Tom's Hardware Talks To Champion Rally Drivers About Technology

[tuanies]

Subaru invited us out to attend the 2012 Olympus Rally, so we went and watched the race, took some pictures, and interviewed some of big names in rally racing, including Ken Block, concept director of the viral Gymkhana Five video on YouTube.

Tom's Hardware Talks To Champion Rally Drivers About Technology : Read more

 

[C12Friedman]

Not an article I expected to read at Tom's but an excellent article none the less!
Nice photography

 

[amuffin]

Ken Block WR8 FLUX!

 

[tuanies]

Not an article I expected to read at Tom's but an excellent article none the less!
Nice photography

We try to spice things up and it was a good and fun opportunity.

I felt a little inadequate running around with a micro 4/3s camera (Panasonic GH2) and a couple primes (Olympus 45mm & Panasonic 25mm) while everyone had D800s, but quite happy with the photo results.

What?! No Bill Caswell?

He wasn't at the Olympus Rally.

 

[tiret]

Quote: "Rally Enthusiasts Are A Lot Like PC Enthusiasts..."

as these rally enthusiasts are all apple fan boys and Toms regulars are mostly not, I'm not so sure about that sentiment.

good article though.

 

[-Fran-]

Nice, nice, nice, nice.

Kudos, Toms!

Cheers!

 

[Guest]

Ken Block a rally driver? LOL. Take a look at his WRC competition record and have a laugh. He should stick to making videos that wow the masses sheeple who don't know that real drivers have no need for such spectacles.

 

[Wisecracker]

The quality of **stuff** available these days to racers at all types of levels and skills is amazing.

Even better: You can race anything anyhow around where I live. Most places have renegade classes, too, with claim rules to keep folks honest

I do miss the old-style hill climbs (hint-hint game devs ...). Too much tech, maybe?

 

[RodolfoKSP]

What about the game Richard Burns, how could you not mention?! Are you being payed to mention Dirt and F1. F1 and why not iRacing?

 

[tuanies]

What about the game Richard Burns, how could you not mention?! Are you being payed to mention Dirt and F1. F1 and why not iRacing?

Because Richard Burns Rally was last released in 2004, and Dirt and F1 are have more recent releases. And no we're not getting payed to mention Dirt or F1, they're just two recent racing games we at Tom's Hardware quite enjoy. Nothing against iRacing, its really cool and all but not as recognizable to the average PC gamer.

 

[tuanies]

The quality of **stuff** available these days to racers at all types of levels and skills is amazing.

Even better: You can race anything anyhow around where I live. Most places have renegade classes, too, with claim rules to keep folks honest

I do miss the old-style hill climbs (hint-hint game devs ...). Too much tech, maybe?

Call me crazy, but I would love to rally a manual Subaru Justy 4WD for shits and giggles.

 

[RodolfoKSP]

[citation][nom]tuanies[/nom]Because Richard Burns Rally was last released in 2004, and Dirt and F1 are have more recent releases. And no we're not getting payed to mention Dirt or F1, they're just two recent racing games we at Tom's Hardware quite enjoy. Nothing against iRacing, its really cool and all but not as recognizable to the average PC gamer.[/citation]

Thank you for the answer. Very good article.

 

[sebkow]

Quote: "Rally Enthusiasts Are A Lot Like PC Enthusiasts..."

as these rally enthusiasts are all apple fan boys and Toms regulars are mostly not, I'm not so sure about that sentiment.

good article though.
Yuka 01/08/2013 2:31 PM


Coming from a rally family myself I can tell you thats not true. I cant speak for all these drivers but I know a good chunk of them its an Andriod thing. Sorry were not hipsters...Great article though and has alot fo truth to it.

 

[sebkow]

Quote: "Rally Enthusiasts Are A Lot Like PC Enthusiasts..."

as these rally enthusiasts are all apple fan boys and Toms regulars are mostly not, I'm not so sure about that sentiment.

good article though.
Yuka 01/08/2013 2:31 PM


Coming from a rally family myself I can tell you thats not true. I cant speak for all these drivers but I know a good chunk of them its an Andriod thing. Sorry were not hipsters...Great article though and has alot fo truth to it.

 

[Daedalus12]

I've been to several rally races, and all I can say is those drivers must have the largest cojones. Some of the stuff they do is incredible.

@tiret
Also, I'm no apple fanboy, and all the rally enthusiasts I know personally are not apple fanboys either. Maybe we're just some of the few though

 

[x mon]

Thanks for the write up. It's always interesting to see our sport from an "outsider's" perspective.

I'll agree that even though the big names might bring up IPhones, there are a ton of PC/Android competitors as well. The Android Marketplace even has an App for tracking rally cars, developed by NASA (The other major US Sanctioning body).

As per Burns Rally, I realize it's dated. However the community still supports updates and modifications, and I know a number of privateers that use it as a training tool for smaller events with in the US.

Sitting in the co-drivers seat, I would concur with the advice Craig noted as to how technology eases my prep work. When I'm going to compete in a new area, I can research the event venues and use Google Maps/Earth to pull Street View images of intersections, restaurants, and that cabin we're renting in the woods. Whilst on stage or in transit, a super accurate user-calibrated odometer and GPS technologies help make sure you are where you think you are.

I can also distribute information to our crew before the event using email and group chats, and then blast texts or use the HAM radio to talk back to folks in service. Lastly, we try to post updates to the Facebook car on transits and in service (cell signal permitting) so that those fans [er our family and friends] that didn't get suckered into coming along can keep up with the event from the comfort of their living room or office.

So much of what the co-driver does is logistics, so anything that helps to automate the process, or enable better communication will be welcomed within the car.

Thanks again for the article!

 

[brenro]

Why isn't this more popular in the US? Production based cars racing in all weather conditions on all road surfaces. I'd support this in a heartbeat over boring NASCAR.

 

[10tacle]

[citation][nom]brenro[/nom]Why isn't this more popular in the US? Production based cars racing in all weather conditions on all road surfaces. I'd support this in a heartbeat over boring NASCAR.[/citation]

Many reasons, not the least of which would be getting this type of racing into an official professional sanctioned event (like off-road racing trucks). Then of course where would you actually have the tracks? Racing in America started out in circles on dirt tracks and expanded from there in closed course racing. Rally racing has been around a long time in non-US nations and has many decades of followers and well-established tracks (many of which require shutting down parts of towns and roads where they run through).

While I do believe rally racing would have a following in America, it would not be even remotely close to what NASCAR and other racing venues have (like Grand Am and LeMans which are now merging). These establishments have a very strong fan base going back several generations. And with all that, comes plenty of marketing money and advertisement dollars and investment revenue. I highly doubt rally racing would take off enough in America to be a commercial success.

 

[tanjo]

[citation][nom]brenro[/nom]Why isn't this more popular in the US? Production based cars racing in all weather conditions on all road surfaces. I'd support this in a heartbeat over boring NASCAR.[/citation]
In a rally you can watch at the finish line where there are seats and roof but you won't get to see much action. You have to be on the track sidelines standing, holding an umbrella or something while enduring the harsh environment.
In NASCAR you can just sit there with binoculars and watch the whole race.

It's all about the venue. Americans will probably be too lazy to travel to "hot spots" on the rally track and waiting for the cars to pass by, one at a time... waiting for cars to roll/crash.

 

[xaephod]

Rally Racing is my favorite form of motorsports. Its a real car you can buy and its just modified for racing. You would have a hard time finding a real car in nascar or anything else. Plus, I love the whole driver/navigator setup.
I hope to see more of it in the U.S.

 

[jeepmcmuddy]

As a long time PDXLan attendee, a fan of Rally and an employee of SoA this article was made for me!

 

[xaephod]

Hey Jeepcmuddy can you tell your bosses that people 6'5" want to drive a Subaru and if they would just add a few more inches of leg room, I would be driving an Impreza right now

 

[tuanies]

In a rally you can watch at the finish line where there are seats and roof but you won't get to see much action. You have to be on the track sidelines standing, holding an umbrella or something while enduring the harsh environment.
In NASCAR you can just sit there with binoculars and watch the whole race.

It's all about the venue. Americans will probably be too lazy to travel to "hot spots" on the rally track and waiting for the cars to pass by, one at a time... waiting for cars to roll/crash.

Some races are also ran on private property or places where there's no real spot for spectators. The Olympus Rally pit area was open to everyone but that was because they gathered at the new Ridge race track. Its a hard motor sport to spectate, not enough constant action for most Americans I think.

 

[gabschizzetta]

Amazing

 

[wastemanagement99]

I love rally. It takes some serious nads to be a rally driver. Love Ken Block! FreemanX Rally Drives - Rally Driving Experiences in Oz & NZ