2016 Silly Season

[Andre Oliveira]

It is a kind of record? Only 33 rallies to be official driver?

EDIT: Ogier did it

[Rally Power]

Nice move from Wilson.

I don't think this choice is about money. In all these years Wilson picked a lot of young promising guys (Solberg, Duval, Hirvonen, Latvala, Tanak, Evans) with limited (or even none) funds, and give them the opportunity to shine at WRC top level.

Now it's Camilli time. Best luck to him!

[stefanvv]

It is a kind of record? Only 33 rallies to be official driver?

EDIT: Ogier did it

Yeah, but Ogier actually won something before that. That doesn't mean Camilli won't, very surprising nonetheless, let's see how it goes...

[RS]

@RS, Every current WRC-top driver was thrown in a WRC car before he had proven it to be worthy... How can you prove yourself without getting a chance for it? For Ogier people here said it was too early, for Neuville people here said it was too early, for Lefebvre the same, for Camilli the same...

In the case of Camilli and Lefebrve they haven't even proved themselves to be amongst the best in the next category down yet. In F1 it is common for GP2 backmarkers to make the jump but the top WRC drivers should be a pretty elite group.

[wrc45]

Of course it's about the money. The FFA will pay for everything. M-Sport needs the money to develope the 2017 WRC car. Even Mads is bringing money in.

I don't understand why people are saying that you can't compare Camilli in WRC2 because Fiesta R5 is so bad. Kajetanowicz won ERC with it.
In Spain, even Suninen was beating him on gravel. Indeed on tarmac Camilli was decent.
In Finland a lot of Fiesta R5 were faster than him. For example Pärn.
In Portugal he was a lot slower than Ketomaa and in the stages that went good for him, he lost 1s per km.
In Wales he had problems defending off Suninen who was with a old S2000 car

I have nothing against Camilli but to say that he was picked for he's raw speed and talent is baloney. The saddest part is that Evans doesn't have a seat anymore.

[bluuford]

The money arrived to Wilsons account.. sorry, the decision was probably made a long time ago already. Look at the M-Sport press releases from Spain and GB, Camilli was real star fro M-Sport there.

[Hartusvuori]

In the case of Camilli and Lefebrve they haven't even proved themselves to be amongst the best in the next category down yet. In F1 it is common for GP2 backmarkers to make the jump but the top WRC drivers should be a pretty elite group.

Such an understatement of Lefebvre's case. He won JWRC and JERC in 2014 and he's pace in R2 at the time was unmatched. He's move up to 4WD has been disappointing, but at least I have not given up on him yet.

[Hartusvuori]

Tommi has used both Camilli and Sunninen in testing, and they are both Toyota drivers. Don't see any other logic to this than that Toyota has outbid the Evans family, and want Camilli primed to the number two driver spot in the 2017 Toyota line up. Camilli is a very interesting driver, and in my opinion his current potential is above that of Evans.

Tommi Mäkinen Racing is still building up their first Yaris WRC chassises in Puuppola. They have not tested yet a metre. In interviews Tommi has said they will start testing in March the earliest. If someone knows better, correct me if I'm wrong.

[RS]

Such an understatement of Lefebvre's case. He won JWRC and JERC in 2014 and he's pace in R2 at the time was unmatched. He's move up to 4WD has been disappointing, but at least I have not given up on him yet.

I completely agree, I have not given up on him either. At least he had a balanced programme this year but generally i think drivers would benefit from some more experience before being thrown in to a full WRC programme. It didn't work out too well for Evans it seems.

[dimviii]

Colin Clark ‏@voiceofrally

No really surprise at M-Sport. Supporting two drivers with no major sponsor wasn't sustainable. Economics had to play a part in decision