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Well I thought who else you would have seen as a driver for these events and answered the question myself, but of course I can be wrong. Who would you have offered the drive? I'm actually curious who people think could drop in and do better than either Mikkelsen or Suninen.Quote:
Originally Posted by mknight
I don't think anyone currently available was better choice than one of those two.
Based on both past and recent results Mikkelsen was seemingly as good choice for Estonia (which off course doesn't mean he would do better).
But Suninen was seemingly better choice for Finland.
In the end I would rank Suninens results as 8/10 in Estonia and 4/10 in Finland.
Then the already asked question is whether Sordo or Mikkelsen would do worse. Sordo would definitely do worse in Estonia but for Finland I don't think either of them would do worse.
Whats the point of getting Suninen when at his two best events (again his words) he does barely better than what could be expected from the two others.
CA's words were that he wasn't looking for replacement just for the two events but for a longer term solution. Suninen didn't exactly confirm he is one. And funnily enough Hyundai announced Sordo for Greece within an hour after end of the rally, while these kinds of announcements usually come 2-3 days after.
No I don't expect CA to call Mikkelsen for next season at all. I expect him to try to get Ogier really hard an use Suninen as "fill" for those relatively few events Ogier won't do.
Sunninen was hired to drive in some of the rallies Sordo won’t do. He will do better job regardless.Quote:
Originally Posted by mknight
Personally I think Sunninen did ok, I suspect had it been a dry rally he would have been somewhere nearer the pace and in front of Taka. Lack of seat time and that loose rear end of the Hyundai in the high speed, coupled with the wet conditions…..I think his pace is understandable, and as others have said, I don’t suppose anyone else would have done better. He didn’t bin it and he scored points.
My video from Rally Finland, bit depressing with so many retiring but pretty good event in the end anyway!
https://youtu.be/8q9LNWyfzow
Takamoto Katsuta @TakamotoKatsuta
It was really big fight with Teemu Suninen during Rally Finland.
I enjoyed a lot but I never ever felt 0.1sec is so big.
Big respect for him, he was fast and this was only 2 rallies with Rally1.
Is it really so, that if you don't race for points, then no trophies for drivers?
I mean Solberg's post in Instagram, where they showered their own champagne and jumped into lake :D
Doesn't matter it's Solberg this time, let it be whoever, but if you are fastest in your class and win it, then it is a shame not being given a trophy for that..
Racing for pointa should only be for formalities, but if you race fair n square in certain class and win it, then it should also be awarded.
I fully agree. Another joke from modern WRC.
Promoter and President should be changed, I do not see any other alternative.
Looking at this and the video from 2019, the Hyundai i20 Coupe seems a bit less tail happy than the i20 Hybrid Rally1, comparing them side by side.Quote:
Originally Posted by SubaruNorway
No, there is no trophy for winning RC2 class and never was. There is a trophy for winning WRC2. Everything is fine here. Pajari is the winner, not Solberg.Quote:
Originally Posted by TypeR
Again a super weekend in Finland :D Here is my video
https://youtu.be/vmzf9mPrOaY
Correct, the old car had a solid rear end and struggled with the front, actually that trait goes back through the 2016 car and the one previous. It’s only this one that is the opposite.Quote:
Originally Posted by Eli
I suspect, that it’s why Neuville became so adept at the handbrake driving style to help the car turn….maybe.
he was asked in Estonia in one of the intermediate press conferences about the handbrake thing, he said it's not his style but it's needed to get the car to turnQuote:
Originally Posted by doubled1978
Shows the state of rallying journalism, this was known years ago.Quote:
Originally Posted by seb_sh
WRC Rally Finland 2023 | FLAT OUT, PURE SOUND & BIG JUMPS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJFj3K7fC_8
Yep, Pajari had little to gain from trying to fight Solberg from mid-saturday.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jarek Z
Comparably Solberg had nothing to lose by crashing, in terms of points.
Solberg did a great job, but they were not really in the same competition.
This year in Finland Neuville seemed to drive with much less handbrake and sideways than Suninen and much less than he used to be with the old car.Quote:
Originally Posted by doubled1978
There was also a detailed comparison between Suninen and Katsuta on Alllive where they showed how Suninen used handbrake and scandi flick a lot. Can be the car, the settings or his style. Remember Suninen got even openly criticized by Malcolm for driving too sideways (think it was after Sweden, not sure if 2020 or 2021?).
It was Solberg's own fault for not registering for WRC2.Quote:
Originally Posted by TypeR
That is the competition to win here and if you want points and a trophy. Just driving for fun with no pressure is not the same.
As he admitted at the end of the rally, he f**ked up.
.
Yeah, this years car wouldn’t want to be unsettled by using the handbrake as its natural tendency is to do that by itself, but it’s too much and they don’t trust it.Quote:
Originally Posted by mknight
Sordo speaks about it a lot at stage ends.
Nice Speed... https://youtu.be/5t-rggQAtQo
Nice rally from Elfyn.
I think he would have challenged for the win,
even if Rovanpera was competing the whole rally.
They were very close and Kalle was pushing very much.
I still believe that 2021 was even better performance.
Tanak was pushing closely all the rally.
Rovanpera was clearly behind before his crash.
Ogier was miles away...
It seems, he was very happy with this car for the first time.
Previous Yaris made a good pair with Elfyn from the beginning.
This one not and in many rallies not at all.
Yes, that´s true. Not sure that Kalle would have been able to beat Evans, because Elfyn had so good speed during the Saturday and Finland is one of the Kalle´s worst events in the WRC.Quote:
Originally Posted by Yugo_para_siempre
I don't understand this whole "Finland is not a good rally for Kalle."
He's driven there three times in a top tier car. Last year was second and this year crashed in p1 while not really doing anything crazy.
1000 Lakes is not an easy rally and requires experience, but he's not exactly struggling there.
Sent from my CPH2399 using Tapatalk
Interesting stat: There's only three Finnish winners in Rally Finland for the last 12 years. (Lappi once and Latvala twice)
I rate Kalle as a great champion and possibly a future multiple world champion (bad for the sport especially after the two Sebs). He is fantastic most of the times.Quote:
Originally Posted by janneppi
But let's be honest.
Until these days, he is not as good in Finland as in other rallies.
In 2021 he crashed when already around 19" behind Elfyn with the same car.
In 2022 Tanak won with a car that was not supposed to win and Kalle was 2nd. Generally a decent rally compared to his teammates, but as said Elfyn likely was struggling with this car very often last year.
In 2023 he crashed again. OK from 1st, but he was very close to Elfyn who was building his speed maybe the first time that felt so comfortable with this car.
In Estonia he just seems to have the speed, so easily, so effortlessly, so naturally.
If he had the same ability in Finland it would have been very easy to identify it. But he does not.
In 2021 Evans placed higher in the standings than Kalle in order of 7/5
In 2022 Kalle placed higher than Evans 11/2.
In 2021 Kalle was basically a student driver.
In 2022 he was aiming for the WDC and couldn't risk it as much as Tänäk.
I think what i'm saying is that it's too soon to tell if he's struggling in Finland.
Sent from my CPH2399 using Tapatalk
Make Rally GB out of fast gravel/snow rally and Evans is good at it.
* Rally Sweden 2020 - it was a bit wet rally for winter rally
* Rally Finland 2021 - was in September, already proper autumn in Finland
* Rally Finland 2023 - mud fest, Evans is good again
If we add here Ralyl GB win from 2017, then 4 of 7 wins are from fast slippy stuff.
All we know, he was clearly faster than Neuville. Sadly we can not compare speed wise with Tänak-Lappi-Rovanperä, as all dropped out quite early.
With 2 crashes in 3 years (from a driver that is not crashing too often) and a speed that was never as dominant as in other rallies.Quote:
Originally Posted by janneppi
It is fair to say that until now he is struggling in Finland.
This can change in the future, but we are not speaking about the future.
In any case, we have different opinion about this.
Dirtfish verdict on Suninen 8/10
Another quality drive from Suninen.
He seems more than a little disappointed not to have passed Katsuta to claim that last podium spot, but he really shouldn’t be disappointed with his performances over the last two events.
With very limited testing, Teemu has delivered more than the team could have expected. OK, we know he has pace on fast gravel, but to deliver in such controlled style, under such testing circumstances surely must put the Finn in pole position for more regular outings in the i20 N Rally1.
HilarousQuote:
Originally Posted by Fast Eddie WRC
D. Evans before event ( https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/david...teemu-suninen/ ):
"Can you win? Quite possibly. Let’s see what the weather does and how the competition plays out, but I’d certainly be backing you for a top-three."
C. Clark after Estonia: (https://dirtfish.com/rally/colin-cla...ver-ratings/):
"Consolidation and validation is the key to success though – let’s hope he can do exactly that in Finland."
Ref1: No podium even with 3 top drivers retired
Ref2: In Estonia he clearly beat Loubet and Katsuta. In Finland he was equal with Loubet when he retired and lost to Katsuta. Consolidation and validation it isnt.
For once I agree they are clowns.
Pictures Secto Ralli 02-06.08.2023
Shakedown. EK3, EK8, EK13, EK17 ja EK22
https://samzon.kuvat.fi/kuvat/MM-Secto+Ralli+08.23/
Seen a great event once again. Thankfully the WRC2-level is very high this year... In Rally1 something must change, some crashes and there's nothing left... It gives me the feeling of 2009-2010 again, when they were were running cars nobody could afford anymore.
A few photos from Evans, well deserved winner:
https://scontent.fbru2-1.fna.fbcdn.n...UA&oe=64D8BF14
https://scontent.fbru2-1.fna.fbcdn.n...QQ&oe=64D9A07E
https://scontent.fbru2-1.fna.fbcdn.n...vg&oe=64D8D382
https://scontent.fbru2-1.fna.fbcdn.n...Qg&oe=64D97D36
Small album: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...46253944176138
In terms of pre-event I agree. There was no way he should've been expected to win or even podium.Quote:
Originally Posted by mknight
After the rally DF have right though.And Teemu made it clear why he lost time.
“The expectations get higher and the goals change quite fast when we have a chance for better results. I really felt that we had the pace for P3, but I just wasn’t ready when the conditions changed,” he said, referencing the wet conditions faced on Saturday.
“I didn’t know what I needed from the car and I didn’t know how to adapt with the driving, and that’s why we lost some easy seconds in the tricky conditions.”
Τom amazing photos as always.
Yeah, how did you take the first one? Were you lying in a ditch? :)
Here's my Rally Finland 2023 gallery. Photos from 5 special stages.
Secto Rally Finland 2023
You can see a remote camera on one of the other photos.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jarek Z
Great pictures Tom, fantastic use of a remote, top class
Some nice photos there, you were opposite us on the power stage for i remember you taking the picture of the group who were beside the big radio MicQuote:
Originally Posted by Ide
A post a while after the competition when you have thought about it.
Something has to be done so that there will be more cars in WRC1 (or the topclass) as the air ran out of the competition completely after 3 possible winners already had to retire on day 1.
Sunday felt very lazy as there were basically only 3 cars driving at (full) speed.
Such a fast and extreme competition, you notice a very big difference compared to WRC2, so even if they drive fast as hell, you don't experience them as fascinating as you do at a local competition or ERC, for example, where they are top class.
We also had bad luck with officials who were completely unreasonable and had to take long detours in the forest even though it was over 1 hour before the stage was to start, argue for only being allowed to cross the road even though the last car had passed and other incidents.
Feels like it has unfortunately become more of that in recent years, at the same time you understand it when you see how idiotic some visitors behave and it's not local ones or countries that are nearby...
Despite this, it is a fantastic race and the whole experience is wonderful.
Some of our photos can be found at https://www.facebook.com/rallyfoto.se