Virtual Control at Rally Finland

This is the Statt Mann Baby. Time to Scatt a little bit.

Technology is the lifeblood of motorsport. And it’s been in full bleed this weekend at Rally Finland, the fastest rally in the World Championship.

One of the stages, Ouninpohja, was removed from the rally and the championship in 2016 because of the speed and jumps. The record is nearly a 100 mph average over 75 jumps.

But technology brought it back to earth this year in the form of virtual chicanes that slow the cars down digitally in the most dangerous spots. The penalty? Time added to your final score.

A box in the car tells the teams to slow down in zones designated by GPS. In the past this was done with barriers or hay bales.

This was the first time the virtual chicanes were used in the WRC. They’ve been used in America for a couple years. The teams don’t like them which means they must work as planned.

Ouninpohja is a great show. When I was at Rally Finland many years ago people would bet on how far the teams would jump. The record is 187 feet. That’s more than half a football field!

Jump after jump like a downhill staircase. At speed. Now there’s some control. Digitally. From space.

Technology is a great thing, isn’t it?

Peace.