After a bit of pondering I though I'd share my impressions. First it's quite sad about that spectator I hope Paddon and Kennard get over it, it wasn't their fault and it shows RMC organisers need to improve. It can be done - look at Portugal in the 80s-90s and now.

The rally was a classic Monte, I think the conditions were juuust right with the mix of dry tarmac and snow, with many many stages where all drivers said conditions are tricky. Add to that dramas everyday including a change of leader who had a big gap and many stage winners. Also the new cars are great, it makes me want to break my duck and finally attend a WRC round this year.

Because of the nature of the event it's hard to say too much about the cars but it's clear the Hyundai is a good package and the Ford is probably close but less refined at the moment. The mechanical problem's on Ott's car and Ogier's struggle in the first half of the event show that there's work to do. Citroen is still a bit of an unknown. Toyota was closer than i expected, but they'll probably be a bit farther back on "normal" rallies, however they were pretty reliable so they're not looking to bad.

I think 5 drivers deserve praise:
Ogier for jumping into a new car and new team and doing the job to the end.
Tanak was always around the podium ready to profit from any mistake and had a good rhythm where he didn't risk much.
Breen for a solid run, even considering his spins, he spun "safely" and didn't damage his car; I look forward to seeing more of him.
Mikkelsen for doing the job and showing what we all know - I won't say it again
Latvala for finally doing a clean rally - podium deserved.

On the flipside:
Paddon - crashing on the first stage is never good
Sordo - continuous lack of confidence, if he goes on like this he could consider retireing
Neuville - impressive speed and confidence but the mistake came when he wasn't pressured
Meeke - seemed out of it and had a silly crash then bad luck
Lefebvre - even if he had orders to finish he was too slow

So Hyundai had the best car and worst drivers, Citroen put their best driver in the wrong car, Ford needs to refine their car but Ogier and Ott look like they can bring the title with some backup from Evans and Toyota not looking bad at all. Even if they are a bit slower than here, they are not that far off and will probably mix in the midfield (5th to 10th place area).


It also looks good for the rest of the season. There are many possible rally winners in the field now and we're going to go into the next 3 rallies not knowing who will win. Over the season Ogier's consistency may pay off but Hyundai has a strong package if the drivers get it together.