2016 Silly Season

[AL14]

I was a part of Fløenes split with Mikkelsen, but it didn't turn out the way I expected. So I was also a part of bringing them back together.

Ola Fløene is a very nice guy, but he made some very untachtical interviews in the Norwegian news, he was was some what of a loose canon on deck. I also think he was loosing a little motivation, so he maybe was not the professional athlete that You need to be in a modern professional WRC team. He also made some mistakes.
I (and more with me) contacted the management and said that they should consider to do something with the situation.

The "solution" was one that I did not see coming, the hiring of Markula.
I was almost in disbelief when I heard the first inboard stage with the new pair. Markula may be a very good codriver when speaking Finnish, but he is not close to be fluent in English, so not only did Andreas need to get the pace notes in a foreign language, but read by a man that could not speak it very well.

Because of this Andreas had a low turn when it comes to work with the pace notes, that still hurts his driving. If You analyse Mikkelsens onboards You will notice among other aspects that he is not always consequent when it comes to his actions to the pace notes. A "flat" should be pedal to the metal no mather what, when You start to question if a "flat" is really a "flat", and if You heard the note correctly, You are in big trouble.

I think Andreas pointed this out, but I also think that Markula responded by saying it was Mikkelsen that was the problem. So their working relationship was not good, to put it mildly.
I also pointed these factors out to the team in a thread on the Norwegian rally forum, and I questioned the managements decision to select a codriver that doesn't speak English very good.
I got a lot of flak for that, but I also got a lot of calls from people close to Andreas, that said they where very glad some one said this out loud.

The team pointed out that I was wrong, but then they did what proved that they really thought I was right. They changed back.
Ola had in the mean time found new motivation, and he now was more the professional codriver that is expected, and Andreas and Ola found back to earlier happy days. Very good on them both.

Regarding Mikkelsens codriver in the future, I dont know how many years Fløene wants to continue, and I dont think the management knows either, so they are prepping one of Mikkelsens friends to be a future possible codriver for Andreas.
His name is Anders Jæger Synnevåg.
He started out codriving Bernt Kollevold, who works for EVEN management, in the Norwegian Rally Championship in Kollevolds Ex Petter Solberg Celica ST205. He is currently codriving Ole Christian Veiby in the JWRC.

And now off course Jonas Andersson also is contracted by EVEN management, so this means they have several options if/when Ola Fløene decides to hang up his helmet, or other things should occur.

I think the debacle around Fløenes exit and reentry learned EVEN management a lot about the importance of having a stable of codrivers, and I dont think they want to be in the same situation again. So they have worked very professionally for this not to happen.
EVEN Management has several drivers, but Mikkelsen is whit out a doubt the most important one, so he is always prioritised if something should come up, just like he should be. So dont be surprised if it ends up with Jonas Andersson or Anders Jæger Synnevåg cording Mikkelsen in a few years.

Thanks Lundefaret.
I have just one question for you. How is it possible to lose motivation when you are going to be part of WRC?

[Rallyper]

That question to be held to Floene himself, dont you think?

[Simmi]

If people want to listen to it the WRC Regroup podcast is out now: http://www.wrc.com/en/wrc/media/podc...114--80--.html

Malcolm Wilson confirms that Camilli has a contract with M-Sport and categorically has not paid for his drive. He has a two-year deal, with M-Sport having first option on him in 2018 too. He said they had to 'work out a solution' to get him out of his TMG contract. Whatever that means.

Wilson also said that they still haven't confirmed they'll do all 14 rounds next year.

That said Tanak is doing all 14 rounds with M-Sport support and Bertelli is doing 13 rounds. So they'll always need to send people out to events.

[Lundefaret]

Thanks Lundefaret.
I have just one question for you. How is it possible to lose motivation when you are going to be part of WRC?

Then I have to ask: Have You in some ways been involved in the WRC?

The reason I ask this, is that You can look at the WRC in many different ways.

The spectator- and TV-way where its all action and mud and speed.

Or from a workers perspective:
You travel constantly. Airports, planes, crazy hours.
You have very long hours - especially for codrivers.
The pay can vary.
You are under a lot of pressure.
You are measured all the time.
You go to the same places year after year.
You do countless hours off testing, where You go to a desolate place with low creature comforts, and work hours on end to search for millimeters and tenths. On and on.
And after doing this for years on end, You have in some sence seen it all.
These are some of the factors that can take motivation away from You.
If on top of that there is a varying level of confidence in You.

These factors can be turned both ways. They can either motivate You or they can demotivate You. And I think Ola got in a rut.

But then it all turned around.
Taking a "break", by codriving for Pontus Tideman. Winning the title. Seeing something different, from a driver in a different place. That really put the fire back in his eyes.
For those who know Ola they know that he is a very honest, likeable man, with very good intentions. Seeing that he got his mojo back was a positive experience.
I also think that this made Andreas see what Ola really was to him. Going trough a very bad period with Markula. Both of them seemed very happy when they where back together.

Andreas is maybe the driver in the WRC that has worked most on his pace notes, and practiced the most. But in my opinion I think that in this sense Andreas was more a robot carrying out the orders of the team, and that was - in my opinion - more quantity related than quality related. Andreas was tought the Petter Solberg-system, which Ola had a hand in developing. But he has never really "got it", and he hasn't been able to make it his own. And when this Markula thing happened, he really lost direction when coming to the pace notes - and he has not fully recovered from that.

I have written this before, but I will write it again, Andreas is maybe the fastest driver in the WRC if they all drove a stage they knew by hart, and he was on top form. And we have seen glimpses off that on rear occasions. But all tough his management has taken him from having to give up on rallying - when his fathers investment took a big hit in the finacial crisis off 2008 - to a factory seat in the WRC - and by that doing many things very, very good, they have also been responsible for Andreas loosing his ways a little when it comes to his driving.

Andreas at his very best is incredible, and the time he really was at his peak was in a Subaru Impreza Cup car, doing the Norwegian Championship, and also some other events in Sweden, where he drove just incredible.
Someone in the team will argue that a Impreza cup car is nothing like a WRC car, but thats just because they dont know what parameters one are judging from. The laws of physics are very much the same.
One reason was a lot of pressure going up against Ogier in an S2000 car. This put in a sense of stress in his driving that he has not really recovered from.
And by practising on braking late, and different things, they kind of trained away Andreas´s most extreme qualities.
If You see now, when Andreas is in a corner and have to fight for positions, he very often tries to get speed by braking late, and as a result this is very often a cause of going off.
He is also a lot more untidy then he used to be.
But then You see glimpses, like the power stage in his winning rally (wich in my mind is not a "true" win, since he was so far behind Ogier before the Power stage, but true wins will come), where he just is incredible. And he can win on all surfaces, if he has these moments.

So personally I am a little frustrated over this, because the management has taken him aaaalmoast to the very top, but they struggle to go the last few centimeters and make Andreas the Ogier-beater he really has the potential to be - and seeing quite clearly where his areas of improvement lie, well...

But all this proves how important a codriver can be. If Loeb never found Daniel Elena, he would still be a great rally driver, but maybe he wouldn't have kept going for so long, because Elena was a big part - and still is - of Loebs motivation.

[AL14]

That question to be held to Floene himself, dont you think?

Well yes of course but unfortunately I'm not his friend or neighbor

BTW many thanks to Lundefaret for having shared his insights. Now I can go sleep without this mistery torturing my mind all the nights .
Let's go back to topic now.

[Rally Power]

That said Tanak is doing all 14 rounds with M-Sport support and Bertelli is doing 13 rounds. So they'll always need to send people out to events.

I thought that too. Still thinking Wilson is bluffing and MSport will (hopefully) do all 14 events.

On Camilli issue, it's nice to see Wilson saying loud and clear that he's not a paying driver and having such a strong faith on the French future.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

He said they had to 'work out a solution' to get him out of his TMG contract. Whatever that means.

But Camilli said that his contract with TMG had ended...

[Simmi]

But Camilli said that his contract with TMG had ended...

You can listen to it and hear for yourself.

[Jack4688`]

Maton has already said it loud and clear: he wants Neuville in 2017!

Errr, has he?

[dimviii]

Still thinking Wilson is bluffing and MSport will (hopefully) do all 14 events.
.

of course he will do all events.His clients will be there with rented cars,so his mechanics service trucks will be there.Not extra cost for him to have more cars present.