Everything about WRC special stages
This post tells about the time when WRC cars were first introduced and 1000 Lakes Rally became Rally Finland. First the route was tightened through new rules which introduced service parks. At the same time, stages started to be repeated again, on a larger scale than before. Subsequently the overall length was also limited by […]
Read More Rally Finland Route History IV: 1996-2001Which stages had the best battles to the second? Which power stages robbed rally leaders of their victories? Which stages turned into junkyards of rally cars? It Gets Faster Now! goes through the ten most dramatic stages of the 2019 season. Stages are listed in chronological order. Cover image by Richard Simpson (C). 1. La […]
Read More The 10 most dramatic stages of the 2019 WRC seasonThis post focuses on the Group A era in the 1000 Lakes Rallies. After the exaggerated slowing in 1987, the stages were now again naturally flowing, but modernized with varying road types. There was also now only very little driving in the dark. Each leg reached out to a different direction and the routes were […]
Read More Rally Finland Route History III: 1988-1995The 2019 season introduced a new rally, but a whole round was cancelled along many individual stages. Some events remained as they were, while a few revamped their routes. Stages kept becoming shorter, whereas speeds became sometimes faster, sometimes slower. Cover photo by Richard Simpson / Flickr (C).
Read More WRC season 2019 reviewFinnish gravel roads and Group B cars – what a combination. In these years the 1000 Lakes Rally route headed mostly South-West from Jyväskylä. It introduced its first night breaks, but still included long and tough days of driving. The stages were short but there were a high number of them, with a few double […]
Read More Rally Finland Route History II:1982-1987Rally Australia could have been one of the fastest gravel rallies of the season. The 2019 event had to be cancelled because of raging bushfires. This route preview is retained for future reference. Rally Australia was first introduced to the WRC in 1989. It became soon known for its Langley Park twin-car super special and […]
Read More Route Preview: Rally Australia 2019Rally Finland or 1000 Lakes Rally has always been based in Jyväskylä, but its route has stretched towards various parts of Finland throughout the decades. Stages have come and gone, sometimes altering their route and changing their title. This is an attempt to put all this together. In this blog post series I’m going to […]
Read More Rally Finland Route History I: 1973-1981Rally Catalunya is the only mixed surface rally of the season. It offers smooth flowing tarmac resembling racing circuits as well as sandy and technical gravel roads. For this year the route has remained almost unchanged from last year, with a new power stage.
Read More Route Preview: Rally Catalunya 2019The 2020 WRC calendar was published today. There are more changes than we’ve used to seeing in the past years. Here’s a summary of how the characteristics of the season will change
Read More 2020 WRC Calendar ThoughtsWales Rally GB is driven on fast and muddy forest roads which were used decades ago in the Welsh leg of the RAC Rally, thus continuing its heritage. This year’s route is essentially a combination of the three past years with a couple of new parts. RAC Rally was known for its long route which […]
Read More Route Preview: Wales Rally GB 2019