How will Gronholm

[sills]

How will Marcus fair in Galway, Eugene wont be up to full speed in the s12 yet so whos there to stop him anyone.......

[VodkaKick3]

Kevin Lynch

[BennyB]

Barring mistakes, i don't think anyone will get near Gronholm.
A good indicator was the Monte last weekend. All new stages for everyone, meaning a level playing field, and Gareth MacHale was over 11 mins of Loeb and 10 mins off Gronholms pace over 15 stages. A massive difference.
Home advantage should see it much closer than that but hard to see anything other than an easy gronholm victory.
P.S. Think Mark Higgins, the Genie and Kevin Lynch will get closest to him.

[Corny]

What car will Grönholm drive? Focus07?

[scooby girl]

Gronholm will drive the 06 focus.

[Simmi]

I think the threat will come from Higgins if anywhere.

[Neil J]

I`m with you Simmi, my money`s on Higgins.

[jidoka]

Still though its only a two day event, so a good start will be critcal. Higgins will be quick out of the box. But I think Marcus will get him in the end.

[jure dvorsek]

Hey, how can you doubt about Markus victory??? He is a world's number 1 (OK, number 2 !!) driver, all guys you are talking about are yust a local heroes!! Markus can beat them almost with N4 car.

[farquar wrc]

Hey, how can you doubt about Markus victory??? He is a world's number 1 (OK, number 2 !!) driver, all guys you are talking about are yust a local heroes!! Markus can beat them almost with N4 car.
Obviously you know nothing about Irish rallying,Marcus will win,but you'll be surprised just how close Miggens will be to him,and to say he could almost beat the Irish WRC boys in a N4 car is utter bull s****

[jidoka]

Hey, how can you doubt about Markus victory??? He is a world's number 1 (OK, number 2 !!) driver, all guys you are talking about are yust a local heroes!! Markus can beat them almost with N4 car.

Nonsense

[davc]

i'm with farquar wrc on this one it will be closer than people think.the irish boys are top quality drivers who are used to the conditions over here,yes marcus is a world class driver but hes not going to have it all his own way.especially not being familiar with irish tarmac so expect it to be closer than you think.also dont think m-sport would be too happy if he pranged his focus just before sweden!

[Addicted]

Grönholm will win with one minute margin. Higgins may win few stages but wont challenge Grönholm for winning. And G. Jones will have nice run in top3

[ste898]

I'm sorry to say but I also think Marcus could beat the Irish guys in a Group n car............look at Kris Meeke in the Citroen C2 1600!!!!!!!! on the Ulster last year

[cannyboy]

What about Markko Martin having trouble keeping up on his first visit?
He wasn't driving a gp n car.

Not one fastest time.

Wilks was only marginally up in an Impreza, and he knows irish lanes.
And donelly had a 99 car until now!

I can safely tell you that those behind marcus will be a lot closer that what was behind him in the monte!

[Mihai]

I don't think Gronholm will win Galway International by a huge margin. He doesn't need to take any risks. I think it will be a close battle between Gronholm and Mark Higgins (less than 30 seconds), with Donnelly, Lynch, Boland and McNulty all charging for 3rd overall. I hope Motors TV will broadcast the rally!

PuddleJumper, how about having our own unofficial pickems?

[AndyRAC]

As good as the local boys are, Gronholm is in another league, and should win, unless they play round with settings and use it as a competitive test, though I think he'll still win.

[A.F.F.]

Marcus' goal there is to get to know the roads and probably find suitable set-ups.

However, it's pretty sure that Marcus won't just cruise the route through. The best way to get familiar with those roads to keep the rallypace up. Therefore he might win even it won't be an important thing for him.

[306 Cosworth]

Who will win if Marcus doesn't finish then? I think Kevin Lynch could be a serious threat in a newer car.

[sills]

somebody mentioned wilks in cork, nesbitt set equal fastest time with wilks on one stage and nesbitt lost his brakes half way through that stage, the irish boys know there stuff and theres irish tarmac and theres galway tarmac, galway is in my opinion the trickest event on the island, but comming to a winner i reackon if gronhlom is up to race speed over the weekend he'll crash.......!!!!

[jidoka]

somebody mentioned wilks in cork, nesbitt set equal fastest time with wilks on one stage and nesbitt lost his brakes half way through that stage, the irish boys know there stuff and theres irish tarmac and theres galway tarmac, galway is in my opinion the trickest event on the island, but comming to a winner i reackon if gronhlom is up to race speed over the weekend he'll crash.......!!!!

Marcus will be treating the weekend primarily as a test session. I don't expect him to push to the limit and risk an accident.... Should be a very interesting weekend all the same.

[hyundaimike]

gronholm will win the rally by nearly 2minutes if he turns up to race but the race for second will be worth travelling to see on its own.lynch,donnelly,mcnulty and the two gareths will rattle higgins and i would fancy lynch to overcome them all

[quicksilver]

Think that if Gronholm should win by at least over a minute if he pushes at all, woudn't be surprised if its tight by the the end of saturday's stages but I reckon he'll blow them away sunday if he pushes hard! Higgins Donnelly or MacHale for second, depends how well adjusted Donnelly will be to the new car and I think G.MacHale will be a lot faster than a lot of Irish people are expecting so should be interesting! :D

[Simmi]

6 seconds up on Genie after the first stage.

[cyd]

6 seconds up on Genie after the first stage.

Are there any links for this? :confused:

[cut the b.s.]

Are there any links for this? :confused:

http://rally.connect.ie/index.php


http://www.rallynews.net/Rallies/2007rallies/Galwayint07/index.htm

[Wim_Impreza]

Donnelly and Higgins faster than Grönholm on SS3.

[cut the b.s.]

Donnelly and Higgins faster than Grönholm on SS3.



Donnelly, Higgins and Murphy faster than Grönholm on SS4!

[WRC2006]

Anyone knows on which channel they will screen the headlights or the full coverage if possible?

Thanks

[cyd]

http://rally.connect.ie/index.php


http://www.rallynews.net/Rallies/2007rallies/Galwayint07/index.htm

thanks very much

[sal]

Pics of Gronholm and car in service prior to the shakedown.

http://www.irish-rallying.com/article.php?article_id=070202/130534

[sal]

From rallynews.net

RALLY NEWS NO.5 Portumna Service/Saturday 2.30
UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 5 Pallas


1st (1) Marcus Gronholm/Timo Rautiainen (Focus WRC) 42.28.1
2nd (5) Eugene Donnelly/Paul Kiely (Impreza WRC) 42.33.7
3rd (4) Eamonn Boland/Francis Regan (Focus WRC) 43.46.6
4th (14) Stephen Murphy/MJ Morrissey (Impreza WRC) 43.51.8
5th (3) Mark Higgins/Rory Kennedy (Impreza WRC) 43.52.5
6th (8) Kevin Lynch/Gordon Noble (Focus WRC) 44.01.5
7th (2) Gareth MacHale/Paul Nagle (Focus WRC) 44.07.4
8th (12) Ray Breen/Damien Morrissey (Focus WRC) 44.12.1
9th (16) Michael Barrable/Dermot O'Gorman (Focus WRC) 44.28.7
10th (11) Patrick Elliott/Paul Goodman (Impreza WRC) 44.52.8

[cut the b.s.]

I rated Donnelly highly before this event, I'm still a little shocked to see a middle aged business man taking time from a Double world champ. SWRT should give this man the best they have for Rally Ireland, ok new event for Marcus but he is a pro, and its a new car for Eugene, 7 incredible stages so far, really enjoying following this one :-)

[cut the b.s.]

After SS7, thanks to rally.connect.ie!!

1 5 Eugene Donnelly/Paul Kiley Subaru Impreza 8 O/A 9:44.0 0:00 1:00:24.0
2 1 Marcus Gronholm/Timo Rautiainen Ford Focus WRC 06 8 O/A 10:03.7 0:00 1:00:36.1 0:12.1 0:12.1
3 2 Gareth Machale/Paul Nangle Ford Focus WRC 8 O/A 9:39.3 0:00 1:02:00.2 1:36.2 1:24.1
4 4 Eamonn Boland/Francis Regan Ford Focus WRC 8 O/A 9:54.3 0:00 1:02:05.8 1:41.8 0:05.6
5 3 Mark Higgins/Rory Kennedy Subaru Impreza 8 O/A 10:05.4 0:00 1:02:18.7 1:54.7 0:12.9
6 8 Kevin Lynch/Gordon Noble Ford Focus WRC 8 1 9:56.6 0:00 1:02:19.5 1:55.5 0:00.8

[cannyboy]

Hey, how can you doubt about Markus victory??? He is a world's number 1 (OK, number 2 !!) driver, all guys you are talking about are yust a local heroes!! Markus can beat them almost with N4 car.

Haha - donnelly is up!

Solberg better be careful, or he'll be out of the job :')

A truly impressive performance...

Humble pie anyone, with cream on top?

[MJW]

Marcus was ahead until he had a puncture, he also spun on one stage and overshot a junction on another stage.

[cannyboy]

Marcus was ahead until he had a puncture, he also spun on one stage and overshot a junction on another stage.

Your right - he must not be trying so with all these spins :')

“A little bit of everything today, I touched the stone and got the puncture.” When queried on just how hard he was trying Marcus said. “I have made some mistakes but still trying to do fast times. He is doing well this Donnelly!”

In all fairness lads, Donnelly is beating Grondholm, fair and square.

A middle aged business man, beating a world champ!

No matter how you look at it, it's bloody impressive!

Whether he can hold him off tommorow is another story, but either way, amazing driving in his first rally in a car he has 4 weeks!

And the S12 was a long way behind the ford in wrc.. or so Peter and Chris keep saying

[Simmi]

There's always the argument of how well would Genie do in Finland against Gronholm... It's impressive all the same.

[jonas_mcrae]

so whats on today or is it finish? anyone one has pics or links? its difficult to find anything about this Irish rallies.

[cut the b.s.]

so whats on today or is it finish? anyone one has pics or links? its difficult to find anything about this Irish rallies.

really difficult? I posted 2 links already in this thread.......

[farquar wrc]

Well well well,where are all the doubters now,Marcus will do this,Marcus will do that,well from what i seen yesterday,Genie's commitment was breathtaking,you just had to look at how much the S12 was slidding, compaired to Gronholms Focus,and nobody can say Gronholm is only testing,he is trying very hard to,unfortunately for me i had to fly home last night,but what a start to the rallying year,this is why the Irish Tarmac Championship is the best in the world

[cannyboy]

http://www.rallynews.net/Rallies/2007rallies/Galwayint07/rallynewsno8.htm

Grondholm fastest by 3 secs on todays first.
Donnelly fastest by 5 on the second.

4 stages to go
http://rally.connect.ie/results.php?rally=GY07

[davc]

yes farquar wrc i was down too and genie was on it.i think we said in this post earlier that marcus wasn't going to walk it and going on this mornings stages its a big 2 fingers up to all those that said he'd win by minutes and then someone else said he'd beat them in a group n-who's laughing now.

[pentti]

I follow Irish rallying so it has not come as a surprise Donnelly's speed but he also knows these road well and even more importantly, he has the best tyres.
Still will be interesting if he can beat Loeb in november!

[cannyboy]

Donnelly won st 13 by 1 sec.
Up by 9 overall.

The crowds are so big that some people I know have given up tryinig going to the stages and are sitting in the pub!

I knew Donnelly was fast, but this is the most impressive performance by an irish driver in years.
Perhaps that old corolla of his was as outdated as he said!

Didn't realise that kumhos are the best pentti!
Remember you throwing that starion around irish lanes as a kid!

Grondholm is my fav wrc driver by a long way - these two are head and sholders above the rest.

[Lousada]

I wonder where he would be if he drove a Focus or a Citroen instead of that Impreza? It's quite an amazing performance.

[pentti]

Kumhos are the only ones with soft sidewalls as far I know. Big difference.

[Mihai]

Still will be interesting if he can beat Loeb in november!

I wouldn't go that far to say Eugene can compete with the top tarmac drivers in an WRC round (even on home soil), but I certainly want him to win Galway ahead of Marcus Gronholm. I can't wait to see the highlights of the rally on Motors TV!

[cannyboy]

So Kumho makes a better tyre than bf, because of their sidewall construction?? I highly doubt that:')
Why did the works team switch to BF?
Maybe a middle aged part timer like donnelly knows something that the entire motorsports departments of Subaru, Citroen, Ford et al don't?

I think the driver is the big difference here to be honest.

[FabiaFan]

I follow Irish rallying so it has not come as a surprise Donnelly's speed but he also knows these road well and even more importantly, he has the best tyres.
Still will be interesting if he can beat Loeb in november! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: Loeb??? Not even Sordo!!! :-( But Donnelly vs. Duval & Kopecký could be interesting...

[Viktory]

Donelly won by 1.1 seconds, pretty close :p

http://rally.connect.ie/results.php?rally=GY07

Well done to Donelly!

[cannyboy]

Nope - Not over yet - reports are that on the second last stage with 1.1secs in it, they both crashed, and only Grondholm managed to limp out.
Some battle...

Pity - some drive!

[davc]

GENIES OUT-shame IT would have been his best ever victory.he pushed marcus all the way!

[MJW]

Dont get me wrong - what Eugene Donnelly has done this weekend is definately a brilliant drive, both Donnely and Marcus were over 2 mins up on Gareth MacHale and the others. I do however think that because Kumho have spent so long at the top level of Irish Tarmac rallying that perhaps "their tyre" was the one to have?

[MJW]

Also Marcus made some changes to the car this afternoon, raising the ride height and softening roll bars, maybe Irish tar is different to WRC tar settings. Ford came to learn and I'm sure come November it will pay rewards, dont know if the november rally will have the same weather as this weekend though.

[farquar wrc]

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: Loeb??? Not even Sordo!!! :-( But Donnelly vs. Duval & Kopecký could be interesting...
Some people post sh1te,have you not seen what has gone on this weekend,remember this was Genie's first rally in the S12,there will be alot more speed top come once he sorts the car out,so the next time you have a brain fart,dont post it

[FabiaFan]

Some people post sh1te,have you not seen what has gone on this weekend,remember this was Genie's first rally in the S12,there will be alot more speed top come once he sorts the car out,so the next time you have a brain fart,dont post it
...we'll see...the difference to MacHale was only 2,5 min., to Boland less than 4 min., so you can judge, the pace of Gronholm was not on usual level...

[cannyboy]

...we'll see...the difference to MacHale was only 2,5 min., to Boland less than 4 min., so you can judge, the pace of Gronholm was not on usual level...

The only thing not usual, was that a subaru was able to keep up with a ford for once.
Perhaps Solberg and Atkinson would like to visit for some lessons, instead of complaining about how bad a car the S12 is....


"M-Sport boss Malcolm Wilson was also at the stage finish and went into deep discussion with Marcus about set up and strategy. We do not know exactly what was said, but there would appear to be a debate about the merits of testing or winning! At the moment Marcus seems to want to win…..

"It was a difficult rally but we learned a lot, it was good to have Donnelly to push me. It was sad for him to go off, he was driving well”.

[bowler]

what happened to Donnelly?

Gronholm by 2.52

http://rally.connect.ie/results.php?rally=GY07

[sal]

From http://www.rallynews.net

RALLY NEWS NO.12 (A) – updated at 5.30 Sunday end of last stage.



UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 17 Ballyfa – last stage

1st (1) Marcus Gronholm/Timo Rautiainen (Focus WRC) 1.57.14.6

2nd (2) Gareth MacHale/Paul Nagle (Focus WRC) 2.00.06.2

3rd (3) Mark Higgins/Rory Kennedy (Impreza WRC) 2.00.56.5

4th (4) Eamonn Boland/Francis Regan (Focus WRC) 2.01.09.6

5th (8) Kevin Lynch/Gordon Noble (Focus WRC) 2.02.10.8

6th (14) Stephen Murphy/MJ Morrissey (Impreza WRC) 2.02.47.8

7th (11) Patrick Elliott/Paul Goodman (Impreza WRC) 2.03.25.3

8th (16) Michael Barrable/Dermot O'Gorman (Focus WRC) 2.03.43.5

9th (6) Austin MacHale/Brian Murphy (Focus WRC) 2.03.58.9

10th (12) Ray Breen/Damien Morrissey (Focus WRC) 2.05.08.1



Eugene Donnelly’s dream of winning this Galway International all fell apart in stage 16 when his Subaru reportedly under steered into a ditch and got stuck. Marcus Gronholm had turned in a stunning time on stage 14 and was just over a second behind Eugene starting that Eglish test. Initial reports that Gronholm’s Focus had also gone off proved to be incorrect and in fact the Finnish driver turned in a fantastic time 17s up on Mark Higgins. We were told earlier that Marcus wasn’t very happy with the revised suspension set up on his Focus but as it transpired he was perfectly comfortable and found the car so much better. Marcus Gronholm commented at the end of the final stage “It was a difficult rally but we learned a lot, it was good to have Donnelly to push me. It was sad for him to go off, he was driving well”. Gareth MacHale commented. “I’m happy enough, we were getting quicker throughout the rally as I got used to the left hand drive. I didn’t think I’d be that on the pace with the new car”.



Mark Higgins’ late surge has promoted him to 3rd place which will almost certainly mean maximum Tarmac Championship points as neither Gronholm or Gareth MacHale registered for the series. Mark commented. “I was a bit happier towards the end but there is still a bit to do. It was a pretty dreadful rally for me, I hope we get more grip in Sweden. Still it was a great opportunity for me to drive the Pirelli car, we had a few worries on the last stage as it is showing low oil pressure but we got here”. Further stories include; Kevin Lynch spinning his Focus on the penultimate stage. Ray Breen had power steering trouble at the nd. Austin MacHale had a front left puncture but lost little time and Gareth Jones crashed the Reid Motorsport Impreza at a crest into square right almost within sight of the finish. Gareth’s Focus had a puncture some distance before the accident so possibly this was a contributory factor.



In Group N James Foley and his co driver Paddy Robinson scored a great victory with Kevin O’Donoghue 2nd, Kevin Kelleher 3rd. Current gpN champion Colm Murphy set a string of gpN fastest times today.



In the National part of the rally with 1 stage remaining Brian Brogan and Joe Friel led in their Escort from Manus Kelly in his Lancer and Tom Holton 3rd in his Celica.



Young Tadgh Buckley led the Fiesta Sporting Trophy contenders from Jonny Greer with Alastair Fisher 3rd.

Martin McCormick continued to lead the Historics in his Escort from Martin Leonard with Niall Creighton 3rd. Finally for now many thanks to all the Galway organisers for a terrific event and to all who supported the RallyNews service.



BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON http://www.rallynews.net

[sal]

Interesting note from Higgins re grip. Perhaps with Kumhos or BF Goodrich the Impreza is a different beast...

[Viktory]

woah! big mistake by me :p sorry, misread the live timing site.

[bowler]

Donnelly can be well pleased with himself.

Sorry that he went off, but that's what happens when the pressure is on.

[[WRCRR]]

Yeah great drive from Donnelly, I was seriously impressed. I knew he would be fast...but that fast first time in the new car, woah!!!

And by the way, some kick ass rally!!! Cant wait for Rally Ireland!

[jure dvorsek]

I must admit, I was impressed with Donnelly speed, nobody expected to have Donnellly in a fight for first position, even you, Irish fans. To be in a so close battle with Markus, is proving, that Irish drivers are quick on home tarmac. But, to be a first class driver,you must take a pressure and not to make a mistake and Donnelly made a mistake....sorry! So for me he is still a very fast local driver-if and when he will be so close to Markus&Co on WRC events, OK, this will be another story. On home corners it is much easier.

[sills]

I must admit, I was impressed with Donnelly speed, nobody expected to have Donnellly in a fight for first position, even you, Irish fans. To be in a so close battle with Markus, is proving, that Irish drivers are quick on home tarmac. But, to be a first class driver,you must take a pressure and not to make a mistake and Donnelly made a mistake....sorry! So for me he is still a very fast local driver-if and when he will be so close to Markus&Co on WRC events, OK, this will be another story. On home corners it is much easier.

I said it on this forum if donnelly was used to the car he wouldnt be far off the lead and he did what i expected and alot of people thought he would be up there. I have to disagree about the accident because eugene has being driving flat out the last few years with out an accident his last crash if im right was the sabatoge in cork so I think he is entitled to of had an accident,accidents dont always happen to do with pressure but when your driving on the edge at the limit flat out your bound to have one. so your saying when sebastian or gronholm or solberg crash its to do with pressure like sebastian last year when he went of and re joined on super rally rules he went of because of pressure, Donnelly is good enough for most of the drivers when the wrc hits Ireland.
I dont think he can match sebastian on tarmac but then again give him a car that is ment to be the best on tarmac like the xsara and see what happens the subaru is ment to be miles behind citroen and ford on tarmac dont forget that, I know donnelly choose the subaru himself but still anyone is entitled to one off in a few years

[cut the b.s.]

I said it on this forum if donnelly was used to the car he wouldnt be far off the lead and he did what i expected and alot of people thought he would be up there. I have to disagree about the accident because eugene has being driving flat out the last few years with out an accident his last crash if im right was the sabatoge in cork so I think he is entitled to of had an accident,accidents dont always happen to do with pressure but when your driving on the edge at the limit flat out your bound to have one. so your saying when sebastian or gronholm or solberg crash its to do with pressure like sebastian last year when he went of and re joined on super rally rules he went of because of pressure, Donnelly is good enough for most of the drivers when the wrc hits Ireland.
I dont think he can match sebastian on tarmac but then again give him a car that is ment to be the best on tarmac like the xsara and see what happens the subaru is ment to be miles behind citroen and ford on tarmac dont forget that, I know donnelly choose the subaru himself but still anyone is entitled to one off in a few years

I'd agree, he isnt a crasher but he does push, not counting Cork in 03 I think his last retirement from an off was the Circuit of Ireland in 02, not a bad record

[sills]

I'd agree, he isnt a crasher but he does push, not counting Cork in 03 I think his last retirement from an off was the Circuit of Ireland in 02, not a bad record

thank you for backing me up on this

[Finni]

Was higgins on pirellis??

It's amazing that Kumho's tyres are so good in comparison to Michelins after we saw that Pirelli was 100 percently out of competition for three full year.

It remains to see if Bf Goodrich will react for rally ireland. I think that they have still superior potential due to F-1 work of Michelin.

[MJW]

Was higgins on pirellis??

It's amazing that Kumho's tyres are so good in comparison to Michelins after we saw that Pirelli was 100 percently out of competition for three full year.

It remains to see if Bf Goodrich will react for rally ireland. I think that they have still superior potential due to F-1 work of Michelin.

I think the whole WRC will react after this test in Ireland. Interesting points are that a) Ford had to raise the ride height and soften the suspension of the Focus from its usual WRC set up.
b) Kumho's certainly did work - BFG will no doubt react in time for Rally Ireland, and c) Pirelli seem to have been a handicap.

[Tomi]

In the news here they say Ford had a good test, and got the info they was looking for. I think better to wait for the Irish WRC round to see what the reality really is, big hand to the local guy, but it's also stupid to think that Ford would take any risks 1 week before rally Sweden.

[sills]

In the news here they say Ford had a good test, and got the info they was looking for. I think better to wait for the Irish WRC round to see what the reality really is, big hand to the local guy, but it's also stupid to think that Ford would take any risks 1 week before rally Sweden.

Gronholm commented that he was pushing and at the end of one tage where eugene took 8.8 seconds out of him gronholm is ment to of said I dont understand this donnelly can drive

[Finni]

I think the whole WRC will react after this test in Ireland. Interesting points are that a) Ford had to raise the ride height and soften the suspension of the Focus from its usual WRC set up.
b) Kumho's certainly did work - BFG will no doubt react in time for Rally Ireland, and c) Pirelli seem to have been a handicap.

Pirellis were minutes behind as usually. I am still amazed by Kumbo's performance. For three years it has seemed to be law of nature that Michelin is minutes ahead of Pirelli (proper tyre manufacturer) and then Kumbo comes and overtake Michelin-Bf Goodrich.

[jidoka]

I was surprised at Higgins lack of pace. He didn't seem comfortable at all with the car/tyres. Have Pirelli ceased tyre development since their withdrawal from the wrc????

[Finni]

I was surprised at Higgins lack of pace. He didn't seem comfortable at all with the car/tyres. Have Pirelli ceased tyre development since their withdrawal from the wrc????

Possibly, but they have always been some minutes behind Michelin in rally long as long as I remember (three year).

[jamessmith73]

...we'll see...the difference to MacHale was only 2,5 min., to Boland less than 4 min., so you can judge, the pace of Gronholm was not on usual level...


Agreed Marcus was no way pushing as he would against Loeb where i was watch he was lifting over crests quite alot all three times i saw him actually,no dought Donelly is a gifted driver but i wont respect him or any of the other of the irish drivers who see themselves as the best drivers in the world until they leave Ireland and prove themselves where local knowledge doesnt count,Marcus drove to Donellys pace he didnt need to go flat out he knew that before he even started the first stage i have alot of repesct for the irish view of rallying but am sick of referring themselves as the best in the world

[quicksilver]

no dought Donelly is a gifted driver but i wont respect him or any of the other of the irish drivers who see themselves as the best drivers in the world until they leave Ireland and prove themselves where local knowledge doesnt count,Marcus drove to Donellys pace he didnt need to go flat out he knew that before he even started the first stage i have alot of repesct for the irish view of rallying but am sick of referring themselves as the best in the world

What Irish drivers do you think see themselves as the best drivers in the world and when have you actually heard them say that?? :confused:

[jamessmith73]

I spoke to Tim Mcnulty at a wrc event last year at the after rally party he said and i quote "the itc is the most copetitive series in the world,and is how it is viewed by the world the irish drivers are kings of the sport" and by spoke to him i actually meant laughed at him in an arguement which he was very wrong in but strongly believed

[quicksilver]

Fair enough so, but just because one driver said it doesn't mean I would necessarily tar all of them with the same brush. Surely some of them have more common sense than that :p

[jamessmith73]

agreed and i am sorry that i referred to all of them,my mistake but he wasnt the only person in the itc who were in the argument,it annoys me when the drivers and supporters reffer to it as the best championship with the best drivers,you cannot prove yourself till you leave your local knowledge

[jamessmith73]

agreed and i am sorry i referred to all of them but i was singling out one of them, over the years i have read heard and argued comments that the itc and its drivers are the best, when rally ireland happens a point will be proven,i apoligise for my harsh comment aimed at many people who it shouldnt be aimed at

[quicksilver]

I agree, I'm Irish and love the ITC, but when people start on about how its the best championship in the world and how great the drivers are, it can be a bit annoying, especially as some of these people often have little or no knowledge or interest in any other championships.

[sills]

I would say it is the best championship with respect to the cars you have so many wrcs in Ireland and group N along with the best MK2 escorts in the world (mk2's are the best in the world quality and quantity). It is a very competitive championship and apart from some of the wrc drivers there are 4 or 5 drivers that are some of the best drivers in the world on tarmac and one or two who would be capiable of a top 10 on a gravel wrc.
It has better entry lists than wrc events in terms of Quality of cars through the field shame there just isnt a bit more variety in the wrc selection.
Still kick ass championship though

[pentti]

I went to see Donegal rally few years ago and it was difficult to understand how fast they drove.Part of it is ofcourse they know roads well but still. I agree that IRC is the best. I just wish that irish drivers would go abroad more.I also know that Kumho tyres are the best.

[corolla mad]

i was at galway and in my opinoin marcus was not pushing hard. if he wanted, and i stress if, then he could have blown donnelly away. dont get me wrong donnelly is a great driver but not capable of keeping up with the pace of the wrc at the moment anyway. maybe with alot more rallying and even if he went and did a wrc round then i think people could rate him against the likes of gronholm


if you take for example last year in donegal gareth machale was staying on donnellys pace, and i know he only had a corolla then but it was machales first time to compete in donegal, unlike donnelly who had won it previously.
now gareth is losing by up to 15 or 16 minutes to loeb and gronholm in the wrc rounds. and last weekend in galway he only looses to marcus by 3 minutes.


need i say anymore???

ford were there for a test and it is clear that this was all that they intended on doing there. winning the rally would have been an added bonus. i was at the end of a stage and over heard the talking between gronholm and wilson, actually i made it my objective to listen in, and all they talked about was setup in the car, no talk of how fast donnelly or how the times were for the stage!


as for the talk of the itc being the best in the world it is not because of the drivers but the caliber of the entries for the events that gets it that title. no other event not even a wrc could top the entry that galway donegal and the cork20 get evey year.

[sills]

ford were there for a test and it is clear that this was all that they intended on doing there. winning the rally would have been an added bonus. i was at the end of a stage and over heard the talking between gronholm and wilson, actually i made it my objective to listen in, and all they talked about was setup in the car, no talk of how fast donnelly or how the times were for the stage!

Yeah was it not with four stages left gronholm (said something about going for the win) while talking to Wilson about the setup of the car , Look gronholm wouldnt of wanted to get bet by donnelly On the sunday he was pushing harder espically on the second run of the stages

[jamessmith73]

Well Said

[jamessmith73]

that last post was for corolla mad

[corolla mad]

Yeah was it not with four stages left gronholm (said something about going for the win) while talking to Wilson about the setup of the car , Look gronholm wouldnt of wanted to get bet by donnelly On the sunday he was pushing harder espically on the second run of the stages

did you actually hear that with your own ears or was that another rumour going around?? i heard that he was gona pull out, take penalties etc etc etc.
maybe he was pushing harder but are you saying he was at his hardest?
in all fairness he is a world class driver with a world championship to his name, do you honestly think that donnelly was a match for him?
may i also remind you that he has just completed monte carlo, is doing sweeden this weekend and then onto norway the week after. that would make youy tired just reading it! he had no need to win, as i said it would have been a bonus to get it and come on we all know that he could win here easily