2022 WRC News & Rumours

[mknight]

I can't agree - there literally isn't any other choice for customers. Whether the car is 11th by paydriver or Loeb winning isn't swaying anyone's decision to go Rally1 or not. Whether it has mechanical failures might.

As I wrote if customers see the Rally1 car has no chance vs competition they won't pay. Pretty much like it was in 2021.

Instead they go to Rally2 and stay there. Gryazin is a case in point, he even tested Fiesta in Arctic 2021, then by the end of the year after driving Fiesta Rally2 (and seeing MSport) went to Toksport Fabia instead. Other people with money seems to be following similar route (for example Bulacia(s)).
On the other hand Loubet seemed to go for Puma first after he saw how well it went in Monte this year.

They hired Breen because he was free (as suggested on here) and they needed somebody, anybody, to just turn up and not consistently crash or embarrass them - the Fourmaux deal came too late in the hour. Can discuss Breen vs A.N Other but at the time, no Breen = no Gus, Rockdoor, Huttunen, Loubet, Serderidis, Bertelli, Red Bull... Loeb came via the promoter like a customer, M-Sport didn't ring him. There's no championship charge expectations anywhere, there's no risky strategy, there's no number one driver...

MSport PR talks very different, but sure it's PR. I find it very hard to believe that Ford would put any money into new car with "no plans and no expectation" as you put it. We have seen the promo at Goodwood last year.

Your own post basically contradicts the notion of "there is no number one driver". Millener does as well when he says Breen was hired to get results (podiums or wins).

[WRCStan]

Your own post basically contradicts the notion of "there is no number one driver".

Not in the context of recent pages of this thread. Being unsackable in Greece for example, doesn't sound much crumbling pressure.

All the statements and press are a part of obliging their commercial partners, I'm surprised the brains and experience here take it all at face value.

[svstock]

WRC+ newsletter (23.08.2022)

(if you want to win, hire a Finn)

[bandit12]

WRC+ newsletter (23.08.2022)

(if you want to win, hire a Finn)

And your point is?

[tr4m]

And your point is?

While he drives like one, Ott's not actually Finn.

[manthey]

Maybe Cais (yet MSport) could be one?

Does Loubet has funding on its own (as Greensmith) or by sponsor?

Inviato dal mio ELE-L29 utilizzando Tapatalk

[Danny0405]

Maybe Cais (yet MSport) could be one?

Does Loubet has funding on its own (as Greensmith) or by sponsor?

Inviato dal mio ELE-L29 utilizzando Tapatalk

Even if the father Yves (former ERC champion and 4x WRC podiums) has some facilities to find budget for his son (Qatar in the past for example), it is not personal money but sponsorship for Loubet. Currently, he is in the last of his 3 years plan with an French investor to help him to reach durably WRC.
However, it is not sure it will be renewed (not the primary plan normally).
All the more that there is a bit of a question mark about his true potential: he begins his rally career with WRC directly (or almost) so he has already made 75% of his starts there (more than 50). For me, he has some kind of advantages on international experience compared with some other young drivers so not sure his potential is that incredible (for example, personally I would not switch Solberg to Loubet but I would be really thinking on the contrary if I was M-Sport).
But still, he may find some other backing.

For Cais, considering his season, no way he can be in Rally1; too weak still on gravel with a calendar less and less tarmac-oriented, don’t see how he could finish better than Fourmaux in this situation.
Atm, only reasonable youngsters with no WRC experience are IMO Rossel, Lindholm or Huttunen (well, forgetting in outside WRC RC1 drive and his Finland outing).
Gryazin has the speed but I don’t see how it could finish better than Novikov (and the Russian context cannot help). And Ingram, for the moment, is not really able to play RC2 podiums (or is a bit short for it).
All the rest is too far in RC2 today to play in Rally1.

[manthey]

Even if the father Yves (former ERC champion and 4x WRC podiums) has some facilities to find budget for his son (Qatar in the past for example), it is not personal money but sponsorship for Loubet. Currently, he is in the last of his 3 years plan with an French investor to help him to reach durably WRC.
However, it is not sure it will be renewed (not the primary plan normally).
All the more that there is a bit of a question mark about his true potential: he begins his rally career with WRC directly (or almost) so he has already made 75% of his starts there (more than 50). For me, he has some kind of advantages on international experience compared with some other young drivers so not sure his potential is that incredible (for example, personally I would not switch Solberg to Loubet but I would be really thinking on the contrary if I was M-Sport).
But still, he may find some other backing.

For Cais, considering his season, no way he can be in Rally1; too weak still on gravel with a calendar less and less tarmac-oriented, don’t see how he could finish better than Fourmaux in this situation.
Atm, only reasonable youngsters with no WRC experience are IMO Rossel, Lindholm or Huttunen (well, forgetting in outside WRC RC1 drive and his Finland outing).
Gryazin has the speed but I don’t see how it could finish better than Novikov (and the Russian context cannot help). And Ingram, for the moment, is not really able to play RC2 podiums (or is a bit short for it).
All the rest is too far in RC2 today to play in Rally1.

Thanks for the info.
Is FFSA backing the 3 year program you cited?

Inviato dal mio ELE-L29 utilizzando Tapatalk

[AnttiL]

For Cais, considering his season, no way he can be in Rally1; too weak still on gravel with a calendar less and less tarmac-oriented, don’t see how he could finish better than Fourmaux in this situation.
Atm, only reasonable youngsters with no WRC experience are IMO Rossel, Lindholm or Huttunen (well, forgetting in outside WRC RC1 drive and his Finland outing).
Gryazin has the speed but I don’t see how it could finish better than Novikov (and the Russian context cannot help). And Ingram, for the moment, is not really able to play RC2 podiums (or is a bit short for it).
All the rest is too far in RC2 today to play in Rally1.

Yes, definitely, need to get more solid WRC2 starts on all surfaces and rally types.

It's a weird situation with people like Greensmith, Fourmaux, Loubet, Katsuta and Solberg in Rally1 when they should maybe still be in WRC2, and on the contrary people like Mikkelsen, Östberg, Suninen and Paddon sitting in WRC2 waiting for Rally1 seats. As for new drivers, I would say Huttunen is the top choice. Lindholm and Rossel are not ready yet. I can't see Gryazin progressing into a main team right now even with a big bag of money.

[AnttiL]

Stuff from Kristian Sohlberg's twitch stream

- Neuville blamed his gravel crew driver Bruno Thiry for not marking the gravel in his Ypres crash corner (can someone check what the co-driver says for this corner?) and as a result Thiry god mad and went home before Sunday. And Thiry had been already close to leaving earlier in the season.
- When Breen crashed, the leaders didn't speak to him, just sent nasty text messages. He's being treated as bad as Suninen in 2021 and it seems the intention is to make him leave the team.
- Katsuta is expected to have two podiums this year (regarding the news posted after Ypres)
- Tänak had said about Neuville's "mind games" on Ypres Sunday morning that "I remember this guy called Ogier once tried the same but didn't work then either". The two are reportedly not on that good terms in the team.
- He would have given Gus only 2/10 for reasons that happened after his crash but he didn't want to mention in detail
- Tänak is "for sure not going to Toyota"
- There are strong rumors of crew changes at Hyundai for next year
- Huttunen's engine was leaking(?) oil already in the tests

https://www.rallit.fi/mm-rallin-sisa...a-katseltavaa/

More of the stuff, especially relating to Breen, written word for word if you want to try it with translator.