i put the rec timer on for Thurs afternoon. Supposed to be 2pm. Wot I got is Aussie Open. Astro sld have notified of the change of time.

subaru is still using the version 9 imprezza.. dunno when they'll gonna use the new imprezza hatchback..

ah? u mean the new impreza will be the impreza hatchback??? they say they will change new car in the mexican stage... really interested to know more le...

i wonder how will it looks like
really like Subaru alot!

Subaru will be unveiling it's next generation Subaru Impreza in a few month's time at the 2007 New York International Auto Show - 4th April 2007. what we'll see is the conventional Impreza in 5-door hatchback form, as the mad turbocharged WRX and WRX STI variants are not expected to be ready for unveiling until 2008. The 5-door hatch design is expected to be similiar to the Subaru B5-TPH Concept shown above.

from paultan.org

cant wait to see them...

ZOMG!!! Loeb is 20th after the 1st day of Swedish Rally!!11

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Added on February 12, 2007, 9:10 amMarcus won, with Loeb coming in 2nd...

This post has been edited by linkinstreet: Feb 12 2007, 09:10 AM

loeb is really a lightning... from 20th jumps to 2nd... schumi in rally... but snow rally is more amazing ah..

Pity the 2 subaru drivers tho. the best was Marcus after the 1st day of rally when asked to comment about Loeb. His answer? 'GAH!!'

Subaru team...
.....
i hope Chris and Solberg can try their best in the next rally...

gronholm oways gives a very humorous responses... he even say loeb is crazy... haha!

BP-Ford World Rally Team lie first and second after controlling today's opening leg of Rally Norway. Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen led this third round of the FIA World Rally Championship from the opening kilometre in their Ford Focus RS World Rally Car. They ended the day with a 15.5sec advantage over team-mates Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen in a similar Focus RS.
Just a week after a dominant victory in the Swedish Rally, BP-Ford continued where it left off in similar wintry conditions in Norway. Hirvonen won two of the eight speed tests covering 143.10km in the Kongsvinger forests, north-east of Oslo and close to the Swedish border. Grönholm settled into second on the opening test and maintained his place throughout the day.

The tiny town centre of Hamar was packed last night as 10,000 Norwegians celebrated their country's first appearance in the WRC at the start ceremony. The biggest sporting event in the country since the 1994 Winter Olympics at nearby Lillehammer has captured the public's imagination and huge crowds are expected on the special stages throughout the weekend.

After a period of intense cold weather with plenty of snow, temperatures have risen and hovered just below freezing this morning. The roads were in perfect condition with snow covering the icy base, although drivers reported gravel breaking through the ice on the single stage that was used twice. Both Hirvonen and Grönholm fitted long studs to their skinny BFGoodrich tyres to penetrate the snow and dig into the ice to provide maximum grip and traction.

Hirvonen dominated the opening 30.03km Løten stage, powering his Focus RS to fastest time over team-mate Grönholm by 11.1sec and setting the scene for the day. He was also fastest when the stage was repeated and the gap between the 26-year-old Finn and his 39-year-old team-mate and fellow countryman barely fluctuated.

"This was one of the best days of my career," he said. "I drove really hard and I'm fighting with Marcus and Loeb which is a great feeling. I woke up feeling confident and decided to attack hard although I was a little surprised to be leading. I'm driving at my own pace and not looking at the split times of others. I have to continue attacking because Marcus and Loeb are pushing hard but I'm not worried and I can keep this pace up, although it will be easy to make a mistake.

"The long stage early in the morning could be crucial. I will be 15th car to start and by that time it could be quite gravely so tyre choice will be difficult. It's hard deciding what length stud I should choose. I got it slightly wrong this afternoon and lost a little time but that was my only problem today," he added.

Grönholm, winner in Sweden on Sunday, found it less easy to come to terms with a new event. "Conditions were good but it was difficult to find the right rhythm with new pace notes, and the whole day didn't feel quite right," he said. "I think my notes were too optimistic and I made a few changes during the stages. It's not easy without previous knowledge of the roads. There was a lot of snow and I wasn't so confident with that or my notes.

"Tomorrow my start position will give me cleaner roads. I need to find a better rhythm and not lose so much time nudging the snowbanks. I must drive more cleanly and not go so wide in the junctions. It's not easy to find the braking points but when you don't know the stages well, it's important to brake early and not go wide," he added.

BP-Ford team director Malcolm Wilson was delighted with 'an excellent team performance'. "Both cars ran faultlessly and Mikko's pace today proves that a new event, where previous experience isn't a factor, is a great leveller. Mikko has done a good recce and has a good set of pace notes," he said.

The opening day of the 2007 Rally Norway has finished with Sébastien Loeb, Daniel Elena and their Citroën C4 WRC sitting in 3rd place, while their Citroën team-mates Dani Sordo and Marc Martí parked up in tonight's parc ferme in Hamar in 14th place. The inclusion of a second wintry fixture in the calendar coming straight after the Swedish Rally raised a number of questions concerning not only the profile and speed of the newcomer's stages but also the importance of having to run first on the road and having to do 'road-sweeping' duty, as Seb was forced to today.
The first leg, the longest of the event, featured a programme of eight stages, including the notorious 30.03 km ‘Løten’ test which Guy Fréquelin had earmarked as particularly difficult. "There'll be some big gaps at the end of SS1," he predicted during yesterday's shakedown, nd he was right. Indeed, this was the only stage that the drivers covered twice today and it effectively had a big influence on tonight's provisional order.

"I didn't drive very well first time through," admitted Sébastien Loeb. "I wasn't happy with my pacenotes either. They were a bit overoptimistic and I even made a small mistake not far from the finish." The three-time World Champion and his Citroën C4 WRC posted the fourth best time, 17 seconds behind the leader. And he fared little better on the second pass. "After 70 cars had been through, it had cut up quite badly," he reported from the remote lunchtime service zone in Kirkenær. "There was me thinking I would have a clear stage ahead of me and it turned out to be even worse than the first pass. Once again I found myself sweeping aside a clearer line for those running behind me in the order. We came across the same phenomenon in Sweden and being first on the road really is a big handicap." The second
pass saw Seb lose 15.6s which dropped him to 28s behind the leader.

A score of five fastest times from a possible eight today for the Frenchman nonetheless highlighted the potential of the Citroën C4 WRC when the playing field was level, and that enabled him to complete the first day in 3rd place, just 1.8s off 2nd spot and 17.3s adrift of the leader. "We really pushed hard this afternoon. I gave it everything I could in a bid to close the gap with the two guys ahead of me. Running 13th on the road tomorrow should be a good position from which to mount an attack."

Continuing his apprenticeship of competing on snow, Dani Sordo started the day cautiously. "As in Sweden," explained the 2005 Junior World Champion, "my aim here is to try and score points for Citroën. I knew before the start it wouldn't be easy because the stages are slow and technical, which doesn't play in my favour. But even though my times are still some way off the best, I am happy with my day. I am especially pleased with the performance of my C4 WRC. I am feeling increasingly confident with it. The set-up changes we made have brought a big improvement."

At the end of Leg 1, Guy Fréquelin was swift to underline Sébastien Loeb's harvest of fastest times and Dani Sordo's consistency: "Stages 1 and 3 weren't good for us. But apart from that, Sébastien has once again shown the potential of the Citroën C4 WRC. Our choice of tyres from the BFGoodrich g-Force Ice range also paid off. This evening, Seb could have been even closer to the lead but for a straight-on on SS5 and had he not stalled at the start of SS6. That's a good pointer for tomorrow when Seb should have the same conditions as his rivals. Dani's day was what I was expecting. His times are improving in sequences and that's a good sign."

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Added on February 20, 2007, 8:46 pm

This post has been edited by linkinstreet: Feb 20 2007, 08:48 PM

Damn, Loeb finished 14th... Miko won brilliantly tho
BP-Ford World Rally Team took a decisive lead in the FIA World Rally Championship today after dominating Rally Norway with the Focus RS World Rally Car to finish first and second. Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen led from start to finish to claim their second WRC victory, finishing 9.5sec ahead of team-mates and fellow Finns Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen.
It was BP-Ford's second win in consecutive weeks after Grönholm triumphed in Sweden seven days ago and powered the reigning manufacturers' world champions into a 16 point lead after three of the 16 rounds. Grönholm moved to the head of the drivers' series, four points clear of Hirvonen.

Focus RS cars completed a clean sweep of the podium places as Henning Solberg and Cato Menkerud, driving for the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford team, finished third to match their career-best result. It was the first time Ford has filled all three podium places since 1979 when Hannu Mikkola led a trio of Escorts into the top three in Rally New Zealand, 356 rallies ago.

Huge crowds packed the Norwegian countryside north of Oslo to celebrate their country's first appearance in the WRC and the biggest sporting event in Norway since the 1994 Winter Olympics. Three days of rugged driving in treacherous conditions in the forests near Kongsvinger and the hills around Lillehammer demanded impeccable reliability from the Focus RS cars and the utmost skill from Hirvonen and Grönholm. They faced deep snow, ice, fog and rain during the 18 speed tests covering 355.99km but held the top two positions from the opening kilometre.

Hirvonen started today's third leg with a 19.3sec advantage over his 39-year-old team-mate. With their closest pursuers almost 3min 30sec behind, the BP-Ford duo could afford to pace themselves through the final four special stages covering 97.10km. Grönholm ended the event in style by winning the final test, his fourth of the rally. Hirvonen also claimed four stage wins.

"I'm so relieved the rally is over," said 26-year-old Hirvonen. "I've led since the start and battled with Marcus and Loeb since Friday morning. I've beaten them both here fair and square after a great fight. Although I won in Australia last year, I didn't have to overcome their challenge then so I regard this as my first 'real' WRC win. It certainly made a difference that this was a new rally. Nobody had previous experience of the stages and that made things more equal.

"Neither Marcus nor I had to drive at maximum speed today. But in those circumstances it's easy to relax and make a mistake. I tried to concentrate on every single corner and followed Marcus' split times. The stages were so enjoyable but at the same time they were extremely difficult. Yesterday we had blizzard conditions on one test and I don't think I've ever driven a stage like that," he added.

Grönholm has now finished on the podium on all three rallies this season. "I'm leading the drivers' championships and BP-Ford leads the manufacturers' series so it doesn't get any better," he said. "It was a difficult weekend with plenty of snow and narrow roads. I wasn't completely happy with my own performance because I couldn't find a perfect rhythm. But looking at the last two weeks as a whole, I have to be happy to take a win and a second place," he said.

It was a perfect birthday weekend for BP-Ford team director Malcolm Wilson, who was 51 yesterday. "It was an intense three days but this is a fantastic result. Mikko led from the start and was under pressure throughout. He held his pace and never looked like losing his lead. Once Loeb lost time we had a big advantage and it would have been crazy to let Mikko and Marcus battle it out. We told them to hold position, make no mistakes and bring home maximum points," he said.

Ford TeamRS director Jost Capito was delighted with the Blue Oval's clean sweep of the podium. "It's a great moment for Ford," he said. "We hoped there would be the opportunity to claim the top three places at some point during the season but we never expected it to happen this early. It's a perfect reflection of how competitive the Focus RS WRC is."

News from our Rivals

Norway's Solberg brothers delighted the fans with an exciting battle for third. Petter (Subaru) held a 9.9sec lead over Henning (Ford) last night. But Petter struggled with studs that were too short for the snowy conditions and Henning moved ahead on the opening test and held his advantage, despite stalling at the start of the final stage. Jari-Matti Latvala (Ford) brought his Focus RS home in fifth. The battle between Manfred Stohl (Citroen) and Gigi Galli (Citroen) for sixth ended when Stohl went off the road for 10 minutes on the final stage. Xavi Pons (Mitsubishi) and Daniel Carlsson (Citroen) battled hard throughout the day until Pons crashed out on the last test. Sébastien Loeb (Citroen) set two fastest times today to finish 14th and take the final manufacturers' point.

Next round
The championship moves onto gravel, the series' dominant surface, and out of Europe for the first time this season for round four. Rally Mexico is based in León on 8 - 11 March.

Final positions
1. M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen FIN Ford Focus RS 3hr 28min 17.0sec
2. M Grönholm/T Rautiainen FIN Ford Focus RS 3hr 28min 26.5sec
3. H Solberg/C Menkerud N Ford Focus RS 3hr 32min 01.6sec
4. P Solberg/P Mills N Subaru Impreza 3hr 32min 18.1sec
5. J-M Latvala/M Anttila FIN Ford Focus RS 3hr 33min 47.7sec
6. G Galli/G Bernacchini I Citroen Xsara 3hr 35min 22.2sec
7. D Carlsson/D Giraudet S Citroen Xsara 3hr 37min 40.7sec
8. J Kopecky/F Schovanek CZ Skoda Fabia 3hr 40min 06.9sec
9. R Dalsjø/J Løvhøiden N Subaru Impreza 3hr 41min 48.8sec
10 A Mikkelsen/O Fløene N Ford Focus RS 3hr 42min 45.7sec

gosh... didnt watch the highlights last nite... wat happen to loeb??? wheres his schumi spirit gone???

wat really happen to mitsu eh?... last time i saw their car on rally was Evo7 i think....but the performance was really bad... and toyota also...would like to see more juz like the corolla genration...

teh C4 was not made for snow. He was 3rd untill the 2nd day. during the last day he went fastest during the morning but slammed into a banking sometime during the race. he lost 20 minutes trying to get his car out from there

BFGoodrich = Michelin under different name. They used Michelin a couple of seasons ago before switching to BFGoodrich. Pirelli, on the other hand, suffered from bad performance last season and decided to pull out from the event.

This post has been edited by tester: Feb 21 2007, 01:20 PM

there are some priveteers still using pirelli. I think Manfred Shtol uses Pirelli on his Xsara

Yes. I was referring to the fact that BFGoodrich is now dominating the tyres for manufacturer teams.

gosh... the xsara was still a reliable car for the team huh...

It will still be a better car for gravel races. There are no more snow this season too