Re: [WRC] News & rumours (part III)
Has anyone stopped to think why Paddon undertook the program of events that he did last 2 years for when you look at it he pretty much undertook events that were right outside of his comfort zone and event experience. Could this have been because there were some people who wanted to test him and possibly some others in an environment that he or they were unfamiliar with.
Need to remember too that there are only two of the Hyundai drivers that have anything like a full program for the year as there are a lot of test and development drivers sharing the #2 car
Re: [WRC] News & rumours (part III)
Quote:
Originally Posted by BDA Cosworth
N.O.T..... Read, process, reply. In that order.
Hanninen is a completely competent driver. That is not being argued. You guys seem to have selective memories!
Back in 2007 Hanninen finished 5th in the PWRC against what people would consider "non WRC level competitors"
In 2008 PWRC he got second, behind Aigner who hasn't done anything notable since.
Compared to Hayden who finished 3rd in the first PWRC season (with the then unreliable Evo10, on other rounds where he drove the 9 he won and finished second). Also against people who actually have driven in the WRC.
And first in 2011 where he won 4 rounds on the trot. (Beating people who are actually in the WRC now)
2012 change of car to the Super2000 (where he won two rallies and set more fastest stage times then anyone else in SWRC by a clear mile)
2013, struggling for funding the car was just not reliable where it counted. He drove the Fiesta with practically no testing on the back of little seat time in a S2000 car. It handled completely different but just as he was getting faster they switched road surfaces.
I remember a certain Thierry Neuville who finished 4th and had two fifths in 2012 in a FULL SEASON. You guys were probably rubbishing him back then. It's tall poppy syndrome. Those who dare to rise will be faced with people deeming to chop you down.
You don't get the point. Nobody said Paddon was rubbish but some people were arguing he was on Ogier's level which simply is nonsense. That's all.
By the way You forgot that Hänninen finished behind Aigner only because his car (from some NZ team) was extremely unreliable. He rarely finished a whole event but still he won half of all stages he did. He won multiply more stages than Aigner in 2008.
Re: [WRC] News & rumours (part III)
Mirek, got cha. I just tagged onto a conversation without reading a page back to clarify that. That you for bringing that to my attention. That is nonsense. However Ogier wasn't an instant winner either, he was damn quick going up though!
Didn't he also roll that "NZ teams" evo at Rally NZ twice in the same rally? 2008 Rally NZ was like a demolition derby!
Re: [WRC] News & rumours (part III)
Quote:
Originally Posted by BDA Cosworth
Didn't he also roll that "NZ teams" evo at Rally NZ twice in the same rally? 2008 Rally NZ was like a demolition derby!
Twice within a few hundred metres. As the seasons team rated him as not only the potentially the fastest driver they had worked with but also one of the hardest on equipment and thought that once he learnt to look after the car a little better then he was world champion material.
Re: [WRC] News & rumours (part III)
PWRC, SWRC and now WRC2 is not so much about speed, but mainly about reliability of the car.
Re: [WRC] News & rumours (part III)
Quote:
Originally Posted by PLuto
PWRC, SWRC and now WRC2 is not so much about speed, but mainly about reliability of the car.
Indeed, if Paddon had a mechanically reliable car then Kubica and Evans would have had a hard job fighting him off in Germany last year. The fact that he was driving to ensure 3rd having posted 3 successive fastest class times during the Friday morning following the 1st evening problems explains why he set no fastest stage times late in the rally. He was mature enough to realise he couldn't catch Kubica and Evans and ensured he did enough to keep Wiegand behind him. Anyone with a brain can see the guy is highly capable. I take the point that his wins in PWRC and SWRC have tended to be against limited opposition. However, it was clear in the year that Araujo won PWRC that Tanak and Paddon were the better drivers and not much to choose between them.
I'm hoping to see how they directly compare again this season.
Re: [WRC] News & rumours (part III)
Quote:
Originally Posted by PLuto
PWRC, SWRC and now WRC2 is not so much about speed, but mainly about reliability of the car.
Indeed, if Paddon had a mechanically reliable car then Kubica and Evans would have had a hard job fighting him off in Germany last year. The fact that he was driving to ensure 3rd having posted 3 successive fastest class times during the Friday morning following the 1st evening problems explains why he set no fastest stage times late in the rally. He was mature enough to realise he couldn't catch Kubica and Evans and ensured he did enough to keep Wiegand behind him. Anyone with a brain can see the guy is highly capable. I take the point that his wins in PWRC and SWRC have tended to be against limited opposition. However, it was clear in the year that Araujo won PWRC that Tanak and Paddon were the better drivers and not much to choose between them.
I'm hoping to see how they directly compare again this season.
Re: [WRC] News & rumours (part III)
Quote:
Originally Posted by PLuto
PWRC, SWRC and now WRC2 is not so much about speed, but mainly about reliability of the car.
Last time I remember it took place when Hänninen and Tänak were both in SWRC
Re: [WRC] News & rumours (part III)
Quote:
Originally Posted by bluuford
Last time I remember it took place when Hänninen and Tänak were both in SWRC
Thanks for bringing back some nice memories from their epic battle in Finland!
Re: [WRC] News & rumours (part III)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mirek
... I think that You have a comprehension problem.
My comprehension is just dandy, Mirek. But thanks for asking.
I always read your posts in their entirety and comprehend exactly what you're saying. It's just that, on this occasion I disagree with you. It's not the 'who' that matters, it's the 'how'.
Have you ever wondered why certain golf & tennis players dominate their respective sports for long periods of time? Does Tiger Woods have the longest drive or the most deft touch around the greens? Does Roger Federer have the fastest serve? No they don't. Sure their technical skills are up there but what sets them apart from their competitors is that they know how to win. They have mastered the art of sizing up the opposition and applying the strategies that will deliver the result.
It's the knowing how to win. It is both a skill and, for some, a habit.
It's interesting to review the winners of the WRC over the past 30 or so years. Loeb, Solberg, Gronholm, Burns, McRae, Auriol, Sainz etc, etc... They, almost without exception, have all won at least their own national title. And often it is these domestic competitions, where resources, machinery, local knowledge & experience are comparable, that are the hardest to win.
Compare those past WRC champions to those sitting in cars today. Hirvonen, Latvala, Ostberg ... What have they actually ever won? Do they actually know how to win, or can they only pull it off when those in front fall over?
Paddon has won at every level he has contested. Multiple national champion, regional winner, world champion in category.
He knows how to win, and for those who do each new competition is simply another challenge, another set of skills to master and obstacles, & competitors, to overcome.
That is why he deserves this opportunity in a world rally car and should have been on every team's shopping list.
I have not said that he is, today, the equal of Ogier or of Loeb, merely that he could be with opportunity and the right tools.
Comprehend that!
