditions.

One thing I'll mention here, the WRC+ service coverage has new graphics for this year and I quite like them. Lots more information coming up in clear and concise ways. Not sure if that's carrying over to other coverage mediums or not but it's a step in the right direction I feel.

So onto the Up's, it was lovely Kalle getting his car into a setup he was happier with and starting to pump in those stage times now. I don't think he'll do enough to climb the leaderboard from here unless there's more drama for those in front. 

It's great to see two Ford's in Podium positions, sorry to see the Seb's swap over but it makes sense for Ogier to have gone better given his more recent Monte experience. However, it is really good to see Craig in third, it does feel like he's gotten more and more downbeat as it became clear he's not going to extract the most of the car under him. Maybe a little too much expectation put on him given he's not been to Monte for a few years and he's never done it in a WRC car before. I think he's driving very well and keeping sensible instead of overdriving it, hopefully he will still be in 3rd come the end of Sunday.

Really need to mention Gus too, whilst he's had issues he's still in 5th place which isn't too bad at all. Granted, it's taken some bad luck from those ahead of him but sometimes just sticking with it and getting to the end is enough. Certainly, that's what Neuville is doing in keeping his car together as best he can really thought his rally was over a few times today!

So, last day of Rally action from Monte tomorrow. Let's see who the final winners and losers are. For sure, there will be a few 'sunday drives' on the earlier stages before the Power Stage. I do wish they'd have a Tyre fitting zone before the Power Stage to stop that.

9 hours ago, Steadfast said:

Give it a few years and I'd love to see some blue cars with gold wheels back in the sport. Go on then, chuck some fluorescent yellow stickers on them too if you must ... Max McRae and Oliver Solberg for the ultimate throwback team? Sorry, back to 2022.

Regarding throwbacks, the sounds of the new cars when in stage mode are very reminiscent of the past. Especially the overrun with pops and bangs. 

The Puma was even throwing a bit of flame from it's exhaust on the night stages

I've really enjoyed the first full day of Monte action. 

Really happy to see M-Sport on top thus far, it's a shame Fourmaux crashed out but seeing Gus finally get that first stage win was brilliant. I feel Craig is also driving well, he lacks the experience to get the most out of Monte even though it's not a full on Snow/Ice/Dry mashup like many other years. Therefore, he's driven sensibly unlike Fourmaux who's basically done like Suninen did last year and put it off the road though trying too hard.

As for Loeb, I will admit I never really liked him but his Monte experience is shining though here and you have to admit it's amazing he can suddenly come back to the WRC and be in the lead.

As for Toyota, Seb is doing what he does with the Monte and I fully expect it will be a Seb vs Seb dual to the end. Really happy to see Elfyn is keeping in touch though being best of the full timers will be good for his championship hopes although I'm sure he'd want to be higher up. I do hope that Kalle is able to get a better feeling in the car for tomorrow, he certainly seems out of sorts. Same goes for Taka to be honest. 

As for Hyundai I have to admit I've never really liked their driver swapping and wish that Tanak hadn't moved to them. However, lets see if they stick to the same 4 drivers with Oliver and Danni sharing the third car instead of suddenly dropping another driver in. It's good to see Oliver getting time in a Rally1 (must get used to saying that  ) so I hope he's not bumped out at all. It was a shame to see him having intercom issues and that strange smoke in the car that he mentioned a few times.

On the full electric mode, I have to admit it's strange when you are watching the Media Zone as the cars move around so quietly. It's especially odd for the presenters who turn around and say 'oh another car is here' after one has sneaked in. There was a few times they got caught out by a car wanting to get by and they were stood talking to the camera with no idea it was there! 

It was also really interesting to see so many big gaps in time on the first few stages, both last night and this morning. Things then closed up on the more easier conditions and then opened up again when the tricky on off frosty stages were ran. A big difference to many rallies last year when the top of the field were separated by tenths of seconds most of the time.

Overall, roll on tomorrow. They keep mentioning one stage with a bit of snow so we'll see how that affects things

With Hornby pushing their prices for standard models over the £200 mark. I think CavAlex should be commended for doing their best to keep the price down.

Very much looking forward to the release of these and hope they are a success. 

Glad that Gus's issue in the first run was fixed for the later ones.

Looking forward to when the first stage starts this evening 

I doubt we'll get anything technical until the cars launch.

One thing I have wondered, having watched the way the WRC launched its new era of cars last weekend. I wonder why F1 didn't try a 'glitzy and glamorous' launch event for all the teams to unveil their cars.

I mean, hold it at Barcelona just before pre-season testing when the teams are all there already.

ooh yes, excellent idea for a thread. I'm very much looking forward to Monte this year what with the new Rally1 cars coming in and all.

I have found Dirtfish to be very good for keeping up to date with things. However, for watching the Rally you can't do better than the All Live WRC+ service. Back in 2017 when the last generation of cars launched I watched the coverage on Red Bull but by the end of the year I got so annoyed with how 'bitty' it was so took the plunge. The All Live subscription does cost a bit but I really enjoy it. Even when I've missed stages live I'm still able to catch up.

Very much hoping that Elfyn Evans does well this year, although part of me will also be rooting for the M Sport boys

I don't quite see where the bad loser angle is coming from. Yes, there's clearly disappointment at how the final race happened. However, let's not forget that after the helmet came off Lewis congratulated Max on winning. He showed great sportsmanship there when if he was a bad loser he'd have slunk off without a word.

I think any upset is aimed directly at the FIA, RB and Max would be far more vocal at their upset here if the roles had been reversed.

All anyone can do at this point is await events as they unfold and hope the FIA carries out as thorough an investigation into what happened as we all hope they do. Lessons need to be learned and I'm not just saying that as a Lewis fan.

All I will say is, I hope they get the chuff sync right. The A3 on the promo should have 6 beats per wheel turn but the prototype one had about 3. 

Possible they did it like that to show off the sync between the steam and sound. It will be something I'll be wanting to see on the production versions before deciding if it's something worth getting.

My understanding is if Hornby want to produce 'Lion' they can. Their tooling will be their poperty just like Rapido's tooling will be theres.

This is just like when you get Hornby, Bachmann and Hattons all making 66's. Each product is a different design so its unique to each company.

It's the name 'The Titfield Thunderbolt' which will be the sticking point. It depends on Studio Canal and if they want to stop Hornby using it on their product.