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It's mega really. Hopefully we can start to emulate it with some of our new closed road events, but they are a very long way ahead of us. The area surrounding Ypres is fairly flat (I'm from Norfolk so I'm used to that), but there are some really nasty bumps and compressions to catch you out...

With an early end to the stages (from our perspective at least), we decided to head back to the hotel, get changed and then head into Ypres for the finish, some food and a beer. I can't really emphasise how different it is to the UK really. The cars came into town and people were laid back...

Couple more: One more...

Our last viewing point was on the Dikkebus stage. It was probably the best spot of the whole weekend but, sadly, a crash meant that the stage was cancelled after only a handful of cars. We saw the Masters go through, but not much more!

We stayed onto watch the main field run through the same stage, albeit from a slightly different position. I won't bore you with loads of videos of that. But I can't not post a couple more of the 911s: More to come as I upload it.

Saturday morning saw a slight change, as we decided to try and catch a bit of the Ypres Historic Rally, which runs alongside the main event, but to a slightly different timetable. I was quite keen to see at least some of it, because it's pretty different to historic rallying in the UK. Events...

And a few more from Friday: To be continued...

A couple from the R5 field... Remember those 911s from earlier? Lordy, the noise. Incredible cars. Thank God the Belgians aren't so obsessed with restricting noise. You could hear these from what felt like miles away: Still more to follow

Friday evening saw us attend two stages. The first was in Mesen, but these videos are from Kemmelberg, which is quite a famous part of the rally. Straight into the videos... Another former WRC driver, Bruno Thiry, in an Opel Corsa A on the Masters rally: Group A Impreza: Group A Escort...

The Cloth Hall in the background of this shot was flattened during WW1 and subsequently rebuilt and turned into a museum: IMG_20190628_143425 by Jon Scoltock, on Flickr New Fiesta R2T: MVIMG_20190628_144150 by Jon Scoltock, on Flickr Old Fiesta R2T: IMG_20190628_144206 by Jon Scoltock, on...

Moving away from shakedown, I thought it was worth sharing a few pictures of Ypres itself. The service park is based right in the centre of town and basically takes over. Skoda back the event and have a huge presence there, along with Renties, who are a car hire company, and sponsor this (more...

Few more from shakedown: More to follow from the actually (it might take some time as I have loads to go through)

Clio R3T: Bit of a last minute hit of the button to try and catch a 'whoopsy' from one of the 1M guys. His co-driver was filming the whole thing on his phone lol: To be continued even more....

On to some shakedown video. Thierry Neuville was running in the Rally Masters category in a current Hyundai WRC car, which made for a bit more of a spectacle (as if it was needed): Then some others: To be continued again...

Bit delayed, but a mate and I went over to Belgium last week for the Ypres Rally. This is probably one of the biggest rallies in Europe and was for a long time part of the European Rally Championship. However, it now makes up part of the Belgian championship, the British Rally Championship and...

Always liked these. About the only Type-R I'd own from this era. Like you say though, it's a lot of money for what it is!

Saw an Enzo on the A12 earlier. Rare sight on the roads.

Was in Belgium over the weekend and saw quite a few out there. They're a nice looking car.

Having spent a bit of time in them back to back, what are your thoughts?

I've got a spreadsheet with them on somewhere (and one for 197/200). Allows you to input tyre sizes, engine speed etc. If you'd like it, send me your email address and can send it over.

Yeah there's something just a touch off about the proportions of the Fastback. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I would definitely take the hatch. Better deals on the hatch too. It drove great though, really liked it.

Nice! I'm not surprised it was wet, it absolutely chucked it down this morning, so much so that it woke me up. Still miss my 265.

The Conti GT just gets uglier and uglier with every facelift I think. That grill is horrendous!

These yesterday: Had been hankering for a go in one for a while and, following a chat at an event, the opportunity arose, so couldn't say no. Very impressive car overall. Loads of equipment, comfortable, nicely put together, a good drive and rorty soundtrack. Would take a hatch over the...

Too many people seem to be let down by specialists. It's sad.

You could try contacting RSport. I think they are/were the official importer for Renault Sport competition parts. Otherwise, just keep an eye on the rally classifieds online. www.rallycarsforsale.net and www.rally24.com aren't too bad. Brace yourself though, it won't be cheap.

Depends what you want I guess. They're always available with massive discount. Pre-registered ones are often a good chunk cheaper than their rivals and they're pretty generous with equipment compared to the likes of Ford. If you aren't a petrol head and just want something new/newish that's good...

Welcome!

Probably not really necessary in a Corsa though. The standard engine will do 240-250bhp, which is more than enough in a car like that.

Yeah think the gearbox is much the same as that used in the previous model, so still a bit of a weak point unfortunately. The MK3 Megane is always going to be a thorn in its side, as it follows a very similar formula, but is the slightly better car from a driving perspective. The Astra is...