Actually Ogier increased his lead to 2nd placed in champ. Though yes Neuville is now closer.
He does seem to have real issues driving the Fiesta on twisty sections though, corner turn-in is like driving without active diff.
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Actually Ogier increased his lead to 2nd placed in champ. Though yes Neuville is now closer.
He does seem to have real issues driving the Fiesta on twisty sections though, corner turn-in is like driving without active diff.
What a finish! The battle to the finish was reminiscent of last year except this time we had to wait for the last car to come through, knowing Neuville had done all he could. I could not believe it when Evans touched the bridge and the next split came in! I feel for him and hope he comes back to fight in the front soon.
Must say the mood in the office on Friday afternoon was not all that upbeat, what with problems from the opening 2 stages. Now we have a great result but we obviously have some work to do, but at least we can do that with a smile on our faces :)
PS Does anyone know why my posts in the technical analysis thread must be approved by an admin, but not here?
Did you try to post a link with URL tags? The same happened to me in this thread, but posting links without tags works fineQuote:
Originally Posted by Mrpengski
Meeke's SS14 onboard is now on WRC+
Comparing with the first run he drives adifferent line and is 15 kph faster. Looks simply too wide touching the bank on left.
SS14 left, SS11 right
That was tough on Evans but most driver's have such a close 2nd place before they win.
From virtually nowhere to a WRC win was a bit too good to be true.
Great improvement from him and now really justified his drive.
Out of breath. What a fabulous rally.
Jesus Christ, Elfyn..
And great job for Neuville.
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Third closest WRC victory in history - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...s#Closest_wins
Look how many of this list were in Argentina too. Top rally! Even if there were only 18 finishers.
Has Meeke spoken yet about yesterday's massive crash ?
Perfomance wise Ogier goes from bad to worse.
Huge congrats to Neuville/Gilsoul and Hyundai. Evans did a remarkable job, resisting more than expected. No doubt he pushed hard on first leg, but we tend to forget that the 1m lead over Neuville was only possible due to day 1 starting order (just like Ostberg’s P2).
Somehow it’s nice to have different winners all the time, but if top drivers and their cars keep showing there’s a balance between them is there a point to keep the artificial day 1 starting rule? Maybe it’s a bit too soon to ask, but I bet this issue will be even more noticeable in Portugal and Italy.
You won't mention Latvala's 16 point gap?Quote:
Originally Posted by N.O.T
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i do not care about fluke teams of nothingness.Quote:
Originally Posted by steve.mandzij
What a rally, good God! The atmosphere at El Condor was intense, and Evans was clearly faster than Neuville from where I was standing. Gutted to see his chance of victory stripped by 0.7 seconds, but at the same time amazed by the gap. I truly think that Neuville's performance might be onto something now. He's a true championship contender.
As for the championship itself, it's awesome to see it so close! Latvala does worry me a bit though. He's been mediocre at best the past two rallies, but oh well. He's an awesome guy.
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Well to be fair I don't think any sane person genuinely believes Latvala will challenge for the title.Quote:
Originally Posted by steve.mandzij
People justify Evans' Friday lead by starting order, tyres, etc, but tend to forget Evans started Saturday as strong as on Friday, then the problems began to appear and his lead melted like snow in May. Even today he had car issues also, we can encounter 2 mistakes for him - the puncture yesterday and the bridge today, probably the last decided the rally. Neuville was also lucky at one occasion yesterday, tremendous job by him though last 2 days. They both deserved the victory, but could be only 1, that's life.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rally Power
I must be insane then :(Quote:
Originally Posted by EightGear
Perhaps I'm too die-hard of a fan, but I really do think he still has a chance. In Mexico and here in Argentina he got hampered by a few mechanical issues and a puncture (I think he could have been third this time around). Corsica was strange though.
However he did net a well deserved Sweden win, and the Yaris definitely proved it has some speed, enough to battle with the big boys. He's historically done well in Portugal, Italy, Poland and Finland, so fingers crossed!
Question though: Latvala mentioned he hadn't driven El Condor and Mina Clavero properly since 2013. What happened? How come?
Is it correct that this is the first time since 2009 that a man who's name isn't Sebastien wins back to back victories?
"Latvala" and "well in Portugal" are words that should never be in the same sentence. In fact I think historically Portugal is he's worst Rally.
https://youtu.be/VmwgNVNdSdUQuote:
Originally Posted by mknight
Video of inspecting the car afterwards
what a rally, & what a season we've got on our hands, well done for Evans even though he lost & congrats to Neuville for snatching the win off him. Hopefully Citroen will comeback to the mix for the rest of the season and will stop crashing & stop having problems with the car for the rest of the season 'cause at the moment it looks like they will have the numbers 10/11/12 on their cars next year...
Looks like Ogier is on a Manufacturer championship plan for Ford. If he succeeds I guess Wilson will get full support from Ford.
That is worth a lot!
In dry conditions that is, since then the stage was run in wet conditions.Quote:
Originally Posted by steve.mandzij
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Well, 2009 sticks out like a sore thumb, but he's won it a few times.Quote:
Originally Posted by Francis44
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He won the rally once, two years ago. 2009 probably was his worst time there, but now they're not going to the Algarve region anymore so should be better.Quote:
Originally Posted by steve.mandzij
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Interesting - so you advocate moving back to qualifying?Quote:
Originally Posted by Rally Power
I don't think the current way is too artificial to be honest. This has been the rule through some glory years of the sport. I'm not sure individual rally seedings at WRC level make sense.
At the end of the #PowerStage @thierryneuville & @nicolasgilsoul
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C-r7DgEWAAAsO8o.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C-r7EaVWsAMnoan.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C-r7FVnXgAAqMj2.jpg
Miikka Anttila*@MiikkaAnttila
If I would have to describe #RallyArgentina, I would use this pic. This was this morning at the starting line of "El Condor"! #Gracias
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C-rzuLaWAAU23OD.jpg
Best WRC Sunday I had in a long while. I didn't expect such close fight, but it was nice surprise.
Anyway, congrats to both Neuville and Evans, great performance.
Makes you realize how ugly the WRC+ onboards are. I'm pretty sure the quality of them hasn't increased in yearsQuote:
Originally Posted by dimviii
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C-r5evQWAAAhawF.jpg
2017 Rally Argentina highlights by Citroën Racing... this will be a short video ! ;)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWSA...ature=youtu.be
Yes you are too die-hard :) but Jari is Jari, I like him too.Quote:
Originally Posted by steve.mandzij
Latvala won Argentina in 2014 but it was all mud. In 2015 his Polo had mechanical issues in the middle of first pas at El Condor. In 2016 he crashed badly the day before and the car was very weak and he couldn't push to the maximum.
I think not even him is thinking about the championship this year.Quote:
Originally Posted by EightGear
Latvala has been a disaster in Portugal when it was up to the south of the region. Now it's in the north and he also won it in 2015.Quote:
Originally Posted by Francis44
Anyway both before and now he has always be fast in Portugal but often crashed.
He gave his hat away yesterday :)Quote:
Originally Posted by AL14
Makes sense he'd win Argentina in the mud, considering his performance at GB. Also, I'll never forget the dread I felt when I heard his damper had popped out last year. That was, in my opinion, what started his career's downward spiral last year. He's back this year though.
After Sweden, he said he'd start thinking of the WDC, so there's that!
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Citroen retired Breen during last service, so they 'can get a full quota of sealed spare parts for the next rallies.'
https://twitter.com/CitroenRacing/st...89611866345472
So they prefer this over 8 manufacturer points. Why? Are they afraid Meeke is going to roll 3 times in Portugal? Or does the sheik need his parts there?
Argentina 2014 was in my opinion the best rally ever for Jari-Matti. Even better than Finland wins. He outpaced Seb the whole weekend with same car and same conditions.Quote:
Originally Posted by steve.mandzij
I think Sweden crash in 2015 has been the start of his downward spiral. Not that he has been near the top before with all those Sebs driving around... but in 2014 he made undoubtful improvements before getting lost again the next year.
The way Citroen is handling his WRC campaign this year is embarassing.Quote:
Originally Posted by EightGear
what a sealed spare parts? Only engine has limited number per season no?Quote:
Originally Posted by EightGear
2 points. Power Stage points doesn't count for manufacturer points.Quote:
Originally Posted by EightGear
***Well 6 to be exact because there was 3 Fords and 3 Hyundais ahead. These manufacturer points are too complicated. :confused:
"Hellooo team principal with underprforming driveeers... I'm still heeere and you know my phonenumber, do youu? :)"
http://www.autonewsinfo.com/wp-conte...EN-600x399.jpg
You're right. Up until Sweden this year, he hadn't been himself since Corsica 2015. The switch to Toyota and having Makinen as team principal/mentor will surely help a lot. Who knows where he'd be if the Yaris was at Hyundai level?Quote:
Originally Posted by AL14
I am near certain that I will live to see the day when Jari-Matti wins a world championship. He's been too close too many times not to win.
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