WHO'S YOUR MORAL RALLY-WORLD CHAMPION???

[Jeanburrasca81]

I know that makes no sense. I already congratulated myself with Grönholm and now I say that my moral champion is another? Yes, but it's so! My moral World Champion is Colin McRae, for he makes me breathless when I watch him. His car and his anger sometimes made him lose points that could have made the real Champion of him, but anyway....
What is your opinion?

[Speed Demon]

Gronholm, no question.

McRea is spectacular, but makes too many mistakes, a problem that Richard Burns himself admitted to.

Marcus, on the other hand, started the year not even knowing how many rounds he would racing or quite what support he would get from Peugeot. He simply let his driving do the talking and pulled the team around him and now has his just rewards.

Mind you, a quick mention for Didier Auriol. He's long been one of my favourite drivers, not least because of his resemblance to the character in 'Allo 'Allo. And in the SEAT this year, he too had a little tank!

[KC]

I too think Gronholm performed exceptionally well. He took a team that was spotty on win capability and made up the difference and showed Peugeot that they too deserved to compete with the juggernauts Subaru, Ford, and Mitsubishi. It is also known that he is not one of the preferred racers among the Finnish group of drivers. He came up from motocross motorcycle racing and does not fit the mold of the typical Finnish rally driver.

I too like McRae, but he needs to control his aggression and be more consistent. There are times that the "Checkers or Wreckers" mentality costs too much in a long championship. He is spectacular to watch though.

[Peter Mallett]

Just a thought but have you noticed how difficult McCrae is to interview? It's just like watching Mika H.

[Zep]

Marcus Grönholm. Drove a fantastic first full season.

[DAVID PATERSON]

I'm a big fan of Colin McRae, but I must agree that his spectacular style, while great to watch has cost him a couple of championships.

I congratulate Marcus Gronholm, I really believe he earned the championship, he drove well all year and did just about everything right.

One thing that concerns me, has sucess come too early for Gronholm? Sometimes, when a young, inexperienced but highly talented driver achieves great success early in his career, he finds it difficult to maintain the momentum and repeat his success.

[Zep]

Well... Grönholm ain't young or inexperienced. It just took quite a long to get to WRC level.

More info about Marcus:
http://www.mgr.fi

[chunder]

Marcus is a top bloke and having been to the event and witnessed the pressure he was under you have to say that he won it in style.
Makinen is and always has been very lucky, very quick but very lucky. Checj=k out how bent his intercooler was on Saturday, anyone else would have retired.
McRae is a second a mile faster than anybody out there but throws it away too much and Burns would have won it if he hadn't tried too hard iat the end of the year.
Does anybody wonder how quick Tommi or Colin would be in that 206. Not wishing to take anything at all away from Marcus, but Colin and Tommi are acknowledged to be the quickest guys out there.
What about Delecour getting the sack. Apparently he argued with Nicolas and stormed out of the party with his contract in tatters. Auriol and Rovanpera have been signed to drive in 01, Didier and MG doing the full rounds (Didier champ in 2001?) and Harri and Gilles sharing the other car over the year.

[Speed Demon]

It's a shame for Delecour, certainly, as he has driven well in the latter part of the year, and there can be few who doubt his tenacity. Having said that, although probably handled badly (a Peugeot trait?), you cannot argue that Didier is not the better driver and one completely deserving of a top notch drive. He's worked miracles in that SEAT and never complained too strongly about his lot. A true gentleman and a genuine contender.

[Liz]

Well, I kind of like Gilles Panizzi, although I'm not sure it is moral for them to run him as a "specialist" just to take points away from other teams with no personal chance to win the WRC. When he is allowed to run on asphalt he is amazingly quick and seems to have all his cylinders firing. (And he's cute..... )