Posts Tagged ‘conditions’
Friday, February 19th, 2010
PG Andersson on the Friday's super special stage. Nobody in the class had a chance to really challenge PG during the rally. Photo: Rasmus Bjerén
So, I went to Rally Sweden. Actually it was the first WRC rally I have visited without working in one way or another since Rally Sweden 2005. And it was amazing!!!
Here are a few reflections from the rally:
- Petter Solberg was mentally stuck in his pre-rally business. He surprised with a silly mistake already on the super special stage and he continued to do them throughout the weekend. You could virtually hear where it all was going when Petter talked to the Swedish Radio early on Friday and started to talk about his mistake without even being asked. That’s not really the mental approach you need… I had high hopes on Petter for this season – and I hope he can be better prepared and repair the impression in Mexico.
- PG Andersson – give that man a works seat, now! He punished well-established drivers in better cars last year in the Fabia WRC and this year he totally undressed his competitors in the S-WRC class. Unfortunately, not results and neither Star of the Rally-awards can be used to pay bills. PG knows that for sure, and I’m afraid his Swedish fans will have to learn it if they don’t already know. However, I hope PG is lucky and that this opens up some eyes for the rest of the season and 2011!
- Patrik Sandell failed to stand the competition of PG Andersson when given the same car. I’m afraid I can’t say this surprised me – but it’s disappointing to see considering that Sandell has one year experience with the car and two years experience of S2000 compared to PG that sat in the car first time just days before the rally. Sandell’s comments during the rally started to sound very much like excuses – and what else could he say? However, afterwards he has paid his respect to PG’s impressive driving and that’s the kind of sportsmanship I like!
- Patrik Flodin did what he was supposed to do and just delivered – but got totally placed in the shadows by the new S2000 class and PG’s drive. He would have needed a real PR boost – but at least it looks like the winds are warmer back in Russia at the Uspenskiy team. Maybe Flodin can get a few drives or perhaps even the whole PWRC championship this year?
- Kimi Räikkönen and media… Ok – the guy isn’t really a media whore, but honestly… It’s Kimi Räikkönen, what did you expect? And at the same time it’s his personality. Isn’t a little bit about the media interest in Kimi also the interest in the shy, airy Kimi that you can hardly get to speak at all?! I think so, and I think that even a quiet Kimi is a huge boost for the WRC. Just let the guy be and suddenly he will talk…
- Kimi Räikkönen and rally driving… I don’t understand how people can be so disappointed!? After just a few rallies in his career and the second ever WRC rally – what results can you expect? I’m impressed that Kimi reached the finish, considering that he attacked quite OK. Posting multiple stage times withing the top 8 must be considered good for a newbie, no matter how talented he is. I have high hopes for Kimi’s driving!
- Mikko Hirvonen showed that he wants to challenge for the win this year. I hope and actually I also think that he will be up for the challenge this year and able to match Loeb in the charge for the title. He was really close last year and I don’t know if he will make it this year – but I think it will be close. And honestly… How fun wouldn’t it be with a new champion? Mikko has grown from silly mistakes in Subaru in 2004 to a mature driver. He really proved it by taking his own, gambling decisions regarding the setup of the car during the rally. Go Mikko!
- The surface discussion was just ridiculous. Paid drivers complaining about some frozen gravel and even saying it’s not winter conditions?!?! Nothing can be more stupid. This winter has been the coldest since 1986 or more in Sweden and we’ve had snow and sub-zero temperatures since early December in the rally area. Drivers complain because they want easy driving, but as spectators we want difficult driving! What should the WRC really be about if not difficulties?? The team managers understand it, at least, since they say Rally Sweden must stay in the calendar. It was pure winter conditions this year and the drivers just have to accept that winter isn’t synonymous with ice. On top of that the conditions were just perfect for spectators and TV – that in numbers represent the number of competitors multiplied by thousands…
- The media coverage sucked – as we’re used to with North One Sport. The WRC season opener are oceans away from the live coverage of the IRC season opener. Of course it’s difficult – but guys, you need to try at least! Why wasn’t all the super specials and sprints live covered on the web, as well as the Värmullsåsen stage (that was live in Swedish TV)? That should be a piece of cake, at least compared to airing a whole rally live. When will North One start to deliver???
- The Abu Dhabi people indicated that they may need to get better both in understanding rally and in writing press releases. To talk about PG Andersson’s performance as a result of local knowledge and home support sounds more like an insult than an award to me considering his earlier performances on the international arena?! His two J-WRC titles and his performance in the lousy Suzuki SX4WRC in 2008 is good proof that this isn’t about being some kind of snow expert. PG Andersson is one of the world’s best drivers, and to not give him that recognition cannot be called an award.
- The Rally Sweden organisers have had a really hard time almost totally out of money. They had some luck with the weather, but they also managed to do a really good rally despite the resources that has been a lot more limited than ever before (in “modern time”). World class!
Tags: abu dhabi spirit of the rally, conditions, jwrc, kimi räikkönen, live, media, mikko hirvonen, north one sport, organisers, patrik flodin, patrik sandell, petter solberg, pg andersson, rally sweden, reflections, review, surface, suzuki sx4wrc, tv, winter
Posted in Rally promotion and media coverage, S-WRC / WRC Cup, WRC | 4 Comments »
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
There has been recce going on today for Rally Sweden, and the impressions from the drivers seems to be varied. Home driver Patrik Sandell concluded the first day with the quote “a lot of snow but no ice = perfect for me!” while Norweigan driver Anders Gröndal has written on his blog that the rally will be “many of the stages will be more of a gravel rally than a winter rally”.
Gröndal’s reaction is interesting. Some drivers seems to be complaining about the conditions – and I understand if they have problems driving on snow. It’s complicated – for sure – and it should be! I’m sure I would be quite concerned if I were to drive a rally on it. However, Gröndal’s quote must be some other kind of problem, possibly some kind of overheating in his brain?! 
He has been driving a full day in the forests with around half a meter of snow all around him – and he can still claim that it’s not a winter rally? Come on, no matter if you reach the gravel – it’s still very much winter and wintry conditions, dear Gröndal. I’ll explain why…
So, here comes a short tutorial about the difference between snow, ice and water – dedicated to Anders Gröndal:
- Snow is a type of precipation consisting of crystalline water ice (Full definition is on Wikipedia). In it’s fully frozen state snow feels really dry.
- When snow melts, it results in fluid water. Quite logically, since it’s small ice crystals. This means, that when it rains on snow or when temperatures raise above zero – the snow on the road (since we’re talking rally here) gets softer and melts to water from the top.
- If the temperature goes down below zero again, the partially melted snow layer will freeze again. The parts of the snow that is fully or partially melted will form a layer of solid ice on the road. This is the ice Gröndal is talking about – and missing.
- If you’ve read all those three points, I guess you don’t find it very difficult. It’s like the very, very basics of winter weather and surfaces. And therefore it’s hard to understand that Gröndal doesn’t understand it. However, to call the current conditions (that for sure will include gravel after the loose snow is swept away) something else than proper winter conditions is just pure bullshit – and now you know why: The ice layer Gröndal is talking about is nice, for sure. But it doesn’t come from winter conditions – it comes from the _lack_ of winter conditions sometimes earlier in time…
So, for everyone of you coming to Sweden. Be cool. Gröndal will have to struggle if he isn’t good enough to drive on proper winter conditions (!) – but you will have a wonderful time with a lot of loose, cold snow out in the forests. It has just never melted since the winter started in early December – but to me that’s more a good sign than a bad!?!
Enjoy!
By the way, to Anders Gröndal: You don’t need to thank me for this guide. Be my guest! And if you still don’t understand – go to some local gas station here in Sweden and buy yourself a “glass” (icecream). Bring it into your cottage or hotel room and see what happens after a while. When it’s half frozen… Go out again and see what happens. Tada! It’s like magic!
Tags: 2010, anders gröndal, conditions, gravel, ice, melt, rally sweden, snow, weather
Posted in General, WRC | No Comments »
Sunday, February 7th, 2010
Our friend Sebastien Loeb has commited two day’s of testing in Gräsmark outside Torsby in Sweden. The test has gone well, but most interesting is that Loeb did give something that we can probably consider the final confirmation that he is never happy. Despite maybe half a meter of snow (that has been there constantly for the last two months) and temperatures as well as forecasts well below zero, Loeb spent half his talk with the Swedish television (this may be edited, sure, but still!) complaining about the lack of ice under the snow. He didn’t like plenty of snow and he didn’t like reaching the frozen gravel under all snow…
Come on, how should one react? “Oh, poor Sebastien.” Can’t you drive on real snow? Hehe… I think this underlines quite well that it doesn’t matter how the conditions are – people will still complain. Probably it’s just a smart way of not having to speak about your performance just before the rally – and save that until after. I respect that it happens, but one shouldn’t take too much notice of it…
Tags: conditions, frozen, gravel, ice, rally sweden, sebastien loeb, snow
Posted in Rally testing, WRC | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, January 26th, 2010
Daniel Carlsson with co-driver Bosse Holmstrand enjoying perfect snow conditions of solid ice covered with a thin layer of loose snow in Uddeholm Swedish Rally 2006. Photo: Rasmus Bjerén
With more than two weeks left before the rally kicks off it’s too early to judge how the weather situation for Rally Sweden will be, but considering the discussions that has always been before the rally in recent years, I can’t avoid thinking about how promising it looks. It has been cold weather since early December in the rally region (and in almost whole Sweden) and currently reports are talking about ca 40 cm’s of snow in the area. That may of course vary locally, but there is snow – no doubt. And then, looking at the forecast for the next 10 days, it shows more snow the next few days and cold weather for the whole period.
The only thing that could improve is the icyness. The snow came immeditely as the temperature had gone sub-zero – and since the snow isolates the ground, that means that the ground isn’t frozen as much as it would preferably be. Without a layer of ice and/or frozen ground, the car will fast blow away the snow and reach the ground that gets muddy and teared up. If it came a short, very short, melting period followed by cold weather again – the snow surface on the roads would get packed, partially melted and then freezed back to ice. That, with a thin or thick layer of fresh snow on top of it would make up the perfect conditions for a winter rally with snow spraying behind the cars, studs staying in the tires and a great winter atmosphere.
However, I think the current conditions are certainly good enough – and better than most times – for a fantastic winter rally. So, let’s not worry and just hope the fantastic conditions stay for the next few weeks, and everything will be just amazing! I have a feeling that Rally Sweden 2010 will be remembered as the best for quite a few years…!
Tags: 2010, bo holmstrand, bosse holmstrand, conditions, daniel carlsson, forecast, ice, isolate, mitsubishi lancer wrc, rally sweden, snow, studs, sub zero, weather, winter
Posted in Swedish Rallying, WRC | 3 Comments »
Friday, February 13th, 2009
Going into Rally Norway, everyone including me expected front runners to struggle on the first loop with a lot of loose snow. However, it proved quite the opposite because of a thin layer of ice on top of the snow, making them have an advantage over the later-running drivers.
But now, on the second loop – things have changed! The group N cars running in the first loop have moved some snow out on the stages making them slippery for the top runners. That means advantage for the later runners – which was immediately shown by PG Andersson, taking the stage win on SS6.
Tags: conditions, pgandersson, rally norway, stage win, unexpected
Posted in WRC | No Comments »
Sunday, January 18th, 2009
It happened on the season final in Wales 2008 – and not it may happen even on the season opener 2009; Rally Ireland – snowy stages in an event set to be run on wet or dry conditions, but not icy. Today, 3 dm’s of snow is reported on some of the stages in the rally. There are still almost two weeks to go until the rally, so much can happen, but weather forecasts talk about snow and/or rain combined with temperatures close to zero the following week, so are possibilities there will be ice left on the stages when the rally is run. Considering how tricky the irish roads are in normal conditions, snow/ice would mean a supertricky – not to say dangerous – rally, where caution to stay on the road will pay off more than speed.
For Rally Norway, next rally of the season, all reports look really promising. With already quite a lot of snow on the stages, the forecast for Hamar is snow the next few days and temperatures around or below zero for the next ten days. Here, even more (anything) can happen to the weather, but as far as we can see the conditions and forecast should be a solid ground for a good rally.
Tags: conditions, forecast, ice, rally norway, snow, weather
Posted in WRC | No Comments »
