Sorry if this has already been posted, but does anyone know if Loeb is doing Sardinia?
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Sorry if this has already been posted, but does anyone know if Loeb is doing Sardinia?
Well his statement is 100% right. On paper, based on recent tarmac results Neuville, Loeb and Sordo are the best choices.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fast Eddie WRC
Only argument that could be made is that in Monte Loeb and Mikkelsen had same speed. But Monte s not typical tarmac rally and Loeb came there straight from Dakar. So in Corsica Loeb is a "risky" choice while Sordo is backup.
The interesting part is that the article indirectly says they wont have any new upgrades for Corsica. That's one extra reason not to run Mikkelsen, since he struggles with the tarmac car as is and I don't think trying to change driving style is likely to help much. On the other hand it doesn't bode well for their chances on scoring good points.
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On a small sidenote this is another David Evans article with factual errors. Which is something that happens in just about every third article he writes. Here he writes Mikkelsen is still waiting for his first podium with Hyundai. Maybe he wanted to write "this year", but the way it's written it's wrong. Sloppy work for a guy that has this as his main job
Neuville, Mikkelsen and Sordo confirmed for Argentina.
http://www.rallyargentina.com/hyunda...argentina-2019
Speculation: they all do Chile as well as they are paired events? Then Loeb steps in for Sordo for Portugal and Sardegna, another pair (plus Sordo already rallied at Fafe)?
The chassis and key components are paired. I don't think the drivers are.Quote:
Originally Posted by AnttiL
Chassis and parts are linked to the team, rather than the driver, no?
Well, key parts like diffs can be very personally set up by the drivers. But speculation...
Other news: updates coming for Finland https://www.autosport.com/wrc/news/1...ght-wrc-rivals
hmmmm, isnt it late? dont they usually have some kind of bigger update around Mexico and then second in the second part of the season?
Like Toyota last year, big update for Argentina and then for Finland.
"The development for the July homologation and the development for next year’s car. That’s what I’m working on.”
The current i20 will be six-years-old in 2020 - I suspect the WRC team will have an all-new model introduced sometime next season.
Quote:
Originally Posted by EstWRC
Depends on how you look at it, remember they introduced new engine at end of 2018/beginning of 2019 and both in 2017 and 2018 they were very good on the events that make up the first half of the season and then quite bad in the second half.
For 2019:
- It means Corsica is a write-off and they will likely be around 4-6 place on pure speed, doesn't mean they can't get a decent result if other cars hit issues or weather plays a role (like Germany last year where Neuville ended 2nd while being 4th-5th based on speed).
- Argentina wasn't very good last year, but the engine might help
- Chile is an unknown, but it looks like mid-speed gravel rally so should be okish
- in Portugal and Sardinia they were probably the fastest car last year and looking at Turkey it might not have changed that much
- Finland has always been a disaster so they need all the upgrades they can get, same with Germany and Spain based on last years performance
Hyundai clearly missed their best chances in 2017 & 2018 when their car was one of the fastest.
By the time they get the car upgraded the 2019 Championships will probably be gone...
By the sound of things upgrades are coming soon to Hyundai (first half of the season). Just like Tänak after Sardinia last year, you can't write them off yet.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fast Eddie WRC
I would say their car was only the fastest in the first half of 2017. In the second half they seemed all pretty equally, but citroen and toyota did not have a good leading driver.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fast Eddie WRC
By the end of 2018, the hyundai was perhaps the slowest car. Or at least it looked like that to me.
In 2017 JML would have been right in the mix had the Yaris not let him down in Poland and Finland. So that year it was the car, not the driver.Quote:
Originally Posted by denkimi
yes it was. to me i looks that the toyota was just as fast back then as it is today. if ogier had been in that car he probably would have been champion too, but with more points and more wins.Quote:
Originally Posted by Allez Andruet
Latvala missed out on at least 15 points in Poland, 25 points in Finland and had the chance of at least 10 points in Germany when he was forced to retire. Don't forget he led the championship that year and was a firm title contender. His only mistakes all year were the roll in Portugal and the PS in Australia.Quote:
Originally Posted by denkimi
The Yaris had, likely, the best engine that year, and was very quick on fast roads, but while it was durable despite it's electrical Gremlins it was a little heavy.
Lost track a little bit, but has there been any confirmed news about who's doing Portugal/Sardinia yet out of Loeb and Sordo?
Sordo does both.Quote:
Originally Posted by er88
14-16.06 Loeb is doing a France local event in the i20 WRC, same weekend when others are in Sardegna.
Bit of a shame Loeb won't do either (but I've got nothing against Sordo though)Quote:
Originally Posted by AnttiL
After what we've seen from him in Chile, I hope Loeb's going to do Finland, with a lot of pre-event testing... :)
Take it with a huge pinch of salt as this is from Colin Clark's kitchen table and is just rumours, but he says there's been whispers that Hyundai need to land a title this year or they'll pull the plug on the WRC.
Seems a bit extreme, but maybe Hyundai finally want something for their efforts and expenditure. Clark saying that if the pressure is that big (or near enough), he wouldn't be surprised to see Loeb get more gravel rallies after his performance in Chile, and Mikkelsen's terrible one. Adamo isn't going to shy away from big decisions
Of course they are very eager to win, especially after all this time and coming close many times.
And I wouldn't be surprised at all for Mikkelsen to get less rallies. He's been delivering way below expectations. In 17/18 he was talking about that he wanted to fight for the title, and that he was targeting it in 18 (in Norwegian media). But his results are way off. I thought maybe second in Argentina would be a turning point, but Chile wasn't exactly a good one.
He's not finding his comfort in the car, perhaps his last chance is to aim for a seat in a different team
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They have gotten serious this season with Adamo taking charge and also signing Seb Loeb. If they do fail again it would be hard to see what more they could do in the future assuming Tanak and Ogier arent available.Quote:
Originally Posted by er88
well it's their own fault for being arrogant and not signing ogier when he was available. they would have won 2 drivers and 2 constructors championships, and they would almost certain win the constructors again this year and have a 2/3 chance on the drivers title.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fast Eddie WRC
Nandan signed Loeb not Adamo. Following his belief that when multiple drivers struggle trough 2017-2018 (Sordo, Paddon, Mikkelsen), it's best to get yet another driver.
CC also said that Loeb can now fight for win in any rally. That's extremely bold claim when he did ok in Monte and very good in Chile but had weak Sweden and terrible Corsica.
Therefore I very much doubt they would put him instead of Mikkelsen on rallies where Mikkelsen had good pace last year. That's all remaining gravel rallies except Finland. But for Finland it looks set for Mikkelsen and likely Hutunen, based on the starts in the other rallies for the 3 of them.
Much more likely that Loeb drives beside Mikkelsen and Neuville on some rallies that Paddon did last year and Sordo is not good at. GB clear candidate.
Tarmac rallies are much more unsure for both Mikkelsen and Loeb though.
As I wrote before the changes for Corsica were actually done because Loeb underperformed (relative to expectations) in Monte and Sweden. Sordo was taken in to secure some sure points as Loeb was uncertain (and you have to let Loeb run his first normal tarmac rally) .
Looking at results it clearly was a good choice.
So now for Germany Adamo has a choice between unsure Mikkelsen (based on dry tarmac last year), unsure Loeb (based on Corsica) and unsure Sordo (crashing out in Germany last two years). Not easy pick, but looks like Loeb is in based on doing the two tarmac rallies. For Spain it looks more clear with Sordo-Loeb likely if Loeb wants.
The rumor about needing some title is possible. Good that all 3 Hyundai drivers (without Neuville) score better manu points than both Toyota 2/3rd drivers.
I wouldn't be so quick to write off Loeb for more rally wins. During Chile he was very, very quick and claimed to have finally clicked with the car, a statement that from Loeb is extremely ominous.Quote:
Originally Posted by mknight
Interesing read from Nicolas Gilsoul on Rally Chile, the crash and testing for Portugal:
https://nicolasgilsoul.be/debriefing-chili/
I dont know how you work that out. Loeb had/is retired from full-time rallying, didnt want to do full seasons anymore and was happy doing WRX.Quote:
Originally Posted by denkimi
Plus I don't think it would be very good for a team dynamic to have Ogier and Neuville in the same team. They are clearly both good enough to be leading drivers, and they know that. None of them would be content with playing a team game if it came to it.
Just unleash Huttunen and there's nothing to worry about.
If Mikkelsen wants to keep his WRC career going, he needs to get out of this team fast and already start looking for a new contract (maybe Ford?). He had a plenty of time to adapt, tests, work on car settings or whatever. Its clear he and Hyundai doesnt match so thats that. And in process a co-driver change for him wouldnt mind also. Chile was a great example they both doesnt work as a team.
Denkimi isn't talking about Loeb Eddie, rather Ogier.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fast Eddie WRC
Can you elaborate or perhaps link something about how Andreas and Anders isn't a good match? Not heard anything about that and didn't notice anything in perticular in ChileQuote:
Originally Posted by Lead
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In Chile Mikkelsen said he had written too optimisic notes and after the two moments (Friday afternoon and Saturday end of first stage) he stopped trusting them.
Guess that's what he meant. I'd say that's basically drivers fault and not co-drivers.
Anyway I agree that he should try to change teams no matter what happens rest of season. Driving part time and risking getting dropped every single rally is not something to long for.
I see Citroen (extra car) as most likely. MSport not so sure. Wilson definitely aims for Tänak and if he gets him he doesn't need Mikkelsen (Evans works ok as 2nd driver atm). If he doesn't he might just stay in money making mode instead of using money on Mikkelsen, (which doesn't guarantee a shot at either title) . Toyota is also possible depending what happens with those 2, but Makinen picked Latvala over him at end of 2017, even with worse results. Might be Toyota boses could have a say if Toyota doesn't do that well this season.
And y would they want him now exactly? Cant c toyota pulling strings to replace a driver struggling with another thats struggling as much
They sure have a say, but just as sure that won't be in favor of Mikkelsen. Whether you root for him or not, his 2019 (what we've seen so far) won't earn him a seat anywhere in 2020 without a substantial funding.Quote:
Originally Posted by mknight
Compare his 2019 with Latvala, Lappi, Suninen and Meeke (in about that order) all have as bad or worse season. 3 of these are even behind him in points after driving one more rally. Mikkelsen has highest manu point score per rally of all these as well as Loeb and Sordo.Quote:
Originally Posted by Allez Andruet
Just looking at the Toyota drivers driving arguably the fastest car (in Tanak's hands):
Latvala best result 5th place, completely out of pace on Corsica, blaming notes (like Mikkelsen did in Chile). Note that Latvala has now 201 WRC starts, Mikkelsen has 105.
Meeke best one 4th place, out of pace in Sweden. 4 rallies in a row with crashes (small or big) that cost him better result. 95 starts btw.
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To answer your point, as I wrote I don't think it's likely that Toyota will be interested. But Mikkelsen suddenly becoming the worst driver there is that nobody would hire is a bit too much of a step.
Well I don't think Adamo is worried about Latvala or Meeke... He's working with what they have and they have Loeb
In today's WRC cars you just cant take a young talented guy (As Greensmith) and wait for good results from the beginning. Today's cars and rallyes need so much more know-how than ever, it really takes at least one year to learn.
Problem as I see, is that after every season slowest guy or two drops. It has been like this for a long time, but the difference is that there is no-one who can replace them.
IMO Lappi, Suninen and Tidemand are good examples. They were superfast in WRC2 but right when the new-era WRC cars came the gap between those two machines are too damn big.
Maybe it's good, it differences the men from the boys. But maybe we will never see such amount of WRC drivers (part program also) as we did in early 2000's.
In conclusion I think that if someone had to be dropped, in this moment Mikkelsen is the guy.
And has scored less points overall than loeb who has started an event less. Mikkleson has failed to score points on 2 of his 5 starts which again is poor. Loeb has brought points in every rally started.Quote:
Originally Posted by mknight