[WRC] News & rumours (part IV) 2016

[Franky]

Will we start seeing Saturday mid-day superspecials?

[Simmi]

Will we start seeing Saturday mid-day superspecials?

Probably - bit like the Australia stuff.

[Simmi]

DMACK Tyres ‏@DMACK_Tyres
I know many people are waiting on our plans for 2017. They won’t be announced today, so stand down. Still a few things left to sort out.

Longer to wait.

[Simmi]

Okay finally caught up with Motorsport News this week and some interesting stuff in there from David Evans.

- Malcolm Wilson shot down talk of Ford officially returning to the WRC - even though they had Henry Ford III in Cumbria with other Ford Performance heads last week. "That's not on the cards, not in any way, shape or form. But that doesn't mean we won't stop trying to persuade them!"

- Ogier tested in Sweden and now heads on holiday. Monte testing in the New Year

- MN reporting that Dmack will run as the third M-Sport points-scoring entry. So I guess the FIA were willing to bend on tyre supply. They also say Elfyn was due to sign early this week (not sure that happened?). No mention of a second car. Dmack also won't field a team in the BRC for what it's worth.

- Article says Mikkelsen had been ready to sign with M-Sport before Ogier committed. His management have been in talks with Dmack (maybe why they have still not announced Elfyn?).

- Reiteration that private VW talks have stalled. 15 million to run a pair of cars in 2017 is what VW quoted. Non-negotiable apparently. Qatar can't/won't pay that.

[EstWRC]

Okay finally caught up with Motorsport News this week and some interesting stuff in there from David Evans.

- Article says Mikkelsen had been ready to sign with M-Sport before Ogier committed. His management have been in talks with Dmack (maybe why they have still not announced Elfyn?).

i can confirm this, you can hear Malcolm saying it himself in this interview with estonian radio http://heli.er.ee/helid/2858401.mp3

the interview starts at 19:00 minute mark.

[EstWRC]

Makinen: Ogier was right to turn down Toyota http://www.motorsport.com/wrc/news/m...toyota-859532/


"I can say, when he tested with us, we did it on a particularly misleading piece of asphalt.

[Simmi]

Makinen: Ogier was right to turn down Toyota http://www.motorsport.com/wrc/news/m...toyota-859532/


"I can say, when he tested with us, we did it on a particularly misleading piece of asphalt.

Sounds like Toyota didn't exactly roll the red carpet out for Ogier. Reports they were slow in picking up the phone after VW news broke. Clearly didn't push the boat out to give Seb the best-possible testing conditions. Basically the opposite of what Malcolm did. And you see the result.

[samWRC]

Makinen: Ogier was right to turn down Toyota http://www.motorsport.com/wrc/news/m...toyota-859532/


"I can say, when he tested with us, we did it on a particularly misleading piece of asphalt.

I don't think so Tommi

[N.O.T]

Tommi did not want Ogier because his finnish joke of a team had already a deal with latvala, for the simple fact that jouhki wanted one of his neverbeen nobodies to have a salary payed by the autistic japanese bosses.

[stefanvv]

Makinen: Ogier was right to turn down Toyota http://www.motorsport.com/wrc/news/m...toyota-859532/

He sounds a bit arrogant to me.