[WRC] 86th Rallye Monte-Carlo 2018 (Jan 22-28)

[Mirek]

That's true. I forgot.

[A FONDO]

Luminy13 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qo7t0GobTEg
at 5:55 - no place is completely safe during Monte!

[er88]

Who knows, maybe you're right, but I still got amazed with all the talk around Citroen. Honestly, I didn’t hear Meeke saying anything about the car. SS1 mistake took him any podium chances and he was a quiet 5th (far from Lappi ahead and Bouffier behind) till Lappi’s issue; after it, a little off (SS12) and a probable spin on the last stage (Meeke mentioned engine stalled on a hairpin) made him not only loosing P4 but also having Evans much closer. Is all this on the car account?

Meeke got interviewed in regroup at the end of the day by Julian Porter, and said they really struggle on the slippery and trucky conditions. Says he should feel more comfortable in the car tomorrow as those roads are a lot more typical of a normal tarmac event, where the C3 has gone well in the past in drier conditions. Julian Porter then asked if there's any positives that the car is giving him up to now or whether he is just completely lost on the slippy conditions, and Meeke just replied that they've struggled all weekend and he'll see what they can do tomorrow.

If they can somehow get out of Monte with a 4th/5th place despite being miles off the pace, I'm sure they'd be pretty pleased with the result at least. Performnace wise they still have the same issues but if I'm correct, most of the 2018 upgrades aren't implemented till Mexico or after Mexico...

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[Sulland]

I thought Citroen had addressed the problems in the last months, but Loeb said in his interview today that the C3 is only good on dry tarmac and was hard to drive on gravel. He didnt sound confident of any success .

What chance does Meeke have...

I would like to see the 2018 C3 in sweden and mexico before we can see if they have made the C3 better.
I am afraid that Loeb is right, and that the C3 issues on the loose are fundamental, and not easy to fix.

Not sure if PSA sport have pinpointed the issues, and have a plan, or if they have given up, and comes with new car in 19.

[Rally Power]

Meeke got interviewed in regroup at the end of the day by Julian Porter, and said they really struggle on the slippery and trucky conditions.

I missed that one, but haven’t all drivers on this MC been saying the same? Maybe the car isn't totally fixed yet (like you said, major upgrades will appear on Mexico) but I believe SS1 setback is the main reason for his low confidence (just like in Germany). Still, it’d be great to see him proving otherwise, by beating Lappi and Evans tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

[Eli]

I would like to see the 2018 C3 in sweden and mexico before we can see if they have made the C3 better.
I am afraid that Loeb is right, and that the C3 issues on the loose are fundamental, and not easy to fix.

Not sure if PSA sport have pinpointed the issues, and have a plan, or if they have given up, and comes with new car in 19.

Imho if they've given up, I don't think they would bother with spending extra money on developing a new car for 2019, I think it was mentioned here somewhere that the 2018 budget for the team is already tighter than it was in 2017 so....fingers crossed we will see the 2 chevrons symbol next year!!

[A FONDO]

I would like to see the 2018 C3 in sweden and mexico before we can see if they have made the C3 better.
I am afraid that Loeb is right, and that the C3 issues on the loose are fundamental, and not easy to fix.

Not sure if PSA sport have pinpointed the issues, and have a plan, or if they have given up, and comes with new car in 19.

Tell you in advance, they've always been poor in Sweden. Loeb's input in Mexico should reveal (at least in their private telemetry) whether the problem is in the car or in Ireland. Would probably be useful to adopt Sordo to help develop the car. Solution is obvious - design new chassis based on Peugeot. But it needs a big budget.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Meeke said at one stage end he felt "completely lost"... I think that sums up him and Citroen.

[er88]

I missed that one, but haven’t all drivers been saying the same? Maybe the car isn't totally fixed yet (like you said, major upgrades will appear on Mexico) but I believe SS1 setback is the main reason for his low confidence (just like in Germany). Still, it’d be great to see him proving otherwise, by beating Lappi and Evans tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

The interview is around the 14minute mark in the last studio section of the All Live coverage today, if you want to watch it mate. He still sounded downbeat what with being so far off the pace, and the complaints about struggling in the tricky conditions is just more of the same that we've heard over and over from Meeke, Mikkelsen and Loeb with the car . But the fact both Meeke and Nagle have said they think the car should perform much better tomorrow is a good sign. Should mean we will see a good battle for that 4th place and hopefully Meeke, Lappi and Evans all keep it on the road.

If Meeke can get out of here with a 4th or 5th place and some power stage pts (and do the same in Sweden even if they struggle there again too), at least it'd give him a better platform to build on for the season ahead than having 0pts after two events like last year.

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[danon]

Poor Meek at 4:10... the end is near!

The champ dream is about to fade away soon.
For good!

https://youtu.be/7pA1T1jhaDQ?t=250