[WRC] Rally Italia Sardegna 2021

[Tom K]

Kajto stayed on stage, near finish, after last split.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

WRC3 Leader Kajto:
Unfortunately, right ahead of the finish line on Friday’s final stage the car of Kajto & Maciek slid off the road. Despite the lack of damage, it was not possible to push the car back on the road and continue...

[mknight]

Neuville: "2 punctures WITHOUT HITTING anything"

Just like FX said two weeks ago in the interview... rally drivers never hit anything.

To make M-Sport day 100% failure, Greensmith stopped (assumed gearbox).

Prokop (the 4th and last MSport car) also had some issues on the last stage but as the only one of the 4 actually managed to finish the first leg.

-------------------

Ogier is extremely impressive so far. If we add rain on top on Sunday he might even fight for win.

[dimviii]

[dimviii]

Just like FX said two weeks ago in the interview... rally drivers never hit anything.

some of them they roll without knowing the reason.

“It was a left-hand corner just after the start,” Mikkelsen explained.

“I cut the corner like first pass but then suddenly the car went to the right just in the cut, so I’m not sure if I hit something.

“I didn’t feel anything in the steering wheel so I was sure that something snapped but then we rolled, and it looked like when the car was actually upside down so we rolled it back and we continued driving. But in the end the rollcage has the damage and we’re forced to retire because of that.”

https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/mikke...ly-retirement/

[dimviii]

"We can divide this day in two. In the morning, I couldn't find the rhythm and the confidence. I didn't feel comfortable to attack. Then there was the afternoon which could have been spent clearly Better. We were slowed down by two punctures and we had once again a problem with the engine. The engine stalls suddenly, that happens to us quite often. I was lucky to be able to start again quite quickly, but it still costs us a few precious seconds ... and therefore a position on the road for Saturday ", enumerates the Belgian at our microphone.

"It's frustrating! Without that, we could have come within 10 seconds of Ogier's 3rd place. We had the best intermediate times before the puncture. It was a slow puncture, we drove a long time on the road. rim. I had to slow down at the end because the rim was starting to break. I lost the brakes, it was a hassle the last two kilometers. We have been talking about tires for many rallies this season, "he continues.

Before concluding on a positive note: "Apart from the first two stages, the performance is there. We were as fast or faster than the Toyotas in front of us. It looks difficult, but we still believe in the podium. You have to see the scenario. The drivers in front of us had no problems. We hope that luck will change sides and that it will run better for us. "

https://www.rtbf.be/sport/moteurs/ra...mp?id=10776412

[dimviii]

“I think pressure is part of this job, so if you can’t deal with it then that’s not our problem,” he said.

“It’s down to somebody else’s problem to solve it himself, we can’t do everything for them. We give the drivers the best car we can and the best team we can and the rest is down to them.”

Describing the incident, Suninen said: “Under braking I pulled the handbrake and stalled the engine, and then I didn’t have the engine to pull through the corner and just slide off.”

While it was undoubtedly a driver error, Suninen pointed to the fact he had no competitive experience of Pirelli’s gravel tires on the World Rally Car prior to SS1 and the fact his last gravel rally in the car was this same event last year as to reasons how this could have gone wrong.

https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/the-f...s-better-than/

[Tauri_J]

After the last stage Ott was talking tyres not suspension. Confirmed by Estonian media.

[dimviii]

After the last stage Ott was talking tyres not suspension. Confirmed by Estonian media.

Tänak won five of the day’s eight stages but there was some sort of problem on SS8 as a vibration could be heard as he drove from the finish boards to the time control.

The 2019 World Rally Champion hopped out at the end of the stage to assess his Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC.

“It’s nothing new,” he said. “It was the same in Portugal and that’s why we need to be very focused for tomorrow as well.

“I had it since the beginning and have just been coasting through, I’m glad I got here.”

https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/tanak...f-rally-italy/

[mknight]

some of them they roll without knowing the reason.

“It was a left-hand corner just after the start,” Mikkelsen explained.

“I cut the corner like first pass but then suddenly the car went to the right just in the cut, so I’m not sure if I hit something.

“I didn’t feel anything in the steering wheel so I was sure that something snapped but then we rolled, and it looked like when the car was actually upside down so we rolled it back and we continued driving. But in the end the rollcage has the damage and we’re forced to retire because of that.”

https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/mikke...ly-retirement/

I looked on the onboard, there is no obvious difference in how he drives it in first and second pass. Doesn't mean the road didn't change slightly or different suspension settings affected how the car reacted.

You know some people loose a wheel without a reason as well (in Portugal)