Rally Croatia 2022

[Eli]

If he looses the same amounts on next ones or even more then Breen will get very close

Isn’t Breen like a minute behind Tänak?

[EstWRC]

Isn’t Breen like a minute behind Tänak?

44.6 but on the first one took 9 secs out of Ott

[Eli]

44.6 but on the first one took 9 secs out of Ott

But still, it’s just 3 stages left, not 6, should be fine, hopefully.

[EstWRC]

It rains on next stage


good, good, lets hope so

[EstWRC]

seems to be no rain at all

[Sergiow]

seems to be no rain at all

In that regard interesting comment: SS18: Greensmith

Quicker than Loubet, but struggling with his slick tyres in the damp conditions.

"That is so much worse than last year! Give me four wets and we might be able to be quick on the second pass!

note: my first post on this forum, I have been lurking around here for a long time ;)

[jonkka]

note: my first post on this forum, I have been lurking around here for a long time ;)

Welcome!

[EstWRC]

Not a bad stage from Ott but still overall quite a wrong tyre choice

Will be hard for him on PS STAGE

[Eli]

And Thierry won the stage and now on podium, hopefully he won’t muck it up.

[Sergiow]

Neuville with crossed Hard and Soft tires, probably the best tire choice here

[EstWRC]

started to rain now, lol

[Sergiow]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220424/63539d16215f99cd30aed341d00d0148.jpg
To add to the rain confusion, both Tänak and Rovanperä with 2 rain tires onboard

[urabus-denoS2000]

Raining heavily on SS17/19

[Eli]

They don’t have a tyre fitting zone now, right?

[urabus-denoS2000]

Only Tänak will have remotely appropriate tyres, all to play for now

[EstWRC]

Only Tänak will have remotely appropriate tyres, all to play for now

youre at the stage side?

[urabus-denoS2000]

Of course :)

[EstWRC]

Of course :)

nice...still raining or stopped?

[urabus-denoS2000]

Raining very heavily

[EstWRC]

Virves now leader again, Pajari went off

[Eli]

Will probably cancel the stage…

[urabus-denoS2000]

Not sure why would they, there is no fog.

00 just passed

[Sergiow]

Not sure why would they, there is no fog.

00 just passed

If 00 has passed then that means that FIA security car with Michèle Mouton has gone through.

[Eli]

Not sure why would they, there is no fog.

00 just passed

Also not sure, it was just a guess.

[urabus-denoS2000]

Indeed she has. 0 passed now as well.

[Eli]

Indeed she has. 0 passed now as well.

Good to hear, should be interesting with only Tänak & Rovanperä having 2 wets with them (again).

[jmwachuya]

Thanks for the update guys.. How long is this stage SS19?

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[Eli]

Thanks for the update guys.. How long is this stage SS19?

Sent from my CPH1725 using Tapatalk

13.15 kms.

[dupanton]

I expect still some drama and big differences on the last 2 stages.
Strange that almost nobody saw the rain coming.

[dupanton]

Rain on the Powerstage as well I think, as it was already raining for the later WRC2 runners

[Eli]

I expect still some drama and big differences on the last 2 stages.
Strange that almost nobody saw the rain coming.

As if they don’t have radars over there.

[meh]

I expect still some drama and big differences on the last 2 stages.
Strange that almost nobody saw the rain coming.

weather-crew competition. I hope blueford made correct bets :)

[Got Mail]

weather-crew competition. I hope blueford made correct bets :)

Weather crew ain't a lot of use when they left service at 5.45am.

[EstWRC]

No grip at all for hard tire guys

[meh]

Weather crew ain't a lot of use when they left service at 5.45am.

Really? Why Tänak expected the rain then?

[jonkka]

Really? Why Tänak expected the rain then?

Gambled. Had nothing to lose by guessing wrong and all to gain by guessing right.

[becher]

As if they don’t have radars over there.

Well yesterday it constantly changed as well in the area. One moment the sun was out but five minutes on you had dark clouds approaching that looked to bring rain, yet it never came.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Poor fans there watching Rally1 cars crawling through.

[SubaruNorway]

Stage win for Lefebvre if he didn't burn his wets...?

[meh]

Whoa, Neuville 27.9 sec fastest (faster than Evans) in split 1

[Rallyper]

Is this years Rally Croatia be one of the hardest rallies ever?

[dupanton]

If you see the difference between Neuville on softs and the rest on hard, Tanak can still win this.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Good time Elfyn (on hards) !

[TypeR]

Neuville 1min faster than Evans..

[Augury]

Whoa Neuville.

[seb_sh]

wow, turned the rally on it's head!

[Eli]

Where’s Breen, stopped?

[bandit12]

Neuville is the man!

[becher]

So much for the Rallye being over on friday.

[Rally Hokkaido]

Can Ott catch Breen on the stage?

[Eli]

Can Ott catch Breen on the stage?

Seems like it.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Tanak catching Breen on the stage ?!

[becher]

Rovanperä losing a lot!

[Eli]

Tanak catching Breen on the stage ?!

Nope, Breen finished a minute and a half behind Neuville.

[meh]

For Tänak we can use meme - "I don't always win a stage, but when I do, I do it with 20sec"

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Tanak is gonna lead !!

[bearclaw]

in term of tyres, tanak will win this.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Incredible stage. Wow.

[meh]

Gambled. Had nothing to lose by guessing wrong and all to gain by guessing right.

Why to gamble for that if you don't expect any rain? Rovanperä said at the stage end: "I have no idea from where this weather came".

[urabus-denoS2000]

Told you so :) Love our sport!

[dimviii]

Rossel with 3rd fastest time till now

[EstWRC]

wow wow wow wow

imagine if Toyota hadnt reacted to Tänaks choice in the morning and send Kalle out just with hards

[Eli]

I really really really hope Tänak & Hyundai take this win.

[TypeR]

Okay, from now on I won't say anything about drivers' tyre choices :)

absolutely insane..

[RS]

Rossel with 3rd fastest time till now


Two hours until the next stage and they’re not showing the WRC2 crews on All-Live?

[Eli]

Okay, from now on I won't say anything about drivers' tyre choices :)

absolutely insane..

Tarmac rallying at it’s best, would do a back to back with Corsica next weekend.

[AnttiL]

EstWRC remember how you said after SS1 this is a boring rally? :D

[Got Mail]

Why to gamble for that if you don't expect any rain? Rovanperä said at the stage end: "I have no idea from where this weather came".

It doesn't need to be this hard.

[jonkka]

Why to gamble for that if you don't expect any rain?

It's been rainy and damp all weekend so expectation was for some rain. Question always is how much, where and when.

[seb_sh]

Congrats to bluuford on the weather if he was part of the team, this tyre choice probably wins the rally for Hyundai.

Also if we take away Neuville's penalties it's a Hyundai 1-2.

[AnttiL]

was it bluuford again who knew rain is coming? ;)

[meh]

Yohan Rossell 3rd overall at this stage at the moment

[RS]

Lindholm 2nd!

[Rallyper]

I think Kalle will manage his points overall, and he will therefore let Ott win...

[dupanton]

It's dry on powerstage and blue skies...

[dupanton]

Lindholm and Kajto passed Gryazin in the overall classification.

[dimviii]

Gryazin lost the second place he was holding for almost all rally from Kajto.
Kajto excellent rally so far.

[EstWRC]

I think Kalle will manage his points overall, and he will therefore let Ott win...

we will see, he said this yesterday too and them BAM put a amazing stage time on final stage

but yeah he doesnt have to risk for it

[wyler]

I think Kalle will manage his points overall, and he will therefore let Ott win...

not necessarily. it ps is dry 1.4 sec is not enough for ott. tires may change it all again

[meh]

I think Kalle will manage his points overall, and he will therefore let Ott win...

There one common thing with Kalle and Ott - even if they "by your common sense" should take it easy, then their easy is to be anyway fastest on powerstage. Rally is not over yet, PowerStage to go, we don't know the weather for that and everything can happen.

[seb_sh]

If it's dry on the PS then it's not over yet!

[jiipee64]

Man how I love this sport...

[EstWRC]

it rained on PS too before, the question is how much will be left of it for PS time

Kalle said already during first PS pass that soft is better for that stage.

we will see, will be an amazing fight

[SubaruNorway]

not necessarily. it ps is dry 1.4 sec is not enough for ott. tires may change it all again

Probably too wet in the forest with all the cuts

[wyler]

Probably too wet in the forest with all the cuts

should be, but i don't think it rained so hard as in the other. anyway, will be interesting! : )

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Kalle "I didn't know where this weather came from. We had no idea there was going to be rain"

So why have two rain tyres at all ? Plus they wouldnt work with two hards anyway !

[Tauri_J]

Kalle "I didn't know where this weather came from. We had no idea there was going to be rain"

So why have two rain tyres at all ? Plus they wouldnt work with two hards anyway !

To cover Ott, and playing it safe

[EstWRC]

Kalle "I didn't know where this weather came from. We had no idea there was going to be rain"

So why have two rain tyres at all ? Plus they wouldnt work with two hards anyway !

they reacted to Ott decision, they showed it in the morning on wrc+....when Ott drove away from service Toyota guys quickly opened the boot and put 2 wet tires for Kalle

[Fast Eddie WRC]

To cover Ott, and playing it safe

But with hards it doesnt add up.

[krissucool]

But with hards it doesnt add up.

It does. If he would have left it at 6 hards he would have lost the place to Neuville as well on this stage.

[wyler]

But with hards it doesnt add up.

still better than none, in case of rain. you saw guys with all hards...

[seb_sh]

Rally2 cars on 2nd, 3rd, 5-7th, 9-23rd. Only Tanak, Neuville and Rovanpera not beaten by a lot of Rally2 cars on that stage!

[eib1]

But with hards it doesnt add up.

without that Kalle would probably be in 3rd place or at least very much in fight with Thierry

[focus206]

Man, what a morning for Ott! Powerstage will be exciting. Thierry seems safe in 3rd, but with tricky conditions anything can happen.

[RS]

Rally2 cars on 2nd, 3rd, 5-7th, 9-23rd. Only Tanak, Neuville and Rovanpera not beaten by a lot of Rally2 cars on that stage!

and we didn’t see any of them..

[Pršljen]

What a rally, once again!

We'll hopefully have a fight until the last turn like last year.

[EstWRC]

It was this wet 2 hours ago In the beginning of power stage https://twitter.com/rallirahvas/status/1518135462354989058?s=21&t=jDYxkQT7pVEfrBtoh6gbBA

[Fast Eddie WRC]

I assume Toyota didnt have time to swap all Kalle's tyres to match Tanak. The wets stuck in the boot were just a last minute thing but not enough to fight for his lead if it did rain.

[EstWRC]

https://twitter.com/rallirahvas/status/1518183164790902785?s=21&t=jDYxkQT7pVEfrBtoh6gbBA

[jmwachuya]

Update on weather, currently at the power stage?

Sent from my CPH1725 using Tapatalk

[becher]

dry and sunny on tv

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Very dirty stage.. anything could still happen with the right/wrong tyres.

[Rallyper]

Tears from Sarreaud at finish of PS.

[bearclaw]

tanak will be going for all or nothing i guess (just 5 points at the moment) rovanperä, like he said yesterday, will approach sensitiv an take a look at the championship...maybe...

[meh]

Tears from Sarreaud at finish of PS.

This is their dream, their life goal. You can have those emotions when you achieve those. Well done and congrats!

[Hüttünen]

tanak will be going for all or nothing i guess (just 5 points at the moment) rovanperä, like he said yesterday, will approach sensitiv an take a look at the championship...maybe...

I don’t think this Craig Breen approach is the right one to win WDC titles. As far as I remember, Breen has 0 titles. Rovanperä will always push if he feels good. Why he would want to throw away over 10 points?

[becher]

Its starting to rain again, right?

[meh]

seems that Lappi have done something, slow first split

[EstWRC]

Lappi with hards loosing even to rossel in split

[Eli]

Its starting to rain again, right?

Did see some drop on the camera lens and then sunny.

[Sergiow]

I still see way too many anti-cut devices in this Rally Croatia Power Stage. This is wrong, Ypres Rally manager Alain Penasse said last year about those devices in his own rally:

“We have five, that’s five on the whole route. And they are only in the places where you are going to take a wheel off. We don’t want any more drivers talking to the stewards about trying to get to service without four wheels on the car. This is a rally, if you want to cut a corner, cut it. If you don’t want to cut a corner then go circuit racing.”

[seb_sh]

I don’t think this Craig Breen approach is the right one to win WDC titles. As far as I remember, Breen has 0 titles. Rovanperä will always push if he feels good. Why he would want to throw away over 10 points?

I don't think Breen had the speed on this rally anyway. A careful aproach to avoid major problems might have been best for him on this rally.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Lappi just careful on those tyres.

[becher]

What sort of tyres are Lindholm and Rossel on?

[Sergiow]

Amazing seeing those WRC2's faster. What a wonderful sport Rallying is!

[meh]

Lindholm may get PS points in RC1?

[rp]

Wrong tyres, but Lappi is just hopeless, when there is tricky conditions.

[RS]

What sort of tyres are Lindholm and Rossel on?

4 soft, 2 wet Lindholm.

[jonkka]

As far as I remember, Breen has 0 titles.

He has two FIA titles. He is 2012 FIA Super2000 World Champion and also 2011 WRC Academy Cup winner (merely a cup but FIA title anyway).

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Decent drive by Loubet in the Puma. No mistakes and some good pace at times.

[meh]

So who had Lindholm for WRC powerstage point with RC2 car in their crystal ball prediction?

[urabus-denoS2000]

Wow Lindholm!

[Sergiow]

Cheers to Gus Lionheart! That is the spirit

[bearclaw]

I don’t think this Craig Breen approach is the right one to win WDC titles. As far as I remember, Breen has 0 titles. Rovanperä will always push if he feels good. Why he would want to throw away over 10 points?

...but why should rovanperä risk to loose all points when he knows he can't match tanaks pace because of wrong tyre choice, when you look on lindholms pace...

[TypeR]

that's amazing.. rally2 cars beating Rally1 hybrids..

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Credit after to GG after that scare early on in the rally... he has done ok and beaten Breen a few times.

[meh]

that's amazing.. rally2 cars beating Rally1 hybrids..

... or correct tires for conditions beats incorrect tires for conditions

[Sergiow]

that's amazing.. rally2 cars beating Rally1 hybrids..

Interesting comment from Greensmith: "I'd like some WRC2 tyres, they're nice and soft! There was no grip - we were just crawling through and trying to survive. The Croatian fans have been insane this weekend, so all credit to them."

[Tauri_J]

that's amazing.. rally2 cars beating Rally1 hybrids..

Tyres make the difference

[Danny0405]

Great time by Lindholm but I don’t think he will be top 5 overall of the Ps, the last part is more favorable for Rally1 and even Breen takes it seriously
Probably 6th I would say (except if mistake from one of top 5)

Not a full surprise to see him putting that type of time because he’s really fast, the matter is more about consistency. But probably one of two most interesting RC2 drivers with 3-4 RC2 years of experience with Rossel.

[RS]

Did Pirelli have to make the WRC1 tyre so hard to handle the power of the hybrid cars? Seems combination of that and a muddy surface has made for a strange result on this stage.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Yes, at last Breen having a proper go !

[jonkka]

Millener and M-Sport brass didn't applaud to Breen when he finished?

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Neuville off !!!!

[RS]

Neuville probkems.

[meh]

Neuville massive off, but leaping to finish

[jonkka]

Neuville's woes continue!

[Tauri_J]

Lucky not to get stuck

[becher]

No intercom either.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Puncture too ?!

[seb_sh]

What a rally!

[Tauri_J]

2 punctures

[meh]

only positive thing is that Lindholm is getting at least 1 PS point

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Wow.. survived and in 3rd !

[becher]

Two puncters, he got two spares right?

[meh]

Neuville need to reach to service. And on time.

[Rallyper]

Never seen anything like this!!!!

[meh]

Rovanperä will take the win. Faster in 1st split but get better tires for the end of the stage.

What a stage from Rovanperä, hats off.

[Rallyper]

Kalle flying! No hesitates here.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Kalle flying.

[Eli]

Croatia organisers should definitely leave this as a power stage!!!

[becher]

This is close!

[Danny0405]

Big time by Kalle
But not tremendous in Split 3 and 4 (compared with Evans or Breen) so Tanak still has a chance with only 1 second late in split 1

[Rallyper]

Congrats to Kalle. What a rally he has done!! Coming WDC.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Awesome... Kalle wins and deserved !!

[wia5958]

Knew Neuville would put it off. He just doesn't know when to bag the points he could probably be at least double world champion by now if he did

[Essaj]

Kalle is fking epic holy shit!

[TypeR]

will be hard one to swallow for Tänak not able to beat Rovanperä..

[EstWRC]

Hats off Kalle. What a stage

But it was only because of his puncture anyway

[Rally Hokkaido]

Great finish and fantastic drive under pressure by Kalle. Ott has some consolation with a decent points haul.

[the sniper]

Congratulations to Kalle, a great victory.

Well played by Ott and Bluuford, regardless. ;)

Thierry proved that Hyundai have made their suspension more resilient, at least!

[TypeR]

https://www.upload.ee/image/14081589/kalletanak.jpg

[Eli]

Hats off Kalle. What a stage

But it was only because of his puncture anyway

2022 World Champion in the making, although I really hope we’ll see more fights for the wins like this during the season.

[Eli]

https://www.upload.ee/image/14081589/kalletanak.jpg

Tänak looking at the car thinking:”it should be my name on that window, hopefully in 2023 ;) “

[meh]

There one common thing with Kalle and Ott - even if they "by your common sense" should take it easy, then their easy is to be anyway fastest on powerstage. Rally is not over yet, PowerStage to go, we don't know the weather for that and everything can happen.

Told ya

[bandit12]

Tänak looking at the car thinking:”it should be my name on that window, hopefully in 2023 ;) “
Oh please stop that kind of nonsense allready

[EstWRC]

this was IMO Kalles best stage ever, i didnt think he has a chance against Ott with this hards.

The stage should have started an hour earlier :p

[Eli]

Oh please stop that kind of nonsense allready

I was only joking.

[focus206]

Amazing performance by Kalle, I knew he improved but this is even more than I expected. Unfortunately, I see a very one-way championship...
Good job by Tanak, almost did the impossible. Neuville had the potential of winning this, but in the end he's lucky to get the podium.
At least we saw that Hyundai is up there in speed. But with their worse reliability than Toyota, too hard to bring the fight to Kalle + Toyota.

[AnttiL]

Full send!

Amazing rally, I'm speechless

[Eli]

Amazing performance by Kalle, I knew he improved but this is even more than I expected. Unfortunately, I see a very one-way championship...
Good job by Tänak, almost did the impossible. Neuville had the potential of winning this, but in the end he's lucky to get the podium.
At least we saw that Hyundai is up there in speed. But with their worse reliability than Toyota, too hard to bring the fight to Kalle + Toyota.

Although we still don't know their pace on gravel, good thing we have a string of 5 gravel events now to see what's what.
Anyhow, good return to form from Tänak getting his first podium since Finland last year, finally looked somewhat pleased with the car this weekend and despite his end of power stage comment, I really hope we see both him & Neuville fighting for the win in Portugal.

[Danny0405]

A little disappointed by Tanak’s loss as it would have helped to balance the championship.
But still it’s not against Kalle and he has made a superb job here.

For Neuville, really a difficult rally. But in the end, when we take a close look at it, it’s almost a miracle than the gap in the championship with Rovanpera is less than 30 points when we saw all the issues (and 1 or 2 mistakes) he had from the beginning of the season and Rovanpera’s level since Mid-Monte Carlo.
So I wouldn’t say the championship is over, it will be interesting to see how Rovanpera will handle the 7-out-of-8 gravel rallies series

Breen, we cannot say it is a good drive. Still 3rd in the championship but more because of the issues of the other (and only 1 point ahead of Loeb). And the 3 next rallies will be difficult for him (quite a long time he hadn’t made a slow gravel rallye and his road position will not be good).

Evans, completly lost here it seems. at least he brings the manufacturer points.
Lappi, difficult rally overall with a lot of mistakes even if he did some good times at some moments (road position?).
Difficult to assess the rest except Fourmaux with another big mistake; not sure he will be in Portugal with this mistake; maybe M-Sport should give him a rally off to end this bad streak.
Greensmith a lot of punctures so difficult to know; same for Loubet; Katsuta was not really good but we know he is not good on tarmac and he did it to the end at least.

In WRC-2, superb performance from Rossel with reliability and consistency.
Lindholm makes also some very quick times.
For me, except Mikkelsen which is a special case, the two drivers that could hope some program in Rally1 next year (or at least the most ready) if they confirm this season.
Great performance also by Kajto even if I think he will be short for title against Mikkelsen (and even Rossel )
A little disappointed by Cais’ performance even if, at least, he succeeded to go the finish without mistake.

[EstWRC]

Virves 4 min.early in to TC. and lost his win

"insert big facepalm picture here"

[Danny0405]

Virves 4 min.early in to TC. and lost his win

"insert big facepalm picture here"

Yeah incredible mess in WRC-3 Junior with Pajari and Armstrong mistakes, this mistake from Virves (+ Kimathi out for Power Stage).
In the end, the ones who benefit from it are Joona (clearly not the fastest and most potential driver but he almost never makes mistake), Armstrong (even with his mistake, he lost almost nothing with the mistakes of the other + his stage wins) and Franceschi (decent drive for a return).
Really difficult what will happen for the rest of the season.

[Hüttünen]

I don't think Breen had the speed on this rally anyway. A careful aproach to avoid major problems might have been best for him on this rally.

Not in this rally particulary but Breen is famous to drop down on Sundays when big points are in the table. Monte Carlo was a good example. And many rallies last year.

Rovanperä has more pace than any other driver in WRC. He don’t want to throw 12 points away. That’s a winning attitude. He is not a loser.

[flat_right]

It was a very eventful and exciting rally! Really enjoyed it. Big congratz to Kalle, what an amazing rally and PS stage! A bit like Tänak a few years ago with Toyota. Also very happy for Tänak and Hyundai. In Monte, they were nowhere, but now at least Neuville was on par with Kalle. It was a bit difficult to evaluate Tänak's real pace as he was hindered by road position and later the gap was too big to really push. Anyway, as Hyundai has said that they are more prepared for gravel so let's see what will happen in the next rallies.

[Pršljen]

Well, one off for Rovanpera and Tanak/Neuville win and we again have an exciting championship. Everything is still open.

[sti123]

It was a very eventful and exciting rally! Really enjoyed it. Big congratz to Kalle, what an amazing rally and PS stage! A bit like Tänak a few years ago with Toyota. Also very happy for Tänak and Hyundai. In Monte, they were nowhere, but now at least Neuville was on par with Kalle. It was a bit difficult to evaluate Tänak's real pace as he was hindered by road position and later the gap was too big to really push. Anyway, as Hyundai has said that they are more prepared for gravel so let's see what will happen in the next rallies.

Fully agree. I would add one point, it seams the Hyundai has built a really strong car. Neuvilles crash at PS was quite e big one and still all the wheels were attached to the car.

[EstWRC]

I was only concentrating on Kalle vs Tänak time on power stage and didn’t notice that they had such a huge gap to others. Wow

[meh]

I was only concentrating on Kalle vs Tänak time on power stage and didn’t notice that they had such a huge gap to others. Wow

Yeah, write it down for trivia: PS point was taken with losing 25.8sec. By RC2 car.

[doubled1978]

Loved that from Kalle, great stuff.
He would have been really unfortunate to have not won this rally, but to do it that way was good viewing.

[Sulland]

Millener and M-Sport brass didn't applaud to Breen when he finished?

Not good leadership for the team!

But Breen is way off what most of us expected so far. They need 1 more experienced driver to get manu points. If they leave it as is, they are missing a great opportunity, with a car that is competitive (for once).

[TypeR]

Fully agree. I would add one point, it seams the Hyundai has built a really strong car. Neuvilles crash at PS was quite e big one and still all the wheels were attached to the car.

and now compare Neuvilles's crash to Tänak's slide into bank in Monte.. which ended the rally for him.

[steve.mandzij]

Not good leadership for the team!

But Breen is way off what most of us expected so far. They need 1 more experienced driver to get manu points. If they leave it as is, they are missing a great opportunity, with a car that is competitive (for once).nothing really indicated that Breen would be the top class driver M-Sport needed

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

[focus206]

Fully agree. I would add one point, it seams the Hyundai has built a really strong car. Neuvilles crash at PS was quite e big one and still all the wheels were attached to the car.

Hopefully it's like that, but it's early to judge, could simply be this time the stars have aligned. Hyundai still had more gremlins such as alternator problems compared to Toyota. We'll see in the gravel rallies how robust suspensions and everything else is.

[becher]

and now compare Neuvilles's crash to Tänak's slide into bank in Monte.. which ended the rally for him.

Nothing to compare there.

[Got Mail]

i've been involved in rallying for 40 years.

That last stage performance by Kalle was one of the very best I've witnessed in that time.

Just sensational.

[Eli]

Just looked at the driver's standings and saw that after Rovanperä the highest placed Toyota is Katsuta in 6th, hats off to him.

[EstWRC]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXoPQgZL1P8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u43qTae1jNU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Una9V2j310A

[cali]

i've been involved in rallying for 40 years.

That last stage performance by Kalle was one of the very best I've witnessed in that time.

Just sensational.Saturday's last stage was equally impressive imho

Sent from my DN2103 using Tapatalk

[dimviii]

Aleks Lesk
@alekslesk
We fucked it up. So hard weekend, we were leading JWRC, but before last stage in time control marshall asked us to move forward. We followed his instructions and drove some meters to much between people without realizing its already TC zone. 4 minutes penalty. It hurts. Badly.

https://twitter.com/alekslesk/status/1518289761416396806

[becher]

Not only was it an awsome rally, it was also super comfortable and easy to watch stageside. I've been to national championship rounds that were more difficult to follow live.

[dimviii]

Neuvilles crash from another angle
https://twitter.com/ma_ipp/status/1518470130111590402

[Pršljen]

What are your thoughts of the rally Croatia? Has it proven to be a great addition to the calendar once again? Unique in the conditions, roads, surfaces of the tarmac, big number of spectators (rather close to the market of whole Middle Europe, Zagreb with good airport connections .aking it easy to reach for foreigners).

As a Croat, I'm delighted to have something like this in our country and especially to see that more and more people are into rallying.

[EstWRC]

What are your thoughts of the rally Croatia? Has it proven to be a great addition to the calendar once again? Unique in the conditions, roads, surfaces of the tarmac, big number of spectators (rather close to the market of whole Middle Europe, Zagreb with good airport connections .aking it easy to reach for foreigners).

As a Croat, I'm delighted to have something like this in our country and especially to see that more and more people are into rallying.

Awesome rally IMO. Especially the stages, something totally different to others. Definitely has a place in the calendar.

Like Fourmaux said, it’s like 5 different rallies in one.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

nothing really indicated that Breen would be the top class driver M-Sport needed



He had some really good results last season when given the i20 in selected events and impressed everyone. The elite drivers were under contract and wouldnt leave Hyundai or Toyota. Breen was a fair choice and no other available driver would guarantee better results.

[AnttiL]

I like Croatia as a fast-flowing "broken tarmac" rally that's totally different to Corsica or Catalunya or Sanremo but also very different to Ypres or Deutschland. It's also bonus that the rally center is at the capital of the country and the stages can be arranged relatively close to the service park.

[Kenneth]

I still don't understand why are people sleeping on Mikkelsen. Yeah he wouldn't probably fight for WDC but neither does Breen.

[Eli]

I still don't understand why are people sleeping on Mikkelsen. Yeah he wouldn't probably fight for WDC but neither does Breen.

I think if anyone is a missed opportunity it's Paddon, I'm guessing if not for that crash back in Monte 5 years ago, his career would look very different, but no if's and buts in this championship, now we should look at new drivers from the lower categories like Yohan Rossel which really impressed here (even if Tarmac is his favored surface).

[AnttiL]

I think Paddon was a great asset for a team to use for gravel events, but he was never that good on tarmac (or was it just the Hyundai?) and never that good on power stages (apart from that one time in Argentina). As for Mikkelsen, it seemed like he has some talent but is prone to errors. As of now I'm considering Mikkelsen and Breen quite equal choices. Neither is a guaranteed rally winner nor a championship contender, but can collect solid points for a team.

[AnttiL]

I have to say that I'm disappointed to see the youngsters Oliver Solberg and Adrien Fourmaux being so lost. And also Takamoto Katsuta so much off the pace (after making slight mistakes in Monte and Sweden). Meanwhile, I'm happy to see Tänak and Neuville showing pace when the car doesn't let them down. Evans was also disappointing in Croatia, but had pace in Monte and Sweden. Is he now trying to go a bit slower not to make any more mistakes?

[Eli]

I have to say that I'm disappointed to see the youngsters Oliver Solberg and Adrien Fourmaux being so lost. And also Takamoto Katsuta so much off the pace (after making slight mistakes in Monte and Sweden). Meanwhile, I'm happy to see Tänak and Neuville showing pace when the car doesn't let them down. Evans was also disappointing in Croatia, but had pace in Monte and Sweden. Is he now trying to go a bit slower not to make any more mistakes?

I didn't have high expectations from Oliver, Fourmaux on the other hand did show some promise last year but perhaps his Monte crash shook him a bit.
Evans is the one who looks lost the most atm, and I honestly don't see him challenging for the title this year, and having a younger teammate beat you like that can't do any good to his confidence.

[AnttiL]

I didn't have high expectations from Oliver, Fourmaux on the other hand did show some promise last year but perhaps his Monte crash shook him a bit.

Or maybe it was already the Ypres crash, after that it hasn't gone well on tarmac.

[Pršljen]

Tricky conditions proved to be too much for unexperienced drivers like Greensmith,Solberg, Formaux... except for Rovanpera, of course, but he is on another level anyway.

Evans had to be better than this, it's like he is stagnating instead of getting better and better. However, he has excellent starting point for the upcoming gravel rallies, if he can't deliver there, then his hopes for a title are gone.

[meh]

Maybe it's good to spice things up, but I don't like too much this road-position advantage for this rally.

https://www.ewrc-results.com/results/73359-croatia-rally-2022/?s=354737 - after 1st day Rovanperä had 1min 23sec lead. Yes, he is good, but without dramatic weather and his puncture it could be quite boring solo.

[AnttiL]

Maybe it's good to spice things up, but I don't like too much this road-position advantage for this rally.

https://www.ewrc-results.com/results/73359-croatia-rally-2022/?s=354737 - after 1st day Rovanperä had 1min 23sec lead. Yes, he is good, but without dramatic weather and his puncture it could be quite boring solo.

On the next rally in Portugal, he will have a disadvantage. And he didn't actually lead 1:23, Neuville was only 24s slower throughout the day, but penalties set him back. Tänak had a puncture which set him back about 20 seconds. And despite road position, someone still needs to do the driving. Rovanperä still won the last stage of Saturday, and of course the power stage, with inferior road position.

[Eli]

Or maybe it was already the Ypres crash, after that it hasn't gone well on tarmac.

Perhaps, was he in Spain & Monza after that?

[denkimi]

looking at the powerstage-onboard of rovanpera and that of ogier from last year, i'm really surprised rovanpera not only made it to the finish, but even went fastest somehow. he is just all over the place, not smooth at all. seems very inefficient and risky to me, but he seems to make it work

[AnttiL]

Perhaps, was he in Spain & Monza after that?

Went off slightly in Spain and crashed properly in Monza

[Rallyper]

I have to say that I'm disappointed to see the youngsters Oliver Solberg and Adrien Fourmaux being so lost. And also Takamoto Katsuta so much off the pace (after making slight mistakes in Monte and Sweden). Meanwhile, I'm happy to see Tänak and Neuville showing pace when the car doesn't let them down. Evans was also disappointing in Croatia, but had pace in Monte and Sweden. Is he now trying to go a bit slower not to make any more mistakes?

Lost? Fourmaux, yes. Oliver? No. You forget every top driver has his backlash. Oliver was in 5th place.
If any one was lost you should count Evans, Katsuta, et o.

[AnttiL]

looking at the powerstage-onboard of rovanpera and that of ogier from last year, i'm really surprised rovanpera not only made it to the finish, but even went fastest somehow. he is just all over the place, not smooth at all. seems very inefficient and risky to me, but he seems to make it work

The conditions were really slippery, more like a gravel/mud rally at times. And that drive won the rally.

[AnttiL]

Lost? Fourmaux, yes. Oliver? No. You forget every top driver has his backlash. Oliver was in 5th place.
If any one was lost you should count Evans, Katsuta, et o.

Oliver went off twice in the rally. Only two good stage times. Went off also in Monte.

[Rallyper]

Oliver went off twice in the rally. Only two good stage times. Went off also in Monte.

It´s very easy to forget what others done when your focus is biased...

[AnttiL]

It´s very easy to forget what others done when your focus is biased...

What have I forgotten?

You’re not biased about Oliver?

[Walach]

It´s very easy to forget what others done when your focus is biased...

Works both ways though.

[Rallyper]

Works both ways though.

Yeah. And the truth is most often in the middle. That´s what I meant too.

[EstWRC]

https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/luke-barrys-2022-croatia-rally-driver-ratings/

[Pršljen]

Neuville 1/10 is kinda ridiculous in every possible sense.

[Eli]

Neuville 1/10 is kinda ridiculous in every possible sense.

1/10??? for Neuville? absolutely absurd. Good thing these things have little meaning, with all due respect to dirtfish.

[rp]

1/10??? for Neuville? absolutely absurd. Good thing these things have little meaning, with all due respect to dirtfish.

Yes, but his driving on the road section was the reason and this was not the 1st time.

[focus206]

https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/luke-barrys-2022-croatia-rally-driver-ratings/

Neuville 1/10
Evans 7/10

hahahahahahahahaha

[Eli]

Yes, but his driving on the road section was the reason and this was not the 1st time.

True, can't ignore that.

[becher]

Ahahaha! Did he watch the rally? Neuville was the only one who could hang with Rovanperä pace wise. Heck, I'd even argue that Lappi was more impressive than either Breen or Evans.

[pantealex]

https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/luke-barrys-2022-croatia-rally-driver-ratings/

Lappi and Loubet both DNF Friday
after that Lappi did 3 fastest SS time
but Loubet got 6/10 and Lappi 3/10

For me
Kalle was 10/10
Ott 9,5/10
Neuville in stages 8/10 (Powerstage mistake was his own)
others deserve lower than those 3.

[seb_sh]

Besides the ratings, he has a point about road behavior. A rally is not just driving fast on the stages, it's also doing the road sections and checking in at the right time, it's repairing the car if necessary, etc. as the WRC3 leader found out in this rally, and Tanak found out last year when he didn't have a road worthy car, it's part of the game.

WRC needs to wake up and draw a hard line on these road section offences in my opinion, rallying can't afford a bad high profile incident.

[wyler]

Besides the ratings, he has a point about road behavior. A rally is not just driving fast on the stages, it's also doing the road sections and checking in at the right time, it's repairing the car if necessary, etc. as the WRC3 leader found out in this rally, and Tanak found out last year when he didn't have a road worthy car, it's part of the game.

WRC needs to wake up and draw a hard line on these road section offences in my opinion, rallying can't afford a bad high profile incident.

it happened a year ago. crashing on the road section and escaping police too, for the same reason btw: reach start line on time.
on this side, we cannot come here at these moments and do the puritans. everybody here around knows that happens all the rounds and from many of the drivers, we also make legends on the past (like driving with codriver hanging from the window...). it just becomes a bold statement when it hit the media, and that's a bit...unfair. i didn't remember such a bold sttement last year, when there was the other "crime". but that's just because he didn't get a 1/10 on dirtfish, maybe...

[WRCStan]

Forget the community service and fine which are nothingburgers, is this in the sporting spirit: If you are 6 minutes late, you get 1 minute time penalty. If you do 156kph in 80kph limit, you get 1 minute time penalty if you are caught and at the steward's discretion.

[seb_sh]

it happened a year ago. crashing on the road section and escaping police too, for the same reason btw: reach start line on time.
on this side, we cannot come here at these moments and do the puritans. everybody here around knows that happens all the rounds and from many of the drivers, we also make legends on the past (like driving with codriver hanging from the window...). it just becomes a bold statement when it hit the media, and that's a bit...unfair. i didn't remember such a bold sttement last year, when there was the other "crime". but that's just because he didn't get a 1/10 on dirtfish, maybe...

LoL I am aware of that and others, doesn't mean it was right then. if you payed attention there were people saying it's not good for the sport then as well. And I said besides the score lol I don't give 2c on dirtfish driver ratings.

[spyros]

Great win by Kale,btw i notice that last year Ogier in the same stage did 8.14 a way faster than this year.

[EstWRC]

Great win by Kale,btw i notice that last year Ogier in the same stage did 8.14 a way faster than this year.

The conditions were worse this year on PS stage

On one of the saturdays dry stage, the current machines showed the same times or even faster than last year. For example Loubet was faster than last year

[CWJ]

Yes, but his driving on the road section was the reason and this was not the 1st time.

Rumors about not even the only offense in Croatia 22 so it was only political will or pressure not to punish the team harder.

[Sal yet again]

These drivers are supposedly ambassadors for the FIA's Road Safety initiative:

https://www.fia.com/fia-action-road-safety

Driving like a tool on the public highway when virtually their every move is being filmed by a dashcam or phone is just plain counter productive for all parties. Fines for multi $ salaried drivers is a minor inconvenience, hit them with points deductions otherwise there may well be a well publicised high profile RTA that is harder to sweep under the carpet than allowing Russian drivers to compete under a neutral flag.

[ouvreur]

What Neuville did at the weekend is still 'bad', no doubt about it, but compared to what went on before every car had a tracker on it, and every holier-than-thou motorist had a camera phone or dashcam?

Driving standards on road sections in the pre-tracking days (and still in national rallies without tracking) were appalling. People look back fondly on the likes of McRae, Loeb and Gronholm trying to drag damaged cars back to service, far faster than would be 'safe' and in completely unroadworthy condition, and those guys are heroes. Neuville breaks the speed limit on a practically empty dual carriageway and, to some, he's the devil.

Ultimately, as long as there's a sporting reason to break the speed limit on public roads, drivers will do it. Until last weekend, there had never been a sporting penalty for a road section offence - even Ogier only got a fine for having an actual RTA, driving his car at a police officer and then speeding / running red lights in Zagreb (which as mentioned was the same reason Neuville broke the speed limit on Friday). I think this sets a dangerous precedent, and opens the door to teams pointing the finger at each others' drivers for any minor indiscretion on road sections - dangerous driving is dangerous driving, isn't it?

I hope Hyundai follow through with their appeal, and are successful.

[wyler]

LoL I am aware of that and others, doesn't mean it was right then. if you payed attention there were people saying it's not good for the sport then as well. And I said besides the score lol I don't give 2c on dirtfish driver ratings.

lol, read better.
never said it was right. just that is a bit funny that people pretend to be surprised or indignant, and also that once in a while become a big issue when almost all the time is not a big deal, while we all know that happens regularly and fia knows every inch of the race via gps system.
i don't like people taking pride of their pureness randomly once over a thousand times.

edit for clarity: not personal to you or any other in particular, just on the topic.

[EstWRC]

Great vid from J-Records like always https://youtu.be/FmsPBG3FgNU

[pantealex]

What Neuville did at the weekend is still 'bad', no doubt about it, but compared to what went on before every car had a tracker on it, and every holier-than-thou motorist had a camera phone or dashcam?

Driving standards on road sections in the pre-tracking days (and still in national rallies without tracking) were appalling. People look back fondly on the likes of McRae, Loeb and Gronholm trying to drag damaged cars back to service, far faster than would be 'safe' and in completely unroadworthy condition, and those guys are heroes. Neuville breaks the speed limit on a practically empty dual carriageway and, to some, he's the devil.

Ultimately, as long as there's a sporting reason to break the speed limit on public roads, drivers will do it. Until last weekend, there had never been a sporting penalty for a road section offence - even Ogier only got a fine for having an actual RTA, driving his car at a police officer and then speeding / running red lights in Zagreb (which as mentioned was the same reason Neuville broke the speed limit on Friday). I think this sets a dangerous precedent, and opens the door to teams pointing the finger at each others' drivers for any minor indiscretion on road sections - dangerous driving is dangerous driving, isn't it?

I hope Hyundai follow through with their appeal, and are successful.

so if something was accepted in 1990 or last year, it should still be accepted ?
rules/penalties can't change ?

Remember that Neuville did overspeed 11km´s distance. There has never been different speeding rules for "empty dual carriageways"

Speeding will never stop if they don't get any penalty.

I understand your point if penalties are lighter in future again but I hope that for now on you will get penalty every time in every rally.

and this is just FIA ruling, local police could have tighter/looser laws in every rally. FIA rule is just minimum. (in Finland you loose automatically your license if you do 130km/h in 80 zone. Jari-Matti lost his this January , Tommi 2-years ago)

[Sal yet again]

What Neuville did at the weekend is still 'bad', no doubt about it, but compared to what went on before every car had a tracker on it, and every holier-than-thou motorist had a camera phone or dashcam?

Driving standards on road sections in the pre-tracking days (and still in national rallies without tracking) were appalling. People look back fondly on the likes of McRae, Loeb and Gronholm trying to drag damaged cars back to service, far faster than would be 'safe' and in completely unroadworthy condition, and those guys are heroes. Neuville breaks the speed limit on a practically empty dual carriageway and, to some, he's the devil.

Ultimately, as long as there's a sporting reason to break the speed limit on public roads, drivers will do it. Until last weekend, there had never been a sporting penalty for a road section offence - even Ogier only got a fine for having an actual RTA, driving his car at a police officer and then speeding / running red lights in Zagreb (which as mentioned was the same reason Neuville broke the speed limit on Friday). I think this sets a dangerous precedent, and opens the door to teams pointing the finger at each others' drivers for any minor indiscretion on road sections - dangerous driving is dangerous driving, isn't it?

I hope Hyundai follow through with their appeal, and are successful.i

Footage I saw of Neuville looked like a last minute undertake and dive for the slip road which would have been at least six points on my licence in the UK!

I would suspect there are far more instances of speeding and bad driving amongst members of the support caravan for major cycle races than there are on any WRC event or stage rally in general. The problem is we are setting our stall out with a holier than thou approach with this FIA Safety program and yet tacitly accepting that drivers may have to "speed" to catch up time. There are many eyes watching all aspects of motorised sport hoping for an opportunity to highlight its shortcomings and I can guarantee in my own country that the media would rather pick on this type of incident rather than cover the actual rally in their sports sections.

[wyler]

so if something was accepted in 1990 or last year, it should still be accepted ?

I understand your point if penalties are lighter in future again but I hope that for now on you will get penalty every time in every rally.



that's already arguable. i'm sure there were other minor speed infringements on this rally, like in any other, without sanctions. they punished the one that was "too big to tolerate". you think that's a good way to handle it?

[AndyRAC]

What Neuville did at the weekend is still 'bad', no doubt about it, but compared to what went on before every car had a tracker on it, and every holier-than-thou motorist had a camera phone or dashcam?

Driving standards on road sections in the pre-tracking days (and still in national rallies without tracking) were appalling. People look back fondly on the likes of McRae, Loeb and Gronholm trying to drag damaged cars back to service, far faster than would be 'safe' and in completely unroadworthy condition, and those guys are heroes. Neuville breaks the speed limit on a practically empty dual carriageway and, to some, he's the devil.



Yes, there's an element of truth to this; however, it comes across as 'whataboutery'. You can't do these things anymore, it's 2022, especially with the FiA Road Safety campaign. Fines are useless; hit them hard, points deductions, and for regular transgressions, banning from events. 156km/h in an 80km/h zone is appalling and it's not his first time; he should really sit an event out. It's a good job the sport has a low profile, as it would be picked up on.

[seb_sh]

lol, read better.
never said it was right. just that is a bit funny that people pretend to be surprised or indignant, and also that once in a while become a big issue when almost all the time is not a big deal, while we all know that happens regularly and fia knows every inch of the race via gps system.
i don't like people taking pride of their pureness randomly once over a thousand times.

edit for clarity: not personal to you or any other in particular, just on the topic.

No worries. Not trying to pretend anything, but as Sal said the drivers are supposedly ambassadors for road safety and also times change and what is acceptable changes. Roads and traffic are not the same as they were in the 90s. Also the famous Elena ride was stopped by police and almost not allowed to continue if I remember correctly, they were only allowed to go with an escort so even in Mexico 15 years ago some things were not acceptable.

But my main point is that in my opinion the sport can't afford a rta with injuries or major damage. The cars have trackers, even in dakar they penalize speeding in the villages...

[dupanton]

I have no problem with time penalties for speeding on the road sections. But I do have a problem with the random way it happens now. It depends on the stewards what penalty you get (cfr Croatia last year, Estonna last year, Croatia this year).

They should make clear rules. Fine for small offences, time penalty for big offences (like 5" per kph over the limit for exemple) and than DQ for really big offences.

Than it's clear for everyone, no discussions, and drivers will think twice before speeding.

But as a codriver I just want to add, when you are in the car and getting late, you do everything you can to check in on time. It's just the way a (competitive) human works :)

[wyler]

No worries. Not trying to pretend anything, but as Sal said the drivers are supposedly ambassadors for road safety and also times change and what is acceptable changes. Roads and traffic are not the same as they were in the 90s. Also the famous Elena ride was stopped by police and almost not allowed to continue if I remember correctly, they were only allowed to go with an escort so even in Mexico 15 years ago some things were not acceptable.

But my main point is that in my opinion the sport can't afford a rta with injuries or major damage. The cars have trackers, even in dakar they penalize speeding in the villages...

yes, generally i think the same as dupanton. the thing i didn't stand is that kind of one-off to make a statement and then ignore everything for the next year, i find it really absurd.

for me there's 2 way:
a: fia review all the tracking data at every service, check and penalize for any breach, not only speeding: red light, overtaking, and so on. (i guess anyone who followed a race live has an anecdote or two about rally cars on road mode, from wrc1 to the least regional competitor)

b: drivers are on their own responsibility as any other user of a public road. law enforcers will check for breaches and issue law-related fines or suspenzions.

[AndyRAC]

Footage I saw of Neuville looked like a last minute undertake and dive for the slip road which would have been at least six points on my licence in the UK!

There are many eyes watching all aspects of motorised sport hoping for an opportunity to highlight its shortcomings and I can guarantee in my own country that the media would rather pick on this type of incident rather than cover the actual rally in their sports sections.

One can imagine the headlines; especially from the well known rags. The sport wouldn't have a leg to stand on; and the MSUK would be in full damage limitation.

[TypeR]

If it had been 80 vs 100kmh, then nobody would really care.. but double above the speed limit is something else.. and as mentioned before, not the first time.

[ouvreur]

One can imagine the headlines; especially from the well known rags.
Indeed - on the front page they would be about a celebrity doing something amusing or Boris Johnson lying again, and on the back they would be about football, or rugby, or cricket, or tennis. Not one mainstream publication gives even half a sh!t about rallying, unless someone has been killed that is...

[EstWRC]

Bunnings vid https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjXb0z2XWuI

[seb_sh]

https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/teams-defend-pirelli-over-croatia-puncture-situation/

apparently a lot of the punctures happened together with cracked rims. I suppose the tires can't be blamed for punctures if the hit is so hard that the rim breaks.

[bluuford]

https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/teams-defend-pirelli-over-croatia-puncture-situation/

apparently a lot of the punctures happened together with cracked rims. I suppose the tires can't be blamed for punctures if the hit is so hard that the rim breaks.

You know, when there is no more rubber and you drive until the end of stage with rim or pieces of rubber still left, rim tends to break as well ;)

[AnttiL]

https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/hyundai-makes-decision-on-neuville-penalty-appeal/

Hyundai will not appeal to Neuville's speeding penalty

[Danny0405]

It has not been noticed I think (or I miss it) but it is podium number 52 of Neuville in WRC: he ties with Solberg in 10th position all-time.
The other drivers he could catch this season:
- Auriol (9th with 53)
- Alen (8th with 56)
Complicated to catch Gronholm this season (7th with 61)

The next active driver (not being Ogier or Loeb) is Sordo with 51
Tanak a little far with 35