The stages are not the issue, the huge distance between them is. They didn't do more km's of SS here, just more road sections. Move the stages closer together and everything is solved.Quote:
Originally Posted by WRCStan
Printable View
The stages are not the issue, the huge distance between them is. They didn't do more km's of SS here, just more road sections. Move the stages closer together and everything is solved.Quote:
Originally Posted by WRCStan
I have to agree what Ogier said regarding people not watching at 7am and even earlier. None but a few fanatics will be wanting or able to be sitting down and viewing sport at this time of day. Surely there's no need to start so early if theres hardly any viewers.
And that's because of the central service park....If events were allowed more freedom then you could have another service park elsewhere - even an overnight halt elsewhere. But, the current WRC can't begin to allow that.......Quote:
Originally Posted by denkimi
Are you talking about people by the roadside or behind the screens?Quote:
Originally Posted by Fast Eddie WRC
I wonder what the thoughts of 80~ crews who weren't screened at all are, those guys who chose to be there. I like old man Seb, and I'm sure Ott has a valid point behind his "treated like animals" outburst; but plenty of other people don't seem to mind at all.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fast Eddie WRC
TV / online where the vast majority of fans watch the events.Quote:
Originally Posted by Franky
Plus the Sundays often start especially early and I'm sure most people dont want to get up super-early to watch then. Four stages from 9am - 12pm would be better.
I don't know, that 6:43am start time is 8:43am in Estonia. Like no issues. The thing with TV/online audience is that they are everywhere and you can't base a claim on one time zone only. I'm sure there are plenty of people who dislike being awake all night to follow some rally on the other side of the globe.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fast Eddie WRC
And when it comes to spectating, I am sure there are plenty of us who've started driving in the middle of the night to get to some morning stage.
Tänak not sounding too confident and happy to Estonian media after the rally
Says that over a long time he really enjoyed driving the car but the car is still fragile and the setup window is too small. He hit the setup this time since Saturday morning but says it doesn’t mean it will click also on the next rounds.
So... difficult to setup and too fragile. Sounds like the i20 in a nutshell.Quote:
Originally Posted by EstWRC
As far as my memory goes then the idea with the 2025 machine was to expand the setup window. With the 2022-2024 car it has always been very narrow.Quote:
Originally Posted by focus206
But this could be also only Tänaks problem although Thierry now said after Portugal that he will try Ott’s setup cause he was struggling with the loose rear
Ott also seems never to be satisfied and understates quite a lot even if everything is not that bad. He even complained about the 2019 Yaris, but still was faster than everybody else.Quote:
Originally Posted by EstWRC
Theres no such thing as the perfect rally car. Forever moaning and tinkering with the set-up isn't the answer. Driver's should take a leaf out of Loeb's book and just get in a drive it.
Like Loeb did with Hyundai? You can't underestimate the importance of the machine in any kind of motorsport.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fast Eddie WRC
I think the 2024 i20 was the best rally car Hyundai has ever had, close in speed and reliability to Toyota, and at least Thierry had far less set up issues than usual (less complaints about setup and better fridays for Neuville in 2024). In my opinion they just did a worse job than Toyota to balance the car without hybrid and with Hankook, and now it's back to pre-2024 levels. I think Demaison criticized Hankook in an interview in Canarias if I remember correctly?
Tanak found the sweet spot in setup in Portugal. We have to see how Sardegna will be. But I believe that the window of "good setup" is very small indeed, especially from what we saw in Canarias vs Toyota. Not even Hirvonen and Latvala vs Loeb on asphalt rounds had such a pace difference.
Did Loeb do much whinging? I don't recall any.Quote:
Originally Posted by trykmann
You are correct, he has always been quite humble about everything.Quote:
Originally Posted by WRCStan
Still you can even be the greatest rally driver of all time, but if the car is not good or suitable for you, then the times aren't there.
Tänak full onboard of SS16
https://youtu.be/aB8ItVohhCo?si=X6bhaAeMzG-9RxyV
More on the tough itinerary and the safety issue, this time from Rovanpera:
https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/rovan...y-length-rule/
Adrien Fourmaux reveals real cause behind Rally Portugal retirement – Hyundai takes immediate action...
https://rallyjournal.com/adrien-four...ediate-action/