Quote Originally Posted by AnttiL View Post
We must remember that Suninen didn't have any testing before Mexico, and it had been half a year since he drove that car on gravel, and the first time he ever drove on that kind of conditions. I believe he was just first trying to find his pace and settings, and when Evans retired he was told to finish to secure manufacturer points. That added pressure could also mess up with the rhythm, probably resulting in his offs on the Friday afternoon. Actually Suninen's best stage result (apart from that super special win) was SS20 where he was fourth, but then again, by that time the Rally2 guys were saving tyres and Meeke went off.
That's all true, but IMO they don't apply as such for Suninen. The guy's something special, that we saw last year in Poland and Finland. You shouldn't be able to post fastest times and fight for podiums in your first WRC events, but that's exactly what he did. That's why I expected more from Sweden and Mexico. He also lost his testing slot in Finland (due to Ogier's crash), but it didn't matter that time. I think it's just a case of maybe thinking too much or something, Teemu should just go for it. I'd rather see him taking a podium and then crashing out on the next two rallies than "getting the experience" and finishing 8th. Don't know if Malcolm would agree though