[WRC] Rally Portugal 2023

[focus206]

Kalle season has started... from here to the next 4 rallies, it will be tough for anybody to keep up.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Is that pic for real or Photoshopped?

Posted on Tanak's socials.

[denkimi]

Kalle season has started... from here to the next 4 rallies, it will be tough for anybody to keep up.

I hope not, but i fear it might be so. except ogier, none of his teammates are even near his level and both the hyundai and the ford can't keep up with that toyota.

perhaps opening the road in sardegna can level it out at bit.

[meh]

Not that dramatic. Yet...
* We don't know how Tänak could match with Rovanperä at the moment from equal road position.
* Sometimes Hyundai seems to struggle (usually 1st pass)
* Sometimes Toyota seems to struggle (usually 2nd pass)

But as it stands, it's quite a big step away from others in the standings.

[seb_sh]

Not that dramatic. Yet...
* We don't know how Tänak could match with Rovanperä at the moment from equal road position.
* Sometimes Hyundai seems to struggle (usually 1st pass)
* Sometimes Toyota seems to struggle (usually 2nd pass)

But as it stands, it's quite a big step away from others in the standings.

The current points difference is not the main issue, same as last year there is no crew/car combo that can keep up with Rovanpera over the whole season.

[EstWRC]

Not that dramatic. Yet...
* We don't know how Tänak could match with Rovanperä at the moment from equal road position.
* Sometimes Hyundai seems to struggle (usually 1st pass)
* Sometimes Toyota seems to struggle (usually 2nd pass)

But as it stands, it's quite a big step away from others in the standings.

People tend to over dramatize things. Go look in the Monte thread now as how doomed everyone thought the season already is and handing trophies to Kalle and Toyota. It’s quite a fun read

[meh]

The current points difference is not the main issue, same as last year there is no crew/car combo that can keep up with Rovanpera over the whole season.

Because Hyundai was a bit fckd up in the beginning (which makes your statement kind of valid), but in my opinion the statement does not contain the trend, that Tänak was in a better shape in the second part of the season and this year, Toyota is not that dominant compared to others.

I don't say that Rovenperä is not the main title-contender, he is, but there are a bit more tones between black and white. Once they even made movie related to those tones.

[focus206]

People tend to over dramatize things. Go look in the Monte thread now as how doomed everyone thought the season already is and handing trophies to Kalle and Toyota. It’s quite a fun read

I stand by my prediction that Kalle will dominate the standings, there's plenty of rallies left to create a big gap between him and everybody else. I really hope not, because I want a close season, but who can challenge him? Evans and Neuville are not consistent enough. Tanak drives a Puma. Ogier is part-time.
The only way is if Kalle starts making mistakes by himself.

[bandit12]

Once they even made movie related to those tones.

You mean Emir Kusturica's "Black cat, White cat"?

[Danny0405]

Well, Loubet’s bad start of season so far is not a big surprise.
As already evoked, he was clearly overrated IMO last season for two reasons:
- he knows very well WRC rounds as he began his career directly in WRC rounds for a while + had some RC1 experience
- his teammates were very bad, which created a relative difference that faked a bit the evaluation
- also, his relative road position this season is a little worst than in 2022; indeed, as they is less car this season, he is 8th or 9th on the road where he was 10th or 11th; sounds nothing at first glance but he can make a relative difference of 2 positions with drivers he could compete before.

Issue is he has only two real windows of opportunities this season to deliver a good result: Portugal-Sardinia and Greece-Chile (thanks to the road position and his knowledge of the roads or not too much gap of knowledge for Chile). And he already spoiled the first rallye of the first window.
On other rallies, I don’t really see how he can do something significant (except a 2022 Ypres-Solberg result style).