Young talented drivers

[rp]

Kruuda confirmed last week that he will do 7 events, starting in sweden. The car hasnt been decided yet.

We will see if the program will happen. Kruuda was aiming to drive WRC2 series also this year, but competed only three events (P,I,PL). What was the reason to skip Finland and all the other events? Money or bad car..

He had many problems with the DS3 R5, so better for him to use Fiesta or Fabia...

[Hartusvuori]

We will see if the program will happen. Kruuda was aiming to drive WRC2 series also this year, but competed only three events (P,I,PL). What was the reason to skip Finland and all the other events? Money or bad car..

He had many problems with the DS3 R5, so better for him to use Fiesta or Fabia...

Kruuda says he owns to DS3 R5s. I don't know what kind of arrangement there is, but if manages to get back, my money is on DS3 R5.

[EstWRC]

Kruuda skipped the other events because after the first three events he saw that it was impossible to fight for the title, so they canceled the program and put the money to next year's program.

He will be there next season.

[Simmi]

Stumbled across this two-part piece ranking the top-10 up-and-coming rally talents. Stuff like this is always good for a bit of discussion.

http://www.motorsport.com/wrc/news/r...part-1-665410/
http://www.motorsport.com/wrc/news/r...part-2-665466/

Judging by a lot of recent comments I think people will say Bergkvist should be higher - which I agree with.

[AndyRAC]

It does show that the French seem to have a conveyor belt of talent. A shame there's nothing similar here in the UK.

[Franky]

I think quite many of the names there can't be called 'up-and-coming' as they've been on the radar for years.

[seb_sh]

It does show that the French seem to have a conveyor belt of talent. A shame there's nothing similar here in the UK.

Yeah they have a good ladder composed of internal competitions then federation, independent or manufacturer support to get to the next levels. Loeb supporting and mentoring drivers is just another example. I think in many countries the way to find talent is more disorganized or "old fashion".

I think quite many of the names there can't be called 'up-and-coming' as they've been on the radar for years.

Yeah many are known but you can consider them "up and coming" since they're not at WRC level yet, I think that was the intention. A nice overview anyway.

[Lundefaret]

Judging talent is very difficult because You need to know a lot about the person in question, and You need to know a lot about the benchmarks, is. The competition to judge this person or talent against.

Both Loeb and Ogier has shown that true talent outweighs experience. Neither had started early, neither had big budgets and so on.

The current crop of WRC-drivers, no matter how hard they try, have extreme difficulty beating a truly talented driver.
But Ogiers only talent wasn't a great inate understanding of movement physics, but also a great work ethic and a killer instinct.

The drivers on the list are all good drivers, but if any of them will be great is difficult to judge.

Being a Norwegian I know a little about Ole Chr Veiby, and I am not sure I would call him a special talent. He has had very comfortable surroundings with both money and professionalism around him, but because of this he has been able to drive a lot more than any of his competitors. Still he is not the fastest in a 2wd in Norway, even with an R3T vs R2s. But still I rate his chances of becoming a WRC driver high, because he is fast enough to get noticed, the team has money so he can drive a lot, and they work professionally. So they will reach WRC by persistence and resources, and that's okay.

Then its easier to judge the talent of someone with comparably little experience beating drivers with more experience.
Camilli and Sunninen are two drivers in such situation and I can see the logic behind Toyota perusing both. If my information is correct, they both came trough similar paths. Both very fast in go karts, and then very fast from the outset in rallycars. Camilli more extreme than Sunninen in having driven less, but accomplished better results pr km.

And then there is age.
Personally I am asking questions about the high focus on Young age, when history shows us that the opposite is a benefit.
Rallying on Ogiers level is extremely difficult, and one thing the naturally gifted needs to explore is the ratio between risk and speed. Everything in rally history so far sugests that age is a benefit in such a matter. Maturity is the word.

Take Lappi.
A very fast driver - but with a very high risk level. And I am even betting he doesn't see it that way, even after multiple offs. That's because he is a young boy who thinks he is imortal.
But how to rank Lappi?
Well, Loeb never had a disappointing season, he always over performed.
In his debut as a Citroen WRC driver he had the toughest team mates, but still it didn't take long before he surpassed them.
Lappi? Well, 2015 have been dismal. He has had his moments of glory, but he has been in the best car in the best team, and he hasn't been totally dominat as really he should be, if he was of extreme talent.
Lappi is extremely fast when he knows the road, or when the rally fota his driving traits. Like in Ireland. But he is a high risk driver on new rallies. His driving trait I wont disclose, but I see that he is still doing it.
But still, he is a very very good driver, wich most probably will end up in a WRC car, but who will, if not there is a lack of competition or a change in driving, end up having more the career of Latvala than Loeb. But there are many rally drivers willing to donate a kidney to be the next Latvala.

What I am on about is that to judge talent is difficult, and You need a lot of info and background. But our two Sebs have some commons: They both came from other sports. They where both quite old. And they where both fast from the word go.

[noel157]

It does show that the French seem to have a conveyor belt of talent. A shame there's nothing similar here in the UK.

Seems the UK have only two ways for drivers to progress to WRC- the Mikkelsen way or the Meeke way. Nothing in between and sweet FA support from the governing body.

[noel157]

And then there is age.
What I am on about is that to judge talent is difficult, and You need a lot of info and background. But our two Sebs have some commons: They both came from other sports. They where both quite old. And they where both fast from the word go.

That's how I judge a driver, fast from the word go. Seems these days most drivers are not fast from the word go, they try and increase their speed as time goes on. Doesn't work, no raw talent from the start = no talent any time.