2019 Crystall Ball Predictions

[KiwiWRCfan]

5 predictions per person (please exercise some self-discipline in sticking to just 5)
[EDIT - predictions need to be specific/measurable e.g. AnttiL's 4th prediction is a good example]
Award for most of 5 predictions correct
Honour for the most extreme prediction that turns out to be correct

Predictions close 10am French time on Thursday January 24th i.e. when Monte Carlo Shakedown begins

Tip - always shine your Crystal Ball to get clearer predictions

[KiwiWRCfan]

1 Pontus Tidemand to get at least 6 WRC starts
2 Monte, Sweden & Mexico will each have different winners
3 Seb Ogier will not add Argentina winner to his CV
4 Manufacturers and Drivers titles will both be decided in Australia again.
5 Esapekka Lappi will get his second career win

[Allez Andruet]

1 Kris Meeke unable to match the speed of Tänak and Latvala, and therefore has to settle for clear #3 role at Toyota
2 Thierry Neuville will not win the title in 2019
3 Teemu Suninen to score his first WRC win
4 Andreas Mikkelsen will not drive full season
5 Finland will be the fastest WRC rally ever (on avg. speed)

[TWRC]

1. Loeb to get more than one podium
2. Citroën, especially Lappi to do better than expected, and be consistently in or around podium places
3. Both titles to be decided on the last round
4. Katsuta will surprise everyone in a positive way
5. We will have at least one driver replaced during the season

[spiderem]

1 Hyundai to pull the plug at the end of the season
2 Driver and Manu titles decided before the last round
3 Latvala outpaced by Meeke
4 No new WRC winner
5 Ogier will not do every rounds

[AnttiL]

1. Tänak to be World champion but to win less stages per rally than in 2018 (70/13≈5.38)
2. In addition to Tidemand, five new drivers will make their competitive debut at the wheel of a 2017 WRC car at a WRC event
3. Eight drivers will do a complete season at the wheel of a WRC car – more than in 2017 or 2018 – although the total amount of works WRC starts per rally on average will be smaller.
4. Meeke will keep being Meeke – fast but inconsistent and prone to errors. To measure this I predict more stage wins but less overall points than Latvala
5. Meeke fans will keep throwing “will he be sacked now / why don't they sack him” comments to Ogier or Lappi if they retire a rally from a driving mistake

EDIT: changed #2 from two to five because I forgot there will always be gentlemen drivers.

[AnttiL]

5 Finland will be the fastest WRC rally ever (on avg. speed)

I seriously doubt this as the route will most likely be constructed on small roads like 2018 and there was a considerable drop from 2017 to 2018 (126 -> 122 km/h).

[able1]

1. Thierry Neuville will win Monte ahead of Ott Tanak while Citroens struggle
2.Tanak takes Sweden . 1-2 to Toyota
3.Loeb will win one event
4. Tanak repeats its Hat trick
5.Decider in australia once again

[deephouse]

1. WRC2 Pro will end after 2019 due to lack of entries.
2. Citroen will not win any title this year
3. Kris Meeke will shine in Toyota
4. Loeb will win Rally Chile
5. Neuville or Tanak will finally win the deserved title.

[Allez Andruet]

I seriously doubt this as the route will most likely be constructed on small roads like 2018 and there was a considerable drop from 2017 to 2018 (126 -> 122 km/h).

That was based on assumption that this year's route would be more 2017ish (when EP was 0,5 km/h from tying the record, I think?) than what we saw last year. But I know you know it much better, so now - in the unlikely scenario it would come into fruition - I probably have the strongest claim for "the most extreme prediction that turns out to be correct" award, if nothing else :D

[Allez Andruet]

4 Ogier will return to his whining (not winning) ways
Not to be an a-hole, but just about when the guy has not been winning?

[tommeke_B]

Not to be an a-hole, but just about when the guy has not been winning?
Ogier has the rare talent of being able to win and whine at the same time.

[dnb]

Toyota drivers to have a big rivalry (mostly) in the beginning of the year, no friendship can be seen in that team; quite the opposite in Citroen.
Citroen will have a third driver.
Breen and Ostberg will drive a WRC car, but not Paddon.
Mikkelsen still not impressive and it's his last season in Hyundai.
2019 is the start of Tanak's era (World Champion), hence French talk nonsense and try to ruin the championship.

[Mk2 RS2000]

1. Neuville will not win the WDC
2. Underperforming Hyundai driver/s will be benched or binned around mid-season as they endeavour to win the manufacturers championship
3. Drivers title will be decided in Australia
4. Manufacturers title will be decided in Australia
5. Hayden Paddon will return before the season ends

[Sulland]

1. Meeke will surprise us, with podiums.
2. Loeb will win again.
3. Hyundai will still struggle. Both with reliability and on asphalt.
4. Ogier and Lappi will create a winner.
5. Mikkelsen will drive a Ford in 2019.

[Mirek]

1. Meeke will surprise us.
2. Loeb will win again.
3. Hyundai will still struggle. Both with reliability and on asphalt.
4. Ogier and Lappi will create a winner.
5. Mikkelsen will drive a Ford in 2019.

Surprise whom? I can se all kind of predictions regarding him in this thread alone which clearly shows that people have very different opinions about him.

[Arwel Davies]

1 Tanak to win Drivers title
2 Hyundai to win manufacturers title
3 Loeb won’t win a rally
4 Breen and Paddon to be brought in at some point during the season
5 Citroen to finish last in the manufacturers table, despite Ogier winning 3 rallies.

[mknight]

I know this is a fun thread but this is like reading political party programs before elections:



2. Citroën, especially Lappi to do better than expected


There are people here that constantly write how he will be 7-8th in "the crap car", they quite likely they will be surprised. Others expect him to get another win this year, much harder to do better than that.


1. Meeke will surprise us.


Basically same problem, some people will be surprised if he keeps crashing, others if he is stable around 5th place.....

Without measurable quantity these "predictions" are pointless.

[TWRC]

I know this is a fun thread but this is like reading political party programs before elections:



There are people here that constantly write how he will be 7-8th in "the crap car", they quite likely they will be surprised. Others expect him to get another win this year, much harder to do better than that.



Basically same problem, some people will be surprised if he keeps crashing, others if he is stable around 5th place.....

Without measurable quantity these "predictions" are pointless.
Until I made my prediction, I think I only read that he will be clear 2nd to Ogier, and that basically he will be there only to help him by pulling over, etc. So I meant better than that, but you're right, my point wasn't clear enough, so updated it. ;)

[wia5958]

1 kris meeke wdc
2 citroen sack ogier
3 loeb wins 4 events
4 m sport win manu title
5 neuville says it was my fault

[Zeakiwi]

1) Toyota use Meeke &/ or Latvala as a 2nd day road sweeper for Tanak at more than 1 gravel event.

2) Calls for more 'on event' rally safety after incident (hope it does not happen)

3) Hyundai lifts all round performance after secretly drafting in new key engineer (and Loeb car tweaking) (to join the new team principal)

4) Both titles decided before Australia.

5) Citroen regret at the end of the 2019 season not having three cars for the entire year.

[Geemo90]

1. Latvala to have the strongest start to the year and lead the Championship for the first 4 rounds.
2. Suninen to almost win a rally, but crashes out of the lead on the Sunday.
3. Mikkelsen to regain his form this season and win 2 events.
4. Citroen to start slowly, but by the end of the year, have a car considered to be the best overall package after winning 3 events between Germany and Australia.
5. Tanak to win the title in Wales.

[tommeke_B]

1. Hyundai to find solutions for their set-up issues on tarmac and in Finland.
2. Fight between 4 drivers for the title.
3. Loeb doing more than the planned 6 events.
4. Co-driver will finally get a proper FIA trophy.
5. N.O.T. will find the true meaning of life and shall stop posting on this forum.

[AL14]

1. Hyundai to win one of the two WC.
2. The driver title decided at the last round once again.
3. Much more discussions on new techincal rules that will introduce electric or hybrid in the WRC.
4. Tanak giving EstWRC higher levels of anxiety and stress on sundays.
5. Neuville will stop giving percentages.

[stefanvv]

1. Both titles go to one team.
2. FIA rethinks starting order rules and returns QS for next year.
3. Hyundai still struggles with various issues.
4. Loeb won't do a back-flip.
5. Ford does better than expected and get 2 wins and few more podiums.

[EstWRC]

1. AL14 finally back on the forum and making good jokes and my mood good again.
2. Meeke being quite often the fastest Toyota, but due inconsistency and not understanding to back off sometimes, still finishes the season as third number.
3. Loeb arriving at Hyundai and being immediately faster than their full time drivers, saying that nothing is wrong with that car. Therefore Adamo is being sacked and Nandan called back.
4. Ogier and Lappi to struggle a little bit in the beginning of the season, Lappi outdriving Ogier because the car suits him better. But after the updates Ogier is unbeatable and wins all the tarmac rallies.
5. Tänak becomes champion in Finland (because i will be there and i can celebrate)

[mknight]

1. At least two new drivers other than Tidemand and Katsuta will drive in "factory" (MSport included) car. This does not include "gentleman" drivers. At least one will be from Finland.
2. Ogier will be competitive on almost every rally latest by mid-season.
3. One of Meeeke/Latvala will have a terrible season in terms of pace or points (5+overall)
4. Hyundai will noticeably improve on tarmac after Loeb starts driving (so not in Monte since there is no time for changes, noticeably means average stage times/position across all 3 drivers).
5. Msport will not win any rally

[stefanvv]

1Tänak becomes champion in Finland

:D:D:D, even Ogier has never been able to do that.

[Hartusvuori]

I suck at these, but these are fun to do...

1. Ogier will be the champ - again.
2. Hyundai will take the manu title - finally.
3. There will be a Finnish event winner before Rally Finland.
4. Kalle will claim his first WRC stage win this season.
5. There will be more one-off guest drivers in WRC2017 cars than previous two seasons combined.

[rp]

- All the Manufacturers except Ford will win during the WRC 2019 season
- Ott Tänak will take the WRC title
- Toyota will win the Manufacturer´s title
- Kalle Rovanperä signs TOYOTA GAZOO Racing for 2020 season
- Pontus Tidemand will drive more than 2 WRC events with the Ford Fiesta WRC

[Rally Power]

1. Tanak will be the new champ;
2. Ogier will be the only one giving Tanak a fight till the end;
3. Hyundai finnaly gets the title;
4. Rovanpera wins WRC2 Pro;
5. Smeets asks for future WRC cars to be cow-poo powered.

[Vincemon1285]

1. Ogier will be champion once again.
2. Rally Sweden will have 3 Swedish winner, Tidemand first overall win, Kristoffersson first win in WR2 and Rådström winner in JWRC.
3. Meeke will win Monte Carlo Rally.
4. Toyota will be manufatures champions.
5. Lappi will win Rally Finland.

[TypeR]

1. Tänak wins the title
2. M-Sport gets atleast 2 podiums
3. Loeb ends up doing more than 6 rounds
4. Hyundai gets the manufacturer title
5. Kalle dominates WRC2

[Rallyper]

1. Ogier will be champion once again.
2. Rally Sweden will have 3 Swedish winner, Tidemand first overall win, Kristoffersson first win in WR2 and Rådström winner in JWRC.
3. Meeke will win Monte Carlo Rally.
4. Toyota will be manufatures champions.
5. Lappi will win Rally Finland.

#2 Would really see that happen, but no, never will...

[T16]

1. Meeke WDC
2. Loeb does full season
3. Mikkelsen does not do full season
4. Evans wins two rounds
5. Loeb wins the Monte

[Entertainer]

Hey guys and girls, first forum-post, couldn´t find any more fitting start than in the crystal ball predictions!

1. Toyota takes the double
2. Tänak secures the WC in Wales. Ogier left to ponder his WRC future despite at least 3 wins during the season
3. Tidemand gets a podium in Sweden and at least 4 WRC-starts in 2019.
4. Loeb ends up getting more points than Mikkelsen despite driving less rallies
5. Sesks wins the JWRC, Rådström 2nd place..again.

[Barreis]

dear crystal ball, please let Latvala retires at the end of the season. thank you!

[Duvel]

1: Mikkelsen getting back his podium pace in 2019, fourth in standings at the season end.
2: Lappi wil be frustrated whit the car, no where near Ogier in pace and results.
3: Breen doing 4 rounds in a M-sport Fiesta, of wich 2 podiums.
4: Neuville bekoms 2019 world champ.
5: Nasser doing some rounds in a Yaris WRC.

[able1]

dear crystal ball, please let Latvala retires at the end of the season. thank you!

Latvala is one if the nicest drivers in wrc , i hope he never retires and keeps it going until late 50s.

[T16]

Latvala is one if the nicest drivers in wrc , i hope he never retires and keeps it going until late 50s.

100% with you on this. Why on earth anyone wouldn’t want him in the championship is beyond me.

[Maui J.]

1. Meeke pace outshines his teammates.
2. Paddon gets a recall from Hyundai to do a few rounds.
3. A Chinese manufacturer commits to the WRC, releasing photos of it's intended R5 car.
4. A Co-driver takes the wheel of a stage due to a drivers illness.
5. Rally Australia get less than 25 entries.

[skarderud]

1 Tänak WDC
2 Mikkelsen gets help from Loeb to get the car good, and have to slow down on every rally to "help" his teammate to (not) win (again).
3 several drivers in citröen, both in WRC and WRC2.
4 atleast 1 more manufakturer presents some future plans
5 it's meekes 1 year of several in a Toyota.

Sent fra min SM-G950F via Tapatalk

[brianjai]

1.Ogier cannot win the sixth title and retire after this season
2.Meeke will not have similiar pace as Tanak at Toyota until mexico
3.both titles will be decided in australia
4.msport becomes the slowest among 4 teams after the summer break
5.Lappi will continue his "upset mode" after outpaced by Ogier by a significant margin after 2-3 rallies

[T16]

1.Ogier cannot win the sixth title and retire after this season
2.Meeke will not have similiar pace as Tanak at Toyota until mexico
3.both titles will be decided in australia
4.msport becomes the slowest among 4 teams after the summer break
5.Lappi will continue his "upset mode" after outpaced by Ogier by a significant margin after 2-3 rallies

Ogier has already won his sixth title.

[Norm75]

1. Loeb will win Monte and . . .
2. Be the leading Hyundai after Sweden
3. Meeke will win at least one event in the Toyota and . . .
4. Latvala will leave Toyota at the end of the year.
5. Breen will do at least one event with M-sport.

[TanaKa]

1.Tanak becomes a World Cup
2.Lappi follows you very closely
3.Sordo is enforced
4.Loeb is still The
5.Ogier is still lamenting

[sollitt]

1. Ogier crowned champion with 3 rounds still to run.
2. Hyundai miss out on either title yet again.
3. M-Sport to pull the pin at the end of season.
4. The Belgian hairdresser to internally combust after upstaging by Loeb.
5. NOT awarded knighthood for services to rallying.

[Grutz]

1 Loeb will win Monte and finish on podium in Sweden
2 Meeke will have more DNF than finishes although he will win 1 rally.
3 Meeke will be replaced by Rovenpera at end of season
4 Mikkelsen will be replaced by Paddon before end of season
5 Tanak wil become WDC, but Hyundai will finally win Manufacturers championship

[AL14]

1.Tanak becomes a World Cup
2.Lappi follows you very closely
3.Sordo is enforced
4.Loeb is still The
5.Ogier is still lamenting

Man, I searched everywhere and look behind me all day but didn't find any Lappi but now I'm paranoic.

[seb_sh]

1. Citroen get a 1-2 on a rally
2. At least one Toyota on the podium on every rally
3. Ford doesn't win any rallies
4. Toyota wins the manufacturer championship again
5. At least 5 different rally winners

[Jewy46]

1 - 2019 first year since 2003 that a man not named Sebastien will be WRC champion

2 - Breen will be in a WRC car for at least 3 events

3 - Kalle will be confirmed to be in a WRC team for 2020 before the end of the season

4 - Makinen interviews will make us laugh again with some amusing comments and facial expressions!

5 - Ogier will only win 1 rally

[Toyoda]

- All the Manufacturers except Ford will win during the WRC 2019 season/Suninain and Evans under perform
- Ogier will take the WRC title thanks to consistency
- Hyundai will win the Manufacturer´s title thanks largely to development by Loeb
- Kalle Rovanperä signs TOYOTA GAZOO Racing for 2020 season
- Meeke shows similar pace as Ott but overall a combination of driver error and mechanical failure looses them the manufacturers

[rayh_mx]

1. Loeb will win Rally Chile
2. Kris Meeke will be better than Latvala and closer than Tanak
3. All the pilots of Manu Teams suffer a crash during the season
4. Toyota with heating problems in Mexico (again)
5. AL14 and EstWRC make me laugh at least 5 times more during the season

[Rallyper]

1) Finnish drivers will shine whole year through, having Latvala, Lappi and Suninen at least 14 times out of 42 of all podiumplaces.
2) Loeb sparkles Hyundai to win the Factory Championship
3) Kalle to do at least one outing in WRC17 spec car.
4) Tanak takes WDC title
5) A brand new Latvala takes several wins, but no title.

[Morte66]

I went into hibernation after my man Kris Meeke was fired last year, figuring he'd never drive WRC1 again, and only put my nose back into rallying this week. Well, whaddya know.

So, with no further ado:
1. Neuville champion, in a close season, with some help from team orders.
2. Tanak top Toyota overall but Meeke has his moments in a good year, and JML too.
3. A weaker year for M-Sport.
4. Citroen still no good.
5. Ogier retires from competition at end of year and becomes Citroen team boss. ;)

[KiwiRallyFan]

1. Paddon will be back in a WRC car before the year ends.
2. Paddon achieves a WRC podium finish this year (2019).
3. Loeb wins more than one WRC rally in 2019.
4. The Drivers championship is decided at Australia.
5. A new manufacturer announces (in 2019) their intention to join WRC in either 2020 or 2021.

[Kefdude]

Pick'ems fans, maybe you want to play this season on this site. Easy pickings.
www.splithut.com/pickems

[Mintexmemory]

Ogier will be champ.
Loeb will win more than Neuville
Marcus will be top 6 in Sweden
Toyota to be Manufacturer Champs
If Tanak finishes a rally he will always be ahead of Meeke

This is going to be as interesting as last season (that's not part of my 5!!)

[fisulino]

1. Citroen does not win a title in 2019.
2. M Sport wins a World Championship run.
3. Lappi wins two WRC races
4. Meeke classifies behind Grönholm in Rally Sweden
5. Evens classified behind Tiedeman at the end of the season

[KiwiWRCfan]

Nicky G also has a crystal ball https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlVY57tWOtg&feature=youtu.be&t=101

[smsgrafica]

1.) Tänak wins WC by winning at least 6 rounds
2.) Toyota wins the WC by taking a podium at every round
3.) Only 4 drivers will win an event: Ogier, Tänak, Neuville and Meeke
4.) Mikkelsen won't finish off the season
5.) Ford will be only twice on the podium: Sweden with Tidemand and Australia with Evans

[pantealex]

1.) Tänak wins WC by winning at least 6 rounds
2.) Toyota wins the WC by taking a podium at every round
3.) Only 4 drivers will win an event: Ogier, Tänak, Neuville and Meeke
4.) Mikkelsen won't finish off the season
5.) Ford will be only twice on the podium: Sweden with Tidemand and Australia with Evans

way too late.

[smsgrafica]

way too late.

I know and you are completely right on that, but I wanted to write them down were I can find them after the season is over. :D Besides, none of my predictions are by the slightest affected by the Monte result.

[Norm75]

Other than your second prediction.

Glad to see I've fallen at the first hurdle!

[KiwiWRCfan]

Must be time for mid season review of Crystal Ball predictions.
Did anyone forsee Sordo winning on gravel ?

[tommeke_B]

1. Hyundai to find solutions for their set-up issues on tarmac and in Finland.
2. Fight between 4 drivers for the title.
3. Loeb doing more than the planned 6 events.
4. Co-driver will finally get a proper FIA trophy.
5. N.O.T. will find the true meaning of life and shall stop posting on this forum.

My number 5 seems to be spot on... :)

[AnttiL]

1. Tänak to be World champion but to win less stages per rally than in 2018 (70/13≈5.38)
2. In addition to Tidemand, five new drivers will make their competitive debut at the wheel of a 2017 WRC car at a WRC event
3. Eight drivers will do a complete season at the wheel of a WRC car – more than in 2017 or 2018 – although the total amount of works WRC starts per rally on average will be smaller.
4. Meeke will keep being Meeke – fast but inconsistent and prone to errors. To measure this I predict more stage wins but less overall points than Latvala
5. Meeke fans will keep throwing “will he be sacked now / why don't they sack him” comments to Ogier or Lappi if they retire a rally from a driving mistake

EDIT: changed #2 from two to five because I forgot there will always be gentlemen drivers.

1. Tänak's current stage win rate is 5.6 so he has won more stages by average than last year.
2. In addition to Tidemand we have had Tuohino, Grönholm, Greensmith and will have Virtanen. If Katsuta starts in Spain like rumored, I get this correct.
3. Currently exactly eight drivers are going for a complete season (I purposely predicted Mikkelsen being dropped), but of course it could still change.
4. Meeke has more stage wins but also more points than Latvala
5. Happy to be completely wrong about this one :)

[Morte66]

1. Neuville champion, in a close season, with some help from team orders.
2. Tanak top Toyota overall but Meeke has his moments in a good year, and JML too.
3. A weaker year for M-Sport.
4. Citroen still no good.
5. Ogier retires from competition at end of year and becomes Citroen team boss. ;)

1. Could still happen, though I think we are heading into Tanak's half of the season now.
2. Oh dear.
3. Yep, losing Ogier will do that for you.
4. Yep.
5. This was a joke, but I think the first half is looking possible.

[Norm75]

1. Tänak's current stage win rate is 5.6 so he has won more stages by average than last year.
2. In addition to Tidemand we have had Tuohino, Grönholm, Greensmith and will have Virtanen. If Katsuta starts in Spain like rumored, I get this correct.
3. Currently exactly eight drivers are going for a complete season (I purposely predicted Mikkelsen being dropped), but of course it could still change.
4. Meeke has more stage wins but also more points than Latvala
5. Happy to be completely wrong about this one :)

As a fan of Kris, and hopefully I speak for most of his fans, I don't think any of us want to see Citroen sack Lappi. I think we may worry they might, but I would rather see Citroen back their drivers rather than sack them.

[EstWRC]

1. AL14 finally back on the forum and making good jokes and my mood good again.
2. Meeke being quite often the fastest Toyota, but due inconsistency and not understanding to back off sometimes, still finishes the season as third number.
3. Loeb arriving at Hyundai and being immediately faster than their full time drivers, saying that nothing is wrong with that car. Therefore Adamo is being sacked and Nandan called back.
4. Ogier and Lappi to struggle a little bit in the beginning of the season, Lappi outdriving Ogier because the car suits him better. But after the updates Ogier is unbeatable and wins all the tarmac rallies.
5. Tänak becomes champion in Finland (because i will be there and i can celebrate)


1. Well, he is more often here than last year but i wish he was more.
2. Not true so far.
3. Totally wrong but it was written as a joke, so no surprise here.
4. The struggling part is kinda true, especially about Lappi, Ogier also showing it with mistakes in Sweden and Sardinia. Lappi outdriving Ogier completely false. Updates still coming.
5. Also written as a joke and not meant seriously but without the alternator problem in Argentina and without the PS issue in Sardinia, he would have like 40-50 point lead already. Which of course wouldnt mean a title win in finland but it would be hell of a lead already. (plus the rim issues)

[Eli]

- All the Manufacturers except Ford will win during the WRC 2019 season
- Ott Tänak will take the WRC title
- Toyota will win the Manufacturer´s title
- Kalle Rovanperä signs TOYOTA GAZOO Racing for 2020 season
- Pontus Tidemand will drive more than 2 WRC events with the Ford Fiesta WRC

Pretty close with your predictions...

[rp]

Pretty close with your predictions...

Still possible that all the predictions will be right! :)

[Augury]

1 Tanak to win Drivers title
2 Hyundai to win manufacturers title
3 Loeb won’t win a rally
4 Breen and Paddon to be brought in at some point during the season
5 Citroen to finish last in the manufacturers table, despite Ogier winning 3 rallies.

Think we have a winner (probably).
edit: Well except for Citroen being last.

[able1]

1. Thierry Neuville will win Monte ahead of Ott Tanak while Citroens struggle
2.Tanak takes Sweden . 1-2 to Toyota
3.Loeb will win one event
4. Tanak repeats its Hat trick
5.Decider in australia once again




Well ...way off for me .. better luck next year :P

[AL14]

1. Hyundai to win one of the two WC.
2. The driver title decided at the last round once again.
3. Much more discussions on new techincal rules that will introduce electric or hybrid in the WRC.
4. Tanak giving EstWRC higher levels of anxiety and stress on sundays.
5. Neuville will stop giving percentages.

1. Let's see.
2. Damn Ott's Power Stage
3. Got it!
4. Got this for sure :D
5. As far as I know I got it.

4 out of 5 if Hyundai get the job done. Not bad!

[Rallyper]

1) Finnish drivers will shine whole year through, having Latvala, Lappi and Suninen at least 14 times out of 42 of all podiumplaces.
2) Loeb sparkles Hyundai to win the Factory Championship
3) Kalle to do at least one outing in WRC17 spec car.
4) Tanak takes WDC title
5) A brand new Latvala takes several wins, but no title.

1) Shall do the maths later... :)
2) Well, why not.
3) Nah...
4) Got it!
5) No... ;(

[mknight]

Why would anyone go here and try to compare result when just about everyone has something that won't be decided before Australia?

[dimviii]

Why would anyone go here and try to compare result when just about everyone has something that won't be decided before Australia?

just to force you for stupid comments.

[mknight]

just to force you for stupid comments.
https://youtu.be/EyWU-0ppug0

[Jewy46]

1 - 2019 first year since 2003 that a man not named Sebastien will be WRC champion

2 - Breen will be in a WRC car for at least 3 events

3 - Kalle will be confirmed to be in a WRC team for 2020 before the end of the season

4 - Makinen interviews will make us laugh again with some amusing comments and facial expressions!

5 - Ogier will only win 1 rally

1 - Correct
2 - Im taking this as he was entered in 3 (Austraila cancelled)
3 - Not confirmed so wrong (but strongly rumoured)
4 - Not as much as I thought :D
5 - Wrong, he won 3

[TypeR]

1. Tänak wins the title
2. M-Sport gets atleast 2 podiums
3. Loeb ends up doing more than 6 rounds
4. Hyundai gets the manufacturer title
5. Kalle dominates WRC2

1. Check
2. Check - Evans 2 in a row, Mexico and Corsica
3. nope, 6 it was
4. Check
5. almost check to me.. yes, he won the WRC2 Pro title, but would have been more interesting if they hadn't separated the class. Without mistakes he was really fast, but bad luck and mistakes ruined many rallies for him.

[AnttiL]

1. Tänak to be World champion but to win less stages per rally than in 2018 (70/13≈5.38)
2. In addition to Tidemand, five new drivers will make their competitive debut at the wheel of a 2017 WRC car at a WRC event
3. Eight drivers will do a complete season at the wheel of a WRC car – more than in 2017 or 2018 – although the total amount of works WRC starts per rally on average will be smaller.
4. Meeke will keep being Meeke – fast but inconsistent and prone to errors. To measure this I predict more stage wins but less overall points than Latvala
5. Meeke fans will keep throwing “will he be sacked now / why don't they sack him” comments to Ogier or Lappi if they retire a rally from a driving mistake


1. Half wrong. Last year Tänak won 70 stages, this year 73 stages. Both seasons ended having 13 rallies.
2. Correct. Tuohino, Grönholm, Greensmith, Virtanen, Katsuta.
3. Almost correct. Only seven. Would have been most likely eight had it not been for Evans's injury. (or if you want to be funny, say that no one got a full season because no one started Australia)
4. Wrong. In the end Latvala had more stage wins but less overall points. Meeke was more consistent.
5. Wrong. Happy to be wrong about this, haven't seen any comments like this :)

[mknight]

[QUOTE=AnttiL;1235912
5. Wrong. Happy to be wrong about this, haven't seen any comments like this :)[/QUOTE]

After Argentina there were plenty.

[dnb]

1. Toyota drivers to have a big rivalry (mostly) in the beginning of the year, no friendship can be seen in that team; quite the opposite in Citroen.
2. Citroen will have a third driver.
3. Breen and Ostberg will drive a WRC car, but not Paddon.
4. Mikkelsen still not impressive and it's his last season in Hyundai.
5. 2019 is the start of Tanak's era (World Champion), hence French talk nonsense and try to ruin the championship.
1. correct
2. almost, but wrong
3. Breen did, Ostberg drove WRC only in Goodwood Rally Stage and Paddon really unlucky
4. correct
5. correct. Citroen pushed for new regulations and now they announced pulling the plug. More news possibly to follow.

Nothing major here, should predict something more interesting next time.

[Rallyper]

1) Finnish drivers will shine whole year through, having Latvala, Lappi and Suninen at least 14 times out of 42 of all podiumplaces.
2) Loeb sparkles Hyundai to win the Factory Championship
3) Kalle to do at least one outing in WRC17 spec car.
4) Tanak takes WDC title
5) A brand new Latvala takes several wins, but no title.

1) Only 6 out of 39 = 46,1% So incorrect.
2) well, Loeb was involved, correct
3) No Kalle in WRC car. Incorrect
4) Yep, correct
5) Nope. Latvala wasn´t doing that well... incorrect

2 out of 5... well...

[able1]

1. Thierry Neuville will win Monte ahead of Ott Tanak while Citroens struggle
2.Tanak takes Sweden . 1-2 to Toyota
3.Loeb will win one event
4. Tanak repeats its Hat trick
5.Decider in australia once again

FAIL for me :P

[mknight]

1. At least two new drivers other than Tidemand and Katsuta will drive in "factory" (MSport included) car. This does not include "gentleman" drivers. At least one will be from Finland.
2. Ogier will be competitive on almost every rally latest by mid-season.
3. One of Meeeke/Latvala will have a terrible season in terms of pace or points (5+overall)
4. Hyundai will noticeably improve on tarmac after Loeb starts driving (so not in Monte since there is no time for changes, noticeably means average stage times/position across all 3 drivers).
5. Msport will not win any rally

1. Wrong. Sure technically you could argue it is correct, but not in the way I meant it. Only Greensmith fits the category. Gronholm isn't "new" and the others are really gentlemen drivers at this point. Even though i didn't write it I meant on WRC rallies so Hutunen doesn't count.
2. Correct. Wasn't fastest often but had podium speed on just about every rally.
3. Correct technically, since both had terrible season and ended 6th and 7th.Was thinking one of them would do better so somewhat surprising.
4. Hard to evaluate. Yes Neuville and Sordo noticably improved in Germany and Spain. But Loeb and Mikkelsen did not, so while the average stage times over 3 drivers go up I wouldn't consider it correct.
5. Correct, though Corsica was close and I didn't see it coming.

So 3-3,5/5, one point worse than last year.

[Morte66]

1. Neuville champion, in a close season, with some help from team orders.
2. Tanak top Toyota overall but Meeke has his moments in a good year, and JML too.
3. A weaker year for M-Sport.
4. Citroen still no good.
5. Ogier retires from competition at end of year and becomes Citroen team boss. ;)

1 Nope.
2 Yes for Tanak, not so much for Meeke and Latvala (a few good moments but not enough)
3 Yes
4 Yes
5 It's a good job I was joking about this one.