Loriaux:Only Manufacturers' Championship possible!

[Psycho!]

http://www.eurosport.fr/rallye/rallye-de-norvege/2009/meilleur-meme-en-2cv_sto1847402/story.shtml
Christian Loriaux says that Ford has only chances for the Magnufacturers.....Even if it is true I think that his words downgrade not only Hirvonen,but his own work as well....Your thoughts???

[A.F.F.]

A wake up call for Mikko ??

However, a professional statement from a professional. Only a fool would serously think Mikko can win a rally this year.

But if Latvala does his job, Ford has a chance of getting the manu title.

[Psycho!]

But if Latvala does his job
He didn't in Norway..... :rolleyes:

[AndyRAC]

At least he's being honest, probably too honest. But a realist as well.

He's probably right - with the favouring of gravel this year - you would expect the Ford team to outscore Citroen. Unless Dani gets his finger out, and surprises us all.

[N.O.T]

Well Hirvonen quits too easy thats his problem....if he sees he cannot match Loeb in 2-3 stages he quits and goes for the secure points....nothing wrong with that but none likes a quiter.

[Lousada]

If Loeb wins every rally and Hirvonen finishes second all the time, Latvala has to outscore Sordo by 26 points. Currently he is 5 behind so that means for the remaining rounds he has to average +3 points every rally. With only 8 pointscorers at the moment I think this will be nearly impossible.

[MrJan]

Unless we see something happen to Loeb (as with Schumacher a few years back, 2002 maybe??) then he is sadly right. Mikko and the Focus just aren't a strong enough pacakge. However without Loeb in the seat then I can't see Sordo being good enough across a whole season to outpace Hirvo.

[Fischer]

Well Hirvonen quits too easy thats his problem....if he sees he cannot match Loeb in 2-3 stages he quits and goes for the secure points....nothing wrong with that but none likes a quiter.

How easy it is to talk from the sideline, perhaps you can do a better job than Hirvonen in beating Loeb?

[Camelopard]

Well I would have thought that this would have been obvious, budget wise M-Sport is never going to be able to compete against an official manufacturer's entry, especially one that is being bailed out by the French taxpayer to the tune of billions of dollars.

http://www.autobloggreen.com/2009/02/11/french-automakers-get-11-8-billion-bailout/

Lets be realistic, there isn't another driver out there at the moment in a comparable car who is going to have a consistent chance of beating loeb, even his team mate doesn't stand a chance.

[Kaps]

Well I would have thought that this would have been obvious, budget wise M-Sport is never going to be able to compete against an official manufacturer's entry, especially one that is being bailed out by the French taxpayer to the tune of billions of dollars.

http://www.autobloggreen.com/2009/02/11/french-automakers-get-11-8-billion-bailout/

Lets be realistic, there isn't another driver out there at the moment in a comparable car who is going to have a consistent chance of beating loeb, even his team mate doesn't stand a chance.

True! Loeb's just too good!

And with so much gravel rallies, manu' title is the best Ford could hope for.

And that's all there is to it!

[mjh]

Mikko was very close in Finland. At the end of the rally Seb and Olivier both said it had been a very close fight.
Latvala did exactly as he was supposed to do - held the next position behind the teams number one driver. Where was Sordo again? Ah yes, back in 5th, 4 spots behind this team leader and 20seconds off Henning in the inferior Ford inferior manufacturer team car.
The Focus is close enough to beat the C4. Hirvonen and Latvala are both fast enough (on gravel) to beat Loeb. Sordo will have to try very hard to keep pace with them. Henning seems to have good form so far too. Add Petter into the mix - especially if he gets a C4 to replace the Xsara- and it is not unlikely that the Hirvonen/Latvala could accrue more points than Loeb / Sordo.

I hope this year will see a close fight for both championships.

[Psycho!]

Mikko was very close in Finland. At the end of the rally Seb and Olivier both said it had been a very close fight.
Latvala did exactly as he was supposed to do - held the next position behind the teams number one driver. Where was Sordo again? Ah yes, back in 5th, 4 spots behind this team leader and 20seconds off Henning in the inferior Ford inferior manufacturer team car.
The Focus is close enough to beat the C4. Hirvonen and Latvala are both fast enough (on gravel) to beat Loeb. Sordo will have to try very hard to keep pace with them. Henning seems to have good form so far too. Add Petter into the mix - especially if he gets a C4 to replace the Xsara- and it is not unlikely that the Hirvonen/Latvala could accrue more points than Loeb / Sordo.

I hope this year will see a close fight for both championships.
Exactly!!!Remember last year...Sardinia,Turkey,Argentina,Acropolis,Japan,G B...Ford was not so much behind(letting apart any problems).They were close to be equal.... ;)

[JFL]

I think the issue here is the cars! From my point of view it does'nt look like S.Loeb need to be on the edge all the time to win stages! I think Latvala and Hirvonen push harder, but its often not enough! A pretty good example of a guy who pushed his vehicle to the limit, all the time is Petter Solberg! And what did that do? If lucky top 3 times, or unlucky off the road, or car failure..

[Psycho!]

All the discussions in terms of performance have started since Loeb won Norway.So,why everybody doesn't take into account that Loeb has improved on snow,and blame the cars??Remember NZ 2007.Two equal drivers had no gaps in time...Using our logic this means that the cars were equal as well...

Citroen have been working on C4 since 2005(I think).They were waiting for 3 years(2008) to unlock the complete performance of the car??I doupt so....

[JFL]

equal cars? You got to be kidding. :) haha..
If Loeb is just as superior in the s2000+ class I'll shut up.. He will be on top, but not like now! Others will also be there...

[Brother John]

equal cars? You got to be kidding. :) haha..
If Loeb is just as superior in the s2000+ class I'll shut up.. He will be on top, but not like now! Others will also be there...


I agree but take away the + from S2000, or Citroën makes again a car especially built for Loeb. :rolleyes:

And what Christian Loriaux says, is that good for the promotion of the WRC? I don´t think so.
He proves that he talking B*llsh!t to the press.
He proves that he don´t care about rally fans.
He must only proofs at Citroën each year himself to keep his job.

[Lousada]

So if the Citroen is so much better, that means Hirvonen and Latvala are better drivers than Loeb? The gaps are often very close and according to you that's 100% the cars doing.
Hilarious.

[JFL]

you just wait and see... :) Nothing is 100%. But maybe Latvala and Hirvonen try a little harder..

[Karukera]

Indeed, hilarious if not lame excuses but nice compliments to Citroën, i'm sure they appreciate. :s tare:

Apart for being naive or angry for some reasons, there's absolutely no ground to definitely assert which car is faster or better.

They're overally equal, each having its own advantage in some particular area.

What is obvious is that both Ford Focus and Citroën C4 are fantastic rally cars living up to the highest expections of the current best drivers of the championship + Grönholm at the time he drove it and probably to a few more names like P.Solberg, PGA...(fill in the gap) had they the chance to drive them.

[COD]

Finally someone from inside the team has some realism...

[bt52b]

Ford also need to get strategy right more often. Mikko was on the wrong tyres for first loop of Rally Ireland, while JML pushed to hard on the right tyres. They could have been a minute up after the first loop there if they had got their act together.

JML for the rest of the year is likely to be reined in to make sure he finishes with solid points. Mikko cannot screwup anywhere if he is to have any chance.

Wonder will Citroen help Atko and Petter more?

[Sulland]

We are only to round 2, so there is still a lot left to be honest !

[JFL]

Indeed, hilarious if not lame excuses but nice compliments to Citroën, i'm sure they appreciate. :s tare:

Apart for being naive or angry for some reasons, there's absolutely no ground to definitely assert which car is faster or better.

They're overally equal, each having its own advantage in some particular area.

What is obvious is that both Ford Focus and Citroën C4 are fantastic rally cars living up to the highest expections of the current best drivers of the championship + Grönholm at the time he drove it and probably to a few more names like P.Solberg, PGA...(fill in the gap) had they the chance to drive them.

Maybe we can ask Andreas Mikkelsen witch car was the best? He tried them both. And he also made a honest answer, when asked witch was the best!