OT: Racing 2017 (Spoiler Alert)

[Rodster]

It's official, Bottas to Mercedes, Felipe Massa stays at Williams for at least another year and speculation although unconfirmed because he's on gardening leave is that Paddy Lowe is going to Williams.

Supposedly Ferrari will introduce their new car which will include a 1000 bhp engine and Sergio Marchionne says he's leaving his post, early 2019.

[pk500]

Rally Monte Carlo starts the 2017 WRC season this weekend. New cars, new lineups -- I'm stoked!

[Rodster]

Rally Monte Carlo starts the 2017 WRC season this weekend. New cars, new lineups -- I'm stoked!

Any free links to all the action ?

[pk500]

Rally Monte Carlo starts the 2017 WRC season this weekend. New cars, new lineups -- I'm stoked!

Any free links to all the action ?

PM me.

[FifaInspected]

Red Bull TV to broadcast WRC this season.
http://www.wrc.com/en/wrc/news/december ... 2-12-.html

[Dave]

That's great news, also like that the shows will be archived in case you miss them live. Will definitely check it out this weekend.

[pk500]

Thank you, Red Bull! Fantastic news!

[GB_Simo]

For the first time in years, I'm genuinely excited that it's almost time for the Monte. The new cars look mega, even if a bit of the edge is taken off by having to refer to them as a Fiesta, a Yaris and a C3. Meanwhile, in Venzuela...:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.ph ... -programme

"Not interested in ovals." At last, a glimmer of self awareness. I bet his insurer wasn't all that keen on them either.

Given KVSH's current situation, can I assume that Candy has managed to rustle up some funds from somewhere?

[mixdj1]

I now have the Red Bull TV app on my phone, my tablet, and my Xbox One. They have several short preview videos up and a decent little ABCs of WRC primer video.

On a sad note, it appears that SS1 was cancelled due to a crash and a spectator fatality.

[pk500]

What a horrible start for the new-look WRC. RIP to the spectator hit by Paddon's car. Hyundai has withdrawn Paddon, which is understandable.

I must point a finger at the organizers, the ACM. Why the hell were spectators allowed to stand on the outside apex of a corner on an icy road?

The new WRC cars have more power and speed. Organizers will need to adjust crowd control accordingly to prevent tragic accidents like this from happening again.

[Rodster]

What a horrible start for the new-look WRC. RIP to the spectator hit by Paddon's car. Hyundai has withdrawn Paddon, which is understandable.

I must point a finger at the organizers, the ACM. Why the hell were spectators allowed to stand on the outside apex of a corner on an icy road?

The new WRC cars have more power and speed. Organizers will need to adjust crowd control accordingly to prevent tragic accidents like this from happening again.

Waiting for the Red Bull TV highlights. Mark Webber's segment on the rule changes gave me a little wood when I heard those cars drive past the camera at full throttle.

[Rodster]

Red Bull TV is awesome and great stream quality on the Apple TV 4. Too bad it was only a recap.

Regarding the WRC stages. Some of the stages on Day 1 were 14km, 35km. That's a whole lot longer than in the video game. So I guess the video game version WRC 6 are not a true representation of the actual Rally.

[pk500]

Red Bull TV is awesome and great stream quality on the Apple TV 4. Too bad it was only a recap.

Regarding the WRC stages. Some of the stages on Day 1 were 14km, 35km. That's a whole lot longer than in the video game. So I guess the video game version WRC 6 are not a true representation of the actual Rally.

Not even close. Mobil 1 Championship Rally for the PlayStation was the only console game with stages of realistic length I can recall available in the U.S. That game was a b*tch - loved it!

Most days of each rally feature between 100-200 kilometers of actual stages, with another 300-400 kms of road liaison between stages, totaling about 300 miles in the car daily. I would love a rally game that also forced you to drive the liaison between stages at local speed limits, just like in reality. That would be the ultimate rally experience!

[Rodster]

Not even close. Mobil 1 Championship Rally for the PlayStation was the only console game with stages of realistic length I can recall available in the U.S. That game was a b*tch - loved it!

Most days of each rally feature between 100-200 kilometers of actual stages, with another 300-400 kms of road liaison between stages, totaling about 300 miles in the car daily. I would love a rally game that also forced you to drive the liaison between stages at local speed limits, just like in reality. That would be the ultimate rally experience!

Yes, I remember that game and the one before it which the game you mentioned was based on and that was "Network Q Rally" which was based on the British Rally, IIRC. That was a PC based game and some of the stages were brutal and there were a few stages that went on for close to an hour.

[Gangrel]

I believe the plan for Red Bull TV is to air recaps only on Friday, a live stage and then a recap on Saturday night, and Sunday is a recap of the whole rally. But so far the recap shows seems to be over 30 minutes long, so not too shabby for the price of free.

[Rodster]

I believe the plan for Red Bull TV is to air recaps only on Friday, a live stage and then a recap on Saturday night, and Sunday is a recap of the whole rally. But so far the recap shows seems to be over 30 minutes long, so not too shabby for the price of free.

Saturday's recap was over an hour long. So Sebastien Loeb's domination was handed over to another Sebastien by the name of Ogier? I know every motorsport category claims to have the best drivers in the world but you can certainly make the case for WRC drivers as being the best of the best.

Mark Webber during the recap was driving his Porsche Carrera thru the French mountains previewing Saturday's stages and even he marveled at how fast and daring Rally drivers are. His time was no match even for any of the drivers who did not qualify.

[pk500]

Mark Webber during the recap was driving his Porsche Carrera thru the French mountains previewing Saturday's stages and even he marveled at how fast and daring Rally drivers are. His time was no match even for any of the drivers who did not qualify.

Webber always was the most genial and forthcoming driver - rivaled only by Button and Massa - in F1 during his tenure, so I'm not surprised he has moved into TV. But I am delighted at how good he is as a broadcaster. He's a natural - great eye contact, makes brief, salient points and has done his homework about the WRC.

The entire Red Bull TV telecast is quality. Even Matthew Wilson improved from the first day. A producer must have told him to engage and at least appear interested when host Mike Chen isn't talking to him.

I feel for Wilson. He was a solid WRC2-level driver and he's still a pretty young guy, so it must kill him not to be in a ride. Especially since his father, Malcolm Wilson, runs the M-Sport team that fields Fords for Ogier and Tanak.

The biggest crime this season is that Andreas Mikkelsen, who fought Thierry Neuville all last summer and fall for second in the championship, was a victim of the late VW departure and is running in WRC2 instead of WRC. He should win that title by about June. He's far, far too good for WRC2.

[pk500]

Ott Tanak finishing the Power Stage last weekend at Monte Carlo, down two cylinders in his engine, ladies and gentlemen:





Tanak's performance in the Power Stage may not be topped this season. He drove the entire stage down two cylinders and lost 46 seconds to Hyundai rival Dani Sordo on the early uphill section, putting his third-place spot in jeopardy. But Tanak drove his car, with its wounded engine, like a prison escapee on the downhill final stretch and made up all but about eight seconds on Sordo, keeping third place.

Breathtaking.

[FifaInspected]

Any of you guys looking forward to the 24 of Daytona? No shortage of TV coverage with Fox going all in across their networks and streaming. I love the variety of the cars.

[Dave]

I'm very excited for it this year, even more than usual. The DPi class is so much more interesting than the Daytona Prototype/LMP2 mash-up over the last few years and both GT classes have an amazing collection of cars.

I'm a little worried that the Cadillacs are so far ahead so far (GM teams have made an art of sandbagging, it seems), but some of that gap could be down to strategy. The Mazdas are down from their preseason testing speed, so how much have they dialed back for reliability's sake?

So glad that Fox only requires FS1 authentication to watch the online stream this year, makes it a lot easier to follow.

[pk500]

Any of you guys looking forward to the 24 of Daytona? No shortage of TV coverage with Fox going all in across their networks and streaming. I love the variety of the cars.

Absolutely. I know a lot of people in the race and wish I was there. But I work in the IMSA support series, which don't start until March at Sebring.

The variety of machinery is fantastic in IMSA, and so is the racing. The new prototypes look and drive the part. Economical, don't look like NASCAR Cup cars on steroids like the old sh*tbox Daytona Prototypes. Can't wait for the season to start!

Don't sleep on the four-hour Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge race today from Daytona. More showroom stock than most sports cars, but they put on a great show.

[pk500]

Some cool Rolex 24 links:

Idiots' Guide from Black Flag: http://blackflag.jalopnik.com/the-total ... 1791660766

Andy Blackmore's outstanding spotter guides (Andy is a pal; nobody better in the world at his job): http://blackflag.jalopnik.com/this-hand ... 1791634030

Tons of attention on Prototype class, but there are NINE manufacturers in exciting GTD class: http://www.racer.com/imsa/item/137951-g ... t3-exotica

Will new Prototypes last 24 hours at Daytona? http://www.racer.com/imsa/item/137940-r ... type-teams

I suggest you keep an eye on RACER.com, Sportscar365.com and the Black Flag blog to get the inside scoop from the Rolex 24 this weekend. Marshall Pruett (RACER), John Dagys (Sportscar365) and Stef Schrader (Black Flag) all know their stuff inside-out -- and are very cool people, to boot!

http://www.racer.com
http://www.sportscar365.com
http://blackflag.jalopnik.com/

[fletcher21]

I really enjoy Redbulltv coverage of WRC. I wish it was a bit longer than the 30 minutes or so. A 1 hour per day show would be ideal. I've always loved wrc, but never really followed it from rally to rally. I watched every second of the Redbulltv coverage of Monte Carlo. I was geeked up for the next rally in a week or 2. Come to find out the next rally is in February. I guess I never realized how far apart the rally events are, and how few of them there are. I just assumed it was every 2 weeks or so like F1. Now I am itching for more!

[FifaInspected]

Per the Rolex this weekend.

I don't even know where to begin other than I can't wait for Lemans. That was 24 hours of sheer bliss.

[pk500]

Per the Rolex this weekend.

I don't even know where to begin other than I can't wait for Lemans. That was 24 hours of sheer bliss.

Cool! Glad you dug it. Friends of mine won the GTD class, so I was elated, too.

The Rolex 24 is special. Le Mans is a whole different level of special. I'm eager to see the event for the umpteenth time this year through your new eyes, FIFA. That will be cool.

Don't forget the Indianapolis 500 on Memorial Day weekend, either! The greatest oval race in the world.