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  1. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by AnttiL View Post
    1992 was also interesting with Auriol winning so many rallies but still finishing 3rd in the points, to this date I don't understand how that happened
    Oh yes, the first thing that comes to mind from 1992 is Auriol in the fabulous Super Delta and not that Sainz somehow actually managed to win the title. That was Auriol's best year by far, he was really flying. Kankkunen could match Auriol in every other car that they drove as team mates but with the '92 Super Delta Auriol was completely in his own league. Kankkunen had no chance even in 1000 Lakes, let alone any other rally. I think that car just suited Auriol's aggressive style like a glove, he was completely one with it. Didi was always extremely picky about his car and if the car didn't suit him, it really affected him bad. Someone like McRae for example seemed to be able to drive a lot more around handling problems. On the other hand, if the car was exactly to Auriol's liking, he was absolutely unbeatable, even in his old days in the late 90s. I remember 1998 Catalunya for example. Toyota had nominated Loix as the second points scorer as Didi had a horrible start to the season. But for Catalunya Didi had gotten the Corolla finally to his liking and no one else had any chance, I remember him completely dominating that rally from start to finish. Loix finished second and props to Ove Andersson for not implementing team orders as Auriol winning the rally actually cost Toyota four manufacturer points, with Auriol not being nominated to score points. Toyota ended up losing the Manu Championship by six points to Mitsubishi so it didn't quite end up costing them the title, but it was very close.

    But instead of just one rally, 1992 was like that for Auriol the whole year. Also Sainz was struggling really bad with the new ST185 Celica all through the year until Catalunya, when something finally clicked and he found a completely new gear at least on tarmac. And in the RAC I think the predominantly muddy conditions saved him as Toyota used Pirelli in those days which had a lot better tires for muddy/slippy conditions than Michelin, used by Lancia. Toyota's main problem on gravel all through 1992 was that the rear simply didn't stick to the road and they were oversteering everywhere. Very spectacular to watch, but less uplifting in terms of stage times.

    Auriol, Kankkunen and Sainz were all within three points when going to the season finale and Kankkunen actually also ended up finishing ahead of Auriol in the final standings, despite only winning one rally against the six of Auriol. Late season mistakes in San Remo and Catalunya really cost Auriol and then finally the car failed him in the RAC. He could have just driven home safe 3rd and 4th places in the last three rallies and he would been World Champion, but I think he wasn't interested in doing that kind of stuff when finally having a car like that. Apart from the six wins, his only other result was one 10th place. But that win record held 13 years until Loeb beat it in 2005. Curiously, Sainz himself never managed to get to grips with the Delta, 1993 was his worst year in WRC probably.

    1992 could have also very easily and sneakily been another Championship for Kankkunen as he actually did one event less than Auriol and Sainz. Even if he couldn't match Auriol's pace that year, he was fantastically consistent. But I think he wanted to spend a long Summer holiday and didn't go either to New Zealand or Argentina . Just a 3rd place from either NZ or Argentina would have in the end guaranteed Juha a title at the end of the year. Given the level of competition in those events back then, Juha could have done it with one hand. Juha's 1992 is a bit reminiscent of Walter Röhrl's 1983 when he could have won a third title, with Lancia as well, had he been more interested in that quest rather than holidaying. Juha also could have further improved his points in San Remo, but he refused to accept a Lancia team order which would have meant Andrea Aghini gifting Juha a victory. Given the amount of wins Juha had to gift himself because of team orders in his career, it was quite a remarkable gesture, especially given that he was fighting for the Championship at that point. But thanks to that Aghini could win his home rally and it ended up being Lancia's final victory in WRC, fittingly by an Italian driver in Italy.

    I also think Sainz, McRae and even Burns had their best seasons when they actually didn't end up winning the title at the end of the year. In 1991 Sainz was absolutely magic despite losing the title narrowly and same goes for McRae in 1997. Burns seemed unbeatable in 2000, but a streak of bad luck and also some own mistakes cost the title then eventually.

  2. Likes: Allez Andruet (5th February 2018),OldF (5th February 2018),seb_sh (5th February 2018)
  3. #12
    Senior Member OldF's Avatar
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    This is how the turbo cheat was made.

    https://jalopnik.com/how-the-best-ra...ked-1792828060

    A video for those who understand French. On board from Kankkunen’s crash, Subaru guys trying to stop McRae, Max Mosley explaining the cheat, interviews & discussions (Sainz, Auriol, Max Mosley etc.)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcKXjuOA7Cw
    “Don’t eat the yellow snow” Frank Zappa

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  5. #13
    Senior Member Allez Andruet's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AnttiK7 View Post
    Oh yes, the first thing that comes to mind from 1992 is Auriol in the fabulous Super Delta and not that Sainz somehow actually managed to win the title. That was Auriol's best year by far, he was really flying. Kankkunen could match Auriol in every other car that they drove as team mates but with the '92 Super Delta Auriol was completely in his own league. Kankkunen had no chance even in 1000 Lakes, let alone any other rally.
    That performance by Auriol in 1000 Lakes that year is - in my opinion - one of the most impressive performances in WRC history. It was just beautiful. Kankkunen had no chance and neither did Alen - in Finland of all the places!
    ku ois neljä pyörää ku vetäis ni ois vähän eri sekunnit kyllä pätkillä, sen mä takaan

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  7. #14
    Senior Member AnttiL's Avatar
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    I think Juha Kankkunen's autobiography suggests that he wasn't even going for the title in 1992. He was very tired after doing the long 1990 and 1991 seasons and was going to do only a partial program, but ended up supporting Auriol for most of the year and in the end found himself fighting for the title at the last round!

    Speaking of that year's 1000 Lakes Rally, Alen was probably already past his best days and never really found himself in the underdeveloped Celica.

    It's interesting that probably Sainz made his decision to go to Lancia before making the car a winner towards the end of the season, whereas the Delta development was probably minimal for most of 1992 as the factory dropped the support after 1991, making it an old car for 1993.
    Last edited by AnttiL; 5th February 2018 at 21:35.

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  9. #15
    Senior Member Allez Andruet's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AnttiL View Post
    Speaking of that year's 1000 Lakes Rally, Alen was probably already past his best days and never really found himself in the underdeveloped Celica.
    It was definitely a post-his-prime version of mr. Maximum Attack, but I still think it's more due to the Celica not matching his driving style at all. Markku was still pretty good in Portugal the following year (filling in for injured Vatanen) and surely would have been a tough challenger in 1000 Lakes without that stupid mistake on Valkola.
    ku ois neljä pyörää ku vetäis ni ois vähän eri sekunnit kyllä pätkillä, sen mä takaan

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  11. #16
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    Yeah a good point about Alén's driving style. I think in the end he was actually more at home in an understeering car than in an oversteering car, which the Celica definitely was at least when exiting corners. Especially with the Group A Lancias he would often get a lot of understeer, but it didn't seem to really affect his times. I recall Alén had done a mammoth amount of testing work for the 1992 1000 Lakes in an attempt to get the Celica right, but to no avail in the end. He said somewhere that he lived one month straight in a hotel in Jämsä when they were testing the car. So at least the motivation was still there at the Maximum Attack level definitely. After the rally he was very disappointed with the 3rd place, even if in that Celica no other driver would have beat the Lancias either. But that was the beauty of Alén, always there to fight for the win, no matter what. Easy to forget now, but at that time Alén still held the record in the amount of WRC wins, Juha went ahead a year later.

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  13. #17
    Senior Member Allez Andruet's Avatar
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    Going back to the Toyota scandal in 1995... although it needs to be checked, but Auriol probably didn't have a contract with them for 1996 as he didn't do a single event in a Celica that year. Kankkunen did few rallies, and if I don't recall it completely wrong, those entries were funded by TTE (the ban was evaded by using local Toyota importers as entrants).

    As AnttiK7 wrote earlier, that turbo fiasco sent Sainz to Ford. What it also meant, was that Vatanen was left without a seat. It's another thing I need to check somewhere, but I think there were stories in Finnish press at the time, that Vatanen already had a contract with Ford for 1996, but that ofcourse never materialized for obvious reasons.

    1996 was a very Finnish-friendly season, as Monte Carlo and Corsica were rotated to W2L events, leaving Catalunya as the only real tarmac event.
    ku ois neljä pyörää ku vetäis ni ois vähän eri sekunnit kyllä pätkillä, sen mä takaan

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  15. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Allez Andruet View Post
    As AnttiK7 wrote earlier, that turbo fiasco sent Sainz to Ford. What it also meant, was that Vatanen was left without a seat. It's another thing I need to check somewhere, but I think there were stories in Finnish press at the time, that Vatanen already had a contract with Ford for 1996, but that ofcourse never materialized for obvious reasons.

    1996 was a very Finnish-friendly season, as Monte Carlo and Corsica were rotated to W2L events, leaving Catalunya as the only real tarmac event.
    Ah yes indeed, I remember Vatanen talking during the sad 1995 1000 Lakes how he really wants to have a full season drive for 1996 and how the calendar is like tailor made for a Finnish rally driver. Would be interesting to know more about how that thing went exactly.

    The highlight of the late 90s Vatanen for me is definitely his two drives to replace Bruno Thiry at Ford in 1998. Would have been second in the Safari but he gifted that for Kankkunen. Then 5th in Portugal in a completely different event. On the second day in Portugal I remember him punching the air in delight after setting the second fastest time on one stage, matching all the youngsters in pure speed. But while doing that he was at the same time talking to himself in the way of "ok Ari, calm down, calm down, don't drive any faster than this."

  16. #19
    Senior Member Allez Andruet's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AnttiK7 View Post
    On the second day in Portugal I remember him punching the air in delight after setting the second fastest time on one stage, matching all the youngsters in pure speed. But while doing that he was at the same time talking to himself in the way of "ok Ari, calm down, calm down, don't drive any faster than this."
    Yep, that was brilliant, I remember that as well And I think he said to the Finnish interviewer something like "I knew it, I knew if I dig really deep, there's still that old Vatanen".
    ku ois neljä pyörää ku vetäis ni ois vähän eri sekunnit kyllä pätkillä, sen mä takaan

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  18. #20
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    I've watched most of the 90's season reviews over the Christmas break and think these questions can be jammed in as semi-on topic haha

    Why did Sainz go to Jolly Club?/ A Private Lancia team away from the vast resources of Toyota when the Delta wasn't being developed much then (since the factory effort didn't exist anymore)..

    I was amazed that the '95 Turbo scandal (btw why didn't folks call it "wastegate" ? :P ) only had only a brief mention on the review despite it being rather a big deal!

    Also is there coverage anywhere to be found of the W2L Cup rallies?? I found some YT footage of Monte '96 but it was more footage rather than coverage..

    Yeah the ban did lead to some unusual activities in '96 for the "not TTE" team

    Some coverage from the Manx '96 here:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3IUA4Qv4ww

    As for the Corolla WRC, did Wevers Sport introduce upgrades in the Post TTE years? (engine management / maps?)

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