[rejoycjohn]

Precision driving is pretty much the core of any motorsport. Be it Formula 1, WRC or Moto GP. There has always been a debate between fans on which sport does it need most – Formula 1 or WRC. Like many of these topics finding an answer may not be easy. The truth is you need a driver with incredible skill and fitness, a car which is engineered extremely well and a team which can function as a well-oiled machine for you to succeed in any of these sports

So when I got a chance to be a spectator at the Wales leg of WRC there was no second question. Being a first timer I decided to refer the Wales GB website and it recommended to be at ‘Sweet lamb’. This place guarantees the car to be visible for almost 2 kilometres.

As the rally was in Wales and irrespective of what the weather report said, it was bound to be rainy and windy there. For the rally weekend 27th to 31st October 2016 the weatherman predicted it to be wet and miserable. So it was only logical to pack the waterproof shoes, weatherproof jackets and umbrellas to the back of the car before we set out

Sweet lamb was off A44 – a road which has found its place in the list of best driving roads in Britain. It’s around 140 Miles from where I live and the first WRC run was scheduled at 09:15. Since we didn’t leave early enough, and took a breakfast break by the time we reached the first run was over. We were not entirely disappointed as there was a second run in the afternoon. As expected it was raining and the approach road to the car park was slushy. Since the car park was open on the previous night the more dedicated fans had already secured their places to put a tent or park their car. Luckily we also found a decent parking spot and set on foot to the Sweet lamb circuit.
Soon after we arrived there was a national run which mainly featured Mitsubishi Evos, Subaru Impreza and Skoda Fabia. There was also a Historic run which mainly included Ford Escorts.

Here are a few videos that I managed to capture during the action. Please excuse the portrait orientation of most of these videos.

Subaru Impreza – Used to rule the world of WRC once.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqgH...iWCZGOIVxYjC4Q

Mitsubishi Evo 5.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eo1xbTgD7RM

Ford Escort.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atjkfRyfq2k

Mitsubishi Evo X.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRQjiI993dw

Mitsubishi Evo VIII.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uz49kS-msYs

Skoda Fabia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fmainp1gD4

Ford Escort (With a bit of editing)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9eDkDJFaww

MG Rover Zr

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWF9f_B0sQg

[rejoycjohn]

The national run warmed us up for the WRC cars. The second run started at 14:45, luckily we got a place quite close to the track. It was still raining and I was constantly wiping off water from my camera lens.

The track had only got worse for grip after all these runs. Loose gravel, mud and slush won’t do any favours for the drivers, anyway we were all waiting to see the first car approaching from distance.

The run was opened by S Ogier in VW Polo. We could hear the roar of the car approaching from the other side of the hill. The first sight of the car at distance revealed the pace of the car, it was visibly quicker than the cars in the national run. It negotiated the chicane at distance and came down the hill turned left and made its jump and came to my camera frame. I would have loved to keep the camera aside and just live the moment. It was that spectacular. The line was so tight in both turns and the cars ran up the hill and went out of sight to the finishing line of the leg. The cars were really quick.

The below videos tries to demonstrate the action. Excuse the quality.

https://vimeo.com/199545462

The next in line was A Mikkelson, his car had issues with the transfer box, so he drove around with only two wheel drive, you can see him missing the traction at the front wheel in the bends.

https://vimeo.com/199546314

Then came the Hyundai i20s.

https://vimeo.com/199546165

https://vimeo.com/199553145

J Latvala came next in his Polo.

https://vimeo.com/199553066

It was the Ford Fiesta’s turn next (Team M sport)

https://vimeo.com/199553286

Next it was Team D Mack’s Ford Fiesta.

https://vimeo.com/199553371

And that’s the end of all the videos that we managed to record.

[rejoycjohn]

Coming next is a rally of all photos that I managed to capture at Sweet Lamb.

The professionals are ready to get the best shot.


Sebastian Ogier.




Look how close he is to the apex.





Again kissing the apex before he takes the left hand turn up the hill.


A Mikkelsen with his 2 Wheel drive car.





Action by Hyundai i20.
The jump.







You can see that Hyundai is struggling to keep it tight at this corner.

Next in line was Team M-Sports Ford Fiesta.




Team D Mack's Ford Fiesta

[rejoycjohn]

Team Citroen with their Citroen DS3. They have failed to win since the retirement of Sebastian Loeb.

Mini Cooper Countryman.




Skoda Fabia



It had an accident and lost its rear, but still running to fight its chance.

That my collection of WRC cars for now

It was the turn of WRC 2 cars next.
Luckily I found another frame to the left of where I stood and I was happy that I could capture shots like these.

If you need one thing in these conditions, its a windscreen.

More of WRC2 cars.




Peugeot 208 - when they made better cars like the 205 Turbo, they won the WRC championship.


When you need the best navigator in the world to be alive.


The tires are digging deep for grip.



We moved our base further up the hill to capture some shots like these.

That my friends is the end of photos and videos from Sweet Lamb. As you can imagine there are more photos but these are the better ones.

Before I end my post I have to thank one more person for all these photos and videos. My wife, she helped me by taking videos in her phone and tablet while I was trying to get a decent shot of the action in front of me. She also helped me by keeping this umbrella above my head so that I don't need to lose those precious seconds wiping the water off my lens.

(I will have to find my meal elsewhere if I didn't write the last paragraph)

Hope you all had a good read.

[centaur]

Thanks for sharing. I am a big fan for WRC more than F1. While F1 has its own set of challenges, I have felt WRC to be more challenging in terms of the circuit because each passing car alters the circuit in some way or the other. Adding to it, is the element of surprise of fans crossing the road to the other side or animals suddenly appearing on the tracks and having to sway across to save them etc.

I have seen drivers driving on 3 wheels when an accident has costed them one wheel. A amazing sport indeed. I installed their app as soon as I got my first smartphone as it gives continuous updates though I have been unable to follow it for a really long time now.

I used to follow it like crazy when Sebastien Loeb used to drive the way he drove made everything seem so easy. He also won it 9 times and if I am not mistaken he is yet to equalled by any other driver. The other driver I liked was Petter Solberg though he won only once I guess. For some reason I always loved the Subaru Impreza 555 of the lot

[Nithesh_M]

That video below the Evo X is of the Evo IX not VIII. Nice set of pics by the way.

[qr20de]

Originally Posted by centaur

Thanks for sharing. I am a big fan for WRC more than F1. While F1 has its own set of challenges, I have felt WRC to be more challenging in terms of the circuit because each passing car alters the circuit in some way or the other. Adding to it, is the element of surprise of fans crossing the road to the other side or animals suddenly appearing on the tracks and having to sway across to save them etc.

I have seen drivers driving on 3 wheels when an accident has costed them one wheel. A amazing sport indeed. I installed their app as soon as I got my first smartphone as it gives continuous updates though I have been unable to follow it for a really long time now.

I used to follow it like crazy when Sebastien Loeb used to drive the way he drove made everything seem so easy. He also won it 9 times and if I am not mistaken he is yet to equalled by any other driver. The other driver I liked was Petter Solberg though he won only once I guess. For some reason I always loved the Subaru Impreza 555 of the lot

I couldn't agree with you more! In my opinion, WRC is so much more exciting, intense and diverse. I became a huge fan when the Safari Rally was run through our backyard. At that time it was called the world's longest, fastest and toughest rally.

The Impreza especially with it flat sounding boxer was amazing! The success of Subaru is the reason why so many Kenyans believe in Subaru's now. But the most successful and admired was the Toyota Celica ST185 WRC. This video has always been a favorite of mine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jq4IlMEk-_A

Glad to know that there are other people with similar interests! Awesome!

[centaur]

Originally Posted by qr20de

But the most successful and admired was the Toyota Celica ST185 WRC.

Another one was the Audi Quattro. I think quattro climbed to fame through the WRC and was regarded as one of the most important rally cars of all times.

[Brigadier]

Awesome set of pics ! Keep up the good work. Must say you are lucky to see it live, as it happened ! Though I like F1 more than WRC, of late I am getting more interested in WRC as I started playing DiRT Rally in 2015 and also WRC 6.
I have a question, how to watch the latest feeds of WRC? Sadly they don't telecast it on any Sports channel, hence I am curious.

[swiftnfurious]

Thank yo so much for sharing. Wish the vimeo ones were also uploaded to youtube. I just love the way these machines sound - pure eargasm!

I am very fond of the WRC / INRC more than F1. I think the true skills of a driver come into picture with not so nice roads, yeah F1 has the speed to tackle. I have a wish to participate in atleast one INRC just to strike out the item from the bucketlist. Pray it does happen. The closest I had to this was when I got a chance to ride shotgun in a rally prep Cedia at Coimbatore, can't forget the happiness I had for that 5 odd minutes.

And I am quite happy to see the i20 in the league, hope they (Hyundai) fine tune it so that the FTD traits come into their future cars too.

[qr20de]

Originally Posted by centaur

Another one was the Audi Quattro. I think quattro climbed to fame through the WRC and was regarded as one of the most important rally cars of all times.

Absolutely! I think it was the very first car to bring 4WD technology to the WRC. The days of the Group B cars were insane!

Originally Posted by Brigadier

Awesome set of pics ! Keep up the good work. Must say you are lucky to see it live, as it happened ! Though I like F1 more than WRC, of late I am getting more interested in WRC as I started playing DiRT Rally in 2015 and also WRC 6.
I have a question, how to watch the latest feeds of WRC? Sadly they don't telecast it on any Sports channel, hence I am curious.

Those are sweet games! I don't have a powerful laptop so I occasionally keep playing Colin McRae Rally 3

In terms of watching it on T.V. I haven't seen any channels showing it live or even recorded. I find all my content on YouTube or the WRC channel. I'm thinking of paying for the premium content starting from this season.

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Thank yo so much for sharing. Wish the vimeo ones were also uploaded to Youtube. I just love the way these machines sound - pure eargasm!

I am very fond of the WRC / INRC more than F1. I think the true skills of a driver come into picture with not so nice roads, yeah F1 has the speed to tackle. I have a wish to participate in atleast one INRC just to strike out the item from the bucketlist. Pray it does happen. The closest I had to this was when I got a chance to ride shotgun in a rally prep Cedia at Coimbatore, can't forget the happiness I had for that 5 odd minutes.

And I am quite happy to see the i20 in the league, hope they (Hyundai) fine tune it so that the FTD traits come into their future cars too.

The 2017 cars look incredible! Its going to a blistering season.

[rejoycjohn]

Originally Posted by centaur

Thanks for sharing. I am a big fan for WRC more than F1. While F1 has its own set of challenges, I have felt WRC to be more challenging in terms of the circuit because each passing car alters the circuit in some way or the other. Adding to it, is the element of surprise of fans crossing the road to the other side or animals suddenly appearing on the tracks and having to sway across to save them etc.
I used to follow it like crazy when Sebastien Loeb used to drive the way he drove made everything seem so easy. He also won it 9 times and if I am not mistaken he is yet to equalled by any other driver. The other driver I liked was Petter Solberg though he won only once I guess. For some reason I always loved the Subaru Impreza 555 of the lot

I think the area where WRC shines is unpredictability. Exactly as you said, you never know what’s around the corner, even though you know the track you would never know if there is a log or stone lying on the middle of the road. The grip that the circuit offers changes with time. Moreover you are entirely relying upon your co-driver for navigation. That fiesta which ran without windscreen, I can’t imagine how the driver managed to go around the track so fast. He can’t see anything in front of him, he is relying entirely on his co-driver and the way his car responds to make his split second decisions.
F1 can get boring after the initial 10 laps, the whole pack gets into a rhythm and as long as the driver doesn’t do anything stupid and the car stays reliable the results can be predicted. Another factor that can make the race interesting is rain.
Mitsubishi Lancer used to be my favourite in the late 90’s. Even though Sebastian Loeb ruled WRC in his Citroen later, I was never a fan of Citroen cars – no logical reason.

Originally Posted by Nithesh_M

That video below the Evo X is of the Evo IX not VIII. Nice set of pics by the way.

Thanks Nithesh for pointing that out. @Mods Can the text be edited now to Evo IX please?

Originally Posted by qr20de

I couldn't agree with you more! In my opinion, WRC is so much more exciting, intense and diverse. I became a huge fan when the Safari Rally was run through our backyard. At that time it was called the world's longest, fastest and toughest rally.
Glad to know that there are other people with similar interests! Awesome!

Can’t agree more. I need to watch a few more videos of Safari rally. It’s interesting to note that in 2014 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X won the Safari rally. I still think the Evos and Subarus were more rugged than the likes of Citroen or Ford.

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Thank yo so much for sharing. Wish the vimeo ones were also uploaded to Youtube. I just love the way these machines sound - pure eargasm!
I am very fond of the WRC / INRC more than F1. I think the true skills of a driver come into picture with not so nice roads, yeah F1 has the speed to tackle. I have a wish to participate in atleast one INRC just to strike out the item from the bucketlist. Pray it does happen. The closest I had to this was when I got a chance to ride shotgun in a rally prep Cedia at Coimbatore, can't forget the happiness I had for that 5 odd minutes.
And I am quite happy to see the i20 in the league, hope they (Hyundai) fine tune it so that the FTD traits come into their future cars too.

I first uploaded them into YouTube from my phone. For some strange reason the resolution was really bad. So I chose to get it uploaded into Vimeo. If I can work out how to set the resolution in YouTube videos when uploading from mobile phone, I will update them here.
Wow I wish you all the best for your rally dreams.
Hyundai started to participate in the rally in 2014. I think they are trying to change the image of their cars from boring to exciting by means of participating and trying to win the WRC tittles.

Originally Posted by Brigadier

Awesome set of pics ! Keep up the good work. Must say you are lucky to see it live, as it happened! Though I like F1 more than WRC, of late I am getting more interested in WRC as I started playing DiRT Rally in 2015 and also WRC 6.
I have a question, how to watch the latest feeds of WRC? Sadly they don't telecast it on any Sports channel, hence I am curious.

Thank you. I have a few more photos that I took when we later went to the rally village. Will compile and upload them soon.
I am not sure why none of the mainstream channels shows it live. If you take a subscription of WRC+ you will be able to stream the live videos.

One drawback of WRC is the lack of overtaking in normal circumstances. Not much wheel to wheel action in WRC and that may be one of the main reasons why F1 became more popular than WRC.

[centaur]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

And I am quite happy to see the i20 in the league, hope they (Hyundai) fine tune it so that the FTD traits come into their future cars too.

Ditto because we had acquired an i20 then and it felt good to have a car which had a WRC cousin

I think shortly after Hyundai entered WRC with the i20, they did give out some news about Hyundai Project 'N' and Project 'RM', which were to be their performance based offerings and the i20 was supposed to be one of them but I am not sure what stage it is now.

Check this link

Originally Posted by rejoycjohn

I think the area where WRC shines is unpredictability. Exactly as you said, you never know what’s around the corner, even though you know the track you would never know if there is a log or stone lying on the middle of the road. The grip that the circuit offers changes with time. Moreover you are entirely relying upon your co-driver for navigation. That fiesta which ran without windscreen, I can’t imagine how the driver managed to go around the track so fast. He can’t see anything in front of him, he is relying entirely on his co-driver and the way his car responds to make his split second decisions.
F1 can get boring after the initial 10 laps, the whole pack gets into a rhythm and as long as the driver doesn’t do anything stupid and the car stays reliable the results can be predicted. Another factor that can make the race interesting is rain.

Completely agree with you and that is why WRC always made it to the top sport on my list. Adding to it, in F1 if you lose a wheel you are out of the race but in WRC, no matter if you lose a wheel or windscreen, you still can continue and try to finish better than last. I have on numerous occasions when the car is just running on 3 wheels or has significant damage but is still racing towards the finish line of the stage. That kinda things just got me hooked

Originally Posted by rejoycjohn

Mitsubishi Lancer used to be my favourite in the late 90’s. Even though Sebastian Loeb ruled WRC in his Citroen later, I was never a fan of Citroen cars – no logical reason.

Same here. For me it was always the Subaru over all others.

BTW - anyone using the WRC app now? I have not used it from a long time, so just wanted to know if it still gives updates as such

[rejoycjohn]

So once the rally was over at Sweet lamb, we drove to a nearby village for dinner and overnight stay. Next day morning the weather was much better, cloudy but wasn’t raining like the previous day. Which was exactly what we wanted as the main agenda of the day was to drive to Deeside Rally Village and spent the day there.

When you are a spectator at a WRC rally stage you see a lot of cars in action, but you see the car only for a few seconds and you don’t get enough of these fantastic machines. But in the rally village crew brings in their cars for service and prepare it for next day’s rally. The rally village was located at Deeside near Toyota’s Manufacturing plant. After a few hours’ drive we reached Deeside village.

There was a lot of action going on in the village. They were hosting the Wales leg of ESport WRC Global championship. Apparently the participants travel around the world following WRC calendar and they compete each other in these virtual rally stages. This sport has a lot of fans and followers. It even had commentators describing the action.

In another corner of the village there was a competition going on to see how fast one can change a car tyre. The clock would start when you take the tools from the tool station to remove the tyre from the car and end when you keep the tools back in its place after fitting the tyre back on. I took 3 minutes and 24 seconds to complete the task, the winner did it in 1 minute and 3 seconds. To be honest I could have done it a bit faster, more towards the 3 minute mark had I tried a bit harder. Nevertheless its participating that matters – especially when you are not the winner.
This is a photo of a professional trying his best in this competition. I believe its an Austin Healey Mark 3, but not sure.

There were many other activities and amusements happening around for the crowd. Young men doing stunts in their bicycles, a WRC simulator by Michelin for anyone to try their hands on and a WRC video game experience for the kids offered by Hyundai WRC team

While walking around I saw this car and its driver. It’s a Ford Popular 103E, this vintage car and its owner drove from John O’Groats to Monte-Carlo while participating in Monte Carlo Classique, that’s a 3392 Miles round trip; quite an achievement for a 63 year old car with just 30 Bhp on tap. This vintage Ford is not new to the concept of setting out on an adventure. It had taken part in the Le Jog rally and drove from Land’s End ( Southern Tip of Britain) to John O’Groats (Northern Tip of Britain) in 2014. It was the oldest among the competitors and was the least powerful among the competitors.

Talking about power, this is a rally spec Ford Fiesta available for purchase from M-Sports for 21600£. The car has 1.6 EcoBoost direct injection engine with a Mountune MP215 upgrade which retains the factory warranty and delivers 215 PS at 6,000 rpm and 320 Nm at 3,000 rpm. The gearbox is also upgraded and features limited slip differential. The alloy wheels are OZ Superturismo17" in matt graphite.

[rejoycjohn]

My favourite car in WRC has been VW Polo since it started competing in WRC. I was quite excited when I came to know that VW is going to bring Polo into WRC as I always liked the Mk6 Polo. The car looked amazing, the lines were so clean and the proportion was just right that it looked very compact. It was not trying to become something which it wasn’t. When it was launched in 2009 I used to download Polo wallpapers especially the ones with 17” Boavista alloys and ogle at it with admiration. In my opinion its the best looking hatchback in India after the humble Zen.

I liked it so much that when they launched Polo GT in 2013, I was one of the first ones to buy one without even taking a test drive. So naturally my focus was the VW garage. We tried to get a decent spot near the garage to get as close as one can to the magnificent VW Polos. The crowd gathered mainly around the VW garage and very soon the cars started arriving in.
Following are the photos that I took from the Deeside village – 2016 WRC cars, this will be the last Wales rally that these cars would participate in as from 2017 the specs are changing and mostly these cars will spend the rest of its life in a museum.

Empty garages, the crew are ready for the cars.

Garage of the world number 1.


The other two VW garages



That's as close as I could get the rally spec Polo of the World champion.

And its safe in the garage ready to be serviced. Notice that 44 minutes on the display, its the time that they get to complete their car servicing.

On the ramp.



Mechanics are getting their hands dirty.



Those parts have seen end of their life for now.


The final minute, but the crew was just calm and collected.


And the car is ready for next day's action.


On its way to a secured parking.


The mechanic blowing the dust off his boiler suit.

Once you leave the VW garage, its a close competition between Hyundai i20 and Ford Fiesta.










How did the driver manage to get out after fitting the mini inside?