I’m gonna end up hating you by the time I’m done with this stage.
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I used the skoda and this location, to try out some new wheel settings… things are a tad more hot potato now, exciting, and on the whole, immersive. That doesn’t make it faster though, since I removed most of the damping that the wheel software had turned on, by default. Also, Skoda! Brilliant car, even stock 
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I remember you talking about the Skoda the last time. I tried it, but couldn’t quite gel with it. However, I don’t want to just use the fast, Citroen C4 again. I want to play around with some of the other cars a bit.
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I started out with the 2001 Scoob and then the 2007 Focus, the latter seems to be handling quite well and will likely be the car I settle on. I just hate the pinball effect of this stage.
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Fortunately, the twisty bits and bumpiness, help even out the car choice, for Argentina. Unless you’re a in the top 1%, any car will probably do. To be clear, top 1% of world time trial drivers, I don’t mean @Boogey or I. Unless he’s hit top 10 with TT lately , in which case, take the most uncomfortable car to drive please 
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I’m not worried about the top 1% but @the9avenger9 was breathing down my neck for most of that rally.
Anyway, I do want to mix things up so it’s the bug-eye Scoob for me!
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Well that sucked.
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Did it go something like this…
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I wish. Mine wasn’t anywhere near as graceful
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Poes game disconnected and couldn’t log stage 1 time. Then crashed
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Damn loadshedding is not kind to me, I may not get a chance to finish, these 8pm to midnight stints are not fun.
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Most of that was actually, surprisingly, fun.
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So I get the feeling that Argentina is not really a huge favourite amongst MEW rally drivers. 
Seven drivers made the trek down to South America for Round 2 of the 9x9 Championship, and 5 got to see the checkered flag at the end of Stage 9.
The results at the of Stage 9 from Catamarca:
It’s two from two for 
P1 @Boogey, who snaked his 2001 Subbie through the tight Catamarca tracks fast enough to finish almost 3 minutes ahead of 
P2 @the9avenger9. I’m pretty sure @Boogey is aiming for a clean sweep of all 9 of the championship events. Can anyone stop him?
@the9avenger9 and 
P3 @LazyDemoni swap podium places from Round 1. Again, just like in the USA, the two of them were locked together throughout the rally. Last time it was Lazy over Avenger by 40 seconds. This time it was the other way around, by just 50 seconds. This is going to be the rivalry to watch this season.
Minor points placings for P4 @Beo who had the spot locked up pretty from the end of Stage 4 after I had dropped i full minute to him on each of S3 and S4. If it hadn’t been for those 2 minutes lost, he and I would have finished 24 seconds apart.
The 9x9 Championship has not had a great start for our Resident Alien #2, @Aldyr. After crashing out early in Round 1 in the USA, he suffered significant “technical issues” with his Škoda Fabia on Stage 1 here in Argentian, which resulted in his S1 time being disallowed. Carrying the burden of a full 15 minute penalty time into Stage 2, he then proceeded to blitz S2 and S3 with some of the fastest times, only to crash out on Stage 4 and bring his Argie Rally to an abrupt early end. Having made it to Stage 4, he picks up the P6 point. Last of the classified drivers, Disco Bear @murfle claims his regular participation point despite the shame of crashing out in Stage 1. 
The Championship Standings then, after Round 2 of 9:
@Boogey’s two wins takes him 6 points clear of the @the9avenger9 vs. @LazyDemoni duel. Each of them with a P2 and a P3 so far means they’re currently tied on 10 points each. also Having swapped the P4 and the P5 positions, @Beo and @myself complete the Top 5 locked into 6 points each.
Two down, seven still to go. We’re keeping things Spanish next as we head back to the northern hemisphere and the first of our European Rally events - see you in Ribadelles! 
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2023 MEWRL Rally Championship: The 9x9
Round 3: Rally España | Ribadelles | Spain
From the fails in the foothills of Catamarca, we’re keeping to our Spanish language lessons for Round 3 of the 9x9. It’s a direct flight from Buenos Aires to Barcelona, and then a short drive west to the Ribadelles region of Spain for Round 3 of the 9x9 Championship.
Event Period
- Starts: 2023-04-15T22:15:00Z
- Ends: 2023-04-29T21:59:00Z
Eligible Cars
Modern Rally R5
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Ford Fiesta R5
M-Sport were the first team to design and homologate a rally car to the R5 regulation set. The Ford Fiesta R5 made its debut at Rally Finland in 201 and has since then sold over 270 units worldwide since, making it the R5 of choice for many. Since then, many upgrades have been made to the car’s chassis and engine to improve its performance further. -
Ford Fiesta R5 MKII
Built as the replacement for its hugely successful predecessor, the Ford Fiesta R5, the MK2 is designed and built by M-sport in the UK, making use of the latest iteration of the Ford Fiesta ST-Line body shell. The car features a new engine and chassis, alongside a notably aggressive anti-lag system. -
Peugeot 208 T16 R5
The Peugeot 208 T16 is an R5 spec rally car built and developed by Peugeot Sport. The 208 R5 was named the ‘T16’ in reference to the 205 T16 Group B rally car, as a sign of the marque’s heritage. The 208 made its debut in the European Championships in 2014 and has had regular wins and national level championship titles since.
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Mitsubishi Space Star R5
The Mitsubishi Space Star R5 was designed and developed to adhere to the FIA’s R5 specifications. The car has been successful in both regional and national events. This car was designed and built in Sweden by Mpart Sport AB. -
ŠKODA Fabia R5
The ŠKODA Fabia R5 which made its debut at the Rally Portugal 2015 is one of the most popular cars in its class, taking multiple wins across a wide range of top level championship events. Powered by a 1.6L four cylinder 16V engine, this is the car to beat.
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Citroën C3 R5
The C3 R5 is Citroën’s newest R5 car and the replacement for its predecessor, the Citroën DS3 R5. It made its debut at the 2018 Tour de Corse and has proven its pace with stage wins from the start. The car is characterised by its supreme stability in the corners and straight line speed. -
Volkswagen Polo GTI R5
VW focused on building and developing the Polo GTI R5 based on the success and experience from four consecutive World Championship titles with its predecessor, the Polo R WRC. There were high expectations for the Polo GTI to be one of the fastest R5 cars in the field, with the car making its successful competitive debut in Rally Spain in 2018 at the hands of Petter Solberg and co-driver Veronica Engen.
Rally Route
Tyre degradation on the opening two stages may be something to keep an eye on. At 14.3 km, the two De Bellriu stages are the longest on the rally, and we open with both of them back-to-back and both with Max Surface Deg.
The rain in Spain causes more than half of the rally stages this time around to be wet surface stages. And that’s mostly asphalt wet. All of the final three stages are wet, with light rain and showers forecast for the final two. Choose your tyres wisely at the final service stop after Stage 6.
S6 is also the only true night stage this time around. And thankfully it’ll be dry.
That’s it. Go get dirty! ¡Ensuciarse! ¡Arriba, Arriba! ¡Ándale, Ándale! ¡Rápido, Rápido!
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