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Junior teams would be nice but we all know....
Anyway, the way Suninen performed in his first few RC1 outings, I would think there is more potential than what he showed at M Sport in 20/21. Mikkelsen is kind of a known quantity, and everybody else is not on the level for an honest try.
It's most likely to be Suninen.
Rossel or Lindholm would be most interesting to see how they get on.
Gryazin would only be worth hiring if you had a lot of bodywork / shells that need to be used up.
You put Evans in same category as Loubet and Katsuta. You are a funny chap, Evans being the driver that won the last rally and was leading the championship is doing really bad isn’t he 🙄Quote:
Originally Posted by mknight
Motorsport Week reported that Hyundai will start WEC Hypercar programme.
https://www.motorsportweek.com/2023/...e-reports-say/
Ok, bye bye to Hyundai thenQuote:
Originally Posted by Kenneth
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Well it will be hard for Hyundai to get any title in WRC this year.
Neuville+car are not reliable enough for driver title and with nobody winning rallies for them manu is also a problem.
In Portugal they had 2nd and 3rd spot and two Toyotas retired, yet Toyota got more manu points from the rally anyway. When there are so few Rally1 cars just making a car restart on superrally is enough. (Yet some people did funny comments how Toyota dominance is not happening)
I understand the same as well. This is why Neuville made those comments in Twitter…Quote:
Originally Posted by cali
Which he subsequently clarified into saying that Hyundai does not plan to leave but that keeping current manus should be focus and not hypothetically bringing many in the future.Quote:
Originally Posted by bomber21
Abiteboul talked just before Portugal about driver plans for next 1-2 years.
I wouldn't be so quick, Hyundai has been in talks and shown interest in the LMH ruleset since the beginning. There were also frequent rumours about a DPi (IMSA, LMDh predecessor) entry. And although postponed, the future hydrogen class in the WEC was known to be of interest, or in other words a Hyundai entry from 2025 onwards was all but confirmed.
My most reliable sources/sites didn't mention Hyundai in any capacity for maybe more than a year.
It's also worth noting that LMDh is laughably cheap as manus basically run customer cars from specialized chassis manufacturers, so both together would still work.
Neuvilles latest comments and interviews now have proper context. Hyundai will probably stay 1-2 more years as they have still the Rally1 car and developing the Le Mans car will take a bit.
Maybe WRC will give up on Rally1 and have Rally2 as the top class. If you look at the timelines it fits. Let's say next year is the last year for Rally1 then in 2025 Toyota will have a Rally2 along with everyone else.
Hyundai must have had a WEC plan already long time and that´s why they selected racing men Abiteboul.
Still a couple of years in the WRC, because current Rally1 car will continue in 2024 and probably the regulations will be like this also 2025 & 2026, because the situation is difficult to know what could be the best way in the furure.
DF says that Abiteboul has an indication from Hyundai HQ to build the future.
So, I hope that this means they will stay in WRC.
The fun thing here, they are looking for a youngster for the future, 7 months ago they kicked one of the most talented ones because they wanted more experienced drivers.
Still they support Neuville, that has got every oppertunity for 10 years, how long will he last?
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As long as he is one of the three quickest drivers in the world.Quote:
Originally Posted by skarderud
As long as he'll be one of the few drivers able to win a rally.Quote:
Originally Posted by skarderud
In these 10 years, how often was Hyundai a fast and reliable enough car to challenge for the championship? You always seem to be under the impression that Hyundai is tired of Neuville when most fans (and Hyundai themselves) know their car has let down their drivers way more often and it's actually surprising Neuville has put up with them for so long.
Even world champion Tanak wasn't able to be a proper title contender in his 3 years there.
This was said pages ago....Quote:
Originally Posted by skarderud
Quote:
Originally Posted by er88
Yes, but was in sight of todays DF article.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fast Eddie WRC
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Is he?Quote:
Originally Posted by becher
Rovenpära, Ogier and Tänak , then a couple of 2-3 drivers at same level.
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Haha if you count Ogier in there as well one of the four quickest. But to put them all ahead of him in terms of speed is laughable, as is "2-3 drivers on the same level". Norwegian glasses I see. Check the second stage on the 2020 Monte or how many stages Tänak won vs Neuville in the same car.Quote:
Originally Posted by skarderud
Which says the same as last weeks Autosport article...Quote:
Originally Posted by skarderud
Witch of those drivers is Norwegian?Quote:
Originally Posted by becher
No, not norwegian glasses, just glasses that tells me Neuville should give up. He don't have "it".
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Based on what? If Neuville gives up, should also Evans, Katsuta, Loubet, Lappi, Sordo give up? And of course all Rally2 drivers who already showed they don't have "it" in Rally1, such as Mikkelsen, Suninen, Ostberg, Fourmaux, Greensmith etc.Quote:
Originally Posted by skarderud
Let's have a 2 drivers championship, only Rovanpera and Tanak. :D
Manufacturers don't reason like you and don't despise Neuville because he steamrolled Mikkelsen as teammate some years ago.
That's actually exactly how Malcolm thinks last few years. Only drivers at MSport are fresh developing drivers that can charge for title in the future (and can be sold to others) or are proven championships contesters, in addition there are paying drivers.
So in his world none of the others are worth driving in WRC. MSport comments mid summer last year said this in fulltext.
I believe that the "2nd rate" drivers are so close that given right car most of them can charge for titles. Like Evans did when he went from 2nd rate to title charger in 2020. In todays MSport he would have been kicked at end of 2018 like Suninen was in 2021.
Let's cancel motorsport than, if one of the top four drivers in his category (who frequently beat the other three contenders, one of which even as team mate) is unworthy of competing, competing in it self is unworthy.Quote:
Originally Posted by skarderud
Or is it just that you wanted a certain young driver with a "double citizenship" to do well and now you're bitter that the other guy with glasses trounced him?
Hahahaha, jeeez, hit the butthurt-button.
No, i dont care who drive in Hyundai, but the guy that had every opportunity for 10 years, the team is working for him, he decides who drive in the team, i really don't understand the unlimited faith Hyundai have in him.
He is probably a f...ing good nr2 driver, or maybe he should try to not be nr1 for a season?
Something is wrong, both in Hyundai and with the person.
The car is "weird" to drive, good drivers can't drive it, and seems its not a problem to get rid of drivers and bring in new ones.
No, its Something weird in Hyundai.
Whoever that get the leftover seat in the team, i'm not sure that is a good move, if he is young and slow, its probably a bad carrieremove, if he is experienced and slow, his carriere is over.
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It's a lot weirder that neuville has stayed with Hyundai for so long when they have only once given him a car that could win a championship.
Had he gone to toyota perphaps he could have been multiple world champion.
When someone calls you out on your bias they're butthurt? Typical thing to say when one is trying to defend what's not possible to defend :D :DQuote:
Originally Posted by skarderud
"the guy that had every opportunity for 10 years" = Not even close to 10 years, unless you think someone could have beat the Polo and the Yaris while driving a Hyundai?
"the team is working for him" = the team has let him and its other drivers down plenty of times with amateur work.
"he decides who drive in the team" = made up, unless you can bring some proofs that Neuville hires and fires teammates?
"i really don't understand the unlimited faith Hyundai have in him" = That's a you problem. Who should they drive with, Lappi as 1st driver? Good luck with that. Plenty of times people have witnessed Hyundai breaking down or hindering their drivers with amateur level gremlins, with fans wondering why Neuville didn't get sick of them. By your logic, instead, Hyundai should be sick of him :D
Loeb and Tanak had both driving issuesQuote:
Originally Posted by skarderud
Neuville uses a lot the handbrake to turn the car
Neuville is not a world champion due his own driving mistakes. Ofcourse he has had technical problems, but a lot rallies have been lost by himself. Lets think about Ypres 2022 or 2023 Croatia
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Gentelmens, rallying is full of "what ifs", which makes it painful and entertaining at the same time, but to search the black-and-white truth, does Neuville has "it" or not, is more like a religious war here. You just believe it or not.
And if you believe he does not have the "it", then even when Neuville wins the title, it's still possible to say "he only won because of X had too many technical problems with cars etc".
But if you enjoy this religious war, keep going.. :)
How about Monte-Carlo & Sweden 2017 when he was leading comfortably and crashed out in both? Germany that year? Catalunya? Toyota were still fresh and that Hyundai was fast (& relatively reliable) straight out of the box and even the great Ogier only managed to win twice that year, half the times Neuville had won. I’m not saying he’s had his fair share of issues but the fact that he’s always struggled in Finland with his car tells you something and I’m sorry someone mentioned how many times he’s beaten Tänak in the same car, let’s not forget that he developed that car from scratch and Ott came during covid year, last year on equal terms he beat Neuville fair and square, even on his own back yard (due to Neuville’s mistake). Now, how many times has Neuville come close to Tänak or even Evans for that matter in Finland or Estonia? As someone earlier mentioned it, I’m sorry but yes, he doesn’t have it, does it mean he should retire? No, he’s one of the contributing factors for making the championship interesting, however IMHO Hyundai should’ve given him the boot last year, and stick with Ott instead, but that ship has sailed.Quote:
Originally Posted by trykmann
Neuville could be champion in 2018, when he was leading rally Turkey and leading a Championship, but he had to retire due to technical issue..
A pity none of the Hyundai drivers have shown much interest in doing the N24 with Hyundai; Jari-Matti did it in a Focus ST back in the late 00s.
They probably wanted more money....Quote:
Originally Posted by AndyRAC
You chose 2 examples in which if he had won, nothing would have changed, since he was not in the fight for the championship (I doubt anyone will be in the fight against Kalle for long this year). Also, imagine Hyundai being mad for Ypres 2022 after causing Neuville and Tanak to retire or lose minutes for an infinite amount of gremlins for half a season :DQuote:
Originally Posted by trykmann
The only serious mistakes that costed him the championships were in 2017. In 2018, the biggest blow was the defective damper his car had in Turkey, which could have been a crucial win.
His best chance was 2017. He should have been champion then but he blew it by crashing in the first 2 rallies while having no reason to push.Quote:
Originally Posted by CeskyOndra
But some people seem to forget that he's 5 times vice champion, 4 times behing ogier. Anyone claiming he is not in the top 3 is just not seeing clearly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by focus206
2018 Turkey was indeed a technical issue, caused by mechanic not doing his job properly in service. But then in Australia, still in the title fight, he made mistake and lost his chance already on SS6.
Every driver makes mistakes during the season, even Ogier that year was off road in Portugal and Turkey (and the timecard stuff in Sardegna). The point some people are making here, is that Neuville apparently blew so many chances for the championship for driving mistakes, when only in 2017 you can pinpoint what made him lose the title - in retrospect, since the biggest mistakes were in the first 2 rallies.Quote:
Originally Posted by mknight
I'd say the biggest "lost championship" moment belongs to Evans in Monza 2020 while driving the best car, should he be booted as well? Don't think so.
In 2018 Neuville went off in Monte, Finland, Wales and Australia.
Yes, these were the latest ones and did not affect the championship standings.Quote:
Originally Posted by focus206
Let's take a look at 2019 season then. The crashes in Chile and Turkey did not help at all with the competiton against Tänak.
When you are driving against champions like Ogier, then you just can't afford these kind of mistakes. Ogier made usually one mistake per season.
I like to see him in the championship and he is fast as the other best drivers. He just too often makes costly mistakes and looses valuable points.
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