M-Sport Ford World Rally Teams

[mknight]

1. man, isn't that too much?? i agree i did a typo missing an s, but it's pretty clear that's written about driver(s) in general. if i want to say mikkelsen (as you later insinuated) i do write mikkelsen, why should i hide the names?? that's a bit paranoid... guess every other people here got it quite right.
I get you are edgy on that topic, but using other people's words (or mistakes, in that case) to steer the conversation there is a bit meh.

Sure, write two post with excuses what you "wrote" without actually reading what you wrote yourself. Then it was all a typo.

This started with you trying to derail discussion about Dirtfish MSport article with snarky reference which was clear to everyone to be on Mikkelsen. I called you out on that and then you try to deny it so hard you start contradiction yourself.
In the end you go for "poor baby" patronizing.


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So let's go back to the start and hear your comment on the topic

Milliner says Breen is not bringing the results he was hired for but (at the end of the year) they will only consider changing the lineup if they can get a clear title contender (which none are available).

To me there is a contradiction in his words:
They are not happy with Breen yet he basically says they won't do anything about it.

Note that Milliner himself said two weeks ago that they were "looking for ways to get another experienced driver" to support Breen. (clear title contender wouldn't really support Breen, rather take over his job).

The more honest way to sum up the last two MSport stories is that MSport were looking for someone to support Breen without using own money and failed.

Could be that drivers which could do that (Loeb, Mikkelsen, Suninen, Meeke, Østberg) don't see why they should use/bring own money to help MSport instead of actually getting paid elsewhere (Loeb at Prodrive, Mikkelsen and Meeke at Skoda and Suninen at Hyundai).

It could also be said that as long as Loeb drops by every few rallies and shows the speed of the Puma, they don't really need good results from Breen that much.

As Antti points out, this situation is a far cry from pre-season predictions and hopes from both people here and a lot of rally jurnos. For fun I checked the 2022 Crystal ball thread. Almost half of the predictions have a Breen rally win and some 1/3 have him WDC and/or MSport manu champ.

[mknight]

Actually the article pre-Finland about MSport looking for an experienced driver to support Breen was on WRC and not Dirtfish:

https://www.wrc.com/en/news/2022/wrc...tional-driver/

Note the last paragraph:

“We can’t give up - if you do that and just live with what you have, you’re never going to make it work. It's just an ongoing thought in my head that we need to find a way to try and do it. It’s not easy, but I won’t give up.”

[wyler]

Sure, write two post with excuses what you "wrote" without actually reading what you wrote yourself. Then it was all a typo.

This started with you trying to derail discussion about Dirtfish MSport article with snarky reference which was clear to everyone to be on Mikkelsen. I called you out on that and then you try to deny it so hard you start contradiction yourself.
In the end you go for "poor baby" patronizing.


---------

So let's go back to the start and hear your comment on the topic

Milliner says Breen is not bringing the results he was hired for but (at the end of the year) they will only consider changing the lineup if they can get a clear title contender (which none are available).

To me there is a contradiction in his words:
They are not happy with Breen yet he basically says they won't do anything about it.

Note that Milliner himself said two weeks ago that they were "looking for ways to get another experienced driver" to support Breen. (clear title contender wouldn't really support Breen, rather take over his job).

The more honest way to sum up the last two MSport stories is that MSport were looking for someone to support Breen without using own money and failed.

Could be that drivers which could do that (Loeb, Mikkelsen, Suninen, Meeke, Østberg) don't see why they should use/bring own money to help MSport instead of actually getting paid elsewhere (Loeb at Prodrive, Mikkelsen and Meeke at Skoda and Suninen at Hyundai).

It could also be said that as long as Loeb drops by every few rallies and shows the speed of the Puma, they don't really need good results from Breen that much.

As Antti points out, this situation is a far cry from pre-season predictions and hopes from both people here and a lot of rally jurnos. For fun I checked the 2022 Crystal ball thread. Almost half of the predictions have a Breen rally win and some 1/3 have him WDC and/or MSport manu champ.

i was thinking you were just an over-entusiastic fan and not bothered that much, but now i think you are really a bit paranoid on this mikkelsen topic,and it is a bit discomforting to me, to have conversations so misread, childish, and hateful.
anyway, i don't care that much so i'm happy with everything you choose to believe on me, whatever!
(and i suppose the few people hitting likes under my posts don't agree with you either...)

on topic:
it's definitely what you wrote, it basically explains why is not a contradiction. they maybe want to change, but there's no possibility, and saying so isn't that much of a contradiction to me, just stating a fact. as you said, even if they would change for a better driver than breen, there's no one available (not in abstract of course, but for their context!), and there will not at the season end as well, most probably. so they just state it: we are not super happy, but we (have to) stay like this. but it is still ok if you feel it controversial, let's get out from that loop, there's a race incoming, with mikkelsen too

[wyler]

yes, of course. is not that he can go on to media and say "we are just helpless". he need to keep up with the pr stuff for the actual sponsor, and he is also shaking a tree to see if he can get some fruit. i totally agree is shaking a dead tree...

[mknight]

i was thinking you were just an over-entusiastic fan and not bothered that much, but now i think you are really a bit paranoid on this mikkelsen topic,and it is a bit discomforting to me, to have conversations so misread, childish, and hateful.
anyway, i don't care that much so i'm happy with everything you choose to believe on me, whatever!
(and i suppose the few people hitting likes under my posts don't agree with you either...)

Yes I am paranoid. Cause it's totally normal to write "certain" when you want to write "drivers". (Who should those multiple certain drivers that are clear to everyone be?)

Now keep doing that "poor baby", why adding a snark for no reason to every sentence where it is even remotedly possible and talk about counting likes (omg is this first grade highschool?)


If it's so discomforting for you there is a solution you know. I am laughing my bodyparts off.

[wyler]

Yes I am paranoid. Cause it's totally normal to write "certain" when you want to write "drivers". (Who should those multiple certain drivers that are clear to everyone be?)

Now keep doing that "poor baby", why adding a snark for no reason to every sentence where it is even remotedly possible and talk about counting likes (omg is this first grade highschool?)


If it's so discomforting for you there is a solution you know. I am laughing my bodyparts off.

look, i'm trying to be polite and reasonable, assuming you're a grown man...
"certain" is used for plural too, and i wanted precisely say "certain drivers", they're not contraries.
when talking about possible rally1 drivers there are -maybe few- but a list of names recurring, and you made the list yourself later on, so you get it right on second thought. again: why should i hide a name? i would definitely say "they ll not hire mikkelsen" if i wanted but was not my intention and you should really consider you get it wrong. counting like should ring you a bell when you assume that everybody share your vision, and it's not. you should consider it too. sometimes mistake happens, as my typo and your over reaction. get along. it's fine.

but you can keep your idea, no problem, i've already said that, just stop this nonsense, and be polite. i ll not reply more on that argument, i think it's clearly stated, and you can use your "solution" firsthand instead of telling others what to do and what they think, that ll be as mature as you pretend to be.

[bandit12]

Oh ffs. Get a room.

[AndersX]

I was just thinking that these dramas with crashing drivers, angry Malcolm and Co etc; it looks like a neverending loop. Go back McRea , then Latvala ( if I am correct, even benched once), Duval, Tanak ( more than once dropped) then most recent Suninen, now Fourmaux and Breen. Somehow the same pattern again and again. Even Evans discovered him-self properly only in Toyota. Somehow feels that it is time Malcolm to look into the mirror and ask what has been wrong in the concept it self? Possibly, constant budget restrains put extra pressure on every step of development. Drivers are competitors, most of them are in WrC bcs they have been winning. They will push, that is their nature. But the car allows only to do it to the certain level, then - crash or break. Even more - to not being able to afford PET in Fin - what would you even could expect? Last year - no PET and to blame Sunninen for bad performance?! If M-Sport will keep blaming only their drivers, who will want to work with them in future? (If there is any sustainable future for this approach at all).

My point is - at their current economical position, unfortunately, M-Sport has jumped over their heads in the fight with proper manufacturers and , as we know, things tend to go bad directly proportional to the importance of the matter. They can blame Breen and Co, but there are bigger matters that lead to high repairing costs and poor results in the end of the day.

[mknight]

Rumors on again about Tanak.

Loeb has now been leading or fighting for win on every rally he started this year (4). Loubet led the rally (with big road position advantage). Greensmith posted some decent times.

Surely it could be possible to use this PR to attract extra money for Tanak. "We have great car, we need top driver(s)".

...but 4 out of 5 cars had reliability issues again, with 3 retiring. (But 2 Toyotas also did)

So would Tanak want to switch? Before Greece I'd say no, now I'd still say no, but not as categorically.

[EstWRC]

The car is fast, no doubt about that. But yeah, too much reliability problems lately

Anyway, such a stuff already around Twitter



Suits him well