[WRC] Vodafone Rally de Portugal 2019

[Crazy J]

JML should meet the wizard who would expel the evil spirits riding along in his car (not talking about Anttila). Otherwise Japanese might start to believe there is something that came along with Latvala

[Tarmop]

No he wasn't. Ogier got 34 power stage points in 2017, tanak got 22.
Tanak has beaten ogier in the powerstage 7 times in 26 rally's.

Tanak is fast, i rate hem pretty much equal to ogier. But the dominant speed he shows since he's driving the toyota comes from the car, not from him. And you know that just as well as me or anybody else.

Can`t compare it that way, because:
A) Toyota with Tänak is mighty everywhere, Toyota with others not so much...
B) When you have Ogier in the team, you are his second, in any way. In some teams, even more. M-Sport had new upgrades put on Ogier`s car first, in 2017 and 2018. And team orders.

It`s the whole package for sure, in Toyota, but it works like VW and Ogier...or Loeb and Citroen.

[Morte66]

Some thoughts on Latvala...

I'm a Meeke fan. Evans is Meeke's main rival in the championship, but Latvala is his main rival in remaining employed. The latter is far more important.

Latvala has been quite fast several times, and he has been unlucky several times.

I think the bad luck and bad results has given Latvala good road position, which makes him look a little faster than he really is. Would he have led Meeke in this rally if they'd started one position apart? I have my doubts.

He is not a bad driver, but not one of the big 3 championship contenders either.

If he has a downside it's the emotional rollercoaster, which could be bad for the atmosphere in a team.

Who could Toyota hire who is substantially better than Latvala? Breen, Paddon, Ostberg, Tidemund... none of them scream "substantially better than JML". They're all second level WRC drivers like him. If Ogier or Neuville came free they'd be clear choices, so long as hiring them didn't mean losing Tanak. I guess Rovanpera might make sense as a long term investment, but that seems like a thing for 2021.

I don't think he's going anywhere. Maybe in another year.

[stefanvv]

I just wonder, Ogier in VW, very rare mechanical issues, in M-Sport - I don't remember some major mechanical issues, probably they're very few, but the car clearly wasn't the fastest, in Citroen, also not the fastest car, but this season they have not single mechanical failure, unlike previous years.

Just thinking out loud...

[Allez Andruet]

Some thoughts on Latvala...

I'm a Meeke fan. Evans is Meeke's main rival in the championship, but Latvala is his main rival in remaining employed. The latter is far more important.

Latvala has been quite fast several times, and he has been unlucky several times.

I think the bad luck and bad results has given Latvala good road position, which makes him look a little faster than he really is. Would he have led Meeke in this rally if they'd started one position apart? I have my doubts.

He is not a bad driver, but not one of the big 3 championship contenders either.

If he has a downside it's the emotional rollercoaster, which could be bad for the atmosphere in a team.

Who could Toyota hire who is substantially better than Latvala? Breen, Paddon, Ostberg, Tidemund... none of them scream "substantially better than JML". They're all second level WRC drivers like him. If Ogier or Neuville came free they'd be clear choices, so long as hiring them didn't mean losing Tanak. I guess Rovanpera might make sense as a long term investment, but that seems like a thing for 2021.

I don't think he's going anywhere. Maybe in another year.

My two cents, but anyway... If it wasn't for Tänak, JML would be right there in the mix for the title this year, just like he would've been in 2018 as well. Latvala's issues (if you wanna call them that) are not related to driving fast, that part he knows. It's no coincidence, that JML was strong in 2017, when he was the clear #1 at TGR and basically had his friend supporting him in that title quest. If Tänak was to leave, I'd say replicating that scenario in 2020 would still be Toyota's best scenario for the title bid.

[AnttiL]

No he wasn't. Ogier got 34 power stage points in 2017, tanak got 22.
Tanak has beaten ogier in the powerstage 7 times in 26 rally's.

Tanak is fast, i rate hem pretty much equal to ogier. But the dominant speed he shows since he's driving the toyota comes from the car, not from him. And you know that just as well as me or anybody else.

Something changed with Tänak once he got his first win in Sardegna 2017. That's when he became a championship contender.

It's also important to remember that motorsport (in other than one make series's) is always half the vehicle, half the driver. And to mix that equation you need to combine the right driver with the right vehicle. And Tänak seems to mix well with the Yaris.

[dimviii]

Κatsuta

[dimviii]

[COD]

Κatsuta

Double puncture 😄

[dimviii]

https://www.ewrc-results.com/photo/5...portugal-2019/