Wrc 04

[Phoenix5]

Anybody watch WRC this past weekend??That Evo looks sick but they should seriously get rid of the 206 wing,I'm sorry,it looks gay on the Evo and another gay aspect is NO PADDLE SHIFTING!!That must suck to drive that car.As for the 307, they should have kept the HB platform,the coupe cabriolet looks gay.

And my man Petter not off to a great start to his title defense,I'm I right??

Subaru should have gotten Colin back in blue.They need that Manufacture's title back.

 

[melicha8]

Yeah really what is up those Peugeot's winning all this crap. I'm so pissed I would be happy if Citroen beat them and they have a good start in doing so.

 

[M=SP^2]

Man I wish mazda had a team in the WRC.

 

[Striker187]

i haven't kept up with wrc in a while...what's up with makinen? he used to be a billy badass behind the wheel of the evo. didn't seem to be doing too well with subaru

 

[Phoenix5]

That would be cool but Mazda doesn't have a 3door HB or 4door Sedan 4WD car to enter in the WRC.

Oh yeah,TOMMI=retired,had a great career!!!

 

[spacemonkey]

Paddle shifting is gay but it works. It takes all the fun out though. I missed it...when is it on again? How did mitsubishi do? I dont know the new 04 WRC evo looks sick up front but to me it looks too much like a stock Lancer.

 

[Roywhitep5]

(pics)

 

[Lt. Dan]

No development time in the EVO yet.... That's the only reason it doesn't have paddle shifting... The 307 looks like it's going to be one heck of a contender!!

Dan

 

[Leigh]

Man I wish mazda had a team in the WRC

Well, technically Ford owns part of Mazda so in a round-about way they do.

On which note - I think the team orders they pulled were rather uncalled for this early in the season - especially with the 2 extra rounds this year.

Anyone else of the opinion the new 307 is ugly? The more I see of it the worse it looks IMO. Fast or not I don't like watching it drive.

And my man Petter not off to a great start to his title defense,I'm I right??

Considering this is the first time he's ever FINISHED the event, I'd say he's doing just fine.

 

[ARunto]

i wish we had the 307's here in the states

 

[Phoenix5]

Well, they would have the 307 here if Peugeot were here but all these damn SUVs and trucks are what's in demand right now.That's why none of the French car manufacturers are importing anything here,unless you have the $$$$ and do it yourself.

Personally,If I were to get a Peugeot,I would get the 206 or the old school 306.

 

[WRCprotege]

i no longer have speedvision (sucks),I LOVE WRC!!!! ill go to a bar or pub with lots of tvs and they will turn it on for me.. i will agree that the wings on all of this years are ugly!! subaru wing is gay, the new evo is bad other than that dam wing, the new focus is ugly all around, the older one looks much better.. its not a car show ther ther to get down and dirty..

 

[Lt. Dan]

The wings aren't there for "show" they actually work...

Dan

 

[Andres]

(pics)

some photos ......

Andres

 

[Pska]

so cuz mazda doesn't have a 4WD car, they can't enter? Im just wondering why Ford can enter the focus... or is it a FWD 3 door and that meets the standards? Sorry but I dont know the rules, just wondering. Maybe mazda could get a AWD drivetrain and slap it on my MSP and I could drive pro WRC...

Just a thought

 

[servoeyes]

And my man Petter not off to a great start to his title defense,I'm I right??

He's never had a good start a season. I saw an interview with him about that...he said if he did have a good start it'd beweirder than if he didn't. No big...he'll do just fine!

 

[Phoenix5]

Hopefully!

 

[Leigh]

so cuz mazda doesn't have a 4WD car, they can't enter? Im just wondering why Ford can enter the focus... or is it a FWD 3 door and that meets the standards? Sorry but I dont know the rules, just wondering. Maybe mazda could get a AWD drivetrain and slap it on my MSP and I could drive pro WRC...

The only thing keeping Mazda from running in the WRC is a lack of interest. Since Ford owns a large part of Mazda now, and they already have a lot of money tied up in the championship, its unlikely that we will be seeing a Mazda WRC team.

If they did ever run, the car most likely to be used as a base would be from the Protege/3 line. Most WRC spec cars are based off of small-mid sized sedans or coupes. You do not have to make any roadgoing cars that are AWD/4WD to build a world rally car (of those in the championship that do... I think there are only Subaru & Mitsubishi). The Focus that Ford runs as a base is FWD in its roadgoing form, I'm not 100% sure, but I think the Xara & 307 are also based off FWD street cars.

A WRC spec car actually has very little directly in common with the cars we would buy or drive - an average WRC will cost upwards of 600,000$ and will run only a few events before it is replaced. About the only thing in common with a WRC that you get on a road car is the skin, and even that is often modified somewhat for aerodynamic purposes

The MSP would probably make a poor rally car since it is built more for activities like autocrossing. The difference between a car setup to perform on a sealed surface vs. gravel are pretty high (just look at how different the cars look on various WRC events).

 

[spacemonkey]

The focus is the euro Focus RS...AWD Focus. The RS8 is badass...400hp AWD focus! Im suprise there isnt a AWD Mazda 3 in Europe. Isnt the requirement of the WRC is to race production cars...meaning they have to sell a certain amount before competing? We most likely wont see Mazda in the WRC becasue of Ford...plus Ford compacts are pretty big in europe. I dont think it matters if a car is built for autocrossing/sealed surface vs gravel...cuz they basically ditch the suspension. They make cars that run amazing off road.

I wouldnt want Mazda to compete unless they were unsing its trademark rotary engine. Hmmm rotary powered MSP....yummmm. Is there a regulation where it has to be a 2.0L piston engine? We all know what happened when Mazda introduced the rotary in the Lemans series. 787...

 

[Leigh]

Perhaps We're not on the same page here... if we are talking WRC Spec cars (Those that are run by Manufacturer teams in the WRC) they are NOT required to have roadgoing counterparts. Total output for WRC Homologation is less than 50 cars.

You may be thinking of the older Group A vehicles. Prior to '97 I believe these (and the now dead Group B cars) were the frontrunners in the WRC. They require a 2500 production run. You may also be thinking of Group N cars which require a 5000 car production run.

I don't believe there are many of these vehicles(aka "Homologation Specials") being made currently.

Regardless the WRC specifications DO NOT require the base car to be AWD or 4WD. Manufacturers are allowed modified 4x4 transmissions regardless of the production car's transmission.

The reason I doubt the MSP would be used is because its is basically a factory tuned Protege. Since it is tuned for performance street use I don't see any reason that Mazda would bother with using it for a base car when they can take a step back and use the protege/3 instead.

Ignoring all of which, the MSP was a limited production run car. It would not be a good idea to base a vehicle that is updated & re- Homologated every year on a car that will not be around come next season.

on rotary engines - I don't think there's anything that says it has to be a piston engine, but there are limits on displacement and turbo size and I beleive on HP as well.

I would be far from oposed to seeing one in a rally car someday