My mistake :)Quote:
Originally Posted by EightGear
My mistake :)Quote:
Originally Posted by EightGear
I'm amazed how folks here didn't take this sadness from my post. Yes, every word I wrote is true but how sad is it indeed. After Acropolis it hit how deep WRC swim right now. Even though we wouldn't have Ogier winning every event, WRC would still suck!! Why? Because we don't have decent drivers anymore ( apart from Ogier and maybe Latvala.). WRC does not have any credibility left :mark:Quote:
Originally Posted by A.F.F.
And btw, I have to disagree with RS. Hänninen isn't a rainmaker. He simply just don't have what it takes.
very true.Quote:
Originally Posted by A.F.F.
Well, in the previous 5 years, you can hardly tell that there were many opportunities for young talented drivers... The condition of the WRC (especially from 2008 to 2011) was not really encouraging for the young talented driver. Not even talking about the economical situation... ;) From the "top" drivers we see in the WRC now, how many have made it without personal (like family) sponsorship? From the last years, I could say Loeb, Ogier and Neuville. For the rest? Drivers like Ostberg, Novikov and Mikkelsen are where they are (partly) because of the wealth of their families. Which does not mean that they don't deserve to be where they are, but for sure it helped them...
WRC has made itself so expensive that even the manufacturers have hard time running the teams. Prodrive had a noble thought of selling Minis for privateers but who has money to purchase them??
I've said it myself that it is useless to squeeze your cheeks when you've already crapped your pants BUT, WRC had an opprotunity to sweep the table for once and give everyone a chance to be equal, for at least a short period of time. WRC had the chance to move to S2000 machinery. Manufacturers were interested, heck, even Dacia build a prototype. But did they choose it? Nooo. We might have had privateers there in top three in rallyes they favor, we might have had young talnets by dozens. Fcuk, we might have had GOOD rallying.
To keep this in the topic, the sad thing is that Mikko doesn't seem to have a chance to challenge even team Ford, which should level -B drivers :mark:
I predict that Mikko will be in either of the Rallycross series next year, hopefully the ERX not the parking lot with jumps version favoured by the global (usa) version.
He's lacking the fight to do well in rallycross I believe.Quote:
Originally Posted by MJW
Ok, I haven't said anything up to now, but how many north europeans have fitted into PSA group? Marcus but that was a long time ago. Richard Burns snd Colin McRae didnt 'fit in'. If you are early in a rally week, just take s look at recce, Mikko is not in convoy with the other Citroen guys, he doesnt eat at the same time as the others. I think Mikko doesnt want to be there anymore. And I do think that a rallycross future would be good. A two car Citroen team with Petter would be good, give the Hansen Team a challenge.Quote:
Originally Posted by TyPat107
I don't understand anything from this post... :D North-European drivers at PSA were Gronholm, Rovanpera, Radstrom and Hirvonen. I don't think anyone has been disadvantaged from the team... Also what's the connection between "North Europeans have never fitted into PSA group" and Burns and McRae (who are obviously not North-European)? About Mikko/RECCE... In recce Loeb/Ogier(/Sordo?) are known of always being first drivers on the first stage and they keep being first on the stages throughout the whole recce days... Mikko was somewhere in the middle/back already when he was driving at Ford. Does it mean because you change team, that you have to change all your habits? Then you could say: "they want Mikko to organize his recce-day different than how he was used to do it before." I think you just want to see chauvinism or whatever, even if there is nothing...Quote:
Originally Posted by MJW
Just to aid the debate - Brits, the Irish, North Germans, Nederlanders, Belgians and French, north of Le Midi are classed as Northern Europeans - not just ScandinaviansQuote:
Originally Posted by tommeke_B
South France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, South Germany are Southern Europeans - Austria isn't anything!
However PSA Group actually counts as a Northern European concern, so while I understand MJW's point I feel the reason some drivers fit in and others don't is much simpler. To mis-quote S L Jackson in Pulp Fiction - "Do you Speak French, MF". I dont' think Mikko is fitting in for all sorts of other complex issues, the absent No1 being the biggest.
But to answer the question you put Tom, yes Mikko should have changed, the dynamic being you do what the successful part of the union wants. Mikko was joining the successful team and therefore needs to fit in with them, not vice versa. If they are used to seeing their guys first on the stage, then not doing that creates the 'not a team member' message and he will then be regarded in that way!