I was surprised to see this. I'm a huge rally fan and was more than slightly miffed to see my fave driver, Mad Man McRae, be left without a ride in WRC in 2004 because of goofy rule changes.
Neat to see him in an entirely different sort of rally. It might even improve his ability. Colin is known for pushing too hard and crashing. He knows he really has to pace himself and take a much longer view for this event.
I barely noticed the Dakar last year. This year I'll be watching intently.
Do the Nissans remind anyone else of a slightly squashed Murano?
"MCRAE is pretty wild... I did not know we are he was born the same year as me. And I was born and raised in England..."
That's before your parents moved you to Texas to corrupt you with American television and NASCAR?
"The trucks this year are pure race trucks... They look wierd.. As wide as a Titan and short like a Murano...
Yes. I made the comment above before I opened the Nissan factory link. I had just seen a few glimpses during the coverage. Looking at the colored line art you can clearly see the pick-up beneath. They're probably trying to do what Mitsubishi did last year ... and that means high-speed stability for the flat out runs punctuated with rises and falls.
"It looks like Nissan is in first and second overall on the 3rd stage, I heard one of the 4 trucks caught on fire and is out of the race..."
Ack! Please don't post spoilers before I need to watch it tonight at 9:00PM EST ...
You didn't quite ruin it. By the time I saw it, I knew that the Nissans had improved their standing but I forgot the particulars.
Just like PD Cunningham's Speed World Challenge Sentra SE-R, it's hard to see how much of the stock frame/chassis (if any) they are using. My guess is very little. They need a lot more ground clearance and suspension travel. I see some cars/trucks are merely modified stock vehicles (mostly privateers) but the Nissans look like purpose-built racers. Heck, the engine is mid-mounted. How many stock parts could they possibly be using?
I wonder how that V6 will hold up. Seems like it's winding awfully high. Still, you'd think it would last 7,000 miles with daily oil and changes and air filtration cleaning.
I like Rallying and just about any kind of road racing. Really don't care for NASCAR, Indy or any circle track stuff.
If yo uclick on my first post link, there is a detailed page about the 2004 truck and the 2003 truck.
I had to tape last night part 2. Gonna watch today... Tons of Nissan stuff though. The few parts I saw had historys on Ari and Collin and the Nissan 4 year plan at Dakar.
I am loving it.... I noticed some private entry stock looking hardbodys, PAtrols and my pathfinder....
__________________
Barry
1993 King Cab SE 4wd- SAS, 35s 3link
1992 Pathfinder SE 4wd - SAS 33s 3link http://nissannut.com
After climbing as high as 3rd, Colin broke something (probably in the transfer case) and now has only front wheel drive ... which wasn't enough to get him through the deep sand. A teamate, already woefully behind stopped to give he and Tina a tow but this has knocked him out of the top 5 and probably out of the top 10.
Well, I think they later reported that he lost the rear driveshaft ... or as they say across-the-pond "propshaft."
If it was something inside the diff or transfer case, running it with just FWD might really tear things up inside the damaged box and 100% DNF the truck.
I guess he's still running but is at least a full day behind. He's just trying to finish. The event should be good for him and I want to see him tough it out.
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