All booked up & rarin' to go...4 of us in our party..

stayn at Hotel Filipstad Thurs 5th-Mon 9th..

...anyone else gona brave the"elements"of the Baltic land ?

Duracell :cool:

99% going. 3 possibly 4 in our party.

Just waiting to make sure that Ford and Skoda dont pull the plug.

My mate went last year so he'll be sorting out the planning etc.

Looking forward to it.

Ste

We are going, two in our party, staying at hotel John @ Filipstad, which I think is where you are staying ?

Went last year it was superb, which is why we are going again.

Richard :)

See www.swerally.se (http://www.swerally.se) for info & stage guide !

c ya ther ? :D:D:D

Duracell :cool:



[Edited by Duracell - 11/19/2003 10:06:08 PM]

Oh yesss:cool:

Sweden's that hot sunny place, yeah?:eek:

Yep, we will be going, taking the wife and daughter this year.

Flights and Hire car now sorted.

4 man unit in an S40 Wooooohooooo:D

Cant wait.

Ste.

Hi duracel,which airport to you go to.

Hi Brad

We're flyin to Stockholm S.Skavsta,apparantly we've got a bit of a drive to Hotel but no doubt be fun on"snow tyres" ! :D

Stayin at Hotel John-Filipstad,what bout u? ..have u been to any other Rallies since Finland ?

Hope to see u somewhere,if not in Hotel ? and everyone else who's replied so far to this thread !

"Merry xmas" all...Duracell http://www.computerpannen.com/cwm/contrib/guus/kerstsmiley.gif

Hi Duracell i am also going to the same airport but taking the train to karlstad were i pick up hire car.I am going on my own this time (to cold for my wife).I did try to get in same hotel but fully booked,I have got hotel booked in Arvika so if i get chance will come to your hotel and have a pint with you.
Merry christmas to you all .Brad

Merry Christmas to you too Fellas.

Cant remeber where we're staying exactly but I know were stpping at a mates dads house near to the stages.

All I know is were flying from Stanstead on Thursday morning and driving from the airport to the house.

We're in A volvo s40 or similar and will see ya there if we can.

We're taking a GB flag so if you see us give us a shout.

All the Best.

Ste.

I am one of Duracell`s party, just been looking for some clothing for this event, (i.e thermal long johns!!) found an excellent site on line www.outdoormegastore.co.uk some good stuff on there and its cheap as chips! It had better be cold now! Otherwise I will be glowing like the readybrek boy.

From my past experience it will be cold,
Make sure you have good boot’s that’s the key. Then good coat & gloves, I bought the Subaru woolly hat and scarf for last year, talk about warm !! makes your head sweat.

...not long now...till we'll be freezin'our ********/nuts orf!!!well...all xcept"Scoobdoo"in his new"SKI outfit"..he'll prob look like Eddy Eagle the 2nd ???!!!

..can't wait....Brad,hope to see u in hotel 4 a beer....STE W...i'll be carryn a Subaru/union jack flag also...so u cant miss us....nor my brummie accent :D...or the Ready Brek kid glowin"!!!

See u all somewhere in the"white stuff" :cool: Duracell

Bloody hotel has let us down. We are well in the sh!t now.
Flights booked, hire car sorted, rally passes booked ..... then what ???? hotel decides to close for a fettle !!!! What’s all that about.

tmo where were you booked in? i can give you an email address for hotel but its in arvika if thats any good.

The stage maps are now on the event website :)

Stages do not look that much different to last year, only difference is that many of the mid stage access roads will be blocked to try & guide you towards the planned spectator areas.

Oh well a bit more walking will be required this year

Only 3 weeks to go :)

Richard..

Official entry list is also shown.

26 WRC's not bad..

Have a great time guys! :cool::D I want to see *lots* and *lots* of pics :)

[Edited by Jen - 1/13/2004 1:09:04 PM]

Hmmm, I'm not sure whether or not to take my camera, I can't see it liking the cold...plus I don't want to take my hands outta mi gloves:eek:

I dunno, might take it to rattle round service with:)

Cheers Brad, but it looks like we have another hotel sorted in Kil, fingers crossed.

If you hold the camera long enough to your face it'll stick so you wont need to take them outa ya pockets.

just scrunch your nose and let the frozen snot drippers press the button for you:D:D:D

Just dont lick the camara clean:rolleyes:

Cant wait, freezing to death has never seemed so much fun before.

Ste.

Forgot to say......

Good luck with sorting things out tmo.

Hope you get the hotel problem back on track.

Ste.

Bob,

You should have no problems with your camera you will get some real fantastic shots, the scenery is superb.

try wearing fingerless gloves under your normal gloves.

In the day when the sun is out it's actually quite pleasant. But early in the morning & when the sun goes down, sh1t it's cold.

On most of the stages you will find a fire about every 20ft, the locals are friendly, they will let you warm your hands & drink their beer.

:)

Hmm, maybe I will take it then:) I just won't have to use it on every stage, if I'm going that far to watch a rally, I want to actually see summat.:)

Licking the camera hasn't been a problem so far:p

Gentlemen,

I'm a regular at the North American Subaru Impreza Owner's Club. I thought I would come by and see if any of you guys were going.

I'm going to Sweden this year. I think I'm the only one that I know of that is going from the US. I'll be alone, I'm staying in a private house I rented north of Hagfors (14km). Sunday night I'm staying at the Kilshotel in Kil. I will arrive Thursday in Kil just in time for Shakedown. I've got all my ski gear and new boots.

My question to you, How do you get on the stage without a hired car? I hear the rally commission is limiting spectating to "Public areas" on each day.

If anyone is going, of has gone, provide som pointers!!

Thanks,

Chad

Chad,

Nice to see your coming so far for your WRC fix.

We stayed in the Kil hotel last year, please bear in mind if the shakedown is in the same location you are about 1 to 1 & 1/2 hours drive away.

Access to the stages is pretty easy, last year we found the best places to park were on the main roads by the start or finish & then just walk into the stage, getting away after the stage is then very easy. The access roads / tracks to the mid stage points tend to be more clogged (nowhere near Rally GB standards)but worth using if you are trying to see a specific part of the stage. Only major traffic problems are when a stage is stopped & everybody leaves at the same time.

Can't really see the spectator pens working, the locals will just walk further into the stage, so be prepared to walk a bit to avoid the crowds. I think rally GB has been using the pens for the last 3 years we've never stood in one yet :)

The start & finish at Karlstad are worth seeing, you can usually park within a 100 yards of the start ramp & there's a great pub opposite where you can sit at the bar & see the cars coming down the ramp.

Have a good one :)

Richard..

Richard,

Thanks for the tips. This is my first WRC event, and I'm excited.

The public transportation seems sketchy. The Karlstad & Hagfors tourist offices say that pulic busses run from the towns constantly. But do I need to book prior? How pricey are these things? Dang, I wish I could bring my WRX. Here is my situation

Arrive at Karlstad (Kil) Airport early Thursday. I need to be:
-North of Hagfors to check in.
-Then to Karlstad for the cermonial start at 7pm
-Then back to North Hagfors after the cermonies

Friday:
-From my place in north Hagfors to Granberget, SS1&4
-Then to Hagfors Sprint SS5
-Back to place north of Hagfors

Saturday:
-From Hagfors to SS7, Malta SS7&10
-From Malta to service, & Hagfors Sprint 2
-Hagfors back to place

Sunday:
-Hagfors to Hara SS15 & 16
-Then to Kil to check in at Kilshotel and then to ceremonies
-Back to Kil
Monday:
-Leave for the states ( Kil hotel arranged me a taxi here )

What's with the "rallybussen"? Is that a deal for a bus ride then breakfast for $80??

When are you guys getting into Karlstad? Help appreciated.

-Chad

Chad,

I would personally think that you need a hire car + it's good fun driving in the snow. I don't know anything about the ticket / bus thing but looks good value as entry, pre arranged route & some food included.

Looking at your schedule your going to struggle on the first day as Granberget to Hagfors is a good hours drive (you won't see much of the last Granberget stage or miss the works cars at the sprint) The sprint is pretty tame & seeing it once will probably be enough

On your last day why not look at doing the 2 Rammen stages or a Sagen / Rammen combination (they are very close) which will leave you plenty of time to get back to Karlstad for the finish.

Your also missing some of the best Swedish stages in Sagen, Rammen, Fredriksberg, Lejen & Vargasen.

It's often best to keep your plans pretty loose as things often change (ie stages stopped due to crashes) this is when the roads get clogged, use the side roads & try to avoid the traffic. When everything is running well the traffic is fine, but don't underestimate the distances.

Cheers :)
Richard..

[Edited by 333 - 1/20/2004 8:51:19 AM]

Richard
Never been to sweden before just wondered which you think are the best stages? Just got my rally pass & map but the map is not much help.Hope to see you over there at some point.Brad