Originally Posted by
Morte66
Solberg. Hmm. Clearly a WDC 26 contender. Title favourite? Well, he won the rally. OTOH: he's a bit of a winter rally specialist, he did better on day 1-2 with a cleaning advantage than on the rest of the rally with similar road position to Evans/Ogier, and he had some luck. One of the title favourites, I think.
Evans: very good rally. Another WDC contender.
Ogier: either the winter tyre really doesn't suit him, in which case it's probably the last time he'll use it so no biggie, or he was making excuses. Still, automatic title contender if he wants to be.
Fourmaux: continues to look good. He can only "show potential" at Hyundai.
Neuville: was fast when the car suited the stage/conditions. Running out of career time.
Armstrong: fast, lasted longer than I would have expected the Armstrong of one year ago to last. Whilst he is "a possible future champion", to borrow the popular phrase, he's not a contender now. Whilst he is far and away M-Sport's fastest WRC1 driver and he should get them a much better year, I still think they should have left him in ERC and won something this year.
Paddon: finished the rally. Actually pretty good for a Hyundai third driver in recent years.
The WRC2/3 guys winning stages: congratulations guys, fantastic for you, but it also worries me. In 2027, will some guy who's 14th in the championship win Sardinia because of cleaning?
