2018 Teams

[mknight]

Well it must have been a no-brainer.

Contract with Hyundai, possibly the fastest or one of the two fastest cars
or
Wait if Citroen does not get Ogier for a chance to help them fixed their car.

[Gregor-y]

However, I'm 50/50 between Ogier going to Citroen or staying at M-Sport by some surprising solution for funding.

If there's any truth to Citroen having Loeb around - even if only for a few events - would Ogier go there, too? I think Citroen will need at least one of them to create some confidence for fans and sponsors.

[er88]

If there's any truth to Citroen having Loeb around - even if only for a few events - would Ogier go there, too?

Yep.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

[tomhlord]

From Yves Matton: "“I think we are more than two [interested parties] and the more you are, the more complicated things can be." - M-Sport, Citroen and.....?

https://www.motorsport-news.co.uk/ne...-for-2018-wrc/

Also, nothing decided before Spain as originally envisioned.

[AnttiL]

So if Ogier stays at M-Sport it means less new seats for newcomers like Suninen and Tidemand, because then Citroen will just use the current lineup.

[AnttiL]

Why is that a bad thing? Because none of them are from Nordic countries?

Did I say it is a bad thing? We could add Eric Camilli to the list as well.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

It's looking more and more like Ogier to Citroen. I think they will come to some arrangement as they really need him to give them any chance of fighting for future Championships.

[Tarmop]

Well, something is quite definitely going on. The gossip about a "surprising" news about Detroit meeting etc.

But, Ford are quitting. Damn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnVWinRg1es

"Ford will not be continuing their rallycross program for the 2018 race season. And because of that, my time with the team is over at the end of this year." Andreas Bakkerud

"To continue in WRX would have required the development of a new race car."
http://performance.ford.com/series/r...x-program.html

Or they really are going to stop F.P. activities in EU.

[dimviii]

What is Sebastien Ogier doing in 2018 and beyond? This question has occupied the rally world championship for weeks. The Frenchman emphasized several times that he would like to stay with M-Sport, but demanded vehement factory support by Ford. Because this is still not in sight, Ogier also negotiates with other teams, especially with Citroën they were rolled publicly in the last days the red carpet.
In France they even renounced Andreas Mikkelsen and put everything on the Ogier card, but this could turn out to be a mistake. Behind the scenes it is rumored that there have been problems between Citroën main sponsor Abu Dhabi and Ogier partner Red Bull. Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi has funded the team since 2013, after the Austrian shower giant had adopted the direction of Volkswagen.

Not only for this reason, Red Bull could play an important role in a change from Ogier to Hyundai. The team's team-mate Michel Nandan had emphasized that there was no place for Ogier in his team, as all three drivers (Thierry Neuville, Hayden Paddon and Dani Sordo) had a contract for all the World Cup runs in 2018. How fast but one is set before the door, may experience Hayden Paddon this weekend, which had to make place for the surprising new entry Andreas Mikkelsen.
In Wales you will compete with four cars and plans with this solution also in the coming year, if the Ogier coup succeeds in 2018, a current driver must go ahead. The reinforcement of the driver's wagon would be a costly affair, but it seems feasible with the new support from Red Bull.
"At this time of the season everyone is talking to everyone and it is clear that we are also negotiating with the world champions," Hyundai team manager Alain Penasse explained on demand. However, the Belgian does not see a short-term Ogier change. "For 2018, our drivers are firmly on the ground. However, will be open for the future future. "


https://www.rallye-magazin.de/wrc/ar...ueberraschung/

[AnttiL]

Absolute Rally talked earlier about a possible clash between Red Bull and Abu Dhabi sponsorships if Ogier was going to Citroen. Matton also said there's more than two teams interested in Ogier so maybe Hyundai is the third one? But like stated above, they have enough drivers for 2018.