Well actually why not. perhaps a change of environment would do him good?Quote:
Originally Posted by Psycho!
A totally different team and car?.
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Well actually why not. perhaps a change of environment would do him good?Quote:
Originally Posted by Psycho!
A totally different team and car?.
I would like to see J-M L in a C4, my guess that a small part of the problem is that he is 'overdriving' the Focus, a car that is in my opinion not as fast as a C4. There are some other fundamental problems in his notemaking, also his natural speed and mental block against braking. I do genuinely agree that he needs a change from M-Sport Ford, that relationship has reached its peak and I'm afraid its downhill now. And a talent like JML should not go to waste, give him a Citroen. Also maybe tempt Kaj out of retirement..........?
Citroen already have Rautencrash "modifying" their cars :D
I don't think they can manage to repair 2 cars every rally :D
What happens to Rautenbach after the car fire? I thought C4's were in short supply.
I believe that too, most of the times crashes happen after JML is posting better times then Mikko.Quote:
Originally Posted by MJW
JML was definitely over the limit at stage 4 in Portugal. We saw him descending a hill for almost one minute just a few kilometres before the crash...that was just incredible!Quote:
Originally Posted by jparker
it's a tough one for sure, I hear some people saying Atkinson deserves a go in Latvala's seat, and as an Aussie I can't help but agree! lol but in the fair dinkum department it wasn't all that long ago that Atko had the same reputation of crashing whenever he was going fast... Eventually however Chris got it together and last year consistantly outpaced Sohlberg which is why he is being considered a better prospect for Ford then Latvala, Jari-Matti could do the same, but on the other hand his time is definetly fast running out.
It's now or never for sure, if he doesn't turn it around then Atkinson or Sohlberg will take his drive next season, 100% for sure.
Who must be criticised??? Jari Matti or Malcom with his management and strategies of junk.....
To beat Citroën and Loeb it will be necessary and irrefutably much more that, on one hand, good cars and on the other hand, suspicious tactics imposed on pilots whose talent is tarnished by pitiable management.
let Jari-Matti learn quietly, time and experience will reveal all his talent.......
Time's up for Latvala? No, more like Malcolm.
Jari is doing his best to push an inferior car to the limit in order to be competitive. I love seeing that kind of spirit in motorsports! If anything Malcolm should find a way to make the Fords attain a better level of performance. I don't want to see another Mikko in the WRC just chugging along and being content with 2nd. JML is in it to win and good for him!
Maybe Ford needs a bail out from the UK Government like Citroen has got from the French government in order to make their cars competitive.Quote:
Originally Posted by gloomyDAY
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/to...cle5554586.ece
I'm sure some of those SIX BILLION EUROS will trickle down to the rally team! :p
P.S. this is the second time Citroen has had a major bailout, they went bankrupt in about 1974. Let them die I say, along with GM and Chrylser.
More likely Ford needs to find a Seb clone to solve their woes
According to today's Autosport, Jari-Matti actually had a 'double caution' in his notes for the corner on which he went off, but the night before the rally decided to remove it. So it is not maybe overdriving, but stupid mistakes.
its probably a combination of several things (the car might be one of the things the note a second thing ...) but it definitely seems like he needs to improve the pace note part (note writing + co-driver/note thrust..).Quote:
Originally Posted by RS
Indeed, it's the most plausible explanation.Quote:
Originally Posted by RS
On the TF1 TV footage, can't find it on their VOD page though, Daniel Elena tells Dani Sordo what happened to Latvala saying " remember the corner we were talking about at the recce and mentioning this morning before the start ? it's the one ... ". Dani Sordo is speechless of some sort and Elena says something like "yes it is".
Now, I wonder if Elena and Sordos morning chat was an official one, a final inter-team briefing just to mention any last minute concerns, "iffy" corners whatever. I know it's something I've done in the past, I sat down with teamate, and his codriver sat with my driver for a quick "you've noticed that junction isn't as map" or "you spotted the mistake on the arrival time right" [nudges MW ;) ]
Maybe it's something that Ford need to look at, perhaps get Lehtinen to have a quick word with Jari-Matti and ask him if he's made any last minute changes to his notes *g*
No. The problem is that he's an idiot. It's really that simple.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ghostwalker
*Rallying has blind corners, preventing him from seeing the braking points.
*He had a double caution
*He's admitted to not wanting to brake before he can see the braking distance even when his pacenotes states differently
*He knows he normally crashes because he doesn't care about his own notes.
Knowing there's a blind corner over a crest, into another corner that he can't see, with a double caution in his pacenotes, and he still goes in flat? AGAIN?
He's got talent, sure, but he's just too stuborn and stupid. He'll never get anywhere unless he finally comprehends the meaning of the words "blind corner", or "blind crest". If he doesn't want to trust his pacenotes, and doesn't want to brake before he can see the corner, he shouldn't be rallying. Instead he should be in rallycross or track racing.
No wait.. Au Rouge is a blind corner. It even killed Stephan Bellhof.
In the end, my respect goes to Miikka Anttila, possibly the bravest codriver in history. Even knowing Latvala doesn't listen to him, he gets in the car with him. I don't know if he doesn't care, or if he hopes to somehow get control over Latvala one day, but he's got to reach the end of the line one day. The big question is; Will he leave, or will Latvala get him killed first?
It said in Autosport yesterday that Latvala had the corner noted down as a double caution in the reece, but later that evening he changed the note.Quote:
Originally Posted by Karukera
So as a result he comes in a couple of gears too fast and nearly kills himself and his co-driver. If I was his co-driver I would be seriously pissed off in the way we saw Prevot get with Duval.
When other drivers have it marked out for caution and Latvala just blindly dives in there you have to ask fundamental questions.
The other thing I dont get about Latvala are his dodgy explanations of his incidents. There was Germany last year, and then this rally where he tries to make out he came in too hot and tried to slow himself down with the arm-co. But clearly he hits the rock face first pitching him straight over the barrier.
I just dont rate him.
Yeah right, that much simple is not. He has to push over the limit to be on par with C4, and that's what he did. Yes, he knows what's in front of him, and still does it because he has no other choice.Quote:
Originally Posted by Englandsfahrer
Don't blame the car. There is no excuse for pushing too hard every rally because it ends with crashes, as he has repeatedly shown throughout his career. For one thing, it isn't even his job to beat Seb, Mikko is supposed to do that. JML is supposed to consistently finish with good points to keep Ford in the manufacturer's championship.Quote:
Originally Posted by jparker
I just calculated it and had JML finished in the spot behind Mikko in the rallies so far, Ford would be a lot closer to the manufacturer's championship with 53 points to Citroen's 62.
Sorry, but I don't think JML will do anything without Malcolm's approval, so don't blame the driver.Quote:
Originally Posted by serial jeff
I don't get it, do you mean Malcolm is telling JML to drive dangerously fast?
I know it sounds silly, but yes I do. I can't imagine JML driving the way he wants, not in a team like M-sport.Quote:
Originally Posted by serial jeff
MW will not keep JML for a minute if he's crashing without pushing too hard. I think they are both aware of the risk they are taking.
Then again, that's my own opinion.
I really beive englandsfahrer and setrial jeff is simplifing things a bit to much. Drivers like Bosse, Solberg, MacRae and many more have had periods during their carreer in which they have crashed a lot. There is a lot of psycological aspects to take into account aswell. Natrurally latvala knows exactly where the problem is, but at the same time they need to have some results. You will never be a top driver if you do not have your share of crashes. It could be as simpel as latvala not being able to have the car setup exactyly as he wants; there is from time to time difficult for a young secobnd driver to have his opinions brought forward. He will always be shaddowed by the more experienced personal in the team.
There is also the question of personal chemistry between co-driver and driver. We do not know anything about this.
To simply say that Latvala is going to fast, or should change his pace notes, is to make thing waaaaay to simple.
This reminds me of Petter Solberg's time in Subaru! Pushing over the limit to follow the the others. That often resultet in carfailure and off roads.. Pressure from the team to follow the others.. When that did'nt happen, it can also result in bad selfconfidense and even worse rallies to follow.. Look at Solberg now. No preassure, and just driving what the car, him an Phil can do together.
Hirvonen is lot better then JML of knowing both his and his car limitations, and as you can see, thats not enough.. sadly
Of course I simplify things a bit. This is a forum, and there's no way I can get all my thoughts across by writing. Still, that is the root off the problem.Quote:
Originally Posted by Magnus
Also, I'm aware others have crashed a lot. But if you look at the nature of the crashes, it was a lot of different things that caused them. Typical of colin was cutting corners too much, crashing out after being on the limit for several stages etc. Petter crashed a lot because he didn't speak english. He simply didn't understand what Phil was saying. Latvala is slightly different. He'll crash out in 6th where everyone else is in 4th, even when he's not pushing.
I'm not saying he's not going to fast. Actually, most of the time, he drives well within his capabilities. I have seen him driving in real life, and it's artwork. The problem is when he wrecks the car because he doesn't do what his codriver tells him to, or doesn't trust the pacenotes he wrote.Quote:
Originally Posted by Magnus
What makes me annoyed with him is that he knows why he crashes, and doesn't do anything about it. All rally drivers crash. Even Loeb. But that doesn't justify crashing all the time. Just because you have too much pride, or are just too stubborn to start listening to your pacenotes. Too many of Latvala's accidents are because of this. Thankfully he looked a bit scared after this last crash. Maybe, just maybe, he can swallow his pride and trust his codriver on the next rally. Because the only thing stopping him from being really good is the fact that he's not doing that now.
Well here's a merry post :mark:Quote:
Originally Posted by Englandsfahrer
I'd like a second opinion.Quote:
Originally Posted by Englandsfahrer
This time from someone who actually knows Jari-Matti :)
Bringing this old one up again as I think last weekend showed us that time is not up for Jari-Matti.
Until the next time.Quote:
Originally Posted by DonJippo
I hope you're right Don, I really hope you're right :)
Considering "listening to pace notes", Miikka Anttila have definitely joined Mieskuoro Huutajat of WRC, as he says. If you compare his voice on their first WRC victory rally Sweden 2008 and now on Sardegna, the difference is loud and clear.
Sweden 2008
Sardegna 2009
Hyvä hyvä - H.Y.V.Ä.
Where are the critics?
Silence is golden.
It wasn`t the first 'unlucky time' for JML and not the first 'happy return'. The difference between 'pushing very hard' (like Loeb) and 'pushing too hard' (like JML) is more than one word ;)
A win in a rally like that doesn;t mean anything.....If Loeb crashes out on the next rally none is gong to blame him as a car destroyer....Latvala needs a few of such performance to gain the trust of Ford and the fans.
I still think that Latvala is the best choice ford has at the moment.
They'll be back after the next roll/crash/whatever.Quote:
Originally Posted by gloomyDAY
But for now we can be happy and they... silent ;)
I'm happy for Latvala and I hope this is the second of more to come.
I prefer the old style, but whatever works for Latvala....Quote:
Originally Posted by Hartusvuori
Maybe he has learnt something. Like not to push after one bad stage but to maintain good consistent pace.
Now, if he only remembers that.....
After his run of DNFs I was critical of Latvala and felt he needed rested (like Duval) until he got his head in shape. I'm glad he won at the weekend and I hope he can again (if only for a more exciting championship) but I don't think he's in the clear just yet. Perhaps when he has Loeb on his tail starting day 2 of an event and manages to finish fighting I may revise my opinion. He really didn't have any opposition in Sardinia due to poor tactics, punctures and penalties . Swallows and summers come to mind.
Impressive drive by JML! It's not often someone leads a rally all weekend. Hopefully he can do this under pressure too, when Seb/Mikko are a couple seconds in front or behind.
Fantastic win for Matti, I hope this is only the beginning of many others ;)