2022 WRC News & Rumours

[Jarek Z]

Is there something wrong about how works teams choose new drivers these days? First Katsuta and Arai at Toyota, then Lefebvre and Camilli, now Fourmaux... Have they ever won anything important before joining works teams?

For example, if you look at WRC2 results from Croatia, both Lefebvre and Camilli were beaten by Rossel, Kajto, Lindholm, Gryazin and Ingram quite easily:
https://rally-base.com/2022/croatia-...61&ssGroupId=1

Arai and Katsuta can't even win a single ERC event, but were chosen for works drivers...

[Danny0405]

Is there something wrong about how works teams choose new drivers these days? First Katsuta and Arai at Toyota, then Lefebvre and Camilli, now Fourmaux... Have they ever won anything important before joining works teams?

For example, if you look at WRC2 results from Croatia, both Lefebvre and Camilli were beaten by Rossel, Kajto, Lindholm, Gryazin and Ingram quite easily:
https://rally-base.com/2022/croatia-...61&ssGroupId=1

Arai and Katsuta can't even win a single ERC event, but were chosen for works drivers...

Not sure your comparison is right: don’t forget than since 2016 (as you’re evoking Camilli), drivers such as Rovanpera and Lappi has been launched in WRC also. Breen also.
And Camilli and Suninen were in the best drivers in WRC-2 when they were competing there (same for Tidemand). Hanninen was also a good RC2 driver even if he is a special case.

Don’t also forget that the dominant drivers in RC2 are Ostberg and Mikkelsen in the last years.
+ Arai has never been a RC1 driver, he was fired at the RC2 level after dropping in form (especially after Katsuta won WRC-2 Sweden). And we know why Katsuta has a works drive.
And also, the context was not the same when Lefebvre and Camilli were launched (an increase in the number of works seat so there was a lack of drivers whereas it is the contrary now).

Also the example you’re taking about Croatia is not good has Camilli and Lefebvre had issues and punctures (as in Monte-Carlo, they were among the best in terms of pure speed).

The only point I really agree with you is that there is at least two drivers that are clearly interesting for having a chance at RC1 level for next year if they confirm their potential in 2022: Rossel and Lindholm. Before end of last year, they were a little short in terms of rhythm for Rossel and consistency for Lindholm but, now, they seem much better. So clearly I hope they can obtain at least a 6-7 rounds RC1 program next year.
Other drivers sound not that convincing comparing with their experience (Gryazin, Ingram, ...) or too much of a prospect (Cais, Linnamae, ...). I don’t talk about Kajto who is too old (and not the best RC2 driver).

[Jarek Z]

Not sure your comparison is right: don’t forget than since 2016 (as you’re evoking Camilli), drivers such as Rovanpera and Lappi has been launched in WRC also.

But Lappi was already Finnish, European and WRC2 champion when he was hired by Toyota. That's the difference that I wanted to point out.

[ouvreur]

Personnally, I don’t think it’s a bad idea to give him one rally off (the discussion is not about firing him); it has already been applied for other drivers in a bad streak even if it was more experienced drivers (Duval, Meeke, Latvala) and generally, it worked (at least on the short-term).

When you say "it worked", define "worked"? All of those drivers can be described as having had massive potential, huge speed, great opportunities, and... careers littered with failure.

Not one of them made the most of the chances and cars they had access to. All of them were put under immense pressure for their perceived weaknesses, and shared habit of turning their cars into expensive paperweights. Even if being made to sit out a rally or two had the positive effect to 'fire them up' briefly, I'd argue that in the long run it did more damage than good. They all seemed to be trying too hard, too often - and tended to crack when the pressure started to build.

The only driver you could truly say responded well to a period of adversity and being made to take a step back is Ott Tanak. And he was PROPERLY benched, down into national rallies, before he started to get his act together... that was a Malcolm decision, maybe we shouldn't be surprised if the same thing happens to Fourmaux.

[Danny0405]

When you say "it worked", define "worked"? All of those drivers can be described as having had massive potential, huge speed, great opportunities, and... careers littered with failure.

It is why I added «*at least on short-term*»
- Duval, before his two-rally ban by Citroen, did one 4th place and 5 bad results (retirement or out of top 10). In the last 8 rounds of this year, he did one win, three 2nd place and only one result out of the points (retirement)
- Latvala, first 4 rallies: 1 win, 2 retirements and one 13th position before his one-rally ban by M-Sport. In the last 8 rounds, he did 6 podiums including one win and only one results out of top 10.
- Meeke is less spectacular but before his one rally-ban in 2017, he did one win (only result in top 10), 4 retirements and two results out of top 10. In the last 5 rallyes of the season, he did one win, three other results 7-8th place and only one retirement.

So yeah, on a short-term approach, it worked and they improved their result.
But then, on the long-term approach, if they don’t have a championship-material mind (or acquire it), it changes nothing. It’s not because of a one-rally ban that they were not world champion.
I don’t say a one-rally ban is a miracle solution; but I say it could help to drop pression and improve results after that. With Camilli, they try another solution and it failed, even with a small improvement in the middle of the season.
The other solution is to fire him completly (at least from RC1); but it sounds too radical at this stage all the more with Red Bull backing (maybe the question will be valuable at the end of the season).

[JRodrigues]

So, it seems Tanak missed the team tests, but the discussion is if Fourmaux could get the boot?

[Danny0405]

But Lappi was already Finnish, European and WRC2 champion when he was hired by Toyota. That's the difference that I wanted to point out.

The issue is that if you take a look to the last ERC and WRC-2 champions, they don’t have the same pedigree than Lappi generally
Kajto - already quite old when he wins his 1st title
Lukyanuk - even older
Kopecky - the same
Ingram - ok, he was younger but he wins his title with no rally win which is a little annoying when we know WRC-2 level is globally higher than ERC (I insist on the «*globally*» term, I don’t say all drivers in all contexts)
Mikkelsen - already a former WRC driver
Ostberg - the same
Rovanpera - is in Toyota
Tidemand - could have had a better chance I recognize (but he completly drops after his WRC exit)

So yeah, to launch a new driver nowadays, you have to take some risks because there are much good experienced drivers in support categories at world or European levels (or young drivers have more difficulties to beat them depending on we saw it).

[Fast Eddie WRC]

The only driver you could truly say responded well to a period of adversity and being made to take a step back is Ott Tanak. And he was PROPERLY benched, down into national rallies, before he started to get his act together... that was a Malcolm decision, maybe we shouldn't be surprised if the same thing happens to Fourmaux.

Elfyn Evans was also dropped to an R5 car in the British Rally Championship and has come back to the very top level.

Re Fourmaux, he has a lot more pressure to produce than the likes of Katsuta and Solberg.

[TWRC]

Ouch https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/fourm...ntry-in-doubt/

Wow, this is very interesting wording from Millener. Basically goes from 0 to 100 and back. Also the fact that he said many things, but at the same time said basically nothing.
This is a bit alarming to me, and might also show that they have absolutely no idea what to do with him, and how to correct the situation.

[PLuto]

Not sure your comparison is right: don’t forget than since 2016 (as you’re evoking Camilli), drivers such as Rovanpera and Lappi has been launched in WRC also. Breen also.
And Camilli and Suninen were in the best drivers in WRC-2 when they were competing there (same for Tidemand). Hanninen was also a good RC2 driver even if he is a special case.

Don’t also forget that the dominant drivers in RC2 are Ostberg and Mikkelsen in the last years.
+ Arai has never been a RC1 driver, he was fired at the RC2 level after dropping in form (especially after Katsuta won WRC-2 Sweden). And we know why Katsuta has a works drive.
And also, the context was not the same when Lefebvre and Camilli were launched (an increase in the number of works seat so there was a lack of drivers whereas it is the contrary now).

Also the example you’re taking about Croatia is not good has Camilli and Lefebvre had issues and punctures (as in Monte-Carlo, they were among the best in terms of pure speed).

The only point I really agree with you is that there is at least two drivers that are clearly interesting for having a chance at RC1 level for next year if they confirm their potential in 2022: Rossel and Lindholm. Before end of last year, they were a little short in terms of rhythm for Rossel and consistency for Lindholm but, now, they seem much better. So clearly I hope they can obtain at least a 6-7 rounds RC1 program next year.
Other drivers sound not that convincing comparing with their experience (Gryazin, Ingram, ...) or too much of a prospect (Cais, Linnamae, ...). I don’t talk about Kajto who is too old (and not the best RC2 driver).

Rossel and Lindholm over Gryazin and Ingram? Based on what? On results in Croatia?