V8 Supercars and WRC begin this weekend

As a change from discussing F1 all the time (although I, too, share the good wishes to Kubica following his nasty accident), two other motorsports start their new season this weekend - the V8 Supercars in Abu Dhabi, before going back home to Oz, and the WRC in Sweden.
As a newcomer to V8s last year (albeit on Motors TV who give it good coverage), I found it some of the most exciting racing on a track and much more fun than NASCAR. It'll be interesting to see how the MINI gets on among the dominance of Peugeot and Citroen in the WRC, although they are only competing for six races.
Anyone else have any thoughts?

I'm looking forward to it to. Love the V8 championship, and you're right LadyPutt, easily more exciting than Nas. In regards to the Rally, after seeing what happened to Kubica, I'll be viewing it with even more respect for the skills and guts of these guys/ girls.
Good post, enjoyed the change of topic.
:friend:

Also NASCAR starts this weekend with the Budwieser Shoot Out

V8 Supercars didn't disappoint on a circuit which most drivers declared the best in the world (Yas Marina in Abu Dhabi). First race on Friday wasn't quite so exciting (a reasonably easy win by Jamie Whincup from Alex Davison) but the second race on Saturday (I recorded it on Sky+ while I watched the rugby then watched it and whizzed through the adverts and safety cars!) was fantastic with James Courtney just managing to squeak a victory by 0.6 of a second from Jason Bright. They were both in danger of running out of fuel and had a right old ding-dong in the last lap. If you've not seen the V8s before, you can see live coverage on Motorstv or excellent highlights the week after. I only saw highlights of the Rally Sweden but there was a win for Mikko Hirvonen by 6.5 seconds overs Mads Ostberg in the snow and ice. Seb Loeb was not a happy bunny after 2 punctures left him in 6th.