2014 World Rally Championship

[BertMk2]

No Porsche 911 for Rally GB as the FIA won't let it run with un-homologated suspension components. Bit of a shame, they could have let it run but not feature in the classifications, I'm sure it would have attracted a lot of attention.

The stages for Rally GB look like they're in pretty good condition from the photos that have been doing the rounds. Hopefully I'll be able to catch some of the coverage of this one.

[Alex Langheck]

FiA in dragging their feet shocker. Tuthill is being polite, but I bet he's really seething. He said he planned to do Rally of GB earlier in the year - but days before the event thry have to pull the entry. Tuthill even had help off Porsche GB, but to no avail.

So to Rally of GB, all 200-ish miles of it. Should be good, despite its lack of mileage, and a tough test.
You'd have to fancy a VW 1-2-3, but would like to see Meeke mixing it with them.

[mountainstar]

Too bad about Hirvonen, he is one of the few likable and interesting drivers left in any championship out there and he will be missed. He gave it a good go but could never seem to tie it together to win a WRC.

[garcon]

Always liked him but he never seemed like a winner. Not sure we can bemoan the lack of interesting characters with Latvala pushing for honours. Love his approach and his style. The nearest thing to a latter day McRae I've seen.

[NaBUru38]

At Rally Argentina, national cars run a parallel classification. Why can't FIA do that in other WRC races?

[BertMk2]

No surprises so far in Wales, Ogier leads from Latvala with Hirvonen running third over a minute behind.

[AndyS]

I was hoping Meeke might have got among the Polo's on this one. I thought the slippery conditions might be a bit of a leveller, but it seems to be having the opposite affect on the DS3's as their comments seem to suggest they are struggling with the conditions. With such little mileage these days it doesn't give people much chance to sort issues out and catch up.

It looks like a close fight between Oiger and Latvala and third is shaping up to be pretty close if they all manage to stay on the road.

[Suze]

If anyone has any photos of car 278 an all red Nissan Micra from Wales Rally GB please get in touch! We were out on the National Rally.

Pleased to have finished but it was tough. Was going well until we snapped a wishbone on Saturday so limped through two stages but we were just pleased to get back to service. Short stages yesterday which had really cut up [even more than the previous days as the internationals had two runs through before us yesterday] but we achieved our aims [finish, do better than last year in class which we did as we were 5th in class and last year we were 7th, and do well against the other Micras which we did as we were the first Micra home].

[Alex Langheck]

3-4 comments on RallyGB?? Despite the big crowds and full car parks, there is still not much interest. A shame, as the top boys are in another world; speed & commitment by the bucket load.

Hard to see much change next year, unless Hyundai can make a step up, and Citroen take their eyes off the WTCC; they turned up to GB without doing a test.

[BertMk2]

Originally Posted by Alex Langheck

3-4 comments on RallyGB?? Despite the big crowds and full car parks, there is still not much interest. A shame, as the top boys are in another world; speed & commitment by the bucket load.

Hard to see much change next year, unless Hyundai can make a step up, and Citroen take their eyes off the WTCC; they turned up to GB without doing a test.

I haven't caught much of the coverage yet - I was keeping an eye on the overall running order on and off throughout but I've not seen much footage as of yet. Have to say though that you really wouldn't know it was on unless you were looking for it. As you say it's still a spectacular event and the margin for error is pretty small.

Next year looks like more of the same in terms of results - Ogier will win as Latvala is still making too many mistakes and nobody will get near the Volkswagens. Hyundai could step up and consistently beat Citroen and the Fords - are Citroen spending money on development or just running what they've got? (no pre-GB testing suggests winding the budget back). The Fords will continue to be off the pace as clearly the budget isn't there to develop the cars at the same pace as VW and Hyundai. With Hirvonen gone who will lead the Ford campaign?

[crossfades]

Citroen will have new cars next year. I heard that Petter Solberg said that the new engines on the cars was really strong.

Hyundai might be a surprise I think and when the new cars make an entrance I hope it will be a real contender

[tbtstt]

Great to see Meeke retain his seat with Citroen for 2015, shame he didn't finish RallyGB on a slightly higher note, but fingers crossed he can build on 2014 next year.

[cg7aa]

Originally Posted by tbtstt

Great to see Meeke retain his seat with Citroen for 2015, shame he didn't finish RallyGB on a slightly higher note, but fingers crossed he can build on 2014 next year.

Great to see Meeke and Nagle get a second year although I wonder how Mads feels given he finished ahead in the standings.

I really hope Meeke can take a win next season but I did see something which concerned me a little in his rally GB off (and this is coming from a big fan of his); unless I misheard the notes (my apologies if I did), I think Paul warned him not to cut but he still did it anyway, you could see the trajectory that he was heading for the shortcut. What's the point of making a note to be wary of a cut and then when you get there in the heat of the moment gambling it will be fine? He can't afford unforced errors like that next season.

Fingers crossed.

[Suze]

I think all rally drivers have done that..... Not saying it makes it right, but sometimes you don't hear, you have it lined up, something unsettles the car so you take the line, you see something on the DC [don't cut] line and decide the cut is better... I only play at club level but I know I have done it more than once but suffered the consequences with a puncture on one occasion

[cg7aa]

Originally Posted by Suze

I think all rally drivers have done that..... Not saying it makes it right, but sometimes you don't hear, you have it lined up, something unsettles the car so you take the line, you see something on the DC [don't cut] line and decide the cut is better... I only play at club level but I know I have done it more than once but suffered the consequences with a puncture on one occasion

Maybe I was a bit too harsh. It seems in the heat of the moment, drivers gamble every now and again against their better judgement. I see to recall Stephane Prevot years ago being utterly frustrated with Duval or possibly Novikov where after another crash he says to him repeatedly, you need to listen!

[Suze]

No it is wrong, I'll admit it's wrong, but sometimes drivers think they know best... The co-driver should be the dominant one in the car, and they have a lot of pressure on them too - it was a relief to see Ingrassia make the road timing mistake a couple of events ago to prove everyone's human! I was lucky at GB, we didn't pick up any road penalties and I managed to ensure we booked in at all controls on time [even running to get one arrival time!] but in the heat of the moment, things can go wrong.