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I thought it referred to the actual setup with Tommi Mäkinen Racing building and running the cars and just being funded by the Toyota factory as opposed to Citroen and Hyundai where the teams are/were owned by the factory?Quote:
Originally Posted by mknight
And how many point did meeke or latvala brought this year in 'the fastest car' in comparison to 'unproven' evans in a slower ford?.... that said, maybe Toyota wasnt THE fastest, just tanak was the fastest, as his teammates didnt shine on points scoring... well, we'll see next year, dont we? :)
The risky part with Evans is that he basically never ever drove a different car than an MSport one, be it R5 or WRC.Quote:
Originally Posted by tomhlord
According Ogier, why did he actually leave M-Sport for Citroen last year?
And like I guessed, Latvala says here he needs to start gathering sponsors and the more budget he can get, the more rallies he can drive.Quote:
Originally Posted by AnttiL
https://www.rallit.fi/jari-matti-lat...ut-unohdetaan/
He mentions Sweden and Finland, as well as Portugal, Sardegna and Wales.
I'm not sure if this is something only said to Finnish press but Mäkinen says that "we haven't decided on a number one driver, everyone is on the same line (equal)" :D
https://yle.fi/urheilu/3-11076111
if i remember correctly then public ones where lack of money from Wilson to pay for Ogier and not enough support from Ford (not being a factory team, Ogier was very vocal about it especially in 2018, how ironic it sounds now after his year in citroen)Quote:
Originally Posted by Portimao
maybe this is targeting to Tanak/Martin requirements?Quote:
Originally Posted by AnttiL
It was kind of the same with Tänak before going to Toyota from M-SportQuote:
Originally Posted by mknight
Based on Märtin's interview, there wasn't any no 1 requirement - and there was no need for that.Quote:
Originally Posted by dimviii
The thing with the toyota, is it's the most driveable car across all surfaces. Maybe not best, or fastest, but most driveable. Ogier will love that after driving the C3, which is the opposite
He has to set it up on all of those surfaces according to his liking first of all...that may or may not take time.
Good choice by Makenin with Ogier and Rovenpera. Not sure about Evans. While has has shown good pace occasionally (Corsica a couple of times, Argentina once and GB as his home rally) I still have never really rated him. I would put Meeke, Lappi, Mikkelsen, Paddon and Latvala all ahead of him with regards to talent! I do think Latvala has had his chance thou and would select Evans ahead of him now.
Funny how diferently people are seeing things. For me Evans is very good choise because he is best of the Top 3, i would never hire Latvala or Meeke, but others see exactlt opposite.
Why is that I went to edit my post and it deleted them using mobile... Fuggin hell!!!
So I will summarize what I've heard. So far JML only for Finland via Toyota. They are also trying for Sweden but it adds a twist since they've already prepared budgets and logistics for Sweden and adding a fourth car is not easy.
I was told late in 2017 that while JML is extremely talented and capable, his outside life (his ex) was very toxic for him and would not allow him to fully focus. People on the team could clearly see it. She's gone now and he can finally focus on a few rallies if he gets the chance. I'm not sure how many sponsors JML can round up, but hopefully enough. Too bad for JML...
If M- Sport gave him a full season I would take it, but I think he knows his chances are slim. 3-5 drives at M Sport vs TGR... I'll stay with the team.
I wish him the best. He is one of the most likeable personalities in rallying, and I hope he will be able to come back for some rounds next year, and then fully back again in 21 as he was hoping for
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Sweden should not create any problems really as the event is 2,5 months away... Sweden is close to Finland so logistics is not the issue. And budget comes via JML.Quote:
Originally Posted by racerx1979
Actually JML's possible entry could be 5th car from Toyota as Katsuta is going to drive there too! And we must remember that all events JML would do they are not under TGR team but Tommi Mäkinen Racing.
It will be interesting. If Latvala is doing some rallies with TGR, I bet those are not tarmac rallies. It means, he has really good start position and may be in good position to challenge win for some rally. If Latvala is doing some rally, it's not for scoring points for himself or team anymore. Nothing to loose. Now, could he be allowed by Tommi "no-team-orders" Mäkinen to win (or take away points in general) when fight is with Ogier or Evans?Quote:
Originally Posted by abcrally
Wonder if there are any question asked about Toyota lineup in Finnish press and/or directly to Tommi?
Cause on paper the lineup doesn't stand a chance for manu title vs Tänak, Neuville, Sordo/Loeb/etc.
Or is there just miracle belief in Rovanpera?
Ofcourse not. Whatever paper they would sign, it's for sure included in there that under no circumstances can Latvala (or anyone else) finish right in front of any of the TGR guys.Quote:
Originally Posted by meh
On paper Toyota had no chance for any success in 2017.Quote:
Originally Posted by mknight
So, what is the motivation for JML then? To agree before start that he can not win does not sound like a motivation package :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Allez Andruet
I think it would still prove enough for the team bosses - especially the Toyota team boss, since that's where he aims to drive in 2021.
Good point because ogier contract is only 1 year and thats it. So very good point make some rounds and stay in the picture with positive vibes.Quote:
Originally Posted by AnttiL
I still don't really understand why Tommi would chose to put Rovanpera in the third car, rather than a fourth car. It can't be a money issue. It's just put unnecessary pressure on Rovanpera at an early point in his career which could be counter productive in the short to medium term. At this point, it's this issue too that raises the greatest doubt for me that they can win the Manufacturer title next year. Why take the risk?
Maybe it is some old news but couldn't find it here; Rovanperä in action with the Yaris WRC at the Arctic Rallye (16-18 January), so 1 week before rally Monte-Carlo..
I think Tommi genuinely thinks Kalle can do something incredible, and that he is a potential generational talent like Loeb/Ogier. He seems to have that much belief in him. I also think Tommi wants a Finn in the main team, in fact he's even said that (and rates Rovanpera higher than Lappi and Suninen, and now Latvala).
It does put a lot of pressure on Kalle though. Monte, Mexico, Chile and Argentina is a very tough set of specific events to start the year, especially for someone making a step up into the top class. It's even more tough in a team that HAS to challenge for both titles.
I think the lineup also puts more pressure on Evans, who I really hope can live with it. He is going to have to do a lot better than last year and cut out his mistakes, if Toyota can even get close to Hyundai with Neuville/ Tanak + Loeb/ Sordo with great road position. And as well as cutting out mistakes, he will have to improve his pace across the whole year as well. Fingers crossed as I'm delighted he's got this opportunity.
It's not like they had that much success in 2017 either.Quote:
Originally Posted by Allez Andruet
Anyway there is a huge difference, now they are ordered by Toyoda to win both titles. Seems like your reply is a good answer to my question then. Finnish people are hoping for magic Rovanpera skills.
Add to that Kenya and Japan.Quote:
Originally Posted by er88
Both in 2018 and 2019 overseas rallies were those were Lappi and Suninen were often completely lost... minutes behind with no big issues. Overseas new rallies are even worse cause new drivers don't have experience to build on and they can't watch onboards of others from previous years.
Man I wonder if driving private Toyota now is good choice. I mean can official TGR team bring him slower car just to not interfere with their main drivers? What will bosses from HQ say if Latvala will be flying and beating all three of them?
You mean, would it make Mäkinen look bad as a team boss when a private driver is faster than the chosen factory drivers? Because in reality Latvala would most likely gain something from giving away the victory to the factory drivers.Quote:
Originally Posted by deephouse
Compared to what was expected? Really? I must've missed something during 2017 pre-season then.Quote:
Originally Posted by mknight
Nope. Atleast I'm not expecting anything magical from Rovanperä in 2020. Good stage times here and there, maybe even a podium or two but with the occasional mistake. We'll see. I fully agree that Hyundai is the favorite for the manu title, but we're yet to see how the team dynamics work between Tänak and Neuville. In my view TGR is not that huge dog as it may sound like when adding up 2019 results.Quote:
Originally Posted by mknight
Kalle can´t be worse than TGR 3rd driver this year...
I also am not expecting any miracles.
Spare parts are the problem. Most of those are hand-made, there aren´t any lines which produces "Yaris WRC20" rear spoilers or front wings...Quote:
Originally Posted by abcrally
I’m quite surprised by the negative comments around Rovanpera getting the drive, while I agree he is young to have such a drive, I think he is well capable of delivering good results. Sure there will be some mistakes, but Toyota/Makinen are well aware of that and have clearly thought that the positives outweigh the negatives.
People keep talking about running a 4th car or whatever, well Katsuta is driving that so your effectively talking about running a 5th car, on their budget..
Negative comments are against "he is getting pressure/responsibility too early" not "he is getting drive too early".Quote:
Originally Posted by doubled1978
Yes, pressure is there. So there is also opportunity to show that he can handle it. Question of point of view.
Compared to expectations they did great. Titles are won based on beating competition, not beating expectationsQuote:
Originally Posted by Allez Andruet
That is true. However, he is not going to fight previous years 3rd drivers, he is fighting current third drivers at Hyundai - Sordo and Loeb.Quote:
Originally Posted by pantealex
Similarly Evans is expected to beat either Neuville or Tänak next year.
I’m a glass half full guy, so I like to see it as a great thing that the hot young talent is in the car, rather than a known quantity of talent unfulfilled (Meeke/Latvala).Quote:
Originally Posted by meh
If either of those two kept the drive, what would have happened? A few decent results, some amazing stage times, and a lot of 6/7/8 place finishes and maybe a win IF Meeke could get through the right event without a mistake.
I think Rovanpera can do at least as well as that, in fact I think the one with the real pressure in that team is Evans.
Titles yes, but success is specifically achieved by beating the expectations.Quote:
Originally Posted by mknight
Once you have the molds you can produce as many as you want pretty fast.Quote:
Originally Posted by pantealex
There's no magic in building parts, it just requires manhours.
Evans has to win in 2020 to truly prove his worth. His only win has come at the mercy of his Dmacks and of his other two nearlies one of them was also on those tyres. I believe he's got the speed and consistency to become a solid Sordo like figure for Toyota.Quote:
Originally Posted by doubled1978
I believe he lacks that natural given speed donned upon Tanak, for example, but if he can really wring out every last bit of performance from that Yaris I'd expect him to take a shock victory on some tarmac round.