[WRC] Rallye Monte Carlo 2024

[EstWRC]

Lopez and Rossel not far off from Mikkelsen on this stage.

I didn’t expect him to come and win stages but this is too slow IMO

[flat_right]

Lopez and Rossel not far off from Mikkelsen on this stage.

I didn’t expect him to come and win stages but this is too slow IMO

True, but Monte is THE worst rally to come and "be on pace" with rally1 car. It's like Lappi last year... I wrote him off after Monte but he actually did really well after that.

And Lappi had Rally1 experience.

[Eli]

True, but Monte is THE worst rally to come and "be on pace" with rally1 car. It's like Lappi last year... I wrote him off after Monte but he actually did really well after that.

Also bear in mind he hasn't done the Monte since 2019 with the previous i20 Coupe WRC and even then he took off a wheel on the first stage of Saturday. His last tarmac event in a WRC car was back in Germany 2019 and the last event he did with that car was Wales Rally GB 2019. Since 2021 he's only driven R5/Rally2 cars so it's better for him to gain experience for Croatia rather than binning it after just one day.

[denkimi]

True, but Monte is THE worst rally to come and "be on pace" with rally1 car. It's like Lappi last year... I wrote him off after Monte but he actually did really well after that.

And Lappi had Rally1 experience.

A traditional monte with snow perhaps, but the dry surface we have today makes this just another tarmac rally.

[spyros]

So far so good but I am worried about Seb. I dint like him in the past but now i have a lot of respect.

[TWRC]

Because you could hear the strange sound, already then. So what´s on the upside? Less friction oc. Less torque...?

Could be good advert for the road car engine as well. Otherwise, I believe that is the only applicable engine they have for Rally2 rules.

[seb_sh]

Because you could hear the strange sound, already then. So what´s on the upside? Less friction oc. Less torque...?

in this interview Pajari gave some infos about inline 3 engine:
- good torque
- lower weight
- small and position low and back in the car

https://www.youtube.com/live/34b_sPb...rJQY0DM&t=3426

his interview starts at about 57:00

[er88]

People coming with the excuses for Mikkelsen are all well and good, but remember for his sake/future events that Hyundai have Lappi and Sordo sitting in reserve instead.

Andreas isn't a kid. Only ogier has probably done more events in his career. As Est said above, nobody expecting stage winning pace or consistently in the same ballpark as top3/4, but hes miles off. Outpaced by a rookie msport pay driver. Suninen had decent enough pace in his first events in a rally1, but Hyundai signed mikkelsen to be their tarmac"expert" and ditched any idea of developing a younger driver.

And as far as Monte Carlo rallies go, this is about as kind conditions as you could ask for besides a few hellish corners. He simply will have to up his pace by a lot.

[Jarek Z]

So far the Yaris rally2 hasn’t impressed but ok, only a first rally

Drivers probably need to get used to the new car and don't have much knowledge about setup possibilities:

Lefebvre Stéphane: I have no confidence with the car.
Lefebvre Stéphane: I need to learn the car. After previous stage we have changed the setup, I never drove with it before.

[RS]

Drivers probably need to get used to the car and don't have much knowledge about setup possibilities:

Lefebvre Stéphane: I have no confidence with the car.
Lefebvre Stéphane: I need to learn the car. After previous stage we have changed the setup, I never drove with it before.

Fabia was immediately fast with several drivers last year.

Pajari missed Monte last year though through illness but i expected more from Lefebvre.