Toyota announces WRC plans

[mknight]

Sorry for the possible misunderstanding.

I was responding to the posts just above saying how Hanninen might be giving good feedback etc. At about same times those posts were written Tommi told what I quoted in the press release.

Hence my reaction that Hanninen does not fulfill the main objective that Tommi states for whole team: "finish rallies and collect information".

My post was in no way directed on Lappi.

[AnttiL]

I think Toyota is not concerned about factory standings this year and Latvalas points position is pure bonus for the first season.

Yeah, I gotta admit this is true, but I think what both Toyota and Hänninen need is competitive stage kilometres and you don't get that by crashing on the first stage. Latvala has been a wise man this year, trying to finish every rally, not pushing too much and not having those small mistakes that plagued his career before, ruining a rally by hitting a rear wheel somewhere. And while being consistent, he has also been fast on some stages, especially on Power Stages.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Hanninen was out of competitive WRC action for quite a while... no drives in 2016 and only one rally in 2015. That must have an effect on him coming into a full 2017 season after so long just testing...

[Allez Andruet]

Hanninen was out of competitive WRC action for quite a while... no drives in 2016 and only one rally in 2015. That must have an effect on him coming into a full 2017 season after so long just testing...

That's a very good point and probably plays a big role in what we've seen from Hänninen so far in 2017. To be completely out for a year and then only to test during another definitely doesn't give you any competitive edge.

Modern WRC is anyway about driving at the limit on different stages for three days, whether you're actually "pushing" or not. That is something which is really hard to simulate during any kind of testing session.

[Hartusvuori]

That's a very good point and probably plays a big role in what we've seen from Hänninen so far in 2017. To be completely out for a year and then only to test during another definitely doesn't give you any competitive edge.

Modern WRC is anyway about driving at the limit on different stages for three days, whether you're actually "pushing" or not. That is something which is really hard to simulate during any kind of testing session.

When Latvala signed to Toyota, just a few weeks before homologation papers were due in, he demanded several big changes to be made it to Yaris, for example to differentials. Latvala got his wishes through, and as we remember he tested like a madman just before Christmas and due to that Yaris seemed notably faster.

I think this didn't work in Juho's favor. The six day test Toyota did in Finland before Sweden, Latvala started and videos from those days showed absolute speed. Then on Juho's turn he looked completely lost. He was reported saying finding no trust to the car after Latvala's setups and it took time to get it back more to his liking. Suddenly the car he had been developing and testing for thousands of kilometers was not his anymore. Clearly Juho have had difficulties in adapting to these changes. He have had his bad luck too. Monte Carlo he found a surprisingly icy corner and as we remember, that same corner caught half a dozen other crews on second run, most notably Andolfi to whom the tree was not so gentle anymore. Corsica mistakes should've been avoided for sure.

As we are listing his excuses, and I should go back to the source on this one to refresh my memory, but regarding his last start in Hyundai in Wales and his day 1 off road excursion, I remember reading from his column in VM Magazine at the time that mechanics have made a mistake with rear dampers fitting them somehow wrongly which made the car very difficult to drive.

It must be said I'm a Juho fan. He is about the most likeable guy in rallying, always showing his dry sense of humour. And on stages he is fast. This season is his first proper shot in WRC level as he is contracted for full season. He has made it hard for himself, but from the bottom of my heart I hope he could at least occasionally prove us wrong and deliver that good result.

[bluuford]

Actually last year Lappi didn’t crash a single time (his only mistake was getting stuck in a ditch during Sweden Rally, where he finished 3rd). He become WRC2 champ by winning 4 events in a row, but he could get the title earlier without the suspension failure in Sardignia and the hidden rock in Poland (the same that took away Tanak’s victory), as he was leading both events.

Besides showing a strong consistency he was also clearly the fastest guy around, with 66 stages wins all season long (almost twice those of main competitors).

Yep, there’s no guarantee he won’t return to a more irregular driving with the Yaris, but we shouldn’t minimize his ‘16 achievements, as they were the result of a successful personal evolution. Anyway, he totally deserves Toyota chance; best luck to him!

eWRC data: https://www.ewrc-results.com/season....nat=95&t=WRC-2

I think it was Lappi who had relatively lucky crash in GB as well, back-end of the car was quite badly damaged but luckily, nothing that affected driving seriously. But yes, he was better than previous seasons, at the same time, there was relatively weak competition for him.

Edit: Found the video as well, that was question of mm-s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcjeDsnji2c

[Allez Andruet]

It must be said I'm a Juho fan. He is about the most likeable guy in rallying, always showing his dry sense of humour. And on stages he is fast. This season is his first proper shot in WRC level as he is contracted for full season. He has made it hard for himself, but from the bottom of my heart I hope he could at least occasionally prove us wrong and deliver that good result.

Couldn't agree more.

[Rally Power]

I think it was Lappi who had relatively lucky crash in GB as well, back-end of the car was quite badly damaged but luckily, nothing that affected driving seriously. But yes, he was better than previous seasons, at the same time, there was relatively weak competition for him.

Edit: Found the video as well, that was question of mm-s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcjeDsnji2c

Come on bluuford, that's just a small mistake with only 'cosmetic' damages and litle time lost. Btw, considering Tideman, Suninen or Evans as 'relatively weak competition' for Lappi seems a bit exagerated...

[Fast Eddie WRC]

I was just hearing about a Jarmo Lehtinen interview (Sporting Director for Toyota WRC). He confirmed it was Latvala's technical know-how and experience of many different WRC cars that earned him a seat with Toyota, over Mikkelsen.

This was exactly why I said he got the seat ahead of Mikkelsen and I was widely ridiculed for it as many saw this as irrelevant and Mikkelsen as just the faster driver.

So I'm glad I was proved correct in my theory. I also think Latvala has shown that Toyota made a good decision, by the way he immediately developed the Yaris and has made it much faster than many thought from its previous test runs.

[mknight]

Have to agree with the resident troll tbh.

If anything Latvala is mostly known to constantly struggle with the setup and getting lost in it 2-3 times on same rally. Ref. his comments on how he was changing his setup to reflect Ogier's.