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Thread: 2018 Teams

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    Senior Member AnttiL's Avatar
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    2018 Teams

    OK, I'll start a new thread for all confirmed contracts and speculations.

    Confirmed contracts

    Citroen
    - Meeke
    - Breen (MC, Swe, Arg, Por, Ita, Fin, Tur, Ger, GB, Aus)
    - Loeb (Mex, Fra, Ger)
    - Al-Qassimi
    - Østberg (Swe)

    Hyundai
    - Neuville
    - Paddon (Swe, Por, Ita, Fin, Tur, GB, Aus)
    - Sordo (MC, Mex, Fra, Arg, Por, Ger, Spa)
    - Mikkelsen

    Toyota
    - Latvala
    - Lappi
    - Tänak

    M-Sport
    - Ogier
    - Evans
    - Suninen (Swe, Mex, Por, Ita, Fin, Tur, GB, Spa)
    - Bouffier (MC, Fra)
    - Serderidis (Ger, Aus)

    Privateers
    - Østberg (Arg + 1)
    - Bertelli (1 event)

    Citroen WRC2
    - Lefebvre

    M-Sport WRC2
    - Camilli
    - Suninen (MC, Ger)
    - Greensmith

    Skoda WRC2
    - Tidemand
    - Kopecky
    - Veiby
    - Nordgren
    - Rovanperä (MC, Mex, Arg, Fin, Ger, GB, Spa, Aus)
    Last edited by AnttiL; 2nd February 2018 at 13:21.

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    Senior Member AnttiL's Avatar
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    Speculation from Toyota thread:

    Quote Originally Posted by mknight View Post
    I wasn't able to find how long Tanak has contract at M-Sport.

    What I could find is that at Hyundai all 3 have contract up to end of 2018.

    Meeke and Breen have up to end of 2018.
    Lefevbre I do not know.

    Evans I do not know, prbly 1 year?
    Ogier has 1 year.
    Tanak don't know.

    Latvala 1 year I think.
    Hanninen and Lappi 1 year.

    Of the free drivers there is Mikkelsen and then Sunninen (due to age, speed and performance also on tarmac) , Camili kinda unlikely, maybe Østberg, dunno about other likely candidates.

    Now is the time when deals are starting to be made and typically are signed around Finland (but published first at the end of season). Some drivers will have real pressure on them in Poland, most notably Lefevbre and Hanninen.

    Let's speculate on the possible moves:

    Ogier to Toyota (more likely) or Citroen
    Tanak to Toyota is imo not so likely, but possible.
    Evans imo stays where he is. (good performance, but not so good that other teams will be very interested). Possibly 2 car deal with Østberg?

    Latvala and Lappi will stay at Toyota.
    Hanninen most likely out.
    Sunninen limited program at Toyota.

    Meeke either stays or out, all depends on Finland and car development. I certainly cant see other teams picking him. (crashes, seemingly can't develop a car)
    Breen stays.

    Lefevbre prbly reduced program if they can get someone else.

    Mikkelsen to Citroen (if he feels the car can be driveable), to Toyota (if they don't get Ogier) or to Ford (if Ogier moves elsewhere).
    Quote Originally Posted by AnttiL View Post
    Hard to say about Suninen before he gets to drive the WRC car in Poland and Finland, but he could be a contender for the DMack Fiesta? And when will Tidemand step up to WRC class? Tänak could be M-Sport's number one driver? I'd guess Toyota holds onto Lappi and he's happy to continue there. I'd love to see Mikkelsen or Tänak in the Toyota. Finally, it's hard to say anything before we know which all teams are in next year.
    Quote Originally Posted by EstWRC View Post
    Tänak has a contract until the of this year. as far the info i have got, Tänak himself wanted to go to Toyota last year but as we know Wilson had the "first right" to keep him and that was it.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Rallyper View Post
    So Toyota six car team and Ford one car team then?
    It's all about the money.

    Toyota is a manufacturer that looks to have big budget and has shown speed and most notably real improvement.

    M-sport typically makes very good cars when they first come out, but over a few seasons it can't keep up the development while at sametime focusing on selling cars to customers and making ends meet.

    Sure if Ford comes back it will be up there with Toyota as very attractive.

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    Senior Member Allez Andruet's Avatar
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    Will be intresting to see how everything plays out.

    Toyota:
    I think all three (or atleast Latvala and Lappi) might actually have longer contracts with the team than what has been announced publicly. Will Toyota continue as a three-car team in 2018 or will they bring in fourth and maybe even fifth car to some events? Tänak, I think, might be a strong candidate and would fit well into team. Neither Ogier nor Mikkelsen will be seen @ TGR, mark my words.

    Citroen:
    Yes, Meeke has a contract for 2018 but you just have to wonder (after what we've seen during the past couple of days) does it mean anything? The team must go all-in for Ogier.

    Hyundai:
    Will most likely continue as-is.

    M-Sport:
    The real wild card here. What's gonna happen? Is Ford coming back or not? Will Ogier stay or not? Will they lose Tänak as well? If yes, who are they gonna go with? Evans? Suninen? Östberg?

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    Citroen imo needs Ogier (preferably) or at least Mikkelsen to stand a chance next year.

    MSport could be a good bet for next year for someone like Mikkelsen or Tanak because Ogier will probably leave a pretty good car so while it may not develop as fast as others I think it could still be competitive next year.

    I think Tanak could end up at Toyota, both he and Makkinen have indicated that they would like to make the deal. Hanninen will probably be dropped to occasional appearances or just testing. Another question about Toyota is how many cars will they have and what they will do with the two Japanese young guns.

    it could look something like this:
    Hyundai: Neuville, Sordo, Paddon
    Toyota: Latvala, Lappi, Tanak
    Citroen: Meeke, Breen, Ogier
    MSport: Evans, Sunninen, Mikkelsen

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    Senior Member AL14's Avatar
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    I never guess anything but I am pretty sure we will see Ogier at Hyundai next year.

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    I forgot the Latvala factor when mentioning Ogier at Toyota, it clearly didn't work for him to be in same team in VW.

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    Senior Member Andre Oliveira's Avatar
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    Ogier will stay at Ford with Tänak. Third could be Camilli or Suninen.

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    Senior Member KiwiWRCfan's Avatar
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    In an interview with an Italian website today Tommi Makinen talks about Esapekka Lappi being the long term future of Toyota. Expect a multi year contract to announced soon https://it.motorsport.com/wrc/news/t...futuro-917722/
    https://twitter.com/KiwiWRCfan adding a fans perspective to Twitter

  10. Likes: AnttiL (13th June 2017)
  11. #10
    Senior Member Watson's Avatar
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    It's really pointless to speculate before we know if Ford come back. If they don't Ogier will certainly leave and Tanak might. If they do they will both stay and [Ford] would probably keep Evans too (he is most certainly quicker than Camilli and they would probably prepare a fourth car for Suninen, Mikkelsen would certainly not fit in the team anymore and would be needed more elsewhere).
    Last edited by Watson; 13th June 2017 at 12:30.

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