Both occasions refer to super specials, but in a way it's true. I just naturally skip them because it doesn't really tell anything if you win a mickey mouse stage in Mexico ;)
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Both occasions refer to super specials, but in a way it's true. I just naturally skip them because it doesn't really tell anything if you win a mickey mouse stage in Mexico ;)
You don't have to be fast on your first WRC outing, or on your tenth, if you have the budget to "gather experience" for a couple of seasons. I wouldn't be so sure that's the case with Tidemand, so he better show something and do it soon. Yes, the competition is extremely tight right now in the main class, but still, for a driver with Pontus' reputation these first three rallies must be classified as disappointments. At the moment Tidemand reminds me of Tapio Laukkanen - Finn who could match anyone in F2, but just couldn't come to grips with WRC machinery.
Tell me just who had full financial backup and had not to worry about consequences excl. wealthy norwegians??
What I'm telling you is that the likes like Neuville, Ogier, Tänak and Latvala were setting fast times right out of the box and actually cannot remember anyone who was setting uncompetitive times and went on to challenge podiums and wins on constant basis. Just the history of rallying does not back up your theory Per.
I'm not writing him off but even Greensmith is looking more promising at the moment. Hopefully we can see Pontus's real speed in Wales, I really really hope so.
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And these are stage wins. If my memory serves well they were matching top speed or being close to top pace right from the box. Yes, usually if a young gun goes berzerk they crash. And oh boy they crashed but the speed was there from the start for anyone to see.
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Unless he has budget for quite a few more outings after Wales, he could do with showing something in Wales. He has shown nothing in terms of pace in 3 rallies so far....
Maybe not impossible, but definitely far more difficult than before 2017. There was a good interview with Prokop abour a year ago, and he mentioned some challenges with the new cars. His team had always ran a private WRC spec car, but apparently with the new spec there is a massive ramp up in the costs. All the carbon fibre aero which gets torn off all the time apparently means massive extra maintenance costs compared to previous spec cars, so running WRC spec now becomes almost impossible for anyone except the manufacturers.
Prokop's team joined together with Ostberg's, trying to make it work, but as you can see, it didn't last very long.
That is true. It's simply more expensive. But not prohibited by the rules like in 2017.
Another thing might be that the competition across the field is a lot tighter than before. There's now four factory teams and all their drivers could have podium pace. The cars are also more reliable, as we saw in Turkey. Previously a private driver could expect to get a top 6 position by just finishing the rally with no issues.