[WRC] News & rumours (part III)

[Duvel]

Give Neuville a full season in the new car first, before lynching him.
Anyone remember McRae's horrible run of form in 1999 and into 2000, when he was driving a car that wasn't yet good enough? After wins in safari and portugal in 1999, McRae didnt score points untill Sweden the following year. A truly horrible run of form, and there were a lot of accidents during that spell, not just reliabilityy issues..

He didn't throw in the towel as such, but as a driver who believed he was quick enough to compete with anyone, its only natural his motivation/concentration/focus might have dipped ever so slighty. Even just by 1%. And thats when mistakes creep in/ pace drops a little. I personally think the same has happened with Thierry (although i could easily be wrong).

Thierry rightly or wrongly thinks he can push Ogier if he had a good car. He believes in his abilities. He had a great year at Ford finishinng 2nd in the championship, spent a year developing the Hyundai but still won his first rally. So i bet he really felt he could push on this year and challenge Ogier when the new car was meant to arrive. But after finding out it was to be delayed till next season, its understandable his motivation might have dipped slighty.
So he's in a tricky situation, he has to push beyond his limits just to fightt for a podium because the car isn't great (by doing this he'll probably crash a lot). Or he can drive at 90% and drive around trying to collect 5th or 6th place. He will probably get criticised either way. Also, he doesnt have a place in the team to win/ a new contract to gain. He is safe and doesnt need to fight for his immediate future. Whereas Paddon had to show great speed this year or his chances of getting a full drive in 2016 would have been bleak. So that could be another reason for being "outpaced" by his teamate recently. Admittedly, it would be complacency if that was the case.


He has suffered a dip in form, but i think the reason everyone is on his back so much is because we desperately need someone to challenge Ogier. And Neuville was/is the big hope. That's a lot of expectation, but people need to get real. He is still young and is driving a car that isn't a VW beater whatsoever. He should be judged this time next year, after a full season in what Hyundai claim to be a car capable of challenging the VW. If he is still crashing or getting outpaced by Paddon and others, then that's when he deserves all the criticism he gets.

Interesting view on the issue, i agree whit most of your opinions.
Still a shame he can not find his motivation again, but as you sead, hopes were high for 2015 season, al but podiums is bad result for most fans

[Simmi]

I think Neuville has a right to be aggrieved in the sense that Hyundai sold him the dream back in 2013 and haven't delivered on what they promised.

That said, was he offered a better situation anywhere else? I'm not sure he was and I'd imagine he's being paid well by Hyundai with undisputed number 1 status. Regardless of whether you're happy or not, it doesn't explain why he is being shown up and regularly out-paced by either less experienced or lower-rated drivers. If he ever wants to actually improve his situation he needs to play the game a bit. His stock is at an all-time low.

[dodge33cymru]

Agreed, he has reason to be frustrated but it's hardly the mark of a champion that he's no longer the certain fastest driver in a Hyundai and doesn't seem to be really doing much about that. Very surprised in that interview that he's not more apologetic and stating that his focus is on learning the events for next year.

He's certainly not going to move for next year, seeing as he's on a large contract and no-one else will offer him similar terms on his current form, so if he does want to achieve that goal he's either going to have to get the best put of Hyundai or do enough next year to convince Toyota of his value.

[danon]

[itix]

Give Neuville a full season in the new car first, before lynching him.
Anyone remember McRae's horrible run of form in 1999 and into 2000, when he was driving a car that wasn't yet good enough? After wins in safari and portugal in 1999, McRae didnt score points untill Sweden the following year. A truly horrible run of form, and there were a lot of accidents during that spell, not just reliabilityy issues..

He didn't throw in the towel as such, but as a driver who believed he was quick enough to compete with anyone, its only natural his motivation/concentration/focus might have dipped ever so slighty. Even just by 1%. And thats when mistakes creep in/ pace drops a little. I personally think the same has happened with Thierry (although i could easily be wrong).

Thierry rightly or wrongly thinks he can push Ogier if he had a good car. He believes in his abilities. He had a great year at Ford finishinng 2nd in the championship, spent a year developing the Hyundai but still won his first rally. So i bet he really felt he could push on this year and challenge Ogier when the new car was meant to arrive. But after finding out it was to be delayed till next season, its understandable his motivation might have dipped slighty.
So he's in a tricky situation, he has to push beyond his limits just to fightt for a podium because the car isn't great (by doing this he'll probably crash a lot). Or he can drive at 90% and drive around trying to collect 5th or 6th place. He will probably get criticised either way. Also, he doesnt have a place in the team to win/ a new contract to gain. He is safe and doesnt need to fight for his immediate future. Whereas Paddon had to show great speed this year or his chances of getting a full drive in 2016 would have been bleak. So that could be another reason for being "outpaced" by his teamate recently. Admittedly, it would be complacency if that was the case.


He has suffered a dip in form, but i think the reason everyone is on his back so much is because we desperately need someone to challenge Ogier. And Neuville was/is the big hope. That's a lot of expectation, but people need to get real. He is still young and is driving a car that isn't a VW beater whatsoever. He should be judged this time next year, after a full season in what Hyundai claim to be a car capable of challenging the VW. If he is still crashing or getting outpaced by Paddon and others, then that's when he deserves all the criticism he gets.

Since I was 11 and 12 during those seasons, I don't remember much (and I'm too lazy to go through Ewrc stage times). Was McRae's speed also lacking during this period or was it simply crashing/mech failure while in contention for good results (compared to his team mates mainly of course)?

Because what we see from Neuville is a clear lack of pace as well.

[Toyoda]

What suprises me is that in the interview he said he was not interested in developing the car until right at the end. He needs to get the car built around him, meaning more testing input, although I have heard he is not as mechanically minded as other drivers such as paddon

[itix]

What suprises me is that in the interview he said he was not interested in developing the car until right at the end. He needs to get the car built around him, meaning more testing input, although I have heard he is not as mechanically minded as other drivers such as paddon

He did fix his radiator with chewing gum and beer!
Although you don't really need to be a genius to do that...

[Toyoda]

He did fix his radiator with chewing gum and beer!
Although you don't really need to be a genius to do that...

True that

[dimviii]

somebody to help with translation?

[EightGear]

Technical director fired?