New to WRC--How should I watch and what should I watch for

[MrJan]

One key thing to learn is that N.O.T is a bit outspoken and doesn't necessarily agree with people...he can come across as a bit of a ballbag.

Here are a couple of pretty straight forward question: Can a brilliant rally car make an average driver champion? Conversely, can a brilliant driver win a championship with an average car?

I can't think of the last time that a driver won the championship who you could consider 'average', but there are certainly some who have been flattered by their car. Likewise they need a decent car to win, and some could do better with the right car, but I can't think of someone who I've thought "they should have won the championship instead of x", at least not in recent memory. That said the best drivers have generally been in the best cars for the last decade or so. This year may be the year that it happens though, Ogier is an outstanding driver but to an extent the new cars are a bit unknown so the Fiesta may not be the best of the pack.

Can Toyota get some good results? Possibly, it's difficult to say until the first rally, they've been putting a lot of testing in and probably have better mileage on their car than M-Sport...but M-Sport have the experience. Personally I think that Hyundai might have a good shot, they've been quick at some events this year and have a good team, Paddon is a quick driver and Neuville can be quick when his mind is in the right place and the car isn't wrapped around a tree. Of course the smart money would have been on VW, but then they decided to spend the money on legal cases so we'll never really know how good (or bad) the Polo was.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Still researching, and gaining a solid understanding of this sport day by day.....In preparing for Monte Carlo, I have heard references to teams sending a passenger car out on the course to assess conditions. In Monte, specifically looking for ice/snow. Does this happen daily during any rally, or is this practice exclusive to ice/snow races?

This happens on all events with non-sealed surfaces - the team have assistants they call 'gravel crews'. For Monte they have 'ice note crews'. These guys go through the stage nearer to the start time of the stages to check for any changes since the crew did their pacenote recce.

[Marcco]

Here are a couple of pretty straight forward question: Can a brilliant rally car make an average driver champion? Conversely, can a brilliant driver win a championship with an average car?

Of course a good driver can make some good result with average car, and vise versa, average driver can make some good results with good car - depending on who is good at what. But I will dare to say that rally driver is a bit more important part of whole package (driver+car+team) compared to other motorsports.

[N.O.T]

I am the best thing ever happened to humanity since ice cream was invented.

Now you can take everything i say lightly and have fun accepting me as your eternal dear leader, or you can take things i say seriously and resort to autistic screeching like some people in here which i always find amusing.

now back to your questions.

[Franky]

Guys, you seem to be living in the past regarding the note/gravel crews. From the FIA regulations:

11.5.1 For sections of a rally run entirely on asphalt, one route note car may be used for each driver entered with a World Rally car.

[Revman]

I am the best thing ever happened to humanity since ice cream was invented.

Now you can take everything i say lightly and have fun accepting me as your eternal dear leader, or you can take things i say seriously and resort to autistic screeching like some people in here which i always find amusing.

now back to your questions.

You are awesome! I appreciate a person who stands for something! I take your comments the correct way. All good. Thank you again for all of the information. Extremely helpful. I feel prepared for Monte Carlo. Working on Sweden right now. I take my motorsports seriously.

[Revman]

Was Ogier's decision to go with M-Sport a surprise?....and what does that say about the other manufacturers given that it seems he had his pick? Didn't he drive all of the cars?

[MrJan]

Was Ogier's decision to go with M-Sport a surprise?....and what does that say about the other manufacturers given that it seems he had his pick? Didn't he drive all of the cars?

Haven't paid much attention but thought he only drove the Fiesta and the Yaris. I was a bit surprised by the move tbh. M-Sport isn't a huge budget outift (they do pretty well but not on a par with Citroen and Hyundai) so not sure how Malcolm (Wilson) can cover the salary. Secondly he's the type of driver I can imagine Wilson falling out with. Also the Fiesta has been a poor car in recent years, unable to get close to the Polo regularly and even struggling against the 'private' DS3 on some events, although they didn't exactly have a great set of drivers. Personally I thought that Ogier would pursue another form of the sport, but I guess he wants to surpass Loeb.

[Revman]

How is the order chosen for each stage....It would seem that the deeper into a stage, the more conditions change, the more unpredictable things become....

[N.O.T]

How is the order chosen for each stage....It would seem that the deeper into a stage, the more conditions change, the more unpredictable things become....

staring order is an issue that is discussed all the time and the rules never stay constant.

for 2017 the championship leader starts day 1 first, the second in the standings afterwards and so on... but on day 2 and 3 the top 15 start in reverse so the person who is 15th starts first and so on...

this is mainly due to the fact that gravel stages have a layer of soft gravel on top and the first few cars (usually 4-5 but depends on the rally) act as sweepers losing time (in some rallies it can be as worse as 1-2 seconds per km). On tarmac running first does not give you any handicap but the drivers following can gain a bit of time by following the lines of the driver ahead and seeing his braking points.

however running first on a gravel stage can be a benefit as well when you have lots of rain a mud because by corner cutting you bring more mud into the road making it more slippery for the ones following. On tarmac rallies with lots of cornber cutting like spain and germany the one running first also has an advantage because it brings more gravel onto the road.