Loeb: A Rally God or an FIA Homologated Hero?

[TKM]

Stick him in one of those POS Subarus for an event, then we'll know just how good he really is.

[cosmicpanda]

If you are trying to claim that Loeb wins lots of rallies and therefore the FIA is somehow giving him an advantage that other drivers do not have, you need to offer a lot more evidence than you have so far.

If we look at your first post:

With Loeb ridiculously toping the leader board for so long, is the WRC homologating itself its own “Rally Super Hero” by allowing Citroen more power in Loeb’s car? It has been said by many people that Loeb’s cars seem to have more power. Even Sordo has problems with his car but Loeb seems to have a flawless machine.

I don't know what you mean by "ridiculously topping the leaderboard for so long". Do you mean that he led Rally NZ from start to finish? He didn't. He's always done well in Rally Germany, and you can hardly claim that he's a success story in Finland when compared to Gronholm. Do you mean that he's won a lot of championships? Did the FIA give this same advantage to Tommi?

You seem to be basing this argument on hearsay, not all of which is true. If you look at the last day of the most recent Rally NZ, Loeb had trouble with his car setup in the morning and only won the rally due to the Fords having incredible problems.

As for the C4 perhaps being more powerful than other cars, if true this is not necessarily the FIA giving Loeb an advantage, but possibly just the Citroen team's skill at building engines.

[tmx]

If you are trying to claim that Loeb wins lots of rallies and therefore the FIA is somehow giving him an advantage that other drivers do not have, you need to offer a lot more evidence than you have so far.

If we look at your first post:



I don't know what you mean by "ridiculously topping the leaderboard for so long". Do you mean that he led Rally NZ from start to finish? He didn't. He's always done well in Rally Germany, and you can hardly claim that he's a success story in Finland when compared to Gronholm. Do you mean that he's won a lot of championships? Did the FIA give this same advantage to Tommi?

You seem to be basing this argument on hearsay, not all of which is true. If you look at the last day of the most recent Rally NZ, Loeb had trouble with his car setup in the morning and only won the rally due to the Fords having incredible problems.

As for the C4 perhaps being more powerful than other cars, if true this is not necessarily the FIA giving Loeb an advantage, but possibly just the Citroen team's skill at building engines.

Don't forget the superb suspension.

The ability of the Citroen going around hairpin is what fascinate me and shows the biggest difference in engine. Sure certainly driving style come in to play, but still. The sound of the engine thrusting the car and delivering low rpm torque. On tarmac they flip it round "quicker than you can blink an eye", where as the Ford swung wide and slowly around and sounding lazy accelerating. Every hairpin they take time out of the Ford.

[cosmicpanda]

Don't forget the superb suspension.

The ability of the Citroen going around hairpin is what fascinate me and shows the biggest difference in engine. Sure certainly driving style come in to play, but still. The sound of the engine thrusting the car and delivering low rpm torque. On tarmac they flip it round "quicker than you can blink an eye", where as the Ford swung wide and slowly around and sounding lazy accelerating. Every hairpin they take time out of the Ford.

That may be so, but Saabaru has specifically mentioned power as the reason that Loeb is able to be so fast compared to his competitors. I'd be interested to see what he (?) has to offer in terms of concrete proof, and also I'd be interested to hear exactly what he meant by "ridiculously toping the leader board."

Needless to say, if he cannot give any evidence other than the impression that the C4 seems to have a powerful engine, it obviously doesn't follow that the FIA is purposely aiding Loeb to the detriment of his competitors.

[jonkka]

While I do not believe in Saabaru's conspiracy theory at all, I think that TTE's turbo scandal should have taught observers to be suspicious, always.

Granted, TTE cheated only after they had lost competitiviness so it'd be more suspicious if Impreza suddenly started winning rallies than Citroen continuing to do that like they've done for years now.

[N]

Just because Loeb is the fastest, it doesn't mean that he is cheating. I can clearly remember rally Cyprus 2006, I was standing on one corner, Loeb and Gronholm came thorugh amazingly fast and the rest were visibly slow. It's all down to the drivers and as far as I'm concerned, Ford and Citroen have same performance.

[tmx]

it'd be more suspicious if Impreza suddenly started winning rallies than Citroen continuing to do that like they've done for years now.

I'm sad now, now there is even less hope for Petter.

[Brother John]

Don't forget the superb suspension.

I think also that the suspension from Citroën is superb and much stronger.
Just look att the " it was a good cut" concerning those stones without damage to the car.

[Woodeye]

What a silly thread once again.

Loeb is just better driver than rest of the gang. That's it. He was fast already with Saxo and after getting the Xsara there was no match for him, especially on tarmac.

[pino]

Loeb's a Rally God...no doubt about it