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Tanak will be a good piece of drive next year in Toyota to dilute this couple of crashers.
How u can drive all tough week-end and crash on last km's.... Meeke have good rival :(
It could be good confidence boost for Toyota and especially for JML. Then fingers crossed it will not lead to another mental injury
Yeah, it reading from him even yesterday.Quote:
Originally Posted by Eli
If Ogier continues then why all this secrecy and pushing the announcement all the time? i dont get it.
He was telling already in spring that he wants things cleared up by the summer and now here we are in the end of the season and yet he hasnt made announcement.
But he probably sealed the deal (contract that is) after Wales I presume. Should be an interesting line-up next year, will be harder for them to take the double again if that 3rd seat is being shared. Then again, apart from Toyota all the others have at least one seat shared.Quote:
Originally Posted by EstWRC
Ogier will only continue if Ford comes in as a sponsor I think... until he has heard from Ford, he's not gonna say anything. The deal with Ford is probably still being discussed and Ogier will only give his reply once they are finished.Quote:
Originally Posted by EstWRC
Speaking as if Latvala had made mistakes all year (in fact, maybe this wasn't his fault either). doubt he'll suffer from this at all. He didn't hurt neither his nor his team's chances at any titles, his fourth place in the championship is secure and there's nothing else left to do in the year. He knows he's quick, he knows his team is good and I'm sure he'll be a main title contender next year.Quote:
Originally Posted by KKS
Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk
After interview with Ingrassia - I can only say that they want make some show with that announcementQuote:
Originally Posted by itix
Breen's crash
https://twitter.com/hardog007/status/932063525135978496
Hayden, you little bloody beauty!! Whilst sorry for Jari I am so pleased that this most awful year has ended for Hayden on a positive note
haha look what M-sport did with Tänaks hotel room, lol
https://www.instagram.com/p/BbqsD2JF...en-by=otttanak
Can't believe the season is other now...'only' 10 weeks minus 3 days until the next one starts...what a great season you guys, a great way to mark 10 years of following this fantastic sport, glad I tuned in when I did:)
Good job by Neuville, let's see if next season he'll manage to be more consistent (or if Ogier will be less). Shame for Latvala, end of season to forget for him, hope for better next year. And now fingers crossed for Ogier to stay at M-Sport for next year!
I have been commenting how consistent Latvala has become. One crash is totally normal.Quote:
Originally Posted by steve.mandzij
BUT there is the big point about Latvalas' psyche, which is not exactly rock-solid and if he looses it he drops down 2-3 levels (like in 2016). For that this has come at the worst possible time.
Agree this is very stupid. But still a single isolated incident, which can not be said about Poland.Quote:
Originally Posted by itix
It's about 70 cars each run, there is the WRC, then ARC (only some of which show in the WRC field) and then the club and state level guys as well. So a lot more cars than is immediately visible. And the clay roads here when wet, the water runs along the top and doesn't sink away, so lots of big puddles and very, very slippery. So add in some ruts and I imagine it could become quite challenging. We were in the 3rd running of that stage when it rained and it was certainly extremely slippery just trying to stand up to walk around!Quote:
Originally Posted by KKS
So Rally Australia is done, we got to see the first stage of the third day, where Lefebvre went off (which I even got on film luckily), which was a very long walk to get into as we came in via a junction and the road closure was 3km from the actual stage! We got absolutely saturated in there, the rain was quite heavy and our raincoats were no match for it! We watched most of the field with a group of 5-6 Estonian fans and then headed back out for breakfast.
We then went to the last stage after the other stage got cancelled. But we entered via another junction and they wouldn't let us walk into the stage, so we had to back track around the corner and then hop down a bank and detour round them via the bush for about 5-600m. We ended up half way up a bank above a series of relatively tight corners, hiding in the bushes with a guy who turned out to be the State rally champion, so had a good chat with him about the Australian rally championship.
Nathan Quinn became the Australian rally champion, basically by default as Molly Taylors engine expired. However he certainly looked quick all weekend, right to the end:
https://thumb.ibb.co/c6cdiR/DSC03355.jpg
There was quite a rut forming at the edge of the road, as you can sort of see here and the road was almost totally swept down to a hard packed surface below with enough structure to it that the tyres were leaving rubber on it:
https://thumb.ibb.co/jtZxcm/DSC03377.jpg
Couple more pics, but I didn't take many as I was just enjoying the last time I will see the cars! Ogier definitely looked fast through this section, he was using more of the bush than anyone else and really carrying momentum.
https://thumb.ibb.co/mAb2cm/DSC03374.jpg
https://thumb.ibb.co/grE8iR/DSC03375.jpg
https://thumb.ibb.co/g5yjOR/DSC03369.jpg
Back in service we found poor Breens car, he has definitely reshaped it! Although I am inclined to think it is now less ugly...!
https://preview.ibb.co/bvMtHm/237685...02646629_o.jpg
https://preview.ibb.co/idReOR/237603...54600803_o.jpg
All in all, really glad I made the trip, the aero on the 2017 cars is truly incredible and the commitment is just as good as last time I saw them in NZ in 2012. The locals have been friendly, I would say 50% of the spectator zones were good for watching from, buts it's definitely better to go in via junctions instead as long as you don't mind climbing through some bush! But beware of believing the spectator maps, we ended up driving over some true goat tracks that weren't at all suited to the poor rental Holden Captiva, which we broke and had to replace!
Neville will have even harder job, because Seb will (if he stays) be better and will probably not doing any mistakes at all. Remember, he step a little back with changing the team, car at the last minute.. I think Ott will first have to adapt to the Yaris first, when Jari will have one year advantage over him.Quote:
Originally Posted by focus206
Not necessarily. Ogier didn't improve dramatically over the course of the season, what made him win the title was his incredible consistency, he was even more consistent than when he was driving the dominant Polo. I think it will be hard to replicate a season with this consistency, and if at the same time Neuville improves his, he'll have an even better chance... We'll have to see if Ogier will be able to find more speed with the Fiesta though.Quote:
Originally Posted by ESTR
Oh finally got the forum back !
Just had to say goodbye to Ott from M-Sport... he's been brilliant this last 18 months.
And here in Aus he sorted another podium and completed the record of one on every 2017 rally.
Considering it was such a 'bad' rally for the team, getting all 3 drivers in the top5 was pretty decent way to end the year.
Great result this rally, very happy that Neuville won. Best way to prepare for the next season. Bring on 2018.
Devastated for Latvala, it looked like it was going to be a fairly clean year for him, harsh it had to happen on the very last stage of 2017.
What a great season folks, seven different winners! Not just every rally was dramatic but almost every leg was interesting! Wonder if it could be any better next year?
Already been said - but let's summarise. Poor road position, poor tyre choice on Friday, off on Saturday and still finishes 4th. Ogier just has what it takes. If he stays with M-Sport (and I think he will) he has a great chance for 6 in a row. Tanak did a better job coming 2nd in Oz and has learned so much this year about letting the rally come to you. He will be fighting Latvala for team attention. Neuville and Mikkelsen will split good Hyundai performances. Citroen (if they stay) will be inconsistent again. Only Ogier will have a solid car with a definite number 2 as team mate. Get your bet on now!
I am not so sure about Ogier tbh. Even his consistency won't help if the car is not up for it.
Hyundai and Toyota are already busy doing 2018 mods and have been for some time.
At M-Sport I haven't seen any big upgrades since Portugal/Sardinia (sure there can be hidden ones). We'll see but if Ford does only come with enough money for Ogiers' salary the development might run away from them.
(Citroen has more than enough work with trying to make the C3 consistent)
His speed was nothing... If Mikkelsen, Meeke, Breen and Latvala don't crash he wouldn't be there and either Tanak. And this year this was on more ocasions. Pure luck I say. I know that some of you guys will say that he is consistent but what about his offs, he have luck all year with that to not end right away except on Finland. Paddon get to the podium but he said that he don't have speed to achieve that by himself. Nor Sordo, Latvala, Hanninen, Lappi, Lefebvre, especially Paddon, Neuville & Meeke have that much luck than Ogi. I know that maybe a car is something to do but Ostberg's fiesta was almost every where pretty much fragile...Quote:
Originally Posted by Mintexmemory
Retirements/very bad results (8+):
Ogier
2017 - 1
2016 -1
2015 -3
Neuville:
2017 - 4
2016- 3
Looking on other drivers, 3 is actually about average for the top ones during last years,
Thing is this year Neuville with 3 more retirements than Ogier still almost beat him. If the speed difference is big enough consistency alone is not enough.
According to WRC.com, no - Serderidis scored 2 points and Rovanperä 1. Dalton scored 4, but Quinn and Herridge didn't score :/Quote:
Originally Posted by bowler
So in the end I make it that five guys scored their first WRC points in 2017:Quote:
Originally Posted by Myrvold
Rossel (Corsica), Veiby (Catalunya), Dalton/Serderidis/Rovanpera (Australia).
First WRC podium:
Lappi/Hanninen (Finland)
First stage win:
Lappi (Sardinia), Suninen (Poland)
While I agree that Ogier has been lucky in some occasions this year, I find it hard to believe it was just "pure luck". To be fair, also Neuville has been lucky in a couple of offs that could have resulted in DNFs or more damage...Quote:
Originally Posted by ESTR
:DQuote:
Originally Posted by ESTR
My memory probably escapes me, but when was that?Quote:
Originally Posted by focus206
Quite incredibly what Ogier gets away with though, first runs over the biggest rock I've ever seen on the road that the spectators didn't move or put there (6 boys all with their phone out) then rams the bank so hard he spins...
One definitely in Germany, before actually damaging the suspension and retiring...Quote:
Originally Posted by SubaruNorway
There must be 1-2 more, maybe someone with better memory can recall them :D
Neuville lucky in Argentina not to roll saturday afternoon
Has this been seen on here? https://www.facebook.com/permalink.p...59610340795776
Not sure where the original images came from. madness....
What an idiot! is all that comes to mind.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tommeke_B
Just as you say, you cannot oversee each and every corner. It's not feasible. You can't stop every fool from risking his life to a degree that most people (though not those idiots and those like them) find unacceptable. Even after the zero car passes, the 'fools' in the crowd will move back into a spot that they prefer. Hell, this thread is crawling with people that are considered 'fools' by the FIA because they don't want to stand in the designated spectator spots, which tend to be crowded and pretty far back.
We need to let people take responsibility for their own safety. Educate them, absolutely, but don't treat them like children. Otherwise this sport, and motorsport in general, is untenable. It is simply not true that there is a completely safe spot to spectate from. It is a difference of degree, not kind. If they can ban spectating from anywhere beyond a designated area, they can ban spectating entirely. And they eventually will, if we let them.
They should find those people and sue them.Quote:
Originally Posted by Loose_Unit
People still don't get it - The crashers you listed all were probably driving over the limit of what the stage / conditions required, in most cases of their incidents. Ogier (and Loeb before) have less offs and punctures because they have something in hand and are rarely pushing to their absolute max. Other drivers know this and are therefore at a huge psychological disadvantage.Quote:
Originally Posted by ESTR
Luck is what you make it as a driver. Ogier's offs are also usually less damaging than others because he is managing the impact. So yes everyone got away with being quicker than Seb for some stages on some rallies BUT no one (except Tanak for the future) appears to have a brain that says when to roll and when to fold (thanks Kenny Rogers!) such they end up with the most points at the end of the season. Same issue with the Fiesta, it has been driven by a master of finesse and, on the other hand, by someone who has been proudly breaking cars and struggling with set-ups since he got into WRC.
My twitter, got 150 retweets and it's been posted on Jalopnik and one of Finland biggest news papers so i think they got the point!Quote:
Originally Posted by Loose_Unit
Less risk when pushing combined with less time loss when cruising - this is the highly professional level that makes you a champion.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mintexmemory
I definitely agree with you but this year Ogier has been lucky indeed. He had many more excursions off the road than other years, he also spun once in a while. He almost never encountered a tree or a lethal rock when doing that.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mintexmemory
Anyway, talking about "pure luck" or that his "speed was nothing" is just wrong imho.