[WRC] News & Rumours 2018

[focus206]

If Ogier wins in Spain he has to open the road at Australia.Not so easy for him too.

That's true. But in Spain Ogier can potentially open a gap in the the standings that Neuville won't be able to fill even with a victory in Australia. I see it much more critical for Neuville in Spain than for Ogier in Australia, if he opens the road.

[focus206]

I'm hesitant to consider the title firmly in Ogier's hands, but Neuville flopped at the end of last year (so did the car, yes), and the same is happening now.

This is an extremely difficult championship to call; on speed alone, Tanak should take the title, and he could, but winning another two rallies in a row is no easy task, and the Yaris needs to hold up this time.

The Fiesta is reliable, generally, and while he can't beat Tanak in a straight fight in that car he could surely brush off the nuisance and beat Neuville, so long as Tanak doesn't steal his valuable win points.

As for Neuville, he's still so prone to mistakes that I could definitely see the title slip from his hands come Australia; that i20 is also a box of chocolates when it comes to reliability and it's looking like the slowest car of the bunch.

Speaking of which, has Neuville made any rally ending mistakes this year?

No no, not firmly in his hands, everything can happen in two rallies. But I see him as favourite right now.
Neuville didn't do big mistakes this year, a slip in Monte and one in Wales. But in many rallies he's not the one setting the pace anymore, and Hyundai doesn't look like it improved in terms of pace. In Spain Hyundai should have a new engine upgrade?

[BigWorm]

Will be quite surprised if Neuville gets a strong result in Spain (road sweeper + dodgy tarmac car), Ogier can potentially jump Neuville there and then roadsweep in Australia. Far from over, and both are good in Australia which also sets up the scene nicely.

Tänak the dark horse, tough task but definitely not impossible.

[Eli]

Anyway you swing this around, this is the most exciting season we had for a very long time, yes 2017 was a thriller but this year eclipsed it all, I can't recall the last time you had 3 drivers in with a shout to get that driver's title. 2003 was the last year but I think that towards the end of that season it was a 2 horse race between Loeb & Solberg. Before that it was 2001 when you had Sainz-McRae-Burns fighting for it and when you think about it, that's 17 years ago!

[mknight]

Skeptical as I am it is possible to compare this recent era with 2000-2004 which was also great.

Past/Present:
"old time" champ holding on but slowly loosing ground - Makinen and Gronholm at that time / Ogier now
"lucky" guy that got a shot at the championship in between - Burns + Solberg then / Neuville now
One team and driver starting to dominate - Loeb+Citroen / Tanak + Toyota

Hope it doesn't end the way it did in 2005-2006 and then into the "dark ages" of 2 teams.

[mknight]

In Spain Hyundai should have a new engine upgrade?

Before Germany Nandan said something about suspension changes for tarmac coming before Spain. They certainly do need it. Don't remember anything about engine.

[focus206]

Before Germany Nandan said something about suspension changes for tarmac coming before Spain. They certainly do need it. Don't remember anything about engine.

I must be mistaking then. Good if that's the case, I'd have more faith on suspension changes rather than engine upgrades. Then again, I'm not an engineer so what do I know.

[PLuto]

Skeptical as I am it is possible to compare this recent era with 2000-2004 which was also great.

Past/Present:
"old time" champ holding on but slowly loosing ground - Makinen and Gronholm at that time / Ogier now
"lucky" guy that got a shot at the championship in between - Burns + Solberg then / Neuville now
One team and driver starting to dominate - Loeb+Citroen / Tanak + Toyota

Hope it doesn't end the way it did in 2005-2006 and then into the "dark ages" of 2 teams.

I wouldnt be so optimistic with Tänak...

[Simmi]

Sad news that Craig Parry has been forced to retire from co-driving following his pre-Germany testing crash.

http://www.dai-sport.com/parry-calls...riving-career/

Seems the crash was a lot more serious than initially reported. I read something the other week that said he wasn't back walking yet. Thankfully the piece says he should make a full recovery.

[jbmarcus21]

Meeke is back again ! After Rally Legend .... He will drive Skoda Fabia R5 for Condroz Rally in Belgium ► http://bit.ly/2P0iLVx