https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/latva...toyota-lineup/
Latvala wants to keep the same lineup at Toyota for next year.
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https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/latva...toyota-lineup/
Latvala wants to keep the same lineup at Toyota for next year.
For sure, this would be a no-brainer.
And Neuville is looking for help at the higher-ups
https://twitter.com/Ben_Sulayem/stat...CjzZv55bIrAAAA
Could be that Thierry is explaining the Hyundai situation to the FIA. Former Hyundai team member Alain Penasse was hinting as such in a Wallon DHSports interview:
What's going on at Hyundai, your former team?
"There are a lot of management problems. There is no longer a real boss. Some ex-colleagues have explained things to me in confidence. Thierry also knows things, but that is something you better not tell the journalists…""
Before Ypres and especially if the Finland roll led to retirement there could be a discussion.Quote:
Originally Posted by AnttiL
But in Ypres Lappi has shown he can also do a safe point-scoring run for good points.
This puts Latvala in a very easy positions. Though I am not sure whether Adamo wouldn't want to change something anyway, but Adamo is not there.
I believe Latvala does not lie when he says nothing about Tanak.
I believe Japans objections on Katsuta not getting into main team got stopped by two Hyundai wins in a row showing that Toyota can't relax.
The only question is if Evans wants to leave by himself. I think it's very unlikely, but let's think about it:
Hyundai could try to get him in 3rd car, with Sordo retiring and Solberg in 4th.. or to replace Tanak if he goes to MSport.
MSport could also try replacing Breen (based on latest rumors).
If Evans leaves I think Latvala would just keep Lappi, Katsuta+Ogier with Katsuta getting nominated on some rounds.
To me this interview expresses the wish of Latvala to have a serious contender who can go for the wins where Rovanperä is still developping some weakness, that is Monte Carlo (a natural for Ogier) and Sardinia (where Lappi always have been fast)Quote:
Originally Posted by AnttiL
Indeed. Toyota has good drivers and team inner chemistry looks good also. No secrets between drivers and no team orders.Why risk replacing somebody with former champion, who most surely will add tensions .Quote:
Originally Posted by flat_right
I am a fan of Tänak but he is surelu stubborn and demanding person
uff thats harsh on Breen.
I mean... Msport is not doing so well, as we can see... The pay drivers are reeeaally weak - and Breen is not delivering much too tbh. But Loeb delivers so better drivers are required asap.
I was thinking yesterday... Imagine Msport gets Mikkelsen... then he crashes in his first race.. then some problem hits in in his second race and BOOOM. Everybody will start to "Ah, he is a R5 driver, not Rally1" - "Ah we over estimated him".
https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/m-spo...ime-next-year/
Says it all I guess.
Well there is no real info or anything to back up in the article. Just writing about something to fill up time....Quote:
Originally Posted by Eli
They could at least try with some proper questions (like they did a few times to Millener).
Questions like:
- Does Wilson want to pay Loeb (more) for those extra starts? (one would think so, but rumors had it that RedBull is paying his starts this year)
- Do they want to increase Loeb's starts at expense of Breen?
-----------------------
Breen's goal this year was to bring some podiums or even wins to show the speed of the car, both to sponsors/partners and customers. (Millener basically said this directly). Loebs performance was uncertain after Hyundai so it was a lot about PR.
Breen didn't deliver, but Loeb showed the speed=> "kick" Breen and keep/get Loeb and paydrivers in all other cars would sound like typical MSport approach.
I think the headline is stupid, when the interview actually goes
“For sure he will not want to do a whole championship,” Wilson continued, “which is something that would appeal to us, but if we can get him for a few events then for sure we would look at it.”
Quote:
Originally Posted by mknight
Yes they literally took the interview they had with Malcolm before ypres which they posted in youtube by the way.
Dirtfish does this thing, eh? They get a week (or two) ago interview and split to repost the same thing, with a "click bait" title (not in a bad way, cuz this is sport, not politics). Haha anyway...
Yes this isn't the first time they've done this.
Looking through the 2022 WRC Factbook. Slightly interesting that Great Britain and Italy have dropped out of the top 10 media markets whilst Croatia and Greece join. This doesn't include WRC+ but does the live stream on eg. BT Sport. Highest audience was Japan - 74m viewers in 2021.
The top 10 WRC+ markets from 2021 are now listed as 'some of the top markets', list remains the same: USA, GB, France, Finland, Italy, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Estonia. No Japan, yet Japanese commentary.
https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/mikke...or-wrc-offers/
Mikkelsen has no commitments after Acropolis, so...
Finally teams can fight to get him in rally1..
I can't imagine they've lost his phone number, so I'm sure it's not ringing for a reason....Quote:
Originally Posted by AnttiL
He seems pretty much unliked for whatever reasons. Maybe too arrogant personality at times? Dont know.Quote:
Originally Posted by AnttiL
One thing is for sure - his results dont lie in WRC2 last two years - he has been the best. Combines speed and stability. Not sure if he could bring the same speed to Rally1 car, but if I were Msport boss, I would gave him a chance. It cant get worse for them as it is. Maybe Mikkelsen can show some surprises and give Msport a needed boost.
Only one of the elite drivers can make a real difference to M-Sport - one that can guarantee results and take the pressure off Breen.
But the money simply isn't there to pay the salary they require or to develop the car in the way Toyota and Hyundai can.
If I would be M-Sport, I would at least give him one outing this year to see his speed with Rally1 car. We can debate if Mikkelsen has what it takes to win rallies but one thing is sure, he is one of the best finishers meaning he rarely makes mistakes. It slightly got worse when he drove with Hyundai but overall, he is a very solid driver (kind of like Sordo). So if he can do similar times like Breen (100% he will be faster than Greensmith, Loubet and Fourmaux) but also can finish, then it would be very useful for M-Sport and would give at least something back to the team.
I can't really see Mikkelsen doing better than Breen, even when given a full season. Both are good in lower categories, but on top category they cannot fight for the wins consistently.
I find all this a quite interesting post and I wonder how mucht the paywall (for example WRC 2022 in Italy can be watched in full on Sky.it) is affecting the audience numbers.Quote:
Originally Posted by WRCStan
When researching the net for more info, I came across this academic paper regarding WRC+ All Live (!):
"The sport now guaranteed its position in every market across the world and its direct relationship with the fans. However, the culture and history of the sport played an important role in what actions the WRC Promoter GmbH could undertake. It was not a case of having a new owner, and therefore they could impose their own culture on the sport. To ensure fan enjoyment, the historical element of the event, the media product and the way the sport was run needed to be maintained. As the streaming market continues to develop, more niche sports seek to control their own media futures, and as promotion rights to sports are being bought and sold, the outcomes from the WRC+ All Live product can contain important lessons for other sports, and researchers into the future."
https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8760297
Regarding the 2022 WRC Factbook, can't get hold of that today:
Access Denied You don't have permission to access "http://www.wrc.com/en/footer/media/factbook/"
Yes! :/Quote:
Originally Posted by AnttiL
Its weird cuz Tanak, Tierry, Elfyn (meeehh) and Kalle are the only guys I see as Rally1 top drivers. The rest are still good, but they look like R5 drivers. Even Lappi and Breen, for example, and they are my 2 favorites! Oliver Solberg also IMO doesnt look like a potential top driver in rally1. We need to see who from R5s are capable of racing in Rally1. I mean, its not like Msport cant do better.. its not like Toyota in UNBEATABLE, right? Imagine giving more opportunities to the R5s guys... I dont see Mikkelsen being a constant front runner in rally1 but I'd try it anyway. Maybe a surprise? That'd be awesome. Then Kajto, then Lukyanuk, Kopesky etc.. who knows who can be great in rally1
There's more to it, but struck me that a combined population of ~130million is getting fewer viewers than a combined population of less than 15million. Winds of change, choice in languages and all that..Quote:
Originally Posted by Sergiow
Factbook works for me. ?
Sam has done a few papers around the WRC. (I wonder if he visits this forum? Is active on Twitter and was doing MRF media last I was there. (I saw a study on fan forums too - can't remember who by)). I'm really keen to read this of his from last year: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full...7.2021.1972432 There's a book by his colleague Hans Erik Naess called The Sociology of the WRC, looks interesting too. In all cases though I'm not likely to pay £100s out of curiosity if all that appeals to me is the conclusion. Working on getting access through the Wikimedia library at the mo.
Mikkelsen should be doing about the same as Breen in his last years form. But Breen hasn't been on that level at all this year, except on Sardinia. Will he get back or is this his normal form as in Citroen and his Hyundai form was special?Quote:
Originally Posted by AnttiL
Right now this year only Rovanpera and Tanak have consistently fought for wins, not even Evans and Neuville did, so this kind of metric is tricky.
Anyway Mikkelsen strength right now is his consistency and lack of crashes while likely being somewhere between 2-5 depending on rally. MSport was hoping for at least that or more from Breen, and it only got worse.
But sure it would be strange to replace Breen before he has done even one year of contract. What could happen is that Mikkelsen would be there to support Breen. Millener said just that before Finland, but then there's the money issue...
I know it's a repost in the article but I find that Millener comment about next 5-10 years funny. Where can MSport end in 5-10 years if they never perform? If one of their youngsters do perform they will leave them after 1-2 years anyway.
I would have to disagree. Breen might have more raw speed (which is useful in Finland and Estonia) but overall I think they would match each other. And then in the end Mikkelsen's consistency would give him better points. I like Breen more as a driver and a person but I was just thinking if M-Sport could think the same way.Quote:
Originally Posted by AnttiL
Hard too say, but if thats a "thing", why is neuville in a seat?Quote:
Originally Posted by Lead
He has much worse things said in public than Mikkelsen has, i can't remember any particular thing he has said negative ( at same level).
I wonder if the problem for the teams was his x-manager, Mikkelsen left EVEN to control his own carriere, but that shouldn't be a problem now?
And if its down to money, why won't Redbull put in some?
What is the numbers for a season in M-sport these days?
Abow €2.000.000?
Sent fra min SM-G950F via Tapatalk
Unfortunately it's only a beautiful dream. Kajto, Lukyanuk and Kopecky are all around 40 years old and manufacturers are not interested in such "old" drivers. But based on their results in ERC I don't think they would be much slower than Loubet or Greensmith.Quote:
Originally Posted by lmmjvss
Does any of these studies/papers have the NUMBER of WRC+ users? I have no idea how many people pay and watch. Honestly. Idk if its 6k or a million haha
3 on 4 already in M-SportQuote:
Originally Posted by lmmjvss
Personally I don't consider Elfyn a top driver
Inviato dal mio ELE-L29 utilizzando Tapatalk
https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/why-m...gine-upgrades/
Apparently the FIA & promoter might tweak the fuel being used in the championship next year: "
DirtFish understands from sources close to the FIA that the fuel will be ‘tweaked’ for 2023, with that fuel delivered to the teams in time for winter testing after the 2022 season closes in Japan in November.
P1’s WRC fuel uses a mixture of sustainable elements. Bio-methanol produced from farm waste is supplied by Dutch fertilizer company OCI, while Aramco was tasked with developing biofuels and sustainable synthetic fuels derived from captured carbon dioxide and low-carbon hydrogen."
It all comes down to money for M-Sport.
They even transported the team home to Cumbria from Ypres packed in mini-buses to save on flight costs.
I've had horrible time flying recently.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fast Eddie WRC
Driving takes the risk out of it. Because I imagine there aren't many direct flights to the north of England....
That's actually not that weird.. Ypres is by the sea, take the boat over the channel and then straight to north, total around 700kms.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fast Eddie WRC
Less headache also I believe..
Is the tweak related to performance or to make production of the sustainable fuel... sustainable?Quote:
Originally Posted by Eli
I would think at least 5 million, perhaps even up to 10.Quote:
Originally Posted by skarderud
Champions lol.
https://i.imgur.com/bBlxEyW.png
italian media suggesting ogier for the last 3 rounds...
http://www.areacorse.com/ogier-verso-un-finale-full/
More on Hyundai & Tänak regarding 2023: https://www.autosport.com/wrc/news/h...rows/10368782/
Tanak also left Toyota unsatisfied, right? Even with the title... What happened?