Atkinson's third year of three year deal. Time to deliver.

[Simmi]

The Subaru is gash but you cant call 3 seasons in a works team not getting a decent shot at it.

[bda]

How many new drivers in the WRC have performed well with less than three years under their belt? Not many.
Loeb of course, Sordo had some great results but lost his way a little last year. I could be wrong but I can't quite think of any others at the moment.
Look at the apprenticeships of the likes of McCrae, Solberg, Martin etc. all of whom made plenty of mistakes along the way.
Mikko has come of age now. He well and truly got his act together last year but how long has he been driving WRC cars for now? Much more than three years.
I still come back to the car. The Subaru has been a dog for most of Chris's time with it.
And yes I am a slightly biased Aussie supporter of Chris.
Sorry.

[Simmi]

Dont be sorry for being biased. If we dont support our drivers who will. i.e. Matt Wilson! Atko clearly has ability which just makes it frustrating to watch him sometimes. This year IMO he could have won or come second in Australia for example. I think Subaru didnt want to let another potentially class driver go like they did Mikko so I'm glad he's had a three year programme. I cant help thinking he would be a podium challenger in a Focus or Xsara.

[bda]

Trust me Simmi, in the Oxford dictionary next to the definition for frustration there is a picture of me.
Mikko must be so glad Subaru let him go. Imagine how frustrated he would be now if he was still in a Subaru.
Maybe we could get Mikko and Chris to swap cars for Sweden just to see what happens.
Incidently, I feel for Matt Wilson. He probably has more pressure on him to perform, than anybody else in the WRC.

[koko0703]

I agree with those of you who suggested we must measure Atkinson relative to Petter, not Mikko or Sordo, because Subaru was clearly inferior to Citroen and Ford. And you can't really blame everything on Subaru drivers if the car is slow and unreliable. But that said, I expect Atkinson to finish in top 6 regulary this season and even on podium if the car improves.

[L5->R5/CR]

I agree with those of you who suggested we must measure Atkinson relative to Petter, not Mikko or Sordo, because Subaru was clearly inferior to Citroen and Ford. And you can't really blame everything on Subaru drivers if the car is slow and unreliable. But that said, I expect Atkinson to finish in top 6 regulary this season and even on podium if the car improves.

Just like you can't blame a driver crashing a lot when the car is off the pace. Drivers want to do well, they will push a poor car harder and harder to try to get results, they will eventually over drive the car and when they do that they will crash more.

[noel157]

I hope things come right for Atkinson this year. Above all he really seems like a decent bloke. Him and Glenn always happy to talk to the media and generally have a smile on their faces, especially after a difficult 06 season.

[TKM]

pffft, time for Subaru to deliver him with a decent car, me thinks.

[Fleur]

I agree we can only compare Chris with Petter, due to the lack of reliability and pace in the current Subaru WRC. And in that sense, he did okay last season. I hope Subaru deliver him a better car in the 07WRC, and that he in turn delivers Subaru some podiums.

Incidently, agree with you noel, he is a hell-of-a nice guy, I competed in the APRC when he was competing. Very dedicated to his rallying, and great to talk to.

[Mihai]

Atkinson has fallen under a shadow of Hirvonen and Sordo.

Both Dani and Mikko had a better package last year than the Pirelli Impreza.
Besides that, preparing a young rally driver is a difficult and expensive process. I believe SWRT will stick with Atko after 2007 too if he has a decent season. They can't afford wasting time with another pay-driver like Hirvonen in 2004 or forming a new driver (that might deliver or not). I think Chris has a good image and the economical area that he's coming from (Oz/NZ) is a big market for Subaru. This alone would be a strong reason to keep him in the team in the next few years.