11-22-2007 (last updated)

You've come to a new page on this site which is completely off-topic.

It's 2006 outside which means there'll be many sport events in the new season.

At the moment I watch World Rally Champoinship aka wrc, DTM (Deutche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft) and Formula-1. Also I occasionally have a look at Le Mans Endurance series. I'd like to comment on each point for better understanding of what each name stands for.

WRC

www.wrc.com

While such races as DTM or F-1 are yet to start wrc 2006 season has already set in.

This weekend it'll be Rally Sweden and 2 weeks ago I had a chance to watch Rally Monte Carlo.

There are a number of new participants but the candidates for a champion title with high chances to win are well known (among certain ppl)  -they are Sebastian Loeb driving a Citroen and Peter Solberg driving a Subaru.

The teams include

- Citroen (only private teams)

- Subaru

- Ford

- Skoda

- Peugeot

- I can miss something else

Mitsubishi is out of competitions until 2008 but some private teams are using Lancer Evo 2005 and with some success.

I'm personally fond of new Subaru Impreza 2006, I find this car very stylish. It was constructed in Subaru Rally Team.

I find it suitable to place some pictures on this page. I took them from the official site of said rally team and while it's forbidden to take their pictures without permission I bothered to ask the web admin to grant me the permission to use the materials of their site. My letter was ignored and silence is generally considered a sign of consent which is why I find it acceptable to publish the pictures here.

With such a cool car the team is bound to win. However the current champion, Mr. Loeb finished 2nd in the first stage while Mr. Solberg broke his car proving to be a loser. I hope next time he'll have better luck as he's considered an experienced pilot.

The new season is expected to bring new emotions with new rules, teams and technical regulations. The first stage races were pretty interesting to watch.

Please, have a look at some pictures here.

Compare this car with the 2005 version. The progress is obvious:

Rally Monte-Carlo

This was the first stage in the 2006 season. The report was quite interesting to watch as it was one of the fast pacing races on asphalt roads. The pictures featuring Subaru Impreza that you see above are taken this winter driving this rally stage. The first day was rather difficullt for the participants and Mr. Loeb who showed impressive results was too fast in one of the turns to control his car. Still the rules allow a team to continue the race if the car is intact after the incident or if the technicians manage the necessary repair work in a certain period of time. Sebastien Loeb made full use of the system and finished second in the end. Mr. Solberg's car broke and he failed to get any points in the competition.

Rally Sweden

The stage took place on 3-5 Feb. 2006.

Peter Solberg proved to be a loser leaving the race with no points gained. He has horrible luck too, his car broke again.

By the way, Mr. Ekstrom participated in this rally. He's normally known as a pilot of an Audi team in DTM series. He was a champion in 2004 and last year he lost just a few points to Mr. Paffet from a Mercedes racing team.

One of the most remarkable accidents happened to a Peugeot team. The car overtuned but the engine was intact and the fans were quick to help. Actually the windshield crashed  and the navigator had to kick it out. The team had to move on very slowly due to the damaged caused to the car and the increasing snowfall.   

We have a break until March 3-5, that's a whole month without races.

Click here to read an overview of the event on the official site:

http://www.wrc.com/page/News/BreakingNewsDetail/0,,10111~778999,00.html

Rally Mexico 3-5 March 2006

It's been a month since I wrote here last time. The most remarkable feature for me was the local scenery. I mean the local cactuses are a thing to see. Surprisingly but most of the pilots were very fast showing the top speed of about 170 kph on dirt roads. There were obstacles too like cows and goats  running in the way but no one hit the animals. I'd say the pilots are real professionals because they drove by within inches from the animals at a very high speed. This time we witnessed a fierce competition between Mr Loeb and Mr Solberg. Both were very fast and competed for the 1st place. No one wanted to give in and they didn't make any mistakes. Unfortunately Solberg had problems with his car once again and lost 37 seconds to Loeb. Still he was second and got 8 points which is a great achievement for Subaru team this year.

The next stage is Rally Catalunya and there will be asphalt roads which makes me think of this rally as a very interesting one.

Here are some pictures from this event. Copyright goes to www.rallymexico.com

Rally Catalunya

This stage was indeed interesting to follow. Asphalted roads and a very high racing speed added to the show. The winner was Mr Loeb as usual but Marcus Gronholm from Ford was surprisingly fast. One stage was notable for the race time pilots showed. 3 teams, 2 Fords and a Skoda finished within 1 second! Fantastic, isn't it. More than that the results were ablosutely identical, they showed EXACTLY the same results.

Rally France (Corsica), April 7-9

I'm sorry to say it but i missed this stage. Actually this stage is held on asphalt roads and thus is one of my favorite rallies. It is very tricky and by right is nicknamed 'a 10.000 turns rally'. Well as far as I learned the winner is Mr.Loeb. Good for him as he himself is a Frenchman.

Rally Argentina

Missed it due to tough and busy schedule

Rally Italy

Missed for the same reason

Next to watch: Rally Greece, June 2-4

Ow i came just in time. I'll have to remember to watch an overview program sometime on Monday.

From this time on I couldn't keep track of all the stages but I did indeed watch some programs.

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Rally New Zeland, Nov. 17-19

I managed to watch a report. Grongholm was very quick, nobody could compete with him. This way Ford team has all the chances to win the Constructor's cup but the Driver's championship has already got the winner, his name is S.Loeb 

Formula 1 and DTM

www.dtm.de

YOU KNOW WHAT?!! 

Formula 1 2006 season starts on  the 12th of March!!! It means the first race takes place this weekend!! Don't miss the chance to watch. In this regard I am going to provide you with a combined schedule for both Formula 1 and DTM races. You'll see that this way you can watch a sporting event practically every weekend starting from April!!! Just now it became clear that there'd be some sort of a warm-up taking place in Düsseldorf.

Schedule 2006

Formula 1
Mar 12: Bahrain Grand Prix (Bahrain)
Mar 19: Malaysian Grand Prix (Sepang)

DTM
26.03.2006 Präsentation Düsseldorf
Distance: - laps 0,870 km 

Formula 1
Apr 02: Australian Grand Prix (Melbourne)
Apr 23: San Marino Grand Prix (Imola)

DTM
09.04.2006 Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg
Distance: - laps 4,574 km 

DTM
30.04.2006 EuroSpeedway Lausitz
Distance: - laps 3,442 km 

Formula 1
May 07: European Grand Prix (Nurburgring)
May 14: Spanish Grand Prix (Barcelona)

DTM
21.05.2006 Motorsport Arena Oschersleben
Distance: - laps 3,667 km 

Formula 1
May 28: Monaco Grand Prix (Monte Carlo)
Jun 11: British Grand Prix (Silverstone)

Formula 1
Jun 25: Canadian Grand Prix (Montreal)
Jul 02: United States Grand Prix (Indianapolis)
This is the first time within my recollection that the 2 events overlap
DTM
02.07.2006 Brands Hatch
Distance: - laps 1,973 km 

Formula 1
Jul 16: French Grand Prix (Mangy-Cours)

DTM
23.07.2006 Norisring
Distance: - laps 2,300 km 

Formula 1
Jul 30: German Grand Prix (Hockenheim)

Formula 1
Aug 06: Hungarian Grand Prix (Hungaroring)

DTM
20.08.2006 Nürburgring
Distance: - laps 3,629 km 

Formula 1
Aug 27: Turkish Grand Prix (Istanbul)

DTM
03.09.2006 Circuit Park Zandvoort
Distance: - laps 4,307 km 

Formula 1
Sep 10: Italian Grand Prix (Monza)

DTM
24.09.2006 Circuit de Catalunya (Barcelona)
Distance: - laps 4,627 km 

Formula 1
Oct 01: Japanese Grand Prix (Suzuka)
Oct 08: Chinese Grand Prix (Shanghai)

DTM
15.10.2006 Le Mans Bugatti Circuit
Distance: - laps 4,180 km 

Formula 1
Oct 22: Brazilian Grand Prix (Interlagos)

DTM
29.10.2006 Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg
Distance: - laps 4,574 km

Speaking of DTM I must note that the name of the series stands for "Championship for 'gran tourismo' cars" and it is a European racing series with German cars.

I discovered this series completely  by chance while watching tv a few years ago. I find it much more interesting to watch than F-1. Why so? Well i like the cars more, they resemble those seen on the streets, the reglamentation is different and the races  are very interesting to follow.

Beside strong competition between pilots and teams the pit-stops are a thing to see. Unlike the new rules of F-1 DTM pit-stops include changing tyres and refueling.  Technicials are real professionals and it's still a wonder to me how they can change 4 wheels and fill up car tank in a matter of 4-5 seconds. Looks awesome and fascinating.

There are only 2 car makers left - Mersedes Benz and Audi. Opel participated for many years until 2005. There were plans for MG Rover to join the tournament but the company went bankrupt and as a result the sport branch was closed,

Season 2006 opens on April 9th.

I placed some DTM pictures as well.

 

F-1 race summaries

Ok, now that 2 events are over let's speak about the results. Unfortunately I missed the 2nd stage that id Malaysian Grand Prix (Sepang) which took place yesterday and judging by the feedback it was quite interesting.

So what's so specific about the 2006 season? There are new technical requrements for cars and new race regulations. Hopefully the tyres can be replaced at any time again which allows teams to keep ther stuff employed and makes it easier for the pilots to drive the car with new sets of tyres. The new engines for all the cars are V8 with a maximum displacement of 2,4 litres.

As for the races Renault racing team is leading in the championship for now. Mr. Alonso finished 1st and 2nd in Bahrain and Malaysia respectively. Ferrary team performs much better compared to 2005 season. Mr Schumaher has earned 11 points for the two races. For now it looks like Renault is not gonna be a looser and Ferrary has to do something with its team management because the reason for modest results is in poorly developed pit stop tactics.

 

There are some problems with taking up-to-date photos from F1 events so for now there's no other way but to suggest referring to the official site.

F-1 San Marino Grand Prix, Imola

First time in 2 years the winner is Mr. Schumaher with Alonso finishing only second. I enjoyed watching the race and i was glad that Mr Schumi won the Grand Prix as he has had bad luck during the last 2 seasons.

F-1 Barcelona

Lately Mr Schumi has won 2 races and finished 2nd during Gran Prix Spain. Still he is 15 points behind Alonso.

Info about other racing events will be added later.

04/11

While I was absent a number of sporting events took place notably the start of the season 2006 for LeMans Series and DTM as well as WRC stages such as Rally Ireland (unofficial), Rally Catalunya, Rally Portugal (unofficial) and Formula 1 in Australia.

F-1  Montreal, Canada

Missed the event

F-1  Indianapolis, the US

This is one of the best race tracks in the season, this way the race is a must watch event.

The race turned out to be a real challenge for the pilots. An accident involving 6 cars occurred just after the start. Mr Heifield's car was sent flying. Soon the pace car was on the road and after restarting the race 2 more cars crashed. In the end only 9 drivers managed to cross the finish line.

F-1  Mangy-Cours, France

Mr Schumi has won again and I'm very happy about it. Still Alonso is well ahead in the championship by points. Also Ferrary made a mistake when planning its pit-stop tactics with Massa going for 3 stops. Reno team was quick to adapt its strategy for the race which resulted in Alonso finishing 2nd.

Stay tuned for more updates.

F-1 Hockenheim, Germany

Schumi rules! Ferrary got a double this weekend. Alonso finished 5th which means Mr Schumacher won back 5 champ points. At first it looked like Raikkonen is gonna win because he started from the pole position but it soon turned out there's not enought fuel in his car to have 2 stops instead of 3.

F-1 Hungaroring, Hungary

I almost missed the event but the race was supposed to be very interesting to watch. The thing is  that the race was held under difficult weather conditions and the winners are pretty unexpected. J. Button is the 1st, P. de la Rosa got the second place driving a Mercedes. Nick Heidfeld finished 3rd. Surprisingly both Reno cars had to retire which means neither got points. Mr. Schumi was about to finish 3rd but he got mechanicals problems just 2 laps to the finish line. The break occurred probably due to the fact that Schumi pushed on and had to cut turns while defending his position and the car's tires were completely worn out. This is due to the fact that it was a rain type and the track had already been dry by that time. Still more events followed the race. Kubica who was going to take the 7th place but was disqualified after the race. This way Ferrary team got 3 points because Schumi sort of finished 8th and Massa 7th.

F-1 Istanbul, Turkey

At first it looked like Ferrary had all the chances to win the Grand Prix since the pilotes, Massa and Schumi, got the pole and 2nd position on the starting grid. Reno cars were right behind them. During the race however Alonso managed to overcome Mr Schumi while they were on pit lane. In the end the winners are Massa, Alonso and Schumi. This way there's a high chance Ferrary wins the Constructor's Cup but Alonso is likely to become a champion the second time round.

F-1 Monza, Italy

The qualification was quite successful for Ferrary team but the fastest was Raikonnen. Reno team was far behind after the investigation of the episode involving Alonso and Massa. This day soon after the start of the race Kubica overtook several pilots including Massa to get the 3rd position. Raikonnen apparently had less fuel than did Schumi which forced him to go to the pits earlier. Closer to the end of the race Alonso won back 2 position after the second pitstop to go up as high as 3rd but before too long the engine blew up leaving him no points at all. The winners are Mr Schumi, Raikonnen and Kubica. The 3rd place was taken by a newcomer, a Polish pilot. As you can see Schumi won back the whole 10 points in the championship. This addition to the total score results in Ferrary taking the lead in the Constructor's Cup. Schumi himself is still 2 points behind Alonso. At this point it's very hard to tell which teams wins a title since both of the teams are very strong. At the press conference Schumi announced he will retire at the end of the season. In this case it would be good for him to win the 2006 championship. otherwise he'll be considered a loser. Stay tuned for more news.

Shanghai, October 1

Alonso and Fizi got the pole position and the second place on the starting grid respectively. Schumi was far behind starting 6th. However the Ferrary team used the rainy weather to its advantage and after the nesessary pit-stops Schumi got the lead and in the end won this Grand Prix while Alonso finished second, with Fizi following him. Now Alonso and Schumi have a tie for champ points. Massa couldn't get to the finish line due to an accident involving him and Coulhard. 

I noticed Schumi has a lot of fans in China. They brought a huge banner with the words ''Schumi, we will stand with you forever''. Pretty bad he's gonna retire.

Japan, Suzuka. October 8

Ferrary team had a success at qualification session winning 1 and 2 place on the starting grid. Reno team was far behind. During the race Schumi quckly got the lead and had all the chances to win but for his car. The engine blew up on lap 37. Alonso won the race and added 10 points to his score. This means Schumi lost almost all the chances to win the title. It requires that he should finish 1st at Grand Prix Brazil with Alonso getting no points. Should Alonso get a mere point he'll be the champion second time round.

Interlagos, Brazil 

Shumi had all the chances to win the race but he didn't. He was to eager to outpace all of his rivals that it led to a flat tyre and lost positions. Alonso finished 2nd and would likely get his second title anyway but with better performance of Shumi Ferrari could at least win Constructor's Cup. 

Grand Prix Br azil was the last stage this year. Season 2006 has come to an end.

DTM

3rd stage was held in Der Motorsport Arena Oschersleben. The winner is Mr. Kristensen on Audi but the champ leader is Bernd Schneider.

Interesting facts are mentioned here http://www.dtm.de/newsausgabe.php?id=3950

Brands Hatch, the UK

The 4th race in the season took place in the UK, 07/02/2006 which is today.

The curcuit is very short but a little bit dangerous due to uneven landscape and a pretty narrow track. During the qualification races the pole was taken by  Mr. Kristensen but during the Sunday race his car's suspension broke and he was forced to retire. This way J. Green became the new race leader but he made a little mistake in a turn and was soon overtaken by Mr. Ekstrom who subsequently won the race. Mr. Green finished 2nd while Bernd Schneider was right behind him. So up to now Mr. Schneider takes the lead in the championship.

Norisring, Germany

This is a fast but dangerous city track. The race took place on 07/23/2006 but I managed to watch only a few minutes of it. The race was full of road accidents and it is very surprising that the winner is Bruno Spengler who doesnt normally finish at the top. Mr Schneider is still the champ leader now taking 38 points. His main rival Kristensen finished 5th and is currently 2nd in the championship. This time he showed real courage and still driving his car as the hood was split in half and it was difficult to see the track from the driver's seat.

Nürburgring, Germany

This time it was also raining but closer to the end of the race the weather improved and the track was drying quickly. The winners are Spengler, Schneider (still the champ leader), and Tomczyk.

Zandvoort, the Netherlands

Missed the event.

Barcelona, Spain

The race was quite interesting to watch. The qualification was held under heavy rain but on Sunday the weather improved significantly, it was bright and warm so the track was absolutely dry. Soon after the start there was a huge accident involving several cars and even after that the pilots were doing their best to overtake opponents and show good results. Ekshtrom was fighting with Schneider and finally got a drive-through penalty but still managed to finish 4th. The winner is Martin Tomczyk with Schneider finishing 2nd. Scheider had great opportunities to overtake Tomczyk but made a mistake which looked much like Schumi's back in Turkey. At this point Schneider had all the chances to with the title.

9th stage

The race was pretty intriguing. On tne first lap there was a huge accident involving 4 cars. Hopefully no one was injured. The next thing to see was Schneider getting up from 16th position to the 5th. This means he became a new champion 1 race ahead of schedule. At first Kristensen and Spengler had chances to win but Schneider took advantage of the situation to ensure his victory 

10 stage, Oct. 28-29. Hockenheimring

As the champion was already known the main competition for high positions was between Spengler, J. Green, Kristensen and Frentzen. Frentzen had a high chance to finish 3rd but an incident between him and Ekstrom forced him to return to the pits. Ekstrom's car was in turn badly damaged and he had to retire as well. The winners are Spengler, Green and Kristensen. Schneider managed to finish 4th.

Please have a look at a few pictures from 2006 season (copyright http://www.dtm.de, no rights reserved)