[WRC] News & Rumours 2019

[deephouse]

If that theory will really happen about Hyundai leaving I think that Neuville will find a drive straight away. He is although the one of the best three drivers out there.

[mknight]

Find it very hard to predict anything about that as Korean culture is not really something I understand. VW was pretty much completely unrelated to rallying. Subaru at the end of 2008 was due to a long string of really bad results and no improvement with new car.

The decision does not necessarily have to be made earlier (ref. Subaru) though.

Anyway while Neuville is further away from the title this year than the two years before, in manu standings Hyundai are much better off than before. In 2017 two rallies before the end they were trailing by 83 points!, in 2018 by 20 and this year they are 8 points ahead.

So there is some progress in the right direction.

[Katvala]

Hyundai pulling out after this year would be awful for the championship. There's not enough seats as is. I really hope it won't come to that yet

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[Entertainer]

Hyundai pulling out after this year would be awful for the championship. There's not enough seats as is. I really hope it won't come to that yet

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Agree. We need at least one more manufacturer, not fewer, f.ex. Skoda + Subaru, to bring in 5-6 more seats. Imagine getting seats for todays squads + Rovanperä, Breen, Paddon, Tidemand, Loeb and Östberg.

[Allez Andruet]

Tommi Mäkinen huolestui: Yksityiselämän kohut haittaavat Jari-Matti Latvalan ajoa – ”En itsekään olisi pystynyt keskittymään” https://www.is.fi/ralli/art-2000006265268.html

Mäkinen cooling down talks about Toyota's line-up for 2020. He says the story published yesterday by delfi.ee was "something they just wanted to write" and (jokingly) adds that his actual dream line-up would be Tänak-Ogier-Neuville (instead of Tänak-Meeke-Rovanperä like delfi's story claimed). No updates about Latvala or Meeke either. Tommi says all decisions will be made with Toyota HQ and discussions about the future are likely to start this week.

Tommi also goes to defend JML by saying that he would not have been able to focus on the driving part himself if his private life was in headlines (like JML's just before and during Wales).

edit. And Mäkinen once again states how pleased he's been with Meeke ever since rally Finland.

[mknight]

While I understand Mäkinens dilemma, specially lately when it's not so easy to pick one of them, it's only Tänaks by all means great results this season that are keeping Toyota in the fight for manu championship. (and the fact that Citroen and Ford don't regularly run 3rd cars which would take further points of Toyotas that loose lot of time or superrally).

Sordo with 5! rallies less has almost same points as Latvala. Evans with 3 less and Mikkelsen with 2 less have similar or more points than Meeke. Looking at team points by driver the differences are even bigger as both Toyota drivers have a lot of PS points.

[EstWRC]

man this Tommi cant make his mind up what he wants to say, lol

talking one thing to finnish media, another to estonian media

[meh]

man this Tommi cant make his mind up what he wants to say, lol

talking one thing to finnish media, another to estonian media

If you can not say the truth, then you just need to generate some BS. It could be boring for yourself if it is the same all the time.

Another point - it would be really stupid and dangerous in this state of championship situation and calendar to start criticize (and demotivate) Meeke and JML. It makes more sense to say some good words and keep the motivation up (and possibility to next year for their point of view).

[RS]

I can’t see Toyota wanting to rely on Rovanpera next year for manufacturers points. My guess would be the lineup stays the same with Rovanpera in a 4th car. Katsuta to continue in R5 plus a handful of events in the WRCar.

[GigiGalliNo1]

What happened with JML's private life during and before GB in the news?