Typical mass cars in… rally!
Every day we see hundreds of cars on our way. They jostling in traffic jams, beeping, growling their engines. A typical city picture, isn't it?
But did you know that many of these typical cars have their second selves? No? Then, especially for you, we will tell you about 5 typical cars of the modern metropolis that perform or have competed in the World Rally Championship (WRC).
(Total 12 photos)
1. Our first guest is the Ford Focus. One of the best selling cars in the world. It was born in the early 2000s, when the whole world was saying goodbye to the era of cars of the 90s and it was very important to make a strong statement in order to win the eyes of the consumer.
The Ford Focus, a completely new model with nothing behind it, breaks furiously into the world of automotive rallying and immediately takes 2 victories in the most prestigious WRC class driven by the legendary Colin McRae.
2. The following year, McRae manages to take third place in the championship, and Ford takes second place in the constructors' championship. McRae said he was very pleased with the performance of the Valvoline engine and his team of mechanics this season.
Ford Focus WRC is rightfully one of the brightest representatives of the era of cars with two-liter turbo engines. 174 rally starts, 44 race victories, 2 titles in the team standings - there is something to be proud of!
3. Our next guest is the irreconcilable and the main competitor of Focus. We are talking about the Peugeot 206.
4. 24 rally wins and countless podium finishes speak for themselves. Of course, it is worth noting the excellent pilot of the team - Markus Gronholm, without whom these achievements would hardly have been achieved.
5. In this car, the fair half recognizes the Mini! The legendary Minis have been successful in rally racing for a long time. Paddy Hopkirk and Finnish rally drivers Timo Mäkinen and Rauno Aaltonen won the Monte Carlo Rally in the Classic Mini Cooper S in 1964, 1965 and 1967.
6. Mini has been involved in one of the biggest scandals in rally history. It happened in 1966 when they managed to take the entire podium, but they were disqualified for using the "wrong" type of headlights. Race victories throughout the decade proved to everyone that Mini's power should never be judged at first glance.
7. Our fourth fighter. At the present time, it is so difficult to associate him with sports, but this is an erroneous opinion. The history of Skoda in rally started very hard. Debuting in the WRC with Octavia, for 4 years Skoda has not been able to make her go fast. But it was a kind of springboard for the unstoppable Czech brand.
8. The unpromising Octavia was replaced by a new promising model - Fabia. It seemed already much faster and more functional than its predecessor. It is worth noting that even Colin McRae himself decided to try out a frisky "Czech", and in 2005 the Scot went to the start of two stages of the World Championship - the British Rally and the Australian Rally - driving a factory Skoda Fabia WRC, which greatly pleased the fans.
9. Currently, Skoda does not cease to pay special attention to rally. What can I say, the current Fabia, performing in the S2000 rally class, is always one of the main contenders for victory in any race. Here is a typical car for you!
10. Finally, according to tradition, we prepared a dessert. And what a! You probably already know this car, because you see it every day. But not everything is so boring, it is this Citroen C4 that has the prefix WRC in its name, which radically changes the situation.
11. Citroen has an incredible amount of titles. It was this car that was driven by the now legendary, most titled rally driver in history, Sebastian Loeb. He managed to win the World Rally Championship 9 times, 4 of which he gained at the wheel of the C4 WRC.
12. Here they are, typical cars of megacities. We, passing by them, do not even throw our eyes at them, thinking that "this is one of the millions of the same." Maybe, but without the experience of operating these "millions", these cars would certainly not have such popularity as they do today. And who knows what we would ride now.
Keywords: Auto racing | Car | Rally