Who would be the better man, Sebastien Loeb or Tommi Makienen?
This is like the Senna/Schumacher question of rallying.
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Who would be the better man, Sebastien Loeb or Tommi Makienen?
This is like the Senna/Schumacher question of rallying.
Loeb's achievements are stunning, but the WRC isn't as competitive now as it was when Makinen was winning championships. I find it impossible to answer such a question with any degree of certainty. I mean, who is to say that Walter Röhrl wasn't better than either? The fact that he drove in an era when not being able to win every single type of event on the calendar doesn't make him inferior.
Good question!
But it is impossible to answer. The WRC is so much different today than it was 10 years ago. However, Loeb has consistency that seems to make him stand out!
Neither. Tommi won only with Mitsubishi, and Loeb only with Citroen. Kankkunen is your man. He won the WRC 4 times with 3 different manufacturers.
Well that's my opinion anyway.
but kankunnen never could drive well enough on tarmac and was constantly outdriven by his team mates (mostly in the later years).
I'm sure Loeb could win in any car in any era but he does drive extremely straight and he looks a little uncomfortable when a more sideways style is necessary (as it was in Tommi’s era), and we all saw how much trouble Tommi (and Colin, and Richard and Carlos) had coming to grips with the new style of WRCars and the required no sideways tarmac-esque driving style.
Who would be better in the same equipment in the same era at the peak of their game? We’ll never know...
I agree and he would have had over 30 WRC victories if there were not been any team orders.Quote:
Originally Posted by TKM
Yes, the lack of tarmac pace unfortunately counts Kankkunen out as far as I'm concerned. This is not to dispute his brilliance, of course.Quote:
Originally Posted by duff
And remember he won the last Group B WRC in 1986, then Group A in 1987. First win in Safari 1985, final win in 1999 1,000 Lakes. Drove all kinds of cars, and all types of Rallies. Loeb has only done the short sprint type events.Quote:
Originally Posted by BDunnell
And he never complained about the car's handling. Even if the car was a dissaster he still said in interviews "the car is perfect". You don't find that kind of spirit nowadays. Now if something is a little bit wrong with the car the pilot is allready complaining. In my opinion he was certainly one of the greatest drivers ever. :s pin:
Both are great drivers, but if you talk about the great driver in the post Gr.B era, Sainz deserves to be compared with Tommi and Loeb. OK, Carlos only has 2 titles but it's not just the number of titles which decide who is the greatest.