6 events for Suninen sounds good to me. Not too few, not too many. Hopefully with R5 in between.
Printable View
6 events for Suninen sounds good to me. Not too few, not too many. Hopefully with R5 in between.
And probably Ogi don't want to risk his reputation by going into Citroen. Maybe if they do good on Australia, but I doubt that. I think that if he got 5 mio on the table, Citroen maybe place a little higher or the same.. Like they say how badly they want him it's no point giving him less than that.. Or otherwise they are cheap as hell.
Sweden, Portugal, Sardegna/Turkey, Finland, Catalunya and Wales would probably be a good season. But will there be budget left for R5 runs, and for sure he couldn't do enough for a proper WRC2 campaign.Quote:
Originally Posted by mknight
I don't believe Citroen have the budget.Quote:
Originally Posted by ESTR
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
If that's it then what the hell are they doing in sport? You can't win race for free, and importantly championshipQuote:
Originally Posted by rhm
Yeah I think that idea has been binned off, for next year at least.Quote:
Originally Posted by AnttiL
Well in at least two articles after Germany Matton said how focused they were only on getting Ogier and that it was the reason why they let Mikkelsen go.Quote:
Originally Posted by rhm
If they now don't get Ogier either it will be one more item on the list of his fails this year. Let's list the main ones:
1. Didn't get any of the 3 VW drivers (and said he was not interested in Latvala or Mikkelsen at all), now out of those 3:
- Ogier won the championship
- Latvala was 4th, while Citroen main driver will be 6th or 7th
- Mikkelsen was taken into the team 6 months later and first after he came changes on the car were made, he also gave the team one of the 3 podiums
Meanwhile out of his 3 drivers, one driver got 8 crashes in 11 rallies, another got 4 crashes in 7 rallies and has only shown decent speed in a single rally
2. Came with a twitchy car on gravel after a year of preparation
3. Arrived in Monte and Sweden "without a good setup" (his own words)
4. His coaching of Meeke after Corsica "Kris should focus on getting single rally wins and not on championship", resulted in 4 DNFs with multiple destroyed cars and his main driver benched.
I really do wonder how he convinces his bosses that he is the right man for the job.
4 car team, manus complain about costs, so no go from them. involve satellite teams again to have more teams in championship...
about citroen. you don't say anything about breen. He is the only one who manage to hold this team up. and don't forget teoretically they still have chance of being 3rd on manufacturer championship.
5. Citroen tested for Wales Rally GB in France, on dry dusty gravel. Matton: 'It's very expensive to test in Welsh forests...'Quote:
Originally Posted by mknight
He's a a joke.
Breen currently doesn't have the ultimate pace to finish on the podium. Consistency is fantastic but he needs a little more time to develop into a consistent podium finisher.Quote:
Originally Posted by ESTR
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Well lets say the one who is responsible for budget and results should make the decision. And, under the line, what would be different in results, positions and championship standings from that? Nothing?Quote:
Originally Posted by Fast Eddie WRC
They did the same with Mikkelsen testing for Sardinia, 1 day test on gravel in France with no setup changes.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fast Eddie WRC
Anyway I wouldn't really rate this as management issue that much. As CWJ wrote, nothing would have changed if they placed 1-2 places higher in Wales. If it really was expensive it's better to use the money for further development rather than testing for the one specific gravel rally.
Very well said, I’ve often thought just how much pressure this guy is actually under, given how he seems to manage the team.Quote:
Originally Posted by mknight
If this was Ferrari he would have been fired about four times by now.
Makes me think he might be away at the season end.
I know Meeke wasn’t performing too well, but dropping him was ruthless and, like you pointed out, had a massively negative impact on his next few results. I just don’t get that if I can see how plainly obvious the outcome to such a situation is likely to be, why the hell can’t the guy who’s paid a lot of money to manage the team see the same thing?
Shocking man-management!
Also, the car is a shit box. I know I’ll get shot down by those on this site who think this sounds stupid, but I actually think you can see by looking at the photos that it looks too heavy over the rear of the car and it certainly handles pretty bad in the flesh (I know this contradicts the fact that Meeke said the car felt good this last weekend, but I honestly think he was being diplomatic to protect the brand. I watched that car in the stages a few times last weekend and the back just comes round way too fast. I was stood on a steep Bank in Dyfnant, looking down (and from the side) of the cars as they came from left to right and they were all in fifth or possibly sixth. Most of the cars seemed to handle at the mercy of their drivers and pick a (straightish) line through the three or four switchback-corners, but the Citroen literally twitched from left to right really rapidly.
They have a lot of work or a complete redesign to do on that car...
Or they might even pull the plug before next year, given the money PSA will probably need to put aside if they are to be exposed in the dieselgate scandal.
Colins kitchen table
https://youtu.be/rrbYNzYzDsw
Quote:
Originally Posted by dimviii
Well he voices what I wrote here as early as February when I compared them with 2008 Subaru, that Citroen's future might be in trouble. Cause if they don't get Ogier they won't have realistic chances for manu champs, even with 5-6 rallies with Loeb.
Other than that (and the talk about Ogier) he does seem a bit "blinded by the GB-factor," most notably:
- saying Evans would have won in Wales even on Michelins
- saying that Evans will charge for title next year no matter what team he drives for
and
- that M-Sport/Ford with Ogier+Evans+Suninen will be favorites for manu champ next year, imo both Toyota and Hyundai look stronger on paper.
So is it now fair to say, the best WRC driver without a win is... Craig Breen.
A guy with 16 factory WRC starts. Nice situation.
There are rally winners everywhere you look now. And I deliberately haven't mentioned Hanninen as he won't be in the sport next year.
Missed the point completely. If Matton had anything about him he'd be insisting on the testing being held in the right place. Citroen will never be successful again with this current weak management.Quote:
Originally Posted by CWJ
don't worry. sordo had to wait 95 wrc rally's for his first win.Quote:
Originally Posted by Simmi
It's true, Gerard Quinn being on the podium in team kit was very interesting indeed. https://twitter.com/WRCgerardquinn/s...73886018691072Quote:
Originally Posted by dimviii
Colin speculates that's it's Ford of Europe potentially offering funding to secure Ogier. That's a different pot of money than the ex-WRX Block Ford Performance money.
Gerard seems like a rally guy through and through though. Doesn't seem like he needs any convincing to go to events and be a part of it. It's his bosses that will need their arm twisting. It does seem that Ford of Europe would be the best way forward, as opposed to Ford Performance.
I don't think the Americans care about WRC or marketing the Fiesta one bit.
Source ?Quote:
Originally Posted by Simmi
In Finland there has been NO news about his retirement...
Juho himself said he wouldn't be paying for a drive anywhere (he specifically mentioned M-Sport as the only option for that) and currently it looks like he won't be given a seat in WRC by any manufacturer either. In my understanding Mäkinen offers only a test driver's position.
https://twitter.com/HartusvuoriWRC/s...04304321142791Quote:
Originally Posted by Simmi
Who's gonna be the next maiden winner? Whoever it is, I'm pretty sure it doesn't happen in 2018.
He was the guy in charge when they left.Quote:
Originally Posted by Simmi
He clearly didn't put together a convincing enough business case to keep them in.....
My wording wasn't brilliant - I meant he won't be in the WRC (top line) next year. As in, he won't be able to win a round of the championship.Quote:
Originally Posted by pantealex
From financial view: Ford Motor Co did good work in Third Quarter. Only Ford did in Europe in comparison to last year not so good. Given reasons are Brexit, Fiesta launch and commodities/raw material. How much can Ford Europe invest in WRC as they also have a expensive and ambitious GT programme?Quote:
Originally Posted by Simmi
Let's see. Ford of Europe can't do much other than sponsor M Sport for marketing purposes. Only FoMoCo in Detroit can help in full backing (meaning development +technical +money). If Wilson thinks that covering Ogier's wages is enough, it's OK. If they want something more, things are questionable.
On Michelins he wouldn´t have won. That´s for sure. Tyres played a big role, so win on Michelin, no. Maybe podium for Evans in that case.Quote:
Originally Posted by mknight
I doubt anybody could have persuaded them to stay. The business case at the time obviously didn't add up.Quote:
Originally Posted by rallyfiend
Looks like I met him as a WRC driver just in time...Quote:
Originally Posted by Mirek
Really nice guy, shame he never got where his early potential was promising.
https://i.imgur.com/BuDabHm.jpg
He crashed out 15 mins later and that's the end of his WRC career. :(
Hyundai could still reshuffle 2018 WRC drivers
https://www.motorsport-news.co.uk/ne...8-wrc-drivers/
All I can read into this is that Nandan doesn't want to come out and flat say that he's created a driver hierarchy within the team. But it clearly seems that this is the case.Quote:
Originally Posted by EstWRC
There's no way they will rotate Thierry or Andreas next year unless they have some sort of Meeke-style meltdown and the championship is gone. The big question is how many rounds car they afford to run four cars, and/or will Dani and Hayden be able to bring sponsors to the table to ensure more rounds.
To me it´s 50/50, maybe also win with Michelin, he really did drive very well.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rallyper
I on the other hand seriously doubt that he had won with Michelin...For sure he did drive well but for me he just isnt on the same level as this years championship TOP4 guys who he did beat. And previous years in WRC class and last year in WRC2 class didnt convince me too.
but the thing is, it is very difficult to tell...maybe indeed he has made a huge progress and now is on the same level? i guess we will find out next season.
Evans won and I'm happy he is in the club of WRC rallys winner because he is a nice and talented guy. Hat off to him for all the commitment he showed throughout the years. But let's be honest, he has never been near the TOP guys in terms of pace as you rightfully say. I don't think he just woke up with 0.5s/km more speed in his right foot. DMACK have had a role there, and for me it's not difficult to say.Quote:
Originally Posted by EstWRC
Anyway DMACK season seems to be an improving one, because you drive with the excuse of the tires if things goes wrong. It worked with Tanak, because it gives you much less pressure and you can focus on improving your mind and your driving. I'm sure that for the same reason Evans is now a stronger driver than before, but with michelins I don't think he would have won.
I have to admit that Evans had advantage's on Rally GB - namely DMACK's & competing on his home stages - but he absolutely maximised them.
He was consistently fast, made no mistakes in very tricky conditions with his lower start order & held his nerve perfectly under the pressure of his first WRC win.
I believe he would've won on Michelin's, just that it would've been closer.
Finnish members - do you think Jouhki would be interested in the Dmack drive for Suninen - for the reasons listed above (relatively lack of pressure/some events with tyre advantage/very much a third car/proven progression to works team)?
Or would he want to get Teemu in a full Michelin car on a level field with the factory drivers?
Meeke hasn't been on the same level as the top 4 this season (even if you ignore how iffy the car has been) yet has won two events, and it would've been 3 had the car not blown up in Corsica. Lappi isn't on the same level as those guys either but he won in Finland.Quote:
Originally Posted by EstWRC
Point is, even if Evans isn't on the same level doesnt mean he can't win a specific event like Wales even if he was on Michelins. He absolutely dominated it, made no mistakes throughout unlike Thierry and Seb. He also had a poorer road position. We will likely never know, but I think he would've done enough to win on Michelins. Superb drive.
Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
I meant speedwise, Meeke for me definitely is on the same same level speed wise as TOP4 guys and Mikkelsen, consistency wise of course not.
Like i said, he did drive well and hats off but i cant agree that he had won with MIchelins too. This is just my opinion.
AL14 sums pretty much up what i wanted to say.
If the choice is 6 rallies with own funding and Michelins or full season with DMacks, I think full season is better.Quote:
Originally Posted by Simmi