2007 WRC prediction thread

[Daniel]

Post your predicitons here.

I think Citroen will be fast out of the box like they were with the Xsara, I think Subaru will improve a bit but Petter will be so hungry for success that he'll overdrive it for a few events and I suspect that Loeb and Gronholm will be taking the lions share of wins between them if Subaru are still rubbish.

Loeb for the championship too

[DonJippo]

I think Citroen will be fast out of the box like they were with the Xsara...

They were? Maybe on black stuff...but not on gravel. It's a new car so may take a while to get it really running even with that one year testing they have had.

[Daniel]

They were? Maybe on black stuff...but not on gravel. It's a new car so may take a while to get it really running even with that one year testing they have had.

Well Sebastien managed to come second in the championship in 2003 in their first year so it couldn't have been that bad. They also took the manufacturers title that year too. I think the problem that year was more Sebastien lacking experience rather than the car lacking speed or reliability. But we shall see.

[Tomi]

I too think Citroen will be fast right out, but this time is different from last one, less testing, now i belive it will have some reliability problems.
Else I belive that next season will be much like this one was, Bosse and Loeb fighting for the win but behind them, there is an impressive bunch of Ford drivers who will finish before Sordo atleast on gravel, that on other hand gives more space to Hirvonen also to attack more than this year. Other drivers I think will be in top 5 regulalarly is Stohl and Petter.
About the new Subaru it's too early to predict anything, better wait and see, but I have a feeling that they have to hire the "invisible man" and others like that to get attention like they did this year.

[Daniel]

[quote="Tomi"]I too think Citroen will be fast right out, but this time is different from last one, less testing, now i belive it will have some reliability problems.[quote]

I guess it all depends how much of the C4 is carried over from the Xsara and how much is brand new.

[Daniel]

I too think Citroen will be fast right out, but this time is different from last one, less testing, now i belive it will have some reliability problems.
Else I belive that next season will be much like this one was, Bosse and Loeb fighting for the win but behind them, there is an impressive bunch of Ford drivers who will finish before Sordo atleast on gravel, that on other hand gives more space to Hirvonen also to attack more than this year. Other drivers I think will be in top 5 regulalarly is Stohl and Petter.
About the new Subaru it's too early to predict anything, better wait and see, but I have a feeling that they have to hire the "invisible man" and others like that to get attention like they did this year.

I guess it all depends how much of the C4 is carried over from the Xsara and how much is brand new.

[Tomi]

I too think Citroen will be fast right out, but this time is different from last one, less testing, now i belive it will have some reliability problems.

I guess it all depends how much of the C4 is carried over from the Xsara and how much is brand new.

Yes but still, it's a new car, about the xsara, they have years of experience, and i dont think it's clever to build 2 cars that are the same. It take time to find setup for different conditions, but better wait and see.

[Daniel]

I too think Citroen will be fast right out, but this time is different from last one, less testing, now i belive it will have some reliability problems.

Yes but still, it's a new car, about the xsara, they have years of experience, and i dont think it's clever to build 2 cars that are the same. It take time to find setup for different conditions, but better wait and see.

Very true. But unlike teams like Ford and Subaru they have the money and resources to do it.

Does anyone have any idea how much time, money and effort Suzuki are putting into their WRC effort? I hope they are more of a team like Ford, Peugeot or Citroen who make a decent effort rather than being like Skoda, Seat, Hyundai and others who seem to only have a passing interest in the WRC. The WRC needs at least 3 or 4 good teams to get back to where it was 4 or 5 years ago.

[Tomi]

No idea about Suzuki, but I hope they are serious and dont panic if they wont be competitive in a few years, good they did join anyway. Will be interesting to see who they will sign to drive and develope.

[quicksilver]

Did they announce what rallies they are planning to do next year or will we just have to wait and see?