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Guys look at the dates of WRC 2019 and World RX 2019. If this is real planned events for Loeb than he will miss only one round in rallycross. And that's is Belgium because of Chile. If he would drive any other event than Chile than every other events on calendar clashes with others. It's not that hard to find out that he may be in two series at the same time. It's quite logical. With GRX practically best privateer in rallycross they have a huge chance of the title now.
No, we don't. I never saw mikkelsen as more than an ostberg who happened to drive the best car for a few years.Quote:
Originally Posted by skarderud
Loeb, ogier, neuville, meeke, tanak, ... all got where they are due to their talent, mikkelsen got where he is because of his daddy's money.
He's not bad, perhaps in the right team and the right car he might be champion one day. but he will never be as good as ogier, and probably not even as good as neuville.
Neuville fucked up in 2017, that should have been his championship. He was the fastest car/driver combination that year. Only his own mistakes kept him from taking the title.Quote:
I really don't belive in neuville to be the right one to be the No.1 in the team, two years in the row he has litterally missed the open goal. One thing is if he hasn't bragged about in front, but when he says that he has 80% WDC in his pocket, and both times don't deliver, he litterally shit on his own legs.
But in 2018, i don't think there was that much he has done wrong. The car was lagging behind in lots of rally's.
So was Ogier's car as well. But Neuville screwed up bad in Wales, he could have fought for the win rally without going to the ditch. And then he screwed up by ramming the chicane in Australia and had to start first on the road for the rest of the rally and finally crashed on the last day. He also crashed in Finland but even removing that timeloss woudln't put him up any positions, or it wouldn't have probably even changed the Saturday road order.Quote:
Originally Posted by denkimi
No, Mikkelsen is not there by his dads money, he lost most of it in the finacial crisis in 2008, and Mikkelsen was out of rallying. Veiby/Even managment startet basically because of Mikkelsen had a talent, but no money.Quote:
Originally Posted by denkimi
Of course he had showed something before, so Veiby was avare of him.
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Yep, I think the whole championship battle was almost more about Neuville losing it than Ogier winning it. And on top of that, Neuville - in my opinion - was extremely lucky with his off in Finland.Quote:
Originally Posted by AnttiL
Well, it sounds a tad different sometimes i must say;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Allez Andruet
I think he is on par with neuville, at least.
Hopefully things will change quite early in 2019, so he can show what he is capable of.
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Well said, always thought the same. And by that I don't mean to downplay anything Mikkelsen has done. Let's just say that he's been lucky compared to many others.Quote:
Originally Posted by denkimi
I don't think the statistics quite agree with you on that one...Quote:
Originally Posted by skarderud
I think I'm more surprised than anything that Hyundai don't have a performance clause in his contract.Quote:
Originally Posted by sturlabr
He first had a puncture, than hit the chicane. You could hear them talking about the puncture (Neuville asked Nicolas if they had 2 punctures) a few seconds before they arrive at that chicane.Quote:
Originally Posted by AnttiL
And on Sunday, it was all or nothing, didn't loose it there.
He lost it with the mechanical faillure in Turkey.
He started driving in a WRC when he was 16, has since driven with all the generations and different makes, one of them has been the best car of its era and yet he has nothing to boast with. Neuville is far ahead. He is a good 3rd or even 2. driver, but this season he failed being both.Quote:
Originally Posted by skarderud
They can have, but "performance" and results can be defined quite differently.Quote:
Originally Posted by T16
He dropped due to car issues that were not his fault 4x times this year from 2x 1st, 1x 3rd and 1x 4th place. Specially the drop from 40s lead and almost certain win in Turkey due to mechanics missing some bolts should be easy to use in any arguments.
Similar stuff was happening to Sordo and Paddon on just about every other rally in 2017. So wouldn't be surprised if the people writing Mikkelsen's contract were very carefull in wording it.
I don't see how anyone can say a driver lost the wdc through one mechanical failure against three fuckups. Or one fuck up for that matter.Quote:
Originally Posted by dupanton
A mechanical failure a driver can not help, putting a car into a ditch is down to the driver.
https://www.autosport.com/wrc/news/1...e-preparations
Loeb cannot test before the weekend before Monte Carlo recce starts
That's one heck of a schedule he has for January...Quote:
Originally Posted by AnttiL
If he has a delay which looks likely to hinder his chances of victory on the Dakar, he'll be out of there like a shot.Quote:
Originally Posted by Allez Andruet
I think he did not fuck up untill he had problem in Turkey (wich we can not blame on Neuville).
If you look at results and pace the whole year Neuville was the only one always up there. In the beginning of the season al went easy to be top 3, end of season he had to push it to the limits to much to keep up whit top 3.
I personally feel the car started 2018 as the best, but in the end was third maybe even fourth fastest.
Whitout Turkey points lost third and fourth places in remaining rounds would have been enough for wdc.
I hope the team has done there work to improve the car on the short off season. Loeb coming in the team wil be very good for them on that part in 2019
Isn't that a bit "selective" to put the blame on what happened in Turkey? One French guy also screwed up in Turkey, was 23 points behind Neuville after that rally, but still managed to beat Thierry 65 to 24 on the remaining events. Ogier sure would have the same (or even better) reasons for losing.Quote:
Originally Posted by Duvel
Well, RMC isn`t really an indicator, which of the for cars is the best. Sweden wasn`t also, because of road position, otherwise it would have been Tänak again (speed-wise and SS win wise it was). Mexico looked like M-Sport with Ogier have risen and are gone go their way...repeated it in Corsica. Argentina was again Toyota`s to take and... Personally like i have said, the cars, with some exceptions (Hyundai in Finland for example), are equal. You take one driver, he is unbeatable and then you look at his teammate...his is far behind, in worst case scenario, the slowest of the lot.
...or if not exactly equal, atleast they're so close to each other, that it's not the deciding factor. I think the best of the best (say Ogier, Tänak, Neuville) would be right there in the mix, whatever the machinery.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tarmop
If Evans will stay out of job the right thing to do would be if Ogier could give him something. He practically gave him a load of points and risking his future because of some guys ego.
Some candy? A hug maybe?Quote:
Originally Posted by deephouse
It’s not even half past nine in the UK and you are high on crack.Quote:
Originally Posted by deephouse
I guess it is the festive season.
Scenario - nearing the end of 2019 season - if one or more of the 2019 Hyundai rally driving team has been scoring inconsistently during the year, yet Hyundai are still in with a chance of gaining the manufacturer's title, do they add a fourth car for the later rounds with both Sordo and Loeb? or another driver?
Going by how their 2018 season ended.
No.
- 3/4 of the drivers or more in all teams "score incosistently", Tänak did that as well with multiple wins then 3x out. Sordo too with good points the crash out in Germany. Latvala's first half of the season is the definition of inconsistency.
- Don't think they are so keen on 4 drivers after Portugal this year where the 2 nominated drivers dropped due to crash (Paddon) and car issues (Mikkelsen) and Sordo ending 4th was pretty pointless for them
- Looking at this season they lost manu title due to issues that had little to do with drivers (2 cars out from 1st place in Turkey due to faults by mechanics, all 3 cars out of pace with bad setup in GB on friday), the pace of the 2 fastest cars on each rally was actually quite close to each other in second part of season
And how many were they offered by others? Portugal-Ogier and Tänak out, though there Neuville used his chance, Tänak out due to the same issue 4 times, from first or podium position. Tyre in RACC, still ahead of Mikkelsen...Wales, Neuville making a mistake etc. If they see the chance, then for sure they will go for a 4. car (when they can`t ditch Mikkelsen or Sordo or who ever on that round for example), because others are just as hungry.
http://classic.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/140785
hyundai, Mikkelsen and 2018
Will have full seasonQuote:
Originally Posted by Barreis
"Yes, all 14."
"It was a very easy decision because we have the contract and we want to respect the contract."
After reading that article about Mikkelsen and Hyundai, it appears to me that he did get legal advice on his contract to ensure he still had a 14 round season in 2019. Unless he has an amazing season he will not be in Hyundai in 2020.
Paddon back in 2020... unless they find another rising star who is killing it. Shame to be honest...
I hope Andreas comes out guns blazing. A 5-10 place result and more "car" issues won't keep him on the team for 2020.
Ever consider there may not be a 2020 hyundai world rally team if they pull the plug and issue the usual ' hyundai needs the money for ev development (especially with VW going to release the ID etc) and hyundai just running an r5 cars department or similar)Quote:
Originally Posted by racerx1979
Might happen, but it's not the plan considering Nueville signed for 3 yrs.
Still there are people suggesting "loyalty" keeps you in a factory seat. Even right after Paddon got dropped/offered 1 rally after being "loyal".
You're correct of course, loyalty counts for nothing. Neither it seems does performing or ability with this Hyundai team.Quote:
Originally Posted by mknight
Mikkelsen at Hyundai in 2019 is only because of his contract. Else we´d have Paddon in the team for 14 rounds. (My speculation)
Or all three rotating i mean 4
From http://www.sebastienloeb.com
" Hello everyone,
from South Africa and the end of the Rallycross World Championship with Peugeot Sport, the days were quite hectic, as you have certainly been able to follow. Since the announcement of my signature with Hyundai for the next two years, I took a little time to breathe and I take this moment to write to you.
I place a lot of importance on your comments or messages on social networks, including, even if I can not answer. I understand that some people were surprised when we left with Daniel from the PSA group. This group with which, Citroën Sport then Citroën Racing and finally Peugeot Sport, we have shared everything since our debut. It's clearly a family, our family. We have experienced so many beautiful things together, whether in Rally, WTCC, Pikes Peak, Dakar or Rallycross.
Two months ago, before the announcement of the withdrawal of Peugeot Sport, I had absolutely no question about the future. After Spain and our victory with Citroën, I still did not know what I was going to do but I did not imagine it would be our last race together ...
Unfortunately, whether at Peugeot or Citroën, we have not managed to find the beautiful equation. And me, for my part, I absolutely did not want to stop driving at a high level. I had to think quickly to bounce back. I have been approached by several builders, in different disciplines. However, our three races in WRC in 2018, including the victory in Spain, weighed in the balance. The rally is my DNA and I took so much pleasure in these three events that my priority quickly became the rally, in main program.
Hyundai's proposal, with 6 rallies as pilot number 2 or 3, pleased me. And we advanced in the discussions. I had other contacts in the WRC but deep in me, I was convinced of the project "Hyundai" and I did not want to waste time on others.
For a very long time, I'm in the skin of the 'number 1' or at least, I fight to get the victory. Even when I discovered the Dakar or Rallycross, the goal was to be ahead. There, with Hyundai, my first mission will be to help them get the constructors title and support Thierry Neuville, the number 1 driver. The team's speech is clear and I'm fine with it.
I still stopped the rally for more than 5 years, I no longer have the pace of current drivers nor the knowledge of rallies in general. It's already great that a manufacturer like Hyundai trust me despite these parameters. I willingly accept this position number 2 or 3 and ride with less pressure, to please me, and in order to bring them points when I'm starting a rally.
This does not mean that I lost my soul as a competitor. Once the helmet on the head, I would give everything to make the best possible result, as I have always done, but the approach is different.
And then, for the Monte Carlo, it will still be very special: in addition to riding with a new manufacturer for the first time in my career in WRC, to discover a new team, new people, to discover this new course, we will only be able to do a day of testing to discover the car, the day before the reconnaissance. For the most 'hard' rally of the season, it's not ideal. I hope you will be indulgent to me!
It will be a total discovery, and in the conditions of a 'Monte Carlo', the challenge is quite big anyway. We will go crescendo with Daniel. Even if we are the type to quickly adapt, there is the beefy. We will do our best for the team. It will be a bit the same music in Sweden, where I have not driven for a very long time and where I have never excelled. I said I was thirsty for challenges, I will not be disappointed at the beginning of the season with the Dakar, Monte Carlo and Sweden!
Before talking about the Dakar, do you all wonder what I will do in addition to the rally? Just imagine me too! We have not started discussions with Hyundai yet. I've read our WRC program all over the place, and I'm not even aware of it ... Monte Carlo and Sweden are the only official events for the moment. We should be in Corsica too. For the rest, nothing is recorded. But it is sure that 6 rallies, between January and October or November, it will leave time and it would be interesting to keep in touch with the competition and the pace. We will talk about it soon but they are present in different disciplines and I hope that opportunities will arise.
To return to my next deadline, the Dakar, we were able to do some tests last week. We did not drive very much. Like the Monte Carlo, I will arrive on the Dakar with a day of tests. This is how we go without pressure and we will find our bearings during the early stages by avoiding to 'tank' in the sand. My biggest lack lies in the reading of the field. I saw him again during the tests. It takes a lot of experience to get to the right place, not to be had and stay stuck. I think I will go for a ride in the desert in the next days in SSV to improve again before flying to Peru.
But before that, I wish you a happy New Year and you will meet again in 2019 for a season that looks pretty exciting!
Seb »
So modest, saying he's never excelled in Sweden :DQuote:
Originally Posted by nafpaktos
what a strange guy,he didnt moan about start position.Quote:
Originally Posted by steve.mandzij