Thoughts to the young talented drivers who will lose a lot of opportunities... :(
Printable View
Thoughts to the young talented drivers who will lose a lot of opportunities... :(
It depends on the level of the new Fiesta.
Moreover, when you have Ogier, you do not need any driver in particular so, for M-Sport which is a little short on money, it is better to take Ostberg (who pay a part of his drive) than to be in a situation where you cannot afford a third car.
And more generally, with Ogier, you do not need a Meeke, Neuville or Latvala but on the contrary, a driver who "brings some few points", just enough to win the manufacturers championship.
I think if only ford motors enters he will join them,otherwise only Toyota could pay him........
Really disappointed in the decision from VW, this is like Peugeot quitting the WEC to save face despite having spent 90% of the costs.
I'm not an expert on the contracts but with the deals their drivers were on I'd be very surprised if they are
All this because they feel they need to keep their short-term profits high at the expense of their foundation because of some of their company's fraudulent actions elsewhere.
Why would M-Sport need a 3rd car (they will have plenty privateers also next year)? They don't care about the manufacturers' championship too much, they care about winning rallies or at least finishing on the podium. And Ogier on his worst day is more capable of delivering said results than Ostberg on his best I'm afraid... Not to mention getting sponsors would be easier for Malcolm if he could get Ogier, his performance and marketing value is much better than Ostberg's.
This isn't about short term profits though.
It's a message to the outside world they are serious about the issue. As has been said before, to the outside it's hard to justify spending tens of millions on a motorsport programme when you're facing big problems like they are.
Didn't Ford pull out when they were in some shit as well? They had everything in place for the next years ready to go maybe even more like VW have now with the new car.
It's a big shame but unfortunately the way it works.
Not to mention, I'm feeling robbed that the 2017 Polo will be consigned to the bin with the Group S cars. Particularly disappointing as it was surely going to be the fastest car rally in has ever seen.