Mechanical retirement.Quote:
Originally Posted by jonkka
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Mechanical retirement.Quote:
Originally Posted by jonkka
Seems like Toyota are going to need Ogier again to fight for the Manufacturer title with Rovanpera struggling.
Among, yes, but not fastest. For example 2022 Sweden PS was 131,42 kph.Quote:
Originally Posted by Humber
Tänak is just so bad collecting Sunday points this year compared to last
Congratulations Oliver!
What an amazing drive!
What a performance by Solberg.Truly incredible. Huge congrats.
Well done Elliott Edmondson too. Brilliant job.
So does this mean that oliver is now better than kalle?
Oh boy that Kalles face there while watching
By what metrics?Quote:
Originally Posted by denkimi
These faces of Champions :DDD
Congrats to Oliver. Great perfomance.
And great rally.
Nice words by Ott about Oliver at the end there, shame he lost those 2 points in the power stage (one from super Sunday).
Well done Oliver and Elliott a fantastic result that not many could have predicted
Nice words at the stop line from Oliver as well
Big congratulations
I was very critical of Oliver up to and including last year due to him being reckless and always pushing to be fastest rather than using his head and driving slightly slower when needed.
This year it seems like it finally changed and he can back off when needed while keeping the top speed. The "slightly slower" time on powerstage seem to confirm that as well.
Toyota leadership is in a bit of a dilemma. Pajari has not improved as fast as hoped so far this year and Katsuta is the same for last few years. Yet ditching Pajari at this stage surely wouldn't make sense. Pressure on Katsuta?
Great podium celebrations!
And Tänak new leader in the championship
Very exciting stuff by Solberg. Such a comeback!
Brilliant job by Oliver and Elliott. Genuinely brilliant, and perhaps a story that will finally give WRC some media momentum again. Great Friday, but Saturday was much more impressive thanks to equal road position.
Would love to see them get some more Rally1 starts on the events they’re not doing in Rally2., but I guess that depends on the availability of the fifth car. However, it seems clear now that Toyota will have a rather difficult game of musical chairs on their hands for 2026 if they don‘t want to drop Taka… which, as much as I like him, would be the logical move if not for his passport.
Lastly, first time in a very long time Ott has led a championship, no? Not ideal for Finland, but it‘s not like Elfyn has been doing much lately even when he wasn‘t on cleaning duties. He‘s won there from first on the road before, so let‘s see what‘s possible.
congrats to Oliver! amazing performance!
And to the guy who was whining about Ott not recognizing Olivers achievement. Ott just said on the podium that he properly humiliated us full timers.
Oliver has to be in R1 in Finland, has to be. If TGR doesn't do that, massive disrespect. I would ditch Taka for Finland.
When was the last time he led? Sweden 2023?Quote:
Originally Posted by EstWRC
Amazing stuff by Oliver, surely this rally will go down in history for one of the most unexpected wins. And it didn't come just from road position.
Great performance by Neuville too, but not that many points obtained.
Tanak was the winner championship wise. I think Kalle and Evans can beat him for the title only with better reliability. Ogier is a wild card.
Yes. And he retired in the first stage in Mexico :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Eli
WRC history was made today. Great performance from Oliver and Elliot. Smart driving and still fast(est) paid out fully.
Let´s wait for next chapter.
You need to measure Sesks vs Pajari. But clearly both big 2 are in league their own - M-Sport is clearly under developing and under-testing ( who has seen single PET FIN and EST video in YT or any other media from M-Sport). Obviously from drivers like Sesks and McErlean is not required to make heroics ( all remember Sunninen and Estonia) with falling behind tech. If they would drive faster with this car, they would overdrive with all the consequences.Quote:
Originally Posted by PLuto
Reminds me of Finland 1977 : Kyosty Hamalainen coming out of nowhere to win it for Ford in his first works drive. Unfortunately for Kyosty it remained a one-off and he did not deliver in the following years, neither in the WR, nor in the British Open Championship which was probably the second best series back then. Hopefully the future will be different for Oliver, much younger than Kyosty and the "full package" (fast on every surface).Quote:
Originally Posted by Rallyper
Kyosty came from nowhere, for sure Oliver didnt came from nowhere. He is doing WRC races for many years, before he did more than 10 starts there with the car of highest category. He almost won Kanepi stage in 2022 (beaten only by Lappi).Quote:
Originally Posted by djip
I said earlier in the thread, I think the closest I can think of was Makinen in Finland ‘94. He had done some rallies in the top class with Mazda and Nissan with little to shout about, but Ford gave him a car for Finland after Delecour’s accident and he basically did what Oliver has just done.Quote:
Originally Posted by PLuto
This is a feel good moment for the series, Oliver has now got the experience to know how to use his speed and manage the rallies. Brilliant job.
Other examples:Quote:
Originally Posted by doubled1978
Safari specialist Ian Duncan winning Safari 1994 in works Toyota.
Mats Jonsson winning Sweden 1992 and 1993 with Toyota Sweden (only Sweden entered in '92, Sweden and RAC in '93)
Gianfranco Cunico winning Sanremo 1993 with Ford Italy (was only doing Italian championship)
Tony Fassina winning Sanremo 1979 with a semi works Lancia Stratos (was also doing only Italian championship)
I discounted the African rallies back then because they were so tough, not really the same comparison. Didn’t Alain Orielle win one in a Group N Renault 5?Quote:
Originally Posted by focus206
Jonsson and Cunico were definitely surprises, although I wouldn’t count them in the same way I would Oliver and Makinen. They were both experienced guys and the rallies they won didn’t have the best entries. Jonsson can say he went out and beat Kankkunen in the works car though. Cunico was only really against the works Fords, and they both blew up. Delecour was miles ahead when his engine went.
Fassina was a bit before me.
Oliver and Makinen went out and beat the best on pace in one-off drives, that to me makes them very special.
Almost lost for words after this week, decided last minute to go here and then we end up with a win for Oliver!
Here's my video, had a great time meeting friends on almost every stage as always!
https://youtu.be/t4isDEoDKmk?si=K3n4KQw1NK8Qg_Yx
Basically, I came here to congratulate you, SubaruNorway, for your last-minute decision to witness Rally Estonia to support Solberg, and you were able to be part of such a historic moment!Quote:
Originally Posted by SubaruNorway
The Shakedown showed a promise that something big may happen. The first proper stage SS2, showed that it is going to happen.
Why was I quite sure:
* he showed the speed that others were not able to show with proper push
* In Rally2, he has learned and practiced to keep the lead and drive under pressure
* The stakes were too high, it would be stupid to take too many risks and do something silly, but it also gave him huge pressure, and he delivered!
For sure, in a rally, everything can happen - a proper masterclass from Oliver.
The main surprise for me was that Solberg was able to fly with the Toyota, while Rovanperä and Evans were not.
Other comments Rally1:
* Tänak - can take 2nd places after the best Toyota 3 times in 4 rallies is quite some consistency, taking into account that he complains about the car a lot
* Neuville - maybe I'm stuck in old dogmas, but his speed was a bit surprise. Or maybe we should use Tänak's perspective and say that we should be surprised how bad were Tänak, Rovanperä etc compared to others. He seemed to enjoy the stages.
* Rovanperä - if there could be no Solberg in the rally, quite many could say that Toyota is bad, because even Rovanperä can not match Hyundais. Made a proper push on PowerStage, but otherwise, he is still lost. 2 years ago, he seemed unbeatable, and now he struggles to get the car working on gravel. Most likely, he is waiting for tarmac rallies already. I guess his ego or motivation got quite some kick from Solberg - "you see, the car is working well".
* Evans - he lost his speed quite some rallies ago, but got away with a lack of speed if we watch the scored points. This time, he did not gain positions because of the problems or retirements of others. To have a chance for the title, he needs to start driving again. One could even argue that he could be behind Taka and Pajari if they did not have problems. Most likely also struggles with the car setup like Rovanperä.
* Fourmaux - maybe I expected a bit more from speedwise, but in the big picture, I think he did his job well.
* Pajari - his future perspectives in the team got some new aspects for sure. I just wonder, if he keeps learning at a safe pace, can you learn the fast pace that way, or do you just get stuck in the safe mode?
* Takamoto - pity that he had problems, but even without that, I expected a bit more than 6th fastest stage times on average
* Sesks - I think he hoped a bit more, first comments at the stage end were in a bit different tone compared to later when reality hits in. Hard to say anything as I/we don't have any idea how competitive the car is.
* Munster and McErlean - they had their own tasks to do, although most of the others struggled to find the setup M-Sport is far behind everyone.
Rally2 - Virves dominated the field, and the job was well done. Yes, we did not have the usual Rally2 big names like Solberg, Rossel, Greensmith and Dapra - but who to blame?
Really interesting to see Rally Finland now - everyone in Rally2 got extra motivation to fight with Solberg now, because since Rally Estonia, they don't beat just a leader of Rally2, but The Guy Who Dominated In Rally1. We can also expect that Fins (Korhonen, Heikkilä, Lindholm, Latvala) are probably stronger in Finland than they were in Estonia. It will be interesting.
Rally as an event seems to be a master class again, hats off to Aava and the team. Yes, there are also things to be improved, and yes, this is what the team does for every next rally. Keep going!
PS, DirtFish - if you're going to make articles again based on my comments in the forum here, you should point to the source.
We maybe have to reconsider Neuville's pace on high speed events. Now when he had a more competitive car, then the speed was speed there, previously the Hyundai was just so bad and it didn't give him the confidence.Quote:
Originally Posted by meh
He has said himself that the testing now in Finland at their base has given him more understanding how to drive on those fast rallies.Quote:
Originally Posted by trykmann
Seems he really found something on Saturday with the car.
Thank you for coming and awesome video like always!Quote:
Originally Posted by SubaruNorway
Congrats on the Oliver win!
Yeah, but when it comes to being wet, Hyundai is miles behind Toyota.. We have to hope for dry Finland..Quote:
Originally Posted by EstWRC
Thats not the forecast atm, looking like there's going to be rainQuote:
Originally Posted by CeskyOndra