Citroen WRT

[mknight]

Someone can read this:
http://www.autosport.com/premium/fea...citroen-crisis

[seb_sh]

The point is that in my opinion he made a mistake at the beginning of the season saying "if Mikkelsen and Latvala call me I will answer only because I am polite". He didn't see this coming and maybe he should...

Exactly, before VW pulled out you could argue Citroen couldn't get a much better lineup with what drivers were available, however the moment 3 of the top 5 (if not THE top 3) drivers in the WRC became available it was quite silly to not get at least one of them, especially as they had tested the '17 Polo for most of 2016... As Capito said in that podcast, this "learning year" business is silly and you have to adapt to the circumstances. It may not have been as easy, because there were probably contracts in place and so on, but that's where a manager has to step in and create the best situation possible for his team.

[J_n_z]

I think Matton should go, not Kris. There is many people in this world, that can do his job, but I cant find 10 of them, who can drive a car like Kris... Kris needs a decent "racing supervisor" (even ValeRossi has Cadalora) to eliminate stupidities, not carrier destructive moves to destroy concentration...

[seb_sh]

Someone can read this:
http://www.autosport.com/premium/fea...citroen-crisis

in short:
- reviews Meeke's season, says he had too many crashes
- draws a parallel to Duval getting suspended, suggesting it's the wrong idea
- criticizes car, relates it to budget cuts in the mixed PSA motorsport department
- says being replaced by Mikkelsen might actually be good for Meeke if Mikkelsen doesn't perform
- says Citroen has a strange testing programme regarding location choice
- questions if it was right to have just Meeke develop the C3 (all or nothing driver produced a car that is always on a knife edge)
- says Mattons should have gotten Mikkelsen from the start

Basically, nothing that hasn't been discussed in this forum already.

[mknight]

Didn't know about any budget cuts. Also the testing locations is kind of new, I only wondered how clever it was to let Mikkelsen test in France.

[seb_sh]

Didn't know about any budget cuts. Also the testing locations is kind of new, I only wondered how clever it was to let Mikkelsen test in France.

He might have more info about budget cuts but it has been suggested here that Al Qassimi is footing a big part of the bill. Also he doesn't really say any actual facts or new info in the article. Could be true, could be his opinion. He hints that off the record Citroen drivers complain more that the car is on a knife edge, but again we knew that already...

[RS]

So Meeke crashed again.. if Mikelssen had actually been good this weekend then Meeke should have been worried, but it seems Citroen's problems extend way beyond just Meeke crashing too much.

[mknight]

So Meeke crashed again.. if Mikelssen had actually been good this weekend then Meeke should have been worried, but it seems Citroen's problems extend way beyond just Meeke crashing too much.

He just got kicked from the lineup for a rally and he shouldn't be worried?

What's more Mikkelsen's and Breen's setup issues have shown that the car Meeke has been developing whole last year has huge issues.

[Sladden]

Not totally surprising news - I still find it disappointing. Yes, he's made mistakes - but he's not helped by the car having major issues. Finishing 5,6,7th place is of no use to Citroen as they'll learn nothing for the future. He's the only Citroen driver to show rally winning pace. What will Lefebvre offer? Lower Top 10 pace - if he doesn't bin it. Mikkelsen is still getting to know the car, but you would expect improvement - but rally challenging pace?? Hmm....wait and see...

However, if Kris comes back in Finland refreshed and performs well; then it was the right decision....

Yeah it feels like Meeke is a scapegoat. He was on course for his second and consecutive win in Corsica just a few months ago.

[Rally Power]

Yeah it feels like Meeke is a scapegoat.

To elude Meeke driving issues (like Brit rally journos do) won't help Meeke at all. After his Argentina collapse, Evans, Clark and the other guys should have made a public wake-up call, asking Meeke for a different approach, instead of just keep pointing at the car troubles (with crappy stories like the ‘bring Sainz to help’ one).

Btw, Matton was more than loyal to Meeke; he gave him the leader driver role, despite Meeke's irregular past, and delayed as much as he could a change on the line up. Italy was the reality check moment. Let's just hope Meeke can learn from it.