[WRC] News & Rumours 2019

[mknight]

Well the interview makes him sound as the best rally manager there is...
Now the facts.
-A driver he managed has not won WDC for over 18 years (I think he managed Gronholm).
- None of the current top 3 drivers is managed by him
- he almost destroyed Hirvonens career by putting him to Subaru too early in 2004 when he subsequently crashed out (though this was also affected by Burns illness)
- all this talk about mental tests and JML has been a mental mess for last 4? years, sure a good manager should be able to get him good mental trainer/psychologist (or if he cant be helped, it was a wrong pick in the first place)

But yeah, has time to badmouth Tidemand management instead. With 3 VW drivers suddenly on the markert it was hard for him to get seat unless he was willing to pay, which didn't seem to be the case.

[pantealex]

Jouhki was not Grönholm´s manager...
so Tommi is his last champ.

[SubaruNorway]

The man is pretty harsh, why do i get the feeling Lappi was stolen from under his nose?
I wouldn't call a team that manages Mikkelsen, Lappi, Kristoffersson, Tidemand and Veiby bad management, they've been doing decent for a team that don't pay their way into a team.

[pantealex]

The man is pretty harsh, why i get the feeling Lappi was stolen from under his nose?
I wouldn't call a team that manages Mikkelsen, Lappi, Kristoffersson, Tidemand and Veiby bad management, they've been doing decent for a team that don't pay their way into a team.

+1

Agreed.

[Allez Andruet]

The man is pretty harsh

Managers, atleast the most successful ones, usually aren't the nicest guys around.

[Allez Andruet]

he almost destroyed Hirvonens career by putting him to Subaru too early in 2004 when he subsequently crashed out

Come on, isn't that a bit hypocrite? Like there would be a manager who turns down that kind of an offer for his client?

[BigWorm]

Come on, isn't that a bit hypocrite? Like there would be a manager who turns down that kind of an offer for his client?

Well the offer turned out to be a mess for Hirvonen, as 2004 was a nightmarish year for him. In hindsight he was not ready to be put in the Subaru.

But then again Hirvonen's career turned out alright.

[mknight]

Well the offer turned out to be a mess for Hirvonen, as 2004 was a nightmarish year for him. In hindsight he was not ready to be put in the Subaru.

But then again Hirvonen's career turned out alright.

The way I understand it they paid his way in and with Burns unable to drive he got promoted to 2nd driver that he was not ready for.
Yes he came back in 2006 and did well. However, note that in 2005 M-Sport did a "low cost" year with untested cheap/paying drivers (Gardermeister, Kresta and Sola). None of them did well enough to secure a drive next year. But if any of them did it is possible that Hirvonen wouldn't be able to get back at all. Just shows the danger of the "get them in early with cash" strategy that Jouhki does.

[AndyRAC]

Not a fan of Jouhki - he's had a unhealthy influence on the driver market over the years - but he's pretty successful; If Latvala was with another manager, I doubt he'd have had the career in WRC that he's had.

[Allez Andruet]

Not a fan of Jouhki - he's had a unhealthy influence on the driver market over the years

Unhealthy? How come?