M-Sport Ford World Rally Teams

[er88]

If you don't think the main reason Tanak left was due to the big contract he's getting, you're a bit deluded. Doesn't matter how Tanak dresses it up in interviews.

Ofcourse Ogier was going to get car updates a round or two before Tanak this season. What had Tanak done before this year to deserve equal status in every department, with a 4time world champion anyway? With Msport having less financial support it made complete sense to give Seb the updates first. Even in manufacturer teams, sometimes car updates can only go to one car first. See Citroen and Hyundai this season for example. Even in F1 where money is no object for some of the bigger teams, sometimes its only feasible for updates to go on one car first.

Now Tanak is a proven winner and has shown he can be a championship contender, what's not to say he wouldn't have got more updates on the fiesta at the same time as Seb next season, had he stayed? There's more support now to do it with Ford Performance increasing their backing, and he certainly was allowed to fight Ogier on the stages by Malcolm. So he can have no complaints there about team orders, and being what Dani Sordo was to Loeb. Malcolm managed the team well and has done it throughout his career with Jari/Mikko and most notably with Sainz/McRae. We've yet to see how Tommi handles two (maybe 3 big drivers) fighting at the front with each other.

This isn't a criticism of Tanak btw, he has secured his and his family's financial future with this big Toyota contract. Most of us would've done the same in his position im sure.
Still doesn't mean i think it was the best decision for his immediate rallying future however. He left a championship winning team/car, and a car that he developed to go elsewhere. I think he could've given it another year at Msport, having shown this season that he could beat seb with the same car and aim for the championship. He still would've had huge contract offers come the end of 2018 too, what with Hyundai, Toyota, Citroen and Msport all having multiple drivers with their contracts expiring.

Hopefully for Ott he can adapt quickly though, and can prove it was the right sporting decision too. The Yaris is less reliable and less consistent than the Fiesta across a whole season, but Toyota will feel they can improve in the off season with his help. I can't wait to see how he does and would love to see him push even harder for the championship, but he'll certainly be up against it with Jari, Seb and Neuville already familiar with their teams/cars.


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[Fast Eddie WRC]

It's funny how "budget issues" are always mentioned with M-Sport. If this year has proven anything, it's that there are no issues from a lack of budget, at M-Sport...

You dont know anything, still less have proof.

More testing, more spare parts, more and earlier upgrades would all have been possible with the funds. Having more money in motorsport is always better than having less.

M-Sport produced a kind of miracle in 2017 through sheer hard work and Ogier's skill and professionalism brought to the whole team.

[Tarmop]

You have to remember that the money and FP wasn`t there, when he made his contract with Toyota.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

My MS-RT Membership pack I just got for Xmas only gives Ogier and Evans as their Team for WRC 2018.

(They also say they have plans for the BRC & ERC to be announced soon...)

[Eli]

https://www.autosport.com/wrc/news/1...s-of-me--ogier

[AnttiL]

You have to remember that the money and FP wasn`t there, when he made his contract with Toyota.

Yes. Plus Ott almost signed with Toyota already for 2017, but was still under contract with M-Sport.

[the sniper]

Looking at how this thrid car situation is going, can anyone else see Kajetan Kajetanowicz doing a few rounds in the third car this season? He's basically done everything he can in the ERC. Surely Lotos can provide funding?

[Essaj]

Looking at how this thrid car situation is going, can anyone else see Kajetan Kajetanowicz doing a few rounds in the third car this season? He's basically done everything he can in the ERC. Surely Lotos can provide funding?

He is not even fast enough for WRC2, so no.

[Andre Oliveira]

But is smart enought to collect points. I can see him doing something.

[Mirek]

He is not even fast enough for WRC2, so no.

I would not say he is not fast enough. He simply has zero experience with WRC events and that's something You can't gain in a weekend. Anyway he is too old to give him let's say two seasons to gain experience.