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24 Jan 2015, 13:21 (Ref:3495957) | #51 | |
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Can Kubica ( please not Bobby K) drive at anything less than 'flat out'? I wish he could, he doesn't seem to be able to complete an event without a serious 'off'. I'm sure there is a WRC rally winning driver in there; he has to reign it in.
I actually think he's so fast that he can't drive slow; certainly not slow enough for rallying. Maybe he needs to return to circuits, if for his own safety. I always feel he's bound to have another big off. You can't keep driving like that, and get away with it. As for Loeb & Meeke; unlucky really - this is the Monte, these things can happen. Though I do think the Citroen isn't a particularly strong car; I've seen heavier impacts, and cars get away with it. The VW especially. |
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24 Jan 2015, 15:41 (Ref:3495986) | #52 | |||
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Thank you for that |
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24 Jan 2015, 18:32 (Ref:3496017) | #53 | |||
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The VWs are awesome. They're fast and seem so much stronger than the Ford or Citroen. And because they're the best, most successful team with the be car and the most money they get the best drivers and with all due respect to Meeke, Ostberg, Sordo and co, they're not on the Ogier or Latvala level. It's no wonder so many events start off with some good pace from a Citroen or Ford then gradually turn into VW demo runs really. |
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25 Jan 2015, 15:38 (Ref:3497044) | #54 | |||||
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You Tube - WRC Official Channel You Tube - Best of Rally Live Both post regular update videos throughout each rally. Quote:
...apparently the brake pedal went to the floor at the end of SS14. Four fastest stage times and three accidents: an average weekend for Kubica! Quote:
Nice to see Meeke claw something back from the weekend with fastest time on the power stage. Great drive from Breen as well with second in WRC2. |
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25 Jan 2015, 16:28 (Ref:3497097) | #55 | |
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26 Jan 2015, 08:59 (Ref:3497531) | #56 | ||
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Have to agree about Kubica, the guys clearly got the pace just doesn't seem to be able to go anything other than beyond flat out. I always think the Monte is more of a survival test as the conditions are so tricky and changeable. I think a lot of drivers just try and get through this one rather than go for it. Even just trying to get through though they get caught out. To an extent Sweden is similar. Some drivers don't really show their true pace until they get to round 3 and the gravel of South America.
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31 Jan 2015, 13:11 (Ref:3499446) | #57 | |||
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It seems now that the official WRC website offers onaboards via the WRC+ thing, onboards are quite thin on the ground compared to previous years. |
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13 Feb 2015, 11:44 (Ref:3504509) | #58 | ||
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Well Sweden is underway and now the 'proper' stages have started Ogier is showing the way again. There seems to be plenty of snow about this year so the stages look to be pretty good (although they have mentioned a thaw that may effect the amount of snow).
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13 Feb 2015, 12:40 (Ref:3504527) | #59 | |||
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Hope Meeke can close in from the fringes of the top 6, he was on it during testing: http://youtu.be/2mDDq97tmzk |
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13 Feb 2015, 12:51 (Ref:3504531) | #60 | ||
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Latvala has cut the gap to Ogier so it's tight at the front, Meeke dropped some time earlier with a spin - otherwise he'd be a bit further up the order.
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13 Feb 2015, 14:12 (Ref:3504555) | #61 | ||
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And Meeke loses more time in a snow bank
Ogier drops time though after a problem with his wipers - and forgetting to put his bonnet pins back in he's human after all |
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13 Feb 2015, 14:26 (Ref:3504560) | #62 | ||
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Bugger, that puts him over 3 and a half minutes back now. At least Evans is still in the top 6.
Nah, I think that's just clever programming to make him look human. That's closed things up at the front: 1 second between 1st and 2nd! |
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13 Feb 2015, 14:43 (Ref:3504564) | #63 | |||
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It's closed up nicely but you have to take your hat off to him really - has those problems and is still in the lead! Latvala needs to take advantage of this and try and build a lead. |
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13 Feb 2015, 15:14 (Ref:3504576) | #64 | |||
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Problems for Kubica in SS7 and SS8? Agreed with regards to Latvala, looks like Ogier is starting to pull away again though. |
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13 Feb 2015, 16:38 (Ref:3504605) | #65 | |||
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Ogier in trouble too though by the looks of it - he's down to 4th! |
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15 Feb 2015, 17:00 (Ref:3505187) | #66 | |||
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Great drive from Neuville as well, nice to see the i20's up front, shame the Citroen's were so far back. |
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15 Feb 2015, 19:00 (Ref:3505222) | #67 | ||
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I didn't see any of the coverage from yesterday (busy rallying at Goodwood but todays action looked good Neuville got another good result (and I see he also set a new distance record for the jump at Colins Crest 44 metres ) but the Ogier / VW combination just had too much for the others. Latvala disappointing again, he still hasn't shaken off the crashing side of his driving - he really should have got a handle on it by now (will he ever?)
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15 Feb 2015, 22:06 (Ref:3505289) | #68 | |
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Easy to be wise after the event, but even after his brief off on Friday, I didn't think Ogier was out of it.
Mikkelsen could and really should have sewn it up - but a costly spin yesterday gave both Neuville & Ogier a sniff. So going into the final stage only 3 & 4.6 sec ahead of Ogier & Neuville was always going to be tricky. And after throwing a few IRC wins away when under pressure I wasn't confident he'd do it. Helluva performance from Ogier - but sadly for Mikkelsen, he made a mistake - and lost his first win. However, he can take comfort from the fact that even Ogier did the same; led in Rally NZ in 2010, spun 2 corners from the end, and lost to Latvala. Came out and won the next event in Portugal, under pressure from Loeb. The next round in Mexico sees the first dry, dusty gravel event; those later runners have a great opportunity to get a win. |
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15 Feb 2015, 22:11 (Ref:3505294) | #69 | ||
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Good point - road position could be crucial next time out but it's hard to look beyond one of the two leading VW's for the win. Good to see Neuville sniffing about in the top spots again - will the Hyundai be as competitive on the loose and will the Citroens be back in the frame? The Fiestas look to be a bit off the pace but that could just be that the drivers aren't as good?
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16 Feb 2015, 09:39 (Ref:3505397) | #70 | |||||
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Quote:
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Both Tanak and Evans did finish in the top 6 at least, but neither were challenging for the podium, were they? I really hope Kubica finds a way to turn himself down from 11, but somehow I can't see that happening... |
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16 Feb 2015, 11:01 (Ref:3505419) | #71 | ||
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A little harsh on both Evans and Tanak, they are both new, with not a huge amount of experience and are both doing OK in my view.
Kubica crashes, Meeke crashes, Ostberg is only goon on loose surface as is Latvala really. The bright spots are Neuville, thast's about it. If Evans and Tanank were miles off the pace and low end top 10 all the time I would be worried but they are not, they are about where Fords usually are. People seem to ignore the fact that that VW has seconds a click on everything, for Gods sake Mikkelsen is a championship contender, you really think Evans and Tanank wouldnt be in that car too? |
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16 Feb 2015, 12:04 (Ref:3505438) | #72 | |||
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I daresay they might be quicker, but Championship contenders? Not sure I'd go that far. Perhaps the car is helping, but Mikkelsen is more experienced (and has had more consistent seat time in the same chassis) than either Tanak or Evans. Personally I think that counts for more, but thats just my opinion! |
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16 Feb 2015, 13:43 (Ref:3505458) | #73 | ||
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The trouble is that without the Ford money they can't afford a top flight driver - they get the young promising drivers who gain experience with the Fiesta and then jump ship when they start to deliver on that promise.
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16 Feb 2015, 23:13 (Ref:3505607) | #74 | ||
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I'm hopeful that Tanak will pull off a surprise this year and get a win. He is very quick, once he gets used to the car and he is unleashed, he might pose a serious challenge especially when road order comes into play. I think he was held back/backed off in Sweden to collect manufacturer points after some problems earlier on.
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16 Feb 2015, 23:58 (Ref:3505623) | #75 | ||
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I felt for Andreas I have to say, he was competitive on snow last year too if I recall correctly. I was hoping this year would be his year. Problem now is, he risks being seen as only able to challenge Ogier on snow only and firmly number 3 VW driver everywhere else in terms of speed.
I look forward to Ogier's funny sarcasm about road sweeping in Mexico. Incidentally, I feel the Motors TV daily highlights production or perhaps the correct word is presentation took a step back in Sweden for day 1 at least. It was unwatched in my opinion. You barely saw the cars it seems, far too many interviews. Days 2 and 3 were better I think. If it continues I'll just avoid the daily highlights shows and wait for the ITV4 highlights program on the Tuesday after instead. It' fars so better; probably because they've had the time to edit the thing without rushing it. I dislike their trailing ahead before the advert breaks but hey ho, can't have it all. It's what it is. Last edited by cg7aa; 17 Feb 2015 at 00:04. |
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