# OT: World Rally Championship



## triphop (Jul 27, 2004)

Just wondering if any of you are rally fans. cause the WRC rally mexico is going on next weekend in the mountains (see, its not that Off Topic) of Guanajuato and Leon (friday-sunday) and Im gonna be there. 

well, just thought id share a little of my other passion. :thumbsup: 

P.S. dont tell me you like NASCAR


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## rzozaya1969 (Nov 28, 2004)

triphop said:


> Just wondering if any of you are rally fans. cause the WRC rally mexico is going on next weekend in the mountains (see, its not that Off Topic) of Guanajuato and Leon (friday-sunday) and Im gonna be there.
> 
> well, just thought id share a little of my other passion. :thumbsup:
> 
> P.S. dont tell me you like NASCAR


Cool! I bet WRC is pretty nice! I like to watch it sometimes, I'm just not sure about doing it live because, as mountain biking is too, it's not a spectator sport, I think! Take lots of pics!


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## 545cu4ch (Aug 11, 2005)

Bah. Cars are for sissies :nono:

Midget Moto-Gp is fo' real dawg  :thumbsup:


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## elmadaleno (Jul 8, 2005)

Hey, someone photochopped that hotwheels car in the air!!!! ut:


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## triphop (Jul 27, 2004)

does it really look chopped? I was there that year (2005) at that exact spot (I didnt take the pic) and they do jump real nice. let me see if i can scan some of the pics I took that year (i had a 32mm slr camera). 

zoz, its quite an experience to watch a rally. 3 days competing, 6 stages per day plus a 30 min service for everything that got f*ckd up. 
Ideally you should be able to schedule to watch 3 stages or 2 stages and a service per day. this means you also get to do some driving to get to the next stage you want to watch, park somewhere near the trail, select a spot to watch, wait for the cars to pass and then on to the next stage. its a complete package, the wait, the roadrunner-like cloud of dirt you see from far away, the whistles letting you know a car is near, the roar of the engines, and the rush of the cars passing by "vueltos madre" with the crowd cheering them, and finally getting covered in a cloud of dust untill the next car passes 2 mins later. 
plus, unlike in a speedway, you get to choose where you want to sit to watch the cars, how close you want to be, you can also move if you want to to see diferent spots of the same stage. ive been to the autodromo hnos rodriguez to watch the champcar series and the abed autodromo in amozoc to to WTCC (world touring car championship), and to me they tend to get boring after a while of seeing the same thing over and over again.

and sas... whatchasmokin' man??


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## Warp (May 24, 2004)

Is that Solberg on the pic??

COOOL!!!

I wish I could go... I agree that it's not the best sport to watch live. Same for track racing, like CART. I'm a big fan of auto-racing (motogp, F1, WRC, mostly) but watching it live was cool, but not as good as watching it.

That said, I loved going there and watching CART racing at Parque Fundidora. And no, I wasn't bored... if you go by the main straight, you'll see only color strips and loud sounds, but I was at a hairpin (Turn 6) and watching the cars slow down, passing, crashing and accelerating at full throttle was very, very cool. I stopped caring who was winning by the first pit stop... there was enough action to see at turn 6.


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## crisillo (Jul 3, 2004)

I love WRC... I have had the chance to see the German stages of the WRC...luckily they race very close to where I live... last time I went was in 2005.. I may go again this year...

What do mean it's not cool to watch, Warp.... check the pics... it was scary just looking at them go... plus there are big screen all over the place to be able to keep track of the events in the race :thumbsup:

Here's the photo album

https://public.fotki.com/crisjosi/wrc_germany_2005/


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## ritopc (Jul 3, 2004)

dude... where are the chicks???


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## elmadaleno (Jul 8, 2005)

triphop said:


> does it really look chopped?


Just kidding 

I had a friend who raced in the local (mexican) Rally circuit, you think MTBs are expensive  Anyways, he was a co-pilot, talk about scary $hite!! He had to keep his eyes on a map and "read" the road to the driver while going at 200 kph and having no control over whats going on.

I wonder if GPS and computers have made co-pilots obsolete...


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## Warp (May 24, 2004)

elmadaleno said:


> I wonder if GPS and computers have made co-pilots obsolete...


Nope... they still don't have the response speed a human being has for this very specific task.

"Break 200m soft, hard turn right 300m 200kph, gutter 150m slow 50khp..."

I mean, helicopters are expensive to operate and maintain, so I don't see why teams still keep them if GPS and computer can make it all.

You'd need some device that tells the pilot everything or display it at the helmet like combat planes.

Of course, GPS's are a great help but that ends there. I find it more useful on open courses like the Paris-Dakar where you have to trace your own route, rather than just follow the fastest path on a given course.


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## elmadaleno (Jul 8, 2005)

Warp said:


> Nope... they still don't have the response speed a human being has for this very specific task.
> 
> "Break 200m soft, hard turn right 300m 200kph, gutter 150m slow 50khp..."
> 
> ...


If I remember right, my friend's role was to read a map and shout out intructions like "recta 5" or "derecha 2, 6". the latter meant right curve, slow in, fast out. I don't see why a GPS system and the right software could do that without mistakes (navigators sometimes get confused and shout out the wrong instructions)


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## Warp (May 24, 2004)

elmadaleno said:


> If I remember right, my friend's role was to read a map and shout out intructions like "recta 5" or "derecha 2, 6". the latter meant right curve, slow in, fast out. I don't see why a GPS system and the right software could do that without mistakes (navigators sometimes get confused and shout out the wrong instructions)


Rules of the sport?


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## elmadaleno (Jul 8, 2005)

Warp said:


> Rules of the sport?


Could be, stupid though, its like the UCI with roadbikes, they are totally opposed to anything new...


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## crisillo (Jul 3, 2004)

elmadaleno said:


> If I remember right, my friend's role was to read a map and shout out intructions like "recta 5" or "derecha 2, 6". the latter meant right curve, slow in, fast out. I don't see why a GPS system and the right software could do that without mistakes (navigators sometimes get confused and shout out the wrong instructions)


It would also be hard to take the notes... they usually have them from the trial runs... when the pilot tells the copilot how he feels each feature on the track and the copilot takes notes for the actual race run(s)....

You would need some voice recognition software and some good training... doable..but hard... and of course there could still be rules against it... besides... *an extra pair of eyes on the road are always handy*


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## Warp (May 24, 2004)

elmadaleno said:


> Could be, stupid though, its like the UCI with roadbikes, they are totally opposed to anything new...


Well... there's a tendency against "tech-sports"... F1 is putting a ban on engine development until 2008, electronic controlled gearboxes, steering, intelligent suspensions and such are banned also.

They say it makes the driver's duties less relevant...

It must be sort of the same for rallye...

Think about it... Nowadays they could do as Escalectrix!! Just the car, a remote and you're racing! No mistakes to make, no talent needed...

Well... the UCI rules are completely stupid. I agree with that.


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## triphop (Jul 27, 2004)

crisillo said:


> It would also be hard to take the notes... they usually have them from the trial runs... when the pilot tells the copilot how he feels each feature on the track and the copilot takes notes for the actual race run(s)....
> 
> You would need some voice recognition software and some good training... doable..but hard... and of course there could still be rules against it... besides... *an extra pair of eyes on the road are always handy*


just as crisillo noted, its not just "right turn, in fast, out slow" its rather more complex, on wrc level they take notes on surface conditions, (if its ok to go fast or is it sketchy), where the best place for every particular driving style would be to set up for each turn. of course its all coded but most teams/drivers tend to make up their own style of calls.


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## elmadaleno (Jul 8, 2005)

My point is: you could do all the recon, program it in to a computer and create a log of road conditions and a track with its location with the GPS. That way the computer would give the instructions to the pilot with less possibility of mistakes (which on the amateru level happen leading to accidents).

You still have to do the recon work but you could save 60-90kilos, which I suppose for a competitive situation would be benefficial. 

My opininion is that the F1 rules have a point but they would better serve it by limiting team budgets instead of innovation. The UCI... just plain dumb if you ask me...


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