iRally confirmed no golden stage for Andreas.
They reported a few days back that Scotland is out of the IRC next year as well
Printable View
iRally confirmed no golden stage for Andreas.
They reported a few days back that Scotland is out of the IRC next year as well
Time for celebration overnight? :)Quote:
Originally Posted by VFTS
People who say Andreas doesn't deserve the title are just as bitter as Kopecky was in the interview at the final stage end. He said Andreas was 'lucky' - this coming from an extremely average driver who was nowhere near the fastest this season and got most of his points through luck as others have issues. The co-efficient system is totally fair as not only is it the same for everyone, but it makes the gravel-tarmac balance more even.
Mikkelsen has been the fastest and best driver this season. For this reason he is a very deserving champion.
You are exaggerating to the other side...
First Kopeckż won two events in straight battle lasting till the very last meter. Both with the toughest possible IRC opposition.
Andreas won most of the stages but on the other hand he also made a lot of mistakes, crashes, punctures etc. So I'm far from saying he was the best driver of the season. He was the best driver of last two events with higher point coefficients, that's without any questions.
But the best driver through whole season was clearly Juho Hänninen who drove only a fraction of events and made by far most points/start. Unfortunately he made his only big mistake in the worse possible moment but still, he drove four rallies less than Andreas and despite that he was the only one who didn't need victory here to take the title...
You are right that everybody remember only the champions... but for me the best driver throughout the season has been the one who has got most wins, and has done only one mistake, but unluckily he did it during the last rally. I would not say he is slower than our Champion :-)Quote:
Originally Posted by pettersolberg29
Congradulation to Mikkelsen and Skoda for 1,2,3,4,5,6!
PS! Nasser will not start tomorrow as well. No spare engine.
Fully agree with you Mirek.
Also don“t forget that Kopeckż has been an overall runner-up in three consecutive seasons - that doesn“t look like results of "an extremely average driver".
Okay maybe I exaggerated to be honest but it's frustrating to here a driver like Kopecky moan about Andreas' 'luck' when Mikkelsen has been generally very unlucky this season. Yes he crashed a lot, but I believe the champion should be the fastest driver even if he makes a couple of errors - for example if Mikko ends up winning the WRC it would be almost a joke as he has been only the 4th or 5th fastest driver this year. Consistency is good, but speed is more important in deciding a deserving champion in my opinion.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mirek
I do agree that Juho may have been an equally deserving champion based on results, but based on outright pace I'd still say Andreas is the quicker driver. Juho has more experience and is therefore more reliable, but he is no longer the outright quickest - Neuville and Mikkelsen have leapt ahead and if they can stay consistent then they both have massive futures.
Again I do have to admit Juho has been massively impressive in the IRC again this year but Andreas beat him fair and square in Scotland and in my opinion his pace in Cyprus would have been too much for Juho. If it wasn't for stupid mistakes in Hungary and punctures in San Remo Mikkelsen would have had 40 extra points before Cyprus, and I know you can't base championships on ifs and buts but this means that Juho's mistake is more than evened out in terms of points. And as I say above, I now think Andreas has overtaken Juho in terms of raw pace.Quote:
Originally Posted by bluuford
But he is also the only driver who is given all the factory support of the Skoda team for those 3 years and who has taken part in almost every rally possible, while Juho has to pick up points in less events and Andreas and Neuville have only had one full season. Kopecky is a good driver at IRC level on tarmac, but compared to the WRC big 5, Juho and Andreas I would say he isn't very close. For example his win in Zlin was handed to him after Mikkelsen got unlucky with his car, but Andreas came back on Sunday and blitzed the stages. And Kopecky's win in Hungary was only because Andreas through it away again while leading comfortably. Kopecky recently seems to only pick up points when others fail!Quote:
Originally Posted by Honza H.
Anyway, this should be more about celebrating Andreas' win, so I'm sorry for bringing Kopecky's bad sportsmanship into it.
Link for Golden Stage here: Watch Live IRC Rally Cyprus Online Video IRC Rally - Motorsports
I've got a question... If the Golden Stage is won by a factory driver, for example Kopecky or Hanninen, what do they do with money? I mean, from the organisers' side the money go to personalities, driver+co-driver. However, in case of a factory crew, the driver uses not his own car, but a car provided to him by his team. In this sense, the prize (money) should be considered as a product of rent. In common life, if we take land in rent and grow vegetables in it, the vegetables (the A Product) is ours. If we borrow equipment and poroduce packaging for our vegetables (the B Product), it's also fully ours as long as we pay rent. But what about the Golden Stage? Who actually gets the money?))