Central Europe Rally (Dakar Series)

[alan4s]

Rally website (http://www.centraleuroperally.com/index_CERus.html)

"The Central Europe Rally is an invitation-only race, for which competitors enrolled for the Dakar 2008 have priority. They will notably be exonerated from commitment fees. A.S.O. extends its thanks to the drivers and teams for their renewed trust.
The race's different categories and classes are identical to those of the Dakar.
Assistance vehicles will be accredited by the rally's organisation, free of commitment fees. Each evening, they will have access to an assistance facility, where mechanics will be given open access to work on the race vehicles."

"Following a short stay in Budapest, where the teams will be called for technical and administrative checks, on 19 April, then a parade in town, the following day, the competitors will drive towards Romania, where the first competitive special section will be run.
The competition's programme is tough: drivers will be timed each day in one or two competitive special sections, the distance of which is between 60 and 170 km. In Romania, technical ability will be most challenged, on a route sometimes cut by valleys and winding. In Hungary, the parts of the race in forest or in the plains will also demand a keen sense of trajectory. Other parts will invite drivers to push their vehicles to their maximum speeds.
At the finish, at Lake Balaton, after 3,000 km of route, 1,500 km of which comprising timed sections, competitors will be invited to a prize-giving gala."

http://www.centraleuroperally.com/2008/CER/img/parcours.jpg

[RGFan]

WHile I think the ASO gets a D grade for last months failure with the Dakar Rally (A for safety, but F for not having alternatives ready at the time of the cancellation) I think they deserve a pat on the back for coming up with something on such short notice. Hind site is always 20/20, but they could have saved alot of face by having this alternative as a plan B all along. I know I will look forward to RG traveling the world over two weeks between two nascar races and this event as well. I think this will give a whole new meaning to the term double......Infact, I think we can call it the triple...........Phoenix/Hungary-Romania/Talladega...I wonder how many drivers have ever pulled off such a feat.....I am thinking not to many.

[freddy]

I think it's great that A.S.O runs this race to compensate for the Dakar. Hopefully it will be a good race with terrain that is suitable for the vehicles. We will see.

[RacingOne]

Robby to do the "Triple"

Most of you have heard about the "Double". For those who have not, it refers to racers who race both the Indy 500 and Coca Cola 600 on the same day. Starting the day in an open wheeled indy car and ending the day in nascar style stock car. It is quite the impressive feat, only three racers have attempted the feat in the modern day (Robby Gordon, Tony Stewart and John Andretti).


Well, when the second half of April begins, Robby Gordon will be doing what I am coining as "The Triple". Once Robby finishes the April 12th Sprint Cup race at Phoenix, he will leave for Eastern Europe to race in the Dakar Rally make up race which begins on April 20th. After 6 days and some 3000 miles driven, Robby will get back on a plane fly to Talladega, Alabama to compete in the Sprint Cup race the very next day. I may be wrong, but if this sort of feat has ever been attempted by a racer in the modern era, I do not know of him/her.


WIth that being said, I was wondering what your thoughts were of this incredible feat in motorsports. If the motorsports writers do not grab this story by the horns, I think it is a shame. I really believe that this should be one of the motorsports stories of the year in my honest opinion. If he successfully completes this trek, I think this will cement Robby as the iron man of motorsports.


PS......With travel starting with the Phoenix race, between racing and flying, this little trip will be about 18,000 miles total roughly, with practice and actual racing making up well over 4000 miles of it. To put that into perspective, that is about 4000 miles short of flying around the entire globe.

[RGFan]

Robby to do the "Triple"

Most of you have heard about the "Double". For those who have not, it refers to racers who race both the Indy 500 and Coca Cola 600 on the same day. Starting the day in an open wheeled indy car and ending the day in nascar style stock car. It is quite the impressive feat, only three racers have attempted the feat in the modern day (Robby Gordon, Tony Stewart and John Andretti).


Well, when the second half of April begins, Robby Gordon will be doing what I am coining as "The Triple". Once Robby finishes the April 12th Sprint Cup race at Phoenix, he will leave for Eastern Europe to race in the Dakar Rally make up race which begins on April 20th. After 6 days and some 3000 miles driven, Robby will get back on a plane fly to Talladega, Alabama to compete in the Sprint Cup race the very next day. I may be wrong, but if this sort of feat has ever been attempted by a racer in the modern era, I do not know of him/her.


WIth that being said, I was wondering what your thoughts were of this incredible feat in motorsports. If the motorsports writers do not grab this story by the horns, I think it is a shame. I really believe that this should be one of the motorsports stories of the year in my honest opinion. If he successfully completes this trek, I think this will cement Robby as the iron man of motorsports.


PS......With travel starting with the Phoenix race, between racing and flying, this little trip will be about 18,000 miles total roughly, with practice and actual racing making up well over 4000 miles of it. To put that into perspective, that is about 4000 miles short of flying around the entire globe.


Thank you , thank you very much:cool:

[big oly P.J]

I wonder if the cars will be the same as what they were going to race in Dakar or if the race teams have reworked them for the change of terrain?

[RGFan]

Robby had the H3 out at Parker last weekend setting up the car for the gravel and hard pack roads of Hungary and Romania.