Quote Originally Posted by KiwiWRCfan View Post
I have often seen/heard "learn to drive wheels off it first then step up a class" meaning totally master one class of car before stepping up to next level of car. Would this not apply and be more relevant than what particular championship a person is entering in.
Of course it is about the car, but not only. To be a good rally driver, you need to have a lot of skills. And you need have ideal playfield where to learn. If you are a soccer player, you are not going directly to Premier league, also biggest talents are going step by step through smallers leagues/teams to improve the skills and mentality. And in the rallysport it is also very similar. I think that this was one of the problems of Max Novikov - he step up too quickly. And from actual drivers, the best example is Andreas Mikkelsen. From beginning he was going immediatelly with WRC car and after few events he moved to WRC. But to be a real champion, he needed to make a step back, which returned him back between the champions...