Opinions please, does Hanninen have enough to beat Tanak in France

[Barreis]

It's not over until it's over so let's wait and see.

[Mintexmemory]

No mud from cuts this year. Because cutting in not allowed in Rally France this year, I talked about it this summer in Mikko's tests with local French guys and there will be sticks etc. prohibiting all cutting.

Oh, and yes, Juho can beat Ott - actually quite easily I guess.

Interesting that the level of organisation will be good enough to 'block' all cuts. This all depends who the cut judge is, from my personal experience Loeb sees cuts that other drivers seem not to. Also the sticks may or may not remain in place depending on who is first on the road ;-). So the Finnish view seems to be that Juho will be happy to drive quickly enough for second place, will Skoda want the championship first and event win as a secondary consideration?

[Mirek]

For sure the title is more valuable than the single win.

About cutting... I also think it's impossible to prevent all cuts especially when some drivers simply cut everywhere no matter if it makes sense or not. I remember Loeb used to be very critical about such useless cutting in old Catalunya Rally... But as a spectator I love that

[darkstar]

hehe, defenetly

[cali]

Oh, and yes, Juho can beat Ott - actually quite easily I guess.

Like he has "easily" struggled with Ott throughout the season ... gotta love you finns

[N.O.T]

On tarmac Juho can win for now without too much trouble (the first stages in Germany proved that), on gravel in 1-2 years Juho will not be worthy to carry otts shoes...

But Ott needs to go away from the Slowson sponsorship Plan team and go to a serious manufacturer, otherwise he can easily be the next Gardemeister.

[Hartusvuori]

Like he has "easily" struggled with Ott throughout the season ... gotta love you finns

I wish there wouldn't be any confrontation build between Ott and Finnish rally fans as there were between Markko and Bosse. It's useless. Personally I love seeing Ott building up his career with well-thought steps, and on stages the brand should be written "Tänak attack!".

Cali, Juho has easily struggled with Ott but not necessarily easily managed - but so far he has. :-)

[cali]

On tarmac Juho can win for now without too much trouble (the first stages in Germany proved that), on gravel in 1-2 years Juho will not be worthy to carry otts shoes...

But Ott needs to go away from the Slowson sponsorship Plan team and go to a serious manufacturer, otherwise he can easily be the next Gardemeister.

Germany results:
SS1
Juho 14:40.2
Ott 15:07.8
SS2
Ott 14:10.4
Juho 14:24.8
SS3
Juho 12:52.0
Ott 13:10.4
SS4
Ott 14:33.5
Juho 14:48.3
SS5
Ott 13:39.7
Juho 13:44.6
Overall after SS5:
Juho 1:10:29.9
Ott 1:10:41.8 +11.9 sec to Juho

I have talked to some of the guys from MM Motorsport and first stage loss was due to tyres (remember: SS1 dry, SS2 damp), hence the better time in SS2.

Before retirement Juho was 11.9 sec in front of Ott which proves us nothing really
But clearly Juho has some more tarmac experience and is the favourite. To win this battle will not be "easy" unless one of them makes mistake or/and crashes.

[N.O.T]

not long before the event now and if it is dry we are going to have some good results to draw a conclusion... Lets hope they both have a trouble free run.

[rubla]

I personally hope it is wet because Juho prefers wet asphalt.

Remember SS2 from last rally - i would say Ott has some skills on wet too.

IMHO Juho would be stupid to take any risks in order to win in Germany. Martin Prokop is not quite up to Ott and Juho speed, so if Juho can keep Martin behind him, he is quite comfortable in terms of overall win. Going full speed against Tänak is just another gamble of who makes mistake first, and if it happens to be Juho, he may fall back in standings enaugh to give Ott chance he does not have at the moment.