Rep Power: 343

first time i've seen the 2004 Lancer that'll be running in the 2004 WRC season.

don't know how many people here actually watch the WRC, but Mitsu didn't compete in the '03 season.

http://www.mitsubishi-motors.com/mot...wrc/index.html

 
Rep Power: 343

OMG.... WTF is that..... optimus prime?

ewwwwwwww........

 
Rep Power: 343

race cars aren't supposed to look pretty man.. the WRC isn't a fashion show.....

 
Rep Power: 380

not with a Factory sponserd car, but there were mitsubeshis runing.

Looks bad *** though and gald that the factory got back in to it, Do you know who they got to drive it?.... Time to shut Ford down

 
Rep Power: 343

i know they ran in the lower classes, i meant the main class. (you know the one that means something )

drivers are listed as

Gilles PANIZZI (know him, only former WRC class driver)
Gianluigi GALLI (?)
Kristian SOHLBERG (not SOLBERG )
Dani Sola (?)

 
Rep Power: 0

HA HA HA, I can't stop laughing.

 
Rep Power: 393

I wouln't mind driving one.

 
Rep Power: 0

haha omfg, your awesome

 
Rep Power: 0

That car looks like it packs a serious punch.

 
Rep Power: 0

IMO Best drivers in the world are WRC drivers! Also, That car must have some ****ing power and handling... Guarantee its not street legal

 
Rep Power: 0

Rally is my religion. And Im not kidding when I say that. I watch the speed channel coverage, buy the magazines and visit the websites just to get as close as I can. Ive taken basic schooling with RallySport Ontario and I hope to one day do some Rally School in the UK.

Mitsubishi, I wish them well. I cant say I feel sorry for them for the pathetic state of affairs their rally program has been in the new millenium. But I hope they make a recovery. What they need now is some good drivers. Gilles can only bring serious points on Tarmac if his car is good enough. They need more skill on the team to bring home the bacon, especially in a dinasaur like the EVO. Hopefully their recent evolution is a leap forward from the old one or else they dont have any hope in 2004. I think they chose to come back because their sales reflect their racing performance to some degree. Their lancer is available in more countries now and they want to use this to help get the car into peoples driveways like subaru has.

We definately need more cars in the WRC. Skoda and Hyundai have left. Skoda being the biggest dissapointment, I really had respect for that team. Always had limited success but always showed up and gave it hell since the motorsport began. Malcom Wilson at ford bought the team one more year. But I have a feeling it could be Ford's last year if they dont win a championship. Then that only leaves 2 Japanese teams and 2 french teams. With FIA's insane new rules, that only leaves room for 8 drivers? Thats depressing. 2003 was in my opinion my favourite season so far. Especially because my favourite rising star Petter Solberg kicked *** all year. But I have a feeling the sport is in decline.

 
Rep Power: 343

wow i had no idea skoda left, man there aren't many manufactures left....

I'm hoping skooby takes the manu title and the drivers again, and i'd like to see mitsu do something too.

I hate Citroen cause the dropped the man Colin Mcrae, thats a shame to see him not have a ride.

 
Rep Power: 0

 
Rep Power: 0

I don't know much about WRC so I can only comment on the aspect of the car, and it's not bad, except for that think on the roof... I mean, why does it look glued on? lol, shouldn't it feed ait into the cabin? It probably does, but it just looks extra stupid for not beeing molded into the body nicely.

 
Rep Power: 380

they droped him because he didn't perfom as they expected. look at ford, they had no name rookie drivers and they beat him a few times.... as good of a driver Colin is, i think hes a bit over rated.

 
Rep Power: 0

I LIKE! not show but i know that it could and would go!

 
Rep Power: 0

gotta disagree with you on this one. i'd say F1 drivers have the most skill, although rally racing is the most exciting form of motorsport to watch.

 
Rep Power: 527

 
Rep Power: 0

And I would have to disagree with you! imp: I'm a die-hard Formula One fan, but WRC drivers have to be the best drivers in the world. They race in all conditions, rain, snow, you name it... Not only that, but it is much more dangerous than F1 racing, they race on natural roads afterall, no runoffs, no barriers, just you and nature! I agree that F1 drivers are very talented, and are the best closed-circuit drivers in the world, but overall, WRC drivers have to be the best, just look at the conditions that they have to drive in afterall!

 
Rep Power: 0

difficult as the conditions may be, it is hard for me to believe that rally drivers w/navigators who have memorized the entire course are more skilled than the drivers of f1. those conditions may pose a challenge but i would think that an entire race in which the average speed is much greater would more than offset that.

 
Rep Power: 0

i thought being street legal was one of the main rules of rally racing since they have to drive the car on regular road b/t legs of the race?

 
Rep Power: 0

They are probably only allowed durring the time of the event. I know police watch over them. Many many times the drivers are busted for speeding. The cars obviously have no emissions controls or noise dampening so they wouldnt be legal normaly for thoes reasons. But the rest of the car should be suitable for city driving unless theres laws for ground clearance.



Well said!



I'm not at all surprised by Citroens decision. They have to choose 2 drivers to keep. Loeb has been doing excellent and hes been with the team developing that car from day 1. Carlos works for less money, and is more successfull than Colin in the past and in the present. What I AM pissed off about is that Subaru didnt take him in when Richard Burns got sick and couldnt drive for them in 2004. Colin met with them, he drove the car but talks soured for some reason. Subaru ended up going with the cheaper soloution and give a rookie a full drive next year. Kind of pisses me off. I understand that rookie drivers become Colins and Petters if you give them a chance. But Colin McRae is important to the prosperity of rally. Without viewers, THERE IS NO WRC. And as it stands right now, there will be no British drivers with a works car next year. So, it might hurt the ratings.



So yeah, its going to be hard to imagine a WRC without Hyundai, Skoda and maybe even ford next year, And without drivers like Makinen, Burns & McRae.

 
Rep Power: 343

also being a DIEHARD F1 fan, i'm gonna disagree too. F1 drivers have it easy now adays, semi auto trans, traction control, launch control, i mean the cars practically drive themselves. Now if we were talking about the 60's -80's i'd say F1 drivers too. But modern day race drivers, the WRC drivers have the most tallent.

On Subaru dropping Colin, yea i was really ticked about that too, Colin won a championship with them, i think Colin and Petter would have been a great team for Subaru, i think they really screwed up not taking him.

 
Rep Power: 0

First off to Hefe:

Sorry, the car doesn't have "cool" things like Altezza's and neons. If you wanted a showy car pick up a Import Tuner magazine. Ragging on aesthetics when it's modded for real racing (not fakers with impractically thin sidewall tires) doesn't make sense.

As far as F-1 racing vs Rally goes, you're comparing apples to oranges. If you think F-1 cars "drive by themselves," race cars going over 160 mph in a 16,000 redline uberfast car take skill, regardless of the technology behind it. A WRC driver can't jump into an F1 and beat Schumacher, nor vice versa.

If you think it's better to hit a barrier when your flimsy F1 car goes crashing in, perhaps you don't realize that it's a deadly sport. F1's don't drive like WRC cars (especially when you brake with your left foot).

In WRC, you're going a lot slower on average, even though it's under more varied weather conditions. It's a team sport too, as your navigator has a lot to do with whether or not you plunge into a dip. Totally different. That plus the time to change transmissions, brakes, etc. etc.

There's so many aspects in the sport that differ that you just can't compare them. So no point in trying.

 
Rep Power: 343

its not a matter of comparing the 2 racing series, its a matter of comparing the skill it takes to drive the respective cars.

If you look at the WRC season, the have to drive in snow, rain, ice, dirt, rocks, sand, tarmac, cobble stone. In F1 they have to drive on tarmac, and wet tarmac. In a WRC rally there are well over 2000 turns a driver has to negotiate, in F1 theres normally 12 turns on a track. And once they've gone around once they know the track. A WRC driver has to rely on his co-driver cause he's never seen the course till he starts goin on it.

If you ask me, even though i'm a diehard F1 fan, wrc drivers have more skill.

 
Rep Power: 0

No way man! the best drivers in the world are Drag Racers! I mean it has to be REALLY hard to drive in a straight line...oh wait....well then maybe NASCAR...ya know...driving around in a circle all day....crap....

j/p And while I am a big F1 fan, I would have to disagree, Rally drivers have to be more skilled but this has been beat to death at this point. Just thought I would have a little fun this AM.

 
Rep Power: 0

A few things that scare the hell out of me about Rally are:

A) The co-driver usualy isnt even watching the road. He/she usualy has their head in the notes. The more modern rally cars are dropping the co driver position right down to the floor for lower centre of gravity reducing their visability anyway. The driver is trusting their personal notes, the co-drivers reading ability of the note symbols, and their gravel crews who make last minuite changes.

B) The driver often flicks the car blindly to the notes. The driver is givin approximate distances and speed aswell as a description of the shape and angle of the corner as well as hazards or surface changes. Try going over a blind hillcrest in 6th gear around a bend or over a jump in the blind faith that the notes are correct. There are thousands of corners in a rally. Most of which have to be called in advance because the driver cant see them and has to react based on faith and skill. Some corners sometimes are called in clusters. Remembering all thoes details for 3 corners all connected is very difficult under pressure.

C) Unforgiving random terrain with no safety barriors. There is no cushion for trees, rocks, poles, houses, cliffs and animals. There is no ambulance or fire truck 1 min away. All you have is the helicopter to follow you to radio for help. This is constantly in the drivers head but to win you have to fight the urge to lift off the gas pedal.

D) Locals arent always friendly. A few times Ive seen locals throwing fist sized rocks at car windshields while they are in 5th and 6th gear. Ive seen booby traps constructed.

E) Spectators huddle around racing surface. If the driver steps off the driving line at all, there will be death or serious injury. And Ive seen that plenty of times. The drivers have to resist destraction from that. Camera flashes are also probably a bugger.

These are some of the reasons I think WRC drivers are the bravest and best of all. Then you also have to consider:

A) Setup strategy. Every rally is completely different. Most have surfaces that vary. The driver has to be able to adapt to ANYTHING.

B) Mechanics. The driver often has to repair his own car to continue until he reaches service. So he has to understand and be able to fix the car aswell.

C) Sportsmanship. Always I see rally drivers stop or get out to help other drivers at the cost of their own race. Its always touching to see this.

D) Pure skill. Try running the Monte Carlo. Going from tarmac to patchy ice to snow sometimes without any warning whatsoever. To still come out on top sometimes unscathed is a miracle.




Thoes are some of my reasons why I think Rally is the greatest sport with the greatest sports men and women.

 
Rep Power: 0

Adam, you bring up great points. And I'm more of a Rally fan than F1 (think F1's boring to watch), but I still think they're incomparable, just because on average the F1 cars are going a lot faster. Rally cars have short gears and lower top speeds to maintain a broad band of torque, whereas F1 cars can have a high top end. I just think there's different dangers between going into an F1 and a Rally race. Plop a Rally driver into a F1 car and he's not going to sweep races.

I agree, Rally requires a more diverse range of skills, but to say F1 is actually easier ...mmm.

About spectators- they not only hover around the race courses, they a lot of times are right in the middle of the course, either to get a good picture, or because they're drunk and feeling suicidal. Wow, that's stressful for rally drivers.

-Aki

 
Rep Power: 380

My only coment is " Rally drivers are psycho"

I like both road and rally racing on their own merrits. Rally you have to deal with the elements, road you have to deal with traffic..... the only type of racing I dont really like is ones were you drive in straight lines and ones where you drive in circles....

 
Rep Power: 343

trust me no one is saying f1 is easy, well at least i'm not, but what i'm saying is ralling requires alot more guts, and all around skill than f1. Now if we were talking about 50's-70's f1 cars, than my opion on which takes more guts and skills to drive might change. Those old F1 cars were just out of hand