WRC Round 2 - Uddenholm Swedish Rally

[khanak]

8 - 10/2/08


Based : Karlstad

Surface: Ice and snow covered gravel

Stages: 20

2007 winner: Marcus Gronholm/Ford Focus RS WRC

Rally website: Uddeholm Swedish Rally

For 2007, the Uddeholm Swedish Rally was paired with Rally Norway to provide the championship's only two all-snow rallies of the season, but in 2008 the Swedish will again stand alone. Temperatures on the stages, held north of Rally HQ in Karlstad can drop well below -25 degrees Celsius and if there is a wind the weather can be treacherous. However, the event¹s characteristics make it a real favourite and the highly charged atmosphere will make you forget the cold.
This year the event will be launched and finished in the new Karlstad Super Special Arena at the trotting track located just a few kilometres from the city of Karlstad. The 2km stage has a 30m jump in its route. In terms of road distances, the event will be significantly shorter because the stage held previously in the north of the Varmland region will not be run this year. The other novelty this year will be the use of remote service parks each day, held firstly in Sunne then twice in Hagfors.
Despite the lack of traction on the ice and snow-covered stages, speeds are still frighteningly quick thanks to skinny studded tyres which penetrate the snow in search of grip below, as well as snow banks, which drivers use as a soft barrier on which to 'lean' their cars. There are plenty of hazards, though. Hit a snow bank at the wrong speed, and it sucks the car into the snow, resulting in drivers reaching for the snow shovels, as well as potential radiator and consequent engine damage. Exposed patches of bare gravel road can also rip studs from the tyres, leading to a lack of grip on icy sections.
As with the fast gravel roads of Finland and the asphalt of Corsica and Spain, local talent prevails here, and the winners' list looks like a Scandinavian phone book. To succeed in Sweden, you need a sublime combination of commitment, fingertip feel and lightning reactions. If you can win here, you're halfway to becoming a true rallying great.

World Rally Championship - Rallies - Uddeholm Swedish Rally

[MustangMan]

Leob's out!
Petter 4th
Latvala 1st

Ford 1-2-3

[Ignazio]

Hi all,
have a look to this pictures, they are from 2nd stage col de Turini from Montecarlo Rally. I was there for a job...
Ciao!





Ignazio

[MustangMan]

What Job was that? Any openings?

[khanak]

Nice Pictures!! Thanks for sharing.

[Ignazio]

Hi!
I'm a satellite engineer, and in the picture is the van I'm working in...



Unfortunately no openings yet in Italy...

Cheers!
Ignazio

[nitrous]

Man, what a rally!
Jari Matti Latvala becomes the youngest in WRC history to win a rally at 22.
He broke the record by two whole years. The title was taken away from a guy who won a rally in 1980 at 24.

[khanak]

Im still waiting for the torrent to release. Damn I cant wait!!

[iraghava]

Fantastic work Ignazio! Thanks for posting the pictures!!

P.S. Got any more?

[maddy42]

Awesome pics Dude.
So anyone knows when is naren kumars 1st race?

[khanak]

Originally Posted by maddy42

Awesome pics Dude.
So anyone knows when is naren kumars 1st race?

Naren Kumar's first race = Greece

[SumitB]

Is there any channel which broadcasts the rallies LIVE in India? Otherwise, which channel has the most decent coverage of WRC in India and when does it broadcast them?

[Ignazio]

Hi all

Originally Posted by iraghava

Fantastic work Ignazio! Thanks for posting the pictures!!

P.S. Got any more?

Thanks mate! Yes I do, they are a total of about 60 included the ones I posted already, 5M pixels, a bit heavy to post all... I try to upload somewhere and post the link...

Ciao

Ignazio

[nitrous]

Not live.
But usually, on monday nights from 10.30 to midnight is RALLY TIME!
Get your beer and make sure nobody at home demands TV time.
After 90 minutes of WRC, its hard to dream about anything other than sideways at 120kph while sleeping.
Heads up: Next rally is in two weeks.

[ram_hyundai]

pretty lucky guy to see them so closely.hey dude put in maximum pictures please ,feels like we are present there,unlike the pictures in the different wrc sites or the auto mags.
ram