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IRC then...
or lemans...
Petter Solberg for the second seat if loeb leaves?
no
Petter is too much a personality. The second, non French driver in the Citroen factory car has to play second fiddle to the leading (French) driver. The second driver has to be talent and experienced but also willing to obey orders. He has to be good, but not TOO goodQuote:
Originally Posted by Plan9
You obviously seen the job description. Suits Mikko?Quote:
Originally Posted by alleskids
Would have explained why they got rid of Duval :)Quote:
Originally Posted by alleskids
I think Solberg would do well for them to make up manu points on the tarmac rounds, somewhere Ogier hasn't proved himself yet.Quote:
Originally Posted by Plan9
I think Loeb will do what all french do...........run when they is some sort of competition .
Good point on Solberg. I can't think of any others from the current field that would willingly be a Number 2. I was told that even Meeke wasn't that desperate when he was test driver at Citroen.
How about Neuville? He could fit the description. He's been doing really well in the IRC lately, and has been developed by Marc van Dalen in Kronos, so it seems like it could be a perfect marriage. Citroen couldn't go to bad targetting Atkinson and Hanninen too
+1Quote:
Originally Posted by Mitch555
Those are interesting choices. I was wondering if you thought that Neuville and Hanninen would be in the TOO GOOD category? I think Atko would be good but he wouldn't bring any money, which may be important.
Would Sordo try again and hold his breath...?
can you name a french rally driver who did that ???Quote:
Originally Posted by logic
Interesting everybody picking Hanninen as top contender. When he was out here with PWRC a couple of years ago he got a driving lesson from the locals ... 2 years in a row I think. Maybe he's grown wings since.
well he has a contract with red bull....Quote:
Originally Posted by sollitt
Have you seen his results/speed in IRC tarmac rounds?Quote:
Originally Posted by sollitt
Solberg and tarmac is not a good combo ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by tfp
Neuville and gravel are not very good combo as well ;-)
Hanninen, with Neville as a new baby ogier in 3rd car
Sirr, Hänninen won 3x more stages than anyone else in 2008 PWRC (Juho 51, champion Aigner 11, Nasser 12, Sandell with S2000 19). The problem was his car was too unreliable to bring that home.Quote:
Originally Posted by sollitt
People seem to assume RedBull is staying with Citroen, I thought they only had a one year extension, 2011 season and that with reduced financial input. My guess is Red Bull sponsorship is VW bound.
It is a risky choice to leave a team like citroen....
WV brings money but we still haven't seen their capabilites as a team.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tfp
Hey, Duval was never TOO good while he was with Citroen
Interesting point - I think Sordo would be the perfect teammate to Ogier, and Dani may even think he could beat Ogier... especially on tarmac.Quote:
Originally Posted by Plan9
How did those locals finish in the PWRC those 2 years, and why is nobody interested in them?Quote:
Originally Posted by sollitt
the only problem with Hanninen is that he is not tested against REAL competiton using a REAL car....and time is running out.
it's his commitement with skoda that holds him back at the moment I think. if he was a 'free' driver, i am sure he could have an outing or two with a ford as so many others did.
If by that you mean run ahead of everyone else and win, then yes.Quote:
Originally Posted by logic
You could say the same for tarmac judging by Iper this year (and forgetting Corsica)... ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by bluuford
Neuville would actually be a good choice if there's no big clash between Kronos and Citroen.
By all means, put Hanninen in a privateer Ford; guaranteed to kill his career much faster than whatever plans VW and Skoda have for him.Quote:
Originally Posted by makinen_fan
Would few paid starts with customer Fords make him a works driver? I seriously doubt so. On the other hand I'm absolutely sure those 3 years in Škoda, thousands of testing kilometers (especially on asphalt), involvement into car development and driving complete championships helped him to be a complex driver ready for any seat. OK, he's not really young now and there's time to move to the highest league in first possible moment, but why not with VW? For sure he has a good chance there...Quote:
Originally Posted by makinen_fan
Agree. In close battle with Loeb, Ogier, etc. Hanninen is nowhere.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gregor-y
That is true, but only cos Hänninen has the S2000. :D :cool:Quote:
Originally Posted by Barreis
is hanninen going to race in any of the tarmac events on the wrc this year?
Germany and France. Both are new events for him so it will be interesting because for example Prokop did Germany maaaany times and the stages doesn't change a lot.
Thats true, but I think time will tell, why else would he be driving the real rallies now, if they dont have future plans for him.Quote:
Originally Posted by N.O.T
Hey, he came second in spain last year :D OK, maybe it was in mixed surfaces :)Quote:
Originally Posted by cali
I imagine that with such speech, you must have a thick honours list as a dictionary, and that it was acquired against French drivers??? Isn't ???Quote:
Originally Posted by logic
I don't think that Sordo would be allowed to win on any other surface if it came down to the two of them.Quote:
Originally Posted by pettersolberg29
I would'nt worry about Hanninen. His experience in s2000 will not be too much of a problem when he gets a WRC as they are quite similar to drive, judging by the comments of some drivers who have used both.
It's not the problem in machinery. It is problem in battle with Loeb who's unbeatable and then the confidence is going down little by little. The rare ones are who beat Loeb in last five years.
Cheer up he has driven against some fast drivers in SWRC/IRC and not lost his nerve. I think he will be quite resilient against people like Loeb and Ogier. Also, Loeb may not be there to challenge him next year. I do agree that being a Stobart driver would be a damn stupid thing to do, we don't need another Henning.