[WRC] News & rumours (part IV) 2016

[Andre Oliveira]

Gerard Quinn ‏@WRCgerardquinn 12h12 hours ago

The evolution of #FordFiesta in @OfficialWRC From concept to reality. Looking forward to 2017 and future iterations of this great car?



Colin Clark ‏@voiceofrally 3h3 hours ago

Hearing news today that gives me renewed hope that Ogier will go to M-Sport! Keeping everything crossed.

[Andre Oliveira]

[Simmi]

Gerard Quinn ‏@WRCgerardquinn 12h12 hours ago

The evolution of #FordFiesta in @OfficialWRC From concept to reality. Looking forward to 2017 and future iterations of this great car?

Colin Clark ‏@voiceofrally 3h3 hours ago

Hearing news today that gives me renewed hope that Ogier will go to M-Sport! Keeping everything crossed.

Hopefully the Ford brass left some bags of money behind after that M-Sport meeting.

[Essaj]

This one was pretty clever
Screenshot_8.jpg

edit: no idea why it is so small, sorry

[Andre Oliveira]

Deal done

Dream livery

[rallyfiend]

Thierry at his finest.

[dupanton]

Thierry at his finest.

Quite funny that he crashed only once during this WRC season (in Mexico at the beginning of the year), and that now he crashes in a rallyshow

[Andre Oliveira]

Stagebystage.com

It looks very unlikely that Sébastian Ogier will be behind the wheel of a 2017 Volkswagen Polo GTi World Rally Car for his WRC title defence. When that confirmation comes, the relief of the rest of the 2017 contenders will be palpable.

However the Champ has made one thing clear, he and Julien Ingrassia will be in a competitive car. Time pressure means he will let us know his decision very soon.

No matter what car he chooses, providing it is both fast and reliable over a full championship season, I believe he and Julien are again odds-on for the 2017 Championship. Here are ten facts which I feel justify my reasoning: –

Momentum

Apart from a small blip on the last day in Australia (which I am sure he has already taken the learning from and moved on), Ogier will believe like the previous three years that he is the best driver and the others have to catch him.

Confidence

He starts his defence on his home event, Rally Monte Carlo which he has won 4 times – the last three years consecutively, matching Seb Loeb and Walter Röhrl. Only Tommi Mäkinen has won it 4 times in a row. On a rally where traction can be so unpredictable, it proves those drivers were able to feel and react to grip levels better than their competition.

Previous domination of the first four events

Not only is his Monte Carlo record impressive, after the first 4 rallies over the last 4 seasons, Ogier had 75% more points on average than his nearest rival. Now that is a nice cushion to have so early in the year.

Consistency

Those levels of consistency have always been maintained throughout the year in a machine-like way. From pace notes to tyre selection to precision driving, his consistency has never been matched by any of his rivals.

Only one day sweeping duties on gravel

For the gravel rallies in 2017 he has only one days road-sweeping duties to perform, which will be an obvious advantage to him over the year.

Attitude

Working as a stage end reporter for WRC Live on a few events over the last 2 years has been a real privilege for me. Nowadays, Ogier usually just gets on with the task of “doing my best” in whatever conditions he encounters. He is usually calm, relaxed and reflective. It is also rare that you hear him say, he doesn’t have a good feeling etc… He reminds me of Tiger Woods in his heyday when he was in contention, the others seem to struggle with that pressure.

Tyre efficiency

Seb commented in a recent interview that he does not need to think about saving his tyres anymore, he does it unconsciously. That smooth driving style has other benefits of course; being easy on the drive train, reducing the risk of punctures, reducing the number of mechanical failures etc… Compare that to others who say they are only able to go fast while driving a lot more flamboyantly. Like Mäkinen and Loeb, I do not believe he is a lucky driver, he generates his own good fortune.

Judging pace

I noticed a change in Ogier’s pace early in 2016. It was clear that he decided that on some events, second place was good enough. It was also obvious to me that Power Stage points were not worth the same risk of previous years. Again the facts show, where he won 7/8 stages on a rally in previous years, in 2016 he only won 2/3 on that same rally.

Knowledge

Each year, the Champ knows how to tweak his approach to drive fast enough to do the job. Now winning the Championship is very much front of mind and the priority. Knowledge, skills and attitude, with the ability to minimise both external and internal interferences are the key and he has all of those nailed.

No consistent challengers

Although 5 other drivers won one or more rallies in 2016, yet again no one consistently challenged Ogier for the title. Pace note mistakes, driver errors and mechanical issues led to a lack of consistency. Remember there were 6 different winners on 6 consecutive rallies that to me tells a tale.

Summary

As a WRC fan, the last point is the one I want to see change in 2017. There is so much potential to put Ogier under pressure from the outset. Of the drivers confirmed for 2017, Kris Meeke, Thierry Neuville and Hayden Paddon have shown their pace in 2016 and should win rallies next year again, Ott Tänak and Andreas Mikkelsen should be confirmed in the next few days. They will of course be threats, as will Mads Østberg if he can get back to a faster consistent pace in 2017. It remains to be seen how competitive Toyota will be, I expect it will take a while to get up to pace so I don’t see their drivers competing for the title.

In order to perform at the highest level in the most consistent way, Ogier’s title challengers need to change what they have been doing to date because it is clear that strategy has not worked. They need to do something different if they stand a chance of winning their first title.

If you look through the ten areas I listed above, a lot can be approved with the right mental attitude, an area which I still believe most WRC drivers need to focus on more. It would be great if they paid as much attention to improving in those areas as they do on watching in-car stage footage. I know which would have the greater benefit based on studies of competitors in other sports over the last few years.

Here’s to a fascinating 2017, may the best men win!

[N.O.T]

so you spent all this time to tell us something that we already knew...

Thank you captain obvious.

[stefanvv]

Stagebystage.com

It looks very unlikely that Sébastian Ogier will be behind the wheel of a 2017 Volkswagen Polo GTi World Rally Car for his WRC title defence. When that confirmation comes, the relief of the rest of the 2017 contenders will be palpable.

However the Champ has made one thing clear, he and Julien Ingrassia will be in a competitive car. Time pressure means he will let us know his decision very soon.

No matter what car he chooses, providing it is both fast and reliable over a full championship season, I believe he and Julien are again odds-on for the 2017 Championship. Here are ten facts which I feel justify my reasoning: –

Momentum

Apart from a small blip on the last day in Australia (which I am sure he has already taken the learning from and moved on), Ogier will believe like the previous three years that he is the best driver and the others have to catch him.

Confidence

He starts his defence on his home event, Rally Monte Carlo which he has won 4 times – the last three years consecutively, matching Seb Loeb and Walter Röhrl. Only Tommi Mäkinen has won it 4 times in a row. On a rally where traction can be so unpredictable, it proves those drivers were able to feel and react to grip levels better than their competition.

Previous domination of the first four events

Not only is his Monte Carlo record impressive, after the first 4 rallies over the last 4 seasons, Ogier had 75% more points on average than his nearest rival. Now that is a nice cushion to have so early in the year.

Consistency

Those levels of consistency have always been maintained throughout the year in a machine-like way. From pace notes to tyre selection to precision driving, his consistency has never been matched by any of his rivals.

Only one day sweeping duties on gravel

For the gravel rallies in 2017 he has only one days road-sweeping duties to perform, which will be an obvious advantage to him over the year.

Attitude

Working as a stage end reporter for WRC Live on a few events over the last 2 years has been a real privilege for me. Nowadays, Ogier usually just gets on with the task of “doing my best” in whatever conditions he encounters. He is usually calm, relaxed and reflective. It is also rare that you hear him say, he doesn’t have a good feeling etc… He reminds me of Tiger Woods in his heyday when he was in contention, the others seem to struggle with that pressure.

Tyre efficiency

Seb commented in a recent interview that he does not need to think about saving his tyres anymore, he does it unconsciously. That smooth driving style has other benefits of course; being easy on the drive train, reducing the risk of punctures, reducing the number of mechanical failures etc… Compare that to others who say they are only able to go fast while driving a lot more flamboyantly. Like Mäkinen and Loeb, I do not believe he is a lucky driver, he generates his own good fortune.

Judging pace

I noticed a change in Ogier’s pace early in 2016. It was clear that he decided that on some events, second place was good enough. It was also obvious to me that Power Stage points were not worth the same risk of previous years. Again the facts show, where he won 7/8 stages on a rally in previous years, in 2016 he only won 2/3 on that same rally.

Knowledge

Each year, the Champ knows how to tweak his approach to drive fast enough to do the job. Now winning the Championship is very much front of mind and the priority. Knowledge, skills and attitude, with the ability to minimise both external and internal interferences are the key and he has all of those nailed.

No consistent challengers

Although 5 other drivers won one or more rallies in 2016, yet again no one consistently challenged Ogier for the title. Pace note mistakes, driver errors and mechanical issues led to a lack of consistency. Remember there were 6 different winners on 6 consecutive rallies that to me tells a tale.

Summary

As a WRC fan, the last point is the one I want to see change in 2017. There is so much potential to put Ogier under pressure from the outset. Of the drivers confirmed for 2017, Kris Meeke, Thierry Neuville and Hayden Paddon have shown their pace in 2016 and should win rallies next year again, Ott Tänak and Andreas Mikkelsen should be confirmed in the next few days. They will of course be threats, as will Mads Østberg if he can get back to a faster consistent pace in 2017. It remains to be seen how competitive Toyota will be, I expect it will take a while to get up to pace so I don’t see their drivers competing for the title.

In order to perform at the highest level in the most consistent way, Ogier’s title challengers need to change what they have been doing to date because it is clear that strategy has not worked. They need to do something different if they stand a chance of winning their first title.

If you look through the ten areas I listed above, a lot can be approved with the right mental attitude, an area which I still believe most WRC drivers need to focus on more. It would be great if they paid as much attention to improving in those areas as they do on watching in-car stage footage. I know which would have the greater benefit based on studies of competitors in other sports over the last few years.

Here’s to a fascinating 2017, may the best men win!

Must be lonely at top.