The World Rally Championship (Prologue and First R

[Canton Rouge]

OOC: As I said in the OOC discussion, this is my World Rally Championship. Feel free to post news, interviews, and what not here. Feel free even to post stage recaps. Now, without further ado....

IC: This is Motorzone Network, wishing to say, welcome race fans to the 1st ever Hyrule World Rally Championsip! This 12 rally event will challenge drivers and their co-drivers accross various surfaces from gravel and mud, to sand and dirt, and from ice and snow, to tarmac and cobblestones. We hope you enjoy this event as we bring you around the clock coverage.

Outback Rally Australia

Hello there to all our viewers watching. I'm Paul Claffer, and I'm reporting to you here in Alice Springs to kick off the start of the championship. As you can see, the mechanics for all 11 drivers are hard at work making sure the cars are in good condition for the event. And this will be important because one small mistake may cost a driver valuable time here.

The overlook for the Outback Rally will go like this. Day one will have the drivers heading out south through the bushlands. Although the first stage will mainly be tarmac, the rest of the rally will be driven on these dusty roads. They'll spend the night at Cromwell, then proceed onto Day 2. This'll be a true test of navigation as they head out into the desert with no landmarks for recognition. If they survive the journey to Bushwell, then Day 3 will test everyone as they head back to Alice Springs covering more dirt roads. Finally, the Super Special Stage here in Alice Springs will be a nice conclusion here.

The main story here is whether or not everyone is prepared here. We just saw Juan Pablo Miguel's car return here from the shakedown earlier, and he reported that the roads were not ideal. Of course, nothing is ideal here in rallying. But hopefully, Juan Pablo can get over this and do well.

Before we go, here is the stage overview for the rally:

31 January

SS 1. Alice Springs 1, 29 km
SS 2. Billawonga 1, 28.7 km
SS 3. Knighthill, 33.6 km
SS 4. Billawonga 2, 20.6 km
SS 5. Crockington, 26.2 km
SS 6. Cromwell 1, 18.2 km

1 February

SS 7. Cromwell 2, 31.8 km
SS 8. Outback 1, 25.3 km
SS 9. Darlington 1, 26.4 km
SS 10. Outback 2, 34.2 km
SS 11. Darlington 2, 30.9 km
SS 12. Outback 3, 24.8 km
SS 13. Bushwell 1, 23 km

2 February

SS 14. Bushwell 2, 30.2 km
SS 15. Redstone, 24.1 km
SS 16. Phillip's Well, 17.8 km
SS 17. Bushland, 29.4 km
SS 18. Alice Springs 2, 26.1 km

SSS: Alice Springs, 2.2 km



There you go. Hopefully, the drivers will do well. We hope for the best for everyone, and we will see you tomorrow for the start of the event.

[Canton Rouge]

Hello once again fellow race fans! We are here at the small town of Cromwell, the finish for Day 1 of the Outback Rally Australia. And let me just say this. The first day was hectic. On SS 1, we saw Juan Pablo Miguel run into a little trouble near the end when his car went off the road. Unfortunately, it's hard to make up lost time in the rally, especially here where the roads are hazardous.

Our next major highlight is at SS 4, Billawonga 2. Marco Mezzani was able to bolt through the large straightaway on the sector, allowing him to take the stage win and rally lead at that point. But, Franz Heinerlen was able to respond back in SSs 5 and 6, leaving him as the overall rally leader as of right now.

Now, the leaderboards:

1. Franz Heinerlen/Miguel Alvardez 1 hr 42 mins 13 sec
2. Marco Mezzani/Willem Van Otterloo + 0,01.14
3. Grant Duler/Mark Cosmore + 0,03.56
4. Lucius Tiberius/Hans Hemmer + 0,03.59
5. Boris Slokavich/Roberto Carlos + 0,04.46
6. Sebastien Dumer/Samuel Lennington + 0,04.51
7. Yasuko Hachimoto/Alfonso Padrraz + 0,05.12
8. Gavin Metz/Johnathan Melworth + 0,05.27
9. Roy LeBauer/Geraldino Matarazzi + 0,05.51
10. Ramon Vasquez/Seamus Greenville + 0,05.59
11. Juan Pablo Miguel/Chi Feng + 0,07.23

Tomorrow's major stage will be the Outback-Darlington complex, which will truly test the co-driver's navigational skills. If they are not on top of their game, they may end up getting lost out here in the desert.

That's all for Motorzone's Primetime coverage of the Outback Rally Australia. Tune in tomorrow for Day 2 highlights!

[Canton Rouge]

Hello again! We were unable to provide stage recaps last night because of another event that was on, so today, before the grand finale of the Outback Rally Australia, this will be a dual recap of Days 2 and 3!

First, let's discuss what happened on Day 2. At the start of the day, Marco Mezzani and Willem Van Otterloo were able to get a quick start on SS 7, closing in the 1 minute 14 second gap that seperated them from Franz Heinerlen and Miguel Alvardez. But, Franz and Miguel also had a good run on SS 7, extending the lead back to 1 minute and 27 seconds. Lucius Tiberius and Hans Hemmer were able to move into third place by the end of SS 7, by having an excellent time through the final 3 km, which are notoriously twisty and hazardous.

Moving on to SS 8, the leaderboards essentially stayed the same. But at SS 9, we saw our first driver retire when Roy LeBauer and Geraldino Matarazzi's vehicle hit a roadside rock and flipped in mid-air. As expected, both driver and co-driver are okay, but the car was totaled, and thus, they will not be at the finale tonight.

Our last major highlight came at SS 12, where the top three drivers of Heinerlen, Mezzani, and Tiberius posted record times for the Outback 3 sector. Ultimately, it would be Tiberius who would have the better run at that stage, which gave him not only the stage win, but moved him into second as well. Mezzani would take second place in the stage, but his run would move him into the lead. Heinerlen would drop back to third after SS 12 and SS 13. Now, the leaderboards for after Day 2:

1. Marco Mezzani/Willem Van Otterloo 4 hrs 02 mins 19 sec
2. Lucius Tiberius/Hans Hemmer + 0,02.34
3. Franz Heinerlen/Miguel Alvardez + 0,03.33
4. Grant Duler/Mark Cosmore + 0,04.19
5. Sebastien Dumer/Samuel Lennington + 0,04.55
6. Boris Slokavich/Roberto Carlos + 0,05.21
7. Gavin Metz/Johnathan Melworth + 0,05.39
8. Ramon Vasquez/Seamus Greenville + 0,06.27
9. Juan Pablo Miguel/Chi Feng + 0,06.41
10. Yasuko Hachimoto/Alfonso Padrraz + 0,07.58
11. Roly LeBauer/Geraldino Matarazzi Retired







Onto Day 3, which was a mix of both desert and bushland as the drivers made their way back to Alice Springs. The one major highlight of this was at SS 16, Sebastien Dumer's car went off the road for a brief period of time, thus making him drop a position. Other than that, the leaderboards stayed the same. So, here are the standings before the Super Special Stage at Alice Springs:

1. Marco Mezzani/Willem Van Otterloo 5 hrs 33 mins 27 sec
2. Lucius Tiberius/Hans Hemmer + 0,02.29
3. Franz Heinerlen/Miguel Alvardez + 0,03.18
4. Grant Duler/Mark Cosmore + 0,04.28
5. Boris Slokavich/Roberto Carlos + 0,04.51
6. Sebastien Dumer/Samuel Lennington + 0,05.10
7. Gavin Metz/Johnathan Melworth + 0,05.58
8. Ramon Vasquez/Seamus Greenville + 0,06.29
9. Juan Pablo Miguel/Chi Feng + 0,06.54
10. Yasuko Hachimoto/Alfonso Padrraz + 0,08.19
11. Roly LeBauer/Geraldino Matarazzi Retired



Before we go, we would like to explain how the Super Special Stage will work. First of all, only the drivers in the Top 8 will be participating. The top 8 will be seeded into groups of two as follows: 1 will face off against 8, 2 faces 7, 3 faces 6, and 4 faces 5. The winner of the seeds will go to the semi finals. The winners of the semi finals will face each other for 1st and second, while the losers will face each other for 3rd and 4th.

The top three spots of the SSS will receive time bonuses of 1 minute, 40 seconds, and 20 seconds respectively. Also, the time it takes to run the course will be calculated, so the final results won't matter until the finals are done.

Hope to see you tonight!

[Canton Rouge]

Hello again! Well, the end of the first round of the HWRC has just come, so let's recap the SSS for you.

Heat Results:

[1] vs. [8] Between Marco Mezzani and Ramon Vasquez, Marco Mezzani advances.

[2] vs. [7] Between Lucius Tiberius and Gavin Metz, Lucius Tiberius advances.

[3] vs. [6] Between Franz Heinerlen and Sebastien Dumer, Sebastien Dumer advances.

[4] vs. [5] Between Grant Duler and Boris Slokavich, Grant Duler advances.


Semis:

[1] vs. [6] Between Marco Mezzani and Sebastien Dumer, Sebastien Dumer advances.

[2] vs. [4] Between Lucius Tiberius and Grant Duler, Grant Duler advances.


Losing Finals:

[1] vs. [2] Between Marco Mezzani and Lucius Tiberius, Lucius Tiberius wins and gets a 20 second bonus.


Finals:

[4] vs. [6] Between Grant Duler and Sebastien Dumer, Grant Duler wins and get a minute time bonus, while Sebastien Dumer gets a 40 second time bonus. So, here are the final standings:

1. Marco Mezzani/Willem Van Otterloo 5 hrs 35 mins 20 sec
2. Lucius Tiberius/Hans Hemmer + 0,02.01
3. Grant Duler/Mark Cosmore + 0,03.09
4. Franz Heinerlen/Miguel Alvardez + 0,03.27
5. Sebastien Dumer/Samuel Lennington + 0,04.16
6. Boris Slokavich/Roberto Carlos + 0,05.18
7. Gavin Metz/Johnathan Melworth + 0,06.01
8. Ramon Vasquez/Seamus Greenville + 0,06.37
9. Juan Pablo Miguel/Chi Feng + 0,07.54
10. Yasuko Hachimoto/Alfonso Padrraz + 0,09.19
11. Roly LeBauer/Geraldino Matarazzi Retired


So, the standings are:

1. Marco Mezzani/Willem Van Otterloo +10 points for 10 points
2. Lucius Tiberius/Hans Hemmer + 6 points for 6 points
3. Grant Duler/Mark Cosmore + 4 points for 4 points
4. Franz Heinerlen/Miguel Alvardez + 3 points for 3 points
5. Sebastien Dumer/Samuel Lennington + 2 points for 2 points
6. Boris Slokavich/Roberto Carlos + 1 point for 1 point
7. Gavin Metz/Johnathan Melworth + 0 points for 0 points
8. Ramon Vasquez/Seamus Greenville + 0 points for 0 points
9. Juan Pablo Miguel/Chi Feng + 0 points for 0 points
10. Yasuko Hachimoto/Alfonso Padrraz + 0 points for 0 points
11. Roly LeBauer/Geraldino Matarazzi + 0 points for 0 points



So long, and see you in a couple of weeks for the Rally d'Italia Sardegna, an event that is popular amongst the fans, and the drivers, for both good and bad.