Please Mikko, something different this time!! (an open letter)

I don't think the 2001 Burns comparison is completely fair. Burns had also a lot of unluck that year, remember his early-season catastrophe, when he pretty much seemed to fall out of any contention for the championship. On five occasions he failed to score. And even though he won once, he finished in Top2 pretty much on merit on quite a few occasions. Perhaps Burns 2003 would be a better comparison to Hirvonen. Until the last two rounds had had just one retirement and consistent point-scoring helped him to stay on top of the championship table, although he never won a rally that year.

Click on your name. Click on Private messages at the top of page. Then go to "edit messages" to the left. There you are: Edit Ignore list.

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Originally Posted by Rallyper

I dont understand why you guys just put N.O.T. on your ignore list. Then just nobody has to look at his crap bull s**t talking on this forum. Do like I did weeks ago - put NOT on your ignore list!!

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You're right! Its so much more pleasurable now that he's gone.
Except when people happen to mistakenly quote him and his maoning and insulting and whining is there once again.

I don't understand why he doesn't just drink some chemicals and end this life of psychological torture he tortures himself with..
Obviously he has an uncontrollable compulsion to watch WRC and then WE collectively have to listen to 99.9% of every word being complains and insults.

FOLKS! Don't use "quotes" with NOT-head, dozens now are befriad (va fan är befiad på angleskij?) Oh ! dozens of happy forumers are liberated from the dirge from Greece, think of the others and don+t quote. NOT like they+re ever anytghing useful that needs quoting.

I must say i like some discussion on the forum, that is why i also like NOT posting his opinion over here. :D

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Originally Posted by jens

I don't think the 2001 Burns comparison is completely fair. Burns had also a lot of unluck that year, remember his early-season catastrophe, when he pretty much seemed to fall out of any contention for the championship. On five occasions he failed to score. And even though he won once, he finished in Top2 pretty much on merit on quite a few occasions. Perhaps Burns 2003 would be a better comparison to Hirvonen. Until the last two rounds had had just one retirement and consistent point-scoring helped him to stay on top of the championship table, although he never won a rally that year.

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The example that sticks in my mind is Mark Lovell's victory in the 1986 British Open championship, driving the Ford RS200. As I recall he was not in contention for victory at any round, but he scored in all of them and, with the Metro 6R4s proving so unreliable, Mikael Sundstrom not putting in a consistent challenge in the 205 T16 and Hannu Mikkola's challenge ending mid-season when Audi pulled out, this proved enough. I would never describe him as an undeserving champion, though, because he fulfilled the criteria that really matters — getting more points than anyone else.

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Originally Posted by Rallyper

I dont understand why you guys just put N.O.T. on your ignore list. Then just nobody has to look at his crap bull s**t talking on this forum. Do like I did weeks ago - put NOT on your ignore list!!

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Agreed!

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Originally Posted by wwbroe

I must say i like some discussion on the forum, that is why i also like NOT posting his opinion over here. :D

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But when 99% of everything he writes is ______________________ is a sick dog and the remaining part is simply idiotic like "Hirvonen is the slowest man in the WRC" that's NOT an opinion, it's just noise, and negative noise at that...

Opinions related to reality, or even simply humorous related to the sport are what we are all here for NOT "sick dog" "village drivers" and endless contempt... is NOT what I want to read day after day day after day day after day day after day day after day day after day day after day day after day day after day day after day day after day day after day day after day day after day day after day day after day day after day day after day day after day day after day day after day day after day day after day day after day day after day day after day day after day day after day day after day day after day day after day day after day day after day day after day day after day day after day day after day day after day day after day day after day day after day day after day, year after year.

So select "ignore" and 96% of the droning and whining is gone, and people who are fans and enthusiasts can discuss like somewhat sober adults.
Except for those Finns, they're drunk all the time, it's the law in Finland so it's OK.

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Originally Posted by jens

I don't think the 2001 Burns comparison is completely fair. Burns had also a lot of unluck that year, remember his early-season catastrophe, when he pretty much seemed to fall out of any contention for the championship. On five occasions he failed to score. And even though he won once, he finished in Top2 pretty much on merit on quite a few occasions. Perhaps Burns 2003 would be a better comparison to Hirvonen. Until the last two rounds had had just one retirement and consistent point-scoring helped him to stay on top of the championship table, although he never won a rally that year.

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I appreciate what you are saying. I recall that Richard was always setting competitive times as well; however Mikko has won the odd power stage this year and I don't think that should be overlooked. I do think though that you can read into statistics in many different ways. I think that Mikko may have sacrificed some speed to get his final results. I respect that approach because I perceive rally to be a sport of attrition and going flat out all the time to win approach is best suited to F1. I cannot remember how good Richard's 2001 Subaru was but we do know that Ford in not the fastest car and Mikko has to adjust to that. Mikko has the best chance to win a title in Wales and it will be a valid title (if he gets it) because it is a demonstrates a lot of patience.

You can put NOT to ingnore list but it doens't change anything related to Mikko. I would like to see since years that someone beat Loeb (just because it's good for the sport) but Mikko's fighting attitude and performance not like a champion. Loeb deserve the crone this year (again) and hopefully we will see next year a better Ford team with Ogier and Latvala

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Originally Posted by Plan9

I would be intersted to know if in 2001 people were saying about Richard what is now being said about Mikko. To my mind Richard was in a much weaker position than Mikko is now because he had only won NZ (he didn't win anything else that year) and Mikko has won two events. People still seem to admire Richard (at least, I still do) and I think in time people will look on Mikko the same way. If Mikko wins the title this year it will be just as valid as Richards as they both prioritized consistent result over speed.

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At that time, there were 20 factory cars in the rallies and another 10-15 good (semi) privateer drivers. Matthew Wilson must be very lucky that he was too young to drive in that period, because he should never end in the points. 2001 was a fantastic year with very big names and in the tarmac rounds there were also the tarmac experts like Gilles Panizzi, Jesus Puras and Philippe Bugalski.

Burns won much more SS than Hirvonen. It is another world, 2001 with always fantastic entry lists, much candidate winners before the start and now there are only 2 factory teams that are doing the full WRC and you have that stupid SupeRally system and this year also that Power Stage thing. Not so long ago, the last SS was about 20 and sometimes even 30 km, now the last SS isn't so long as a rallysprint stage.

Hirvonen is very lucky that he finished all events this year. He has made in almost every rally a big mistake, but he has much more luck than let's say when Latvala makes a mistake.