08 surprises and disappointments

[Filip]

For me Basso's pace is no surprise, I think he is the best driver in the IRC for the moment (at least on tarmac).The most pleasant surprise is Luca Rossetti because he has proven that he can win anywhere. On the other hand, the Peugeot domination is boring, I hope Škoda will be fast enough for the top, otherwise we will have another WRC. I agree with Mirek about that distant rallies, already Safari and China rally last year had shown that such rallies are too far and expensive and only factory teams can afford that. I know there is a word intercontinental in the name of the championship, but almost all succesful rallies are in Europe.

[Sulland]

What to say about Brice Tirabassi before he ended his IRC season? I didn't expect much from him, but this was really bad.

So why would Subaru pick him then, does he have hidden talents ?

[OldF]

True, but thats about 2 more than WRC!

Of course the Abarth reliability has been disappointing, but Basso has proved it can be very fast too. Alen is a disappointment. He wasn't great at the gravel rounds and still a long way off the pace on tarmac. He's still young but doesn't seem to have progressed since last year.

Anton has still much to learn on tarmac but I wouldn’t say he’s so slow on gravel. OK, he’s speed in Turkey was a disappointment for me too but in Russia it was good. If I remember it right he was seventh after the first day and finished second. IMO that’s not bad.

For example Vallejo, who is leading the Spanish championship at the moment, was behind Anton. I don’t think you would say that would be a disappointment if for example Vallejo would finished 6th in a Finnish championship rally.

[HaCo]

So why would Subaru pick him then, does he have hidden talents ?

If you know, tell me please.

[Mihai]

Surprise: the return of Freddy Loix to the international rally scene.

Disapointments: the unimpressive pace of the Abarth & WV S2000 ; the 2WD championship ; very few drivers with a full-season programme.

So why would Subaru pick him then, does he have hidden talents ?

SWRT are simply desperate.

[Madeira]

Well, I know they never competed yet, but the surprise for me it was the brand new Skoda Fabia S2000!!!

Disapointment: Abarth team despite the great driver that Basso is and specially the non official Puntos...

[Tom206wrc]

...
... On the other hand, the Peugeot domination is boring...

I hope you think the same about the Ford Focus Army in WRC...

[RS]

Anton has still much to learn on tarmac but I wouldn’t say he’s so slow on gravel. OK, he’s speed in Turkey was a disappointment for me too but in Russia it was good. If I remember it right he was seventh after the first day and finished second. IMO that’s not bad.

For example Vallejo, who is leading the Spanish championship at the moment, was behind Anton. I don’t think you would say that would be a disappointment if for example Vallejo would finished 6th in a Finnish championship rally.

I do see what you mean, still I just expected a little bit more...

Certainly his early retirement in Portugal, illness in Madeira and gearbox problems in Barum have not helped him show what he can do.

I am sure Anton and Abarth will be looking for him to improve on San Remo and Valais.

[RS]

Well, I know they never competed yet, but the surprise for me it was the brand new Skoda Fabia S2000!!!

Hehe, I don't know if we can call it a surprise yet but as a Skoda fan I am very pleased about how much potential it seems to have and I think that will be one of the biggest talking points going in to the 2009 season, just how good can the Fabia be?...

Generally, the 2008 season has been much better than 2007 and I think 2009 will be better still, so at least it is going in the right direction. That's something we perhaps can't say about WRC at the moment.

[wwbroe]

So why would Subaru pick him then, does he have hidden talents ?

Well the reason is simple, he brings in a lot of cash money. A friend of hilm won a lot of money with lotterie and decided he has to invest a lot of that money in buying a place in Subaru team for his "friend" Tiribassi.